References cont. (69) — Clergy Child Molesters

• SNAP still asking that pictures of admitted sexual abuser Anthony J. O'Connell be removed from RC buildings -- RCC.

   WVLT, "Pictures of Admitted Sexual Abuser Under Scrutiny," www.volunteer tv.com/Global/ story.asp?S= 1646299 &nav =4QcHKqBb , ~ February 15, 2004
   TENNESSEE: Pictures of a priest who admits to abusing children continue to hang in the halls of some East Tennessee Catholic churches, buildings and schools. Now, members of a national watchdog organization are calling for those pictures to be taken down. VOLUNTEER TV's Mark Mowbray has the story.
   Susan Vance is a member of the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. She began 15 years of work as a nun in the late 60's. That's when she says she first learned of priests abusing children. "I was told to be kind to Johnny, I would have anyway, but a priest said that the former priest had abused him...and I didn't know really what that meant," says Vance.
   Vance is now part of SNAP -- the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The organization is requesting pictures of former Knoxville Diocese founding bishop, Anthony J. O'Connell be removed from church buildings. Bishop O'Connell resigned his Palm Beach, Florida post in 2002, after openly admitting to sexual abuse of minors.
   Vance says, "It creates an atmosphere that prevents possible victims from coming forward and getting help." [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:20 PM] (This is the first of the Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse , for Sunday, February 15, 2004.)

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FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED
Series starts: www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethicscontents.htm Visit http://www.ncrnews.org/abuse    INCOMPLETE LINKS: Refer back to "References 61" for methods of obtaining the URLs. • Seven of 32 Priests Involved in Sex Abuse Allegations Served in Westport -- RCC.
   Westport Now, ~ February 15, 2004
   CONNECTICUT: The Bridgeport Diocese received allegations of sexual abuse against 32 priests since 1953, church officials announced today as part of a national survey. At least seven of them served in Westport.
   The Roman Catholic church will make an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims and costs later this month. Some bishops already have started releasing local figures.
   Bridgeport's data, released today, showed that the majority of the abuse was alleged to have happened between 1960 and 1980.
   Of the 32 priests accused of abuse, officials said they have already identified 23. Of the remaining nine, seven have died and two were visiting from other dioceses, officials said.
   According to a Bridgeport law firm involved in legal actions against accused priests, at least seven of the priests served in Westport churches from 1964 to 1990. All were previously identified by the diocese. (See WestportNow Oct. 16 and 22, 2003)
   "No priest in active ministry today in Fairfield County poses as threat of any kind to a child or young person," Bishop William Lori said in a statement today.
• Bishop Hubbard appears on radio show -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=59835&SecID=33 , By Capital News 9 web staff, 4:41 PM, Feb/15/2004
   ALBANY (NY): Bishop Howard Hubbard talked about allegations made against him on the radio.
   Hubbard was a guest Sunday on the Laurie Reilly Show on 810 WGY. He discussed the recent allegations of a sexual affair between him and a man who killed himself nearly 30 years ago. Hubbard said he has never broken his vow of celibacy.
   He said, "I've been overwhelmed by the numbers of e-mails, letters, phone calls, mass cards, flowers, etc. that I've received. But the important thing is that we have an investigation that can go to the root of the allegations that have been made and clear my name. That's what I'm looking forward to most. It's very embarrassing and very humiliating, but I'm at peace with myself because I know that I never did the things I'm alleged to have done."
• Bridgeport Diocese says 32 priests have been accused of abuse -- RCC.
   WTNH, www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1646263&nav=3YeXKqAP , 3:50 PM Feb. 15, 2004
   BRIDGEPORT (CT) AP: The Bridgeport Diocese is releasing church abuse data as part of a nationwide survey.
   Church officials say that, since 1953, they've received allegations of sexual abuse against 32 priests. The majority of the abuse was alleged to have happened between 1960 and 1980.
   Of the 32 priests accused of abuse, officials say they've already identified 23. Of the remaining nine, seven have died and two were visiting from other dioceses.
• Temporary leader of diocese urges churchgoers to keep the faith [1970s] -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/dailynews/046/region/Temporary_leader_of_diocese_ur:.shtml , By Associated Press, 11:54, Feb/15/2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP): The temporary leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield urged churchgoers not to abandon their faith in light of allegations that outgoing Bishop Thomas Dupre molested two boys three decades ago.
   "I know a lot of people have said this is the last straw, that they're giving up on the church," Monsignor Richard Sniezyk told about 100 parishioners at St. Michael's Cathedral. "To them I say, 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.' This certainly is a sad chapter in the diocese of Springfield, but you know it's not the whole book."
   Sniezyk was elected to lead the diocese on Friday, two days after The Republican newspaper in Springfield reported that Dupre was accused of molesting two boys while he was a parish priest in the 1970s.
   Dupre's resignation was approved Wednesday, the day after the newspaper submitted to Dupre questions concerning the abuse allegations. Dupre, who checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility earlier this week, cited health reasons for his departure. He announced last year that he planned to retire before he turned 75, which is the mandatory retirement age for bishops. Dupre is 70.
• Bishop Hubbard to appear on radio show -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/your_news/capital_region/default.asp?ArID=59786 , By Capital News 9 web staff, 10:16 AM, Feb/15/2004
   ALBANY (NY): Bishop Howard Hubbard will appear on a radio talk show program this afternoon.
   Bishop Hubbard is scheduled to appear as a guest on the Laurie Reilly Show on WGY at noon today.
   He will discuss allegations of sexual abuse brought before him in the past two weeks.
   On Wednesday, Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne said he would not investigate the allegations. Clyne said he doesn't believe there is any basis for a criminal investigation.
• Abuse claims said no factor in Dupre decision -- RCC.
   Hampshire Gazette, www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/storytmp.cfm?id_no=2120070 , By KATHLEEN MELLEN, Thursday, February 12, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): A spokesman for the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese is denying a published report that the resignation Tuesday of the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre as bishop of the Springfield diocese is related to new accusations that he sexually abused two boys three decades ago.
   In an article appearing in the Springfield Republican today, the newspaper reported the resignation came a day after the paper confronted the bishop with accusations that he sexually abused two minor boys when he was a parish priest.
   Diocesan spokesman Mark Dupont, however, said in a phone interview Wednesday night that Dupre had submitted his letter of resignation to Pope John Paul II in November.
   Dupont said Dupre told him privately about his letter to the pope in late November or early December.
• Wound stings the faithful -- a priest cries. RCC.
   The Republican, www.masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1076834720178141.xml?nnse , By MICHAEL McAULIFFE, mmcauliffe@repub.com , Feb/15/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Whether he was named or not, Thomas L. Dupre was talked about at Masses throughout the Pioneer Valley yesterday.
   Three days after Dupre resigned as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield amid allegations he sexually assaulted two boys about three decades ago, priests addressed the matter with their congregations - and one broke into tears after Mass.
   Monsignor Richard S. Sniezyk, elected as diocesan administrator after Dupre stepped down, spoke to about 60 people who attended the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield, where Dupre was installed as bishop in 1995.
   "I know you, like me, have been stunned and shocked and saddened about the news of the allegations against Bishop Dupre," Sniezyk said during his sermon.
   Dupre, 70, resigned a day after being confronted by The Republican with the abuse accusations. He cited health reasons as the cause for stepping down as head of the 270,000-member diocese, which covers all of Western Massachusetts. He has checked into an undisclosed medical facility outside the diocese.
• News available before it hits your doorstep about Bishop Dupre's accusations, departure. -- RCC.
   The Republican, www.masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1076715901298370.xml?cnlm , by Larry McDermott, Feb/15/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The flow of local news from our reporters and editors to you is faster and better than it has ever been, thanks to technology, teamwork and partnerships.
   Where once you had to wait until the next edition of the newspaper to get the latest information on a breaking news story, now we are able to deliver it immediately through a mixture of formerly competing media outlets known in the industry as convergence.
   There were a number of examples of local news stories last week that we could point to as illustrative of this point, but two in The Republican on Thursday stand out above the rest. ...
   The second example was the sudden resignation of the bishop of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese, the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre.
   We learned of the resignation Wednesday morning when it was first reported on local television and radio stations. They had been given a press release by the diocese. However, only a handful of people, including Dupre, were aware that we had been investigating for months allegations that the bishop had sexually assaulted two boys decades ago. His resignation was announced one day after we submitted written questions to him about the accusations.
   The ink on that day's newspaper was hardly dry, but we had important news to report and would not be printing the next issue for several hours. However, we did publish our breaking news story about the allegations via MassLive.com, our online affiliate, at least 12 hours before delivery of the next day's paper began. In addition, through our news partnership with WGGB-TV, the story was aired for local viewing on abc40's newscasts at 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
• Bishop never comfortable in spotlight [1970s ?] -- RCC.
  The Republican, www.masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1076834788178141.xml?nnae , By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com , Feb/15/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): When the Rev. Thomas L. Dupre wrote about the scourge of clergy sexual abuse two years ago, he seemed to be personally offended.
   "As a newly ordained priest in my first parish, I learned that an older priest whom I respected a great deal had been accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy," Dupre wrote in the March 2002 issue of the Catholic Observer. "I could hardly believe it. I was confused and many emotions welled up in me, including disbelief, anger, disappointment, a feeling of being let down."
   This week those very words describe the feelings experienced by many Catholics in Western Massachusetts, clergy and lay people alike. Dupre abruptly retired as bishop at age 70 Wednesday after The Republican confronted him Tuesday with allegations that he had abused two boys for years more than two decades ago.
   Although the diocese announced Dupre was retiring early for health reasons, he had known since last year that the newspaper was investigating the allegations.
   Dupre's failure to respond to the newspaper's questions before checking himself into an undisclosed medical facility Tuesday night was uncharacteristic of the philosophy he expressed while handling the clergy sexual abuse crisis over the past two years. Until last week Dupre always responded to inquiries from the media as the sexual abuse scandal unfolded locally and nationally.
• A fresh start for Springfield [1970s] -- RCC.
   Berkshire Eagle, www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~6267~1957861,00.html , ~ February 15, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The resignation of Bishop Thomas Dupre as head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, whether because of health problems, the emergence of allegations of child abuse during the '70s when he served as a parish priest, or a combination of the two, gives the diocese a chance for a fresh start.
   Since becoming head of the diocese in 1995, Bishop Dupre has not experienced problems of the magnitude of those that confronted Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston, but the diocese has been hit with 15 lawsuits in the past two years by those claiming abuse by Richard Lavigne, a convicted pedophile who was defrocked as a priest earlier this year.
   The diocese could have avoided considerable grief if it had acted quicker on Mr. Lavigne, who had been a controversial figure for years. Archbishop Sean O'Malley has instituted an open policy that has helped heal the Boston Diocese, and the successor to Bishop Dupre will need to do the same.
• S.J. diocese details abuse claims [15 accused] -- RCC.
   Mercury News, www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/7959819.htm , By Brandon Bailey and Putsata Reang, ~ February 15, 2004
  CALIFORNIA: Fifteen Roman Catholic priests have been the subject of "credible allegations" of child sexual abuse while serving in Santa Clara County parishes over the last half-century, according to a report made public Saturday by the Diocese of San Jose.
   The report, which did not identify the priests, is part of a national study intended to be the first comprehensive measure of a sex-abuse scandal that in recent years has dogged the Catholic church.
   San Jose Bishop Patrick J. McGrath outlined the findings, which are more extensive than any local numbers previously reported, in a statement distributed at churches this weekend. In the statement, he apologized to sex-abuse victims and to the community at large. He also pledged "to do all in our power to ensure that no one ever again suffers the tragedy of sexual abuse."
   Some parishioners said the report was a sign of positive action by church leaders, although others said it did not go far enough.
• State dioceses report abuses by 89 priests -- RCC.
   Holland Sentinel, www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/021504/loc_021504010.shtml , Feb 15 2004
   DETROIT (MI) (AP): Four of Michigan's Roman Catholic dioceses, representing more than 500 parishes and more than 1.8 million registered Catholics, have released reports of known sexual abuse by clergy.
   Numbers have been released from the dioceses of Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo in western Michigan, the Diocese of Marquette in and the Upper Peninsula and the Archdiocese of Detroit in the southeastern part of the state.
   Catholic churches in Allegan County are part of the Kalamazoo Diocese. Those in Ottawa County are in the Grand Rapids Diocese.
   The reports from individual dioceses have trickled out ahead of a national report on sexual abuse of minors commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to be released Feb. 27.
• Cardinal George Prepares Parishioners For Study Of Sex Abuse Scandal -- RCC.
   WBBM, www.wbbm780.com/asp/ViewMoreDetails.asp?ID=34266 , By Bernie Tafoya, WBBM Newsradio 780 , ~ February 15, 2004
   CHICAGO (IL): Francis Cardinal George preparing Chicago area Catholics this weekend for the next bombshell to arise out of the priest sex abuse scandal.
   In less than two weeks, on Feb. 27, a study is to be made public on how widespread the sex abuse scandal has been nationwide. The John Jay College study will include the total number of confirmed abuse allegations as well as the total number of priests who are alleged to have molested children since 1950.
   The study will also spell out how much money the Catholic Church has awarded victims of priest sex abuse.
   In a letter to parishioners in the Chicago archdiocese, Cardinal George points out in his message that Catholic bishops were the ones who authorized the study "to try to get a deeper understanding of how this scandal occurred so that it may never be repeated".
   Archdiocese Chancellor Jimmy Lago says the numbers, while "they will certainly be shocking," are not the whole story.
   He prefers to focus on the study conclusions about the possible causes of priests abusing children and at what point in their priesthoods that kind of behavior is most likely to take place.
   Lago says the Chicago archdiocese will be looking at formation and training of its priests based on the results of the study. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 02:20 AM]
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Sunday, February 15, 2004

Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Monday, February 16, 2004 edition follows:-
• Citing Survey, CNN Says 4,450 Priests Were Accused of Abuse -- RCC.
   The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/national/17PRIE.html , By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, for February 17, 2004
   NEW YORK: A nationwide survey on the extent and causes of sexual abuse by members of the Roman Catholic clergy has found that 4,450 priests have been accused of sexually abusing minors since 1950, according to a CNN report about a draft of the survey results.
   That is a higher number than has previously been estimated by any news outlet or by most experts. Those with knowledge of the survey results would not comment on the accuracy of the CNN report.
   The survey was commissioned by a national review board of prominent Catholic laypeople appointed by the bishops at the height of the sexual abuse scandal in 2002 and was conducted by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
   The survey is based on information supplied by the bishops of nearly all of the nation's 195 Catholic dioceses, where tens of thousands of priests have served since 1950. It was designed to be the most comprehensive accounting yet of the scope of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.
   The survey is scheduled to be released on Feb. 27 at a news conference in Washington. The same day, the review board is supposed to release a lengthy report examining why the problem of sexual abuse persisted in the church and what factors were to blame.
   The board's report, written by a committee led by the Washington lawyer Robert S. Bennett, is based on interviews with more than 100 church officials, experts and victims of abuse. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:24 PM]
• Questions surround priest's death -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/your_news/capital_region/default.asp?ArID=59996 , By Jessica Schneider, 8:54 PM, Feb/16/2004
   ALBANY (NY): The questions are swirling after the sudden death of 57-year-old Father John Minkler of Watervliet. His passing comes just days after a controversial letter surfaced, claiming Bishop Howard Hubbard had sexual relationships with two young priests. The letter is being attributed to the late Father Minkler. But Bishop Hubbard said once those allegations surfaced, Minkler asked to meet with him to clear his name.
   Bishop Hubbard said, "No, I did not request a meeting. He asked to see me. He came in to sign an affidavit because he was concerned about the public airing of this letter and wanted to deny his authorship of the letter."
   The seven-page letter contains numerous slaps at Hubbard's leadership. And though the letter was written in 1995, it has just surfaced. The Albany Catholic Diocese points to the fact that the signature on the letter is crossed out, and that it hardly resembles the signature on Minkler's affidavit denying any connection to the letter.
   Bishop Hubbard said, "He just wanted to assure me that he had not made these allegations against me and he wasn't responsible for the contents of the letter."
   Father Minkler had been serving as the Catholic Chaplain at Stratton VA Hospital in Albany. But on Sunday afternoon around 2 p.m., his sister found him dead in his Seventh Avenue home. Watervliet police said there was no evidence of foul play or any gunshot wounds. But neighbors said they've heard Father Minkler may have committed suicide. Bishop Hubbard said Minkler was upset when they met on Friday.
• Questions remain after abuse allegations and Bishop's retirement -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/rn0216a.html , By Father Bill Pomerleau, Observer staff , February 16, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The Diocese of Springfield was in shock last week as accusations surfaced Feb. 11 that Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupré had been accused of sexual misconduct with minors, just hours after it announced that the bishop's early retirement had been accepted by Pope John Paul II.
   Within a day of the dramatic developments, Msgr. Richard Sniezyk, the highest ranking priest in the diocese, asked law enforcement and higher church officials to investigate the accusations.
   Meanwhile, stunned diocesan officials and workers, including Msgr. Sniezyk, sought to understand what had happened to their bishop, who left the diocese for an undisclosed medical facility outside the diocese shortly after receiving word that his resignation had been accepted by the pope.
   By press time, Bishop Dupré had made no public comment about his situation. Msgr. Sniezyk, who was elected administrator of the diocese by its Board of Consultors Feb. 13, said that he would give the bishop a week to deal with his medical and psychological condition before contacting him.
   Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the diocese, told an impromptu meeting of diocesan workers Feb. 12 that he had received word from the bishop's office late on Monday, Feb. 9 that a reporter from The Republican newspaper had asked to speak directly with Bishop Dupré.
• Sources say VA chaplain had been critical of Bishop Hubbard, now found dead. -- RCC.
   MSNBC, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4281634 , By John Allen, WNYT-TV, 5:14 p.m. ET, Feb. 16, 2004
   WATERVLIET (NY): A priest in the middle of the sex abuse allegations made against Bishop Howard Hubbard was found dead Sunday. The body of Rev. John Minkler, the Catholic chaplain at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany was discovered at his home in Watervliet Sunday afternoon.
   Stephen Brady of the group Roman Catholic Faithful and attorney John Aretakis had recently identified Minkler as having written a letter to the New York archdiocese and the late Cardinal John O'Connor in 1995, which accused the bishop of sexual relationships with two priests.
   Minkler denied ever having written such a letter
   Minkler was a graduate of Catholic Central High School in Troy. He was ordained a priest in 1972. Minkler was appointed assistant pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Rensselaer and later St. Teresa of Avila Church in Albany. From 1984 until the time of his death he was the Catholic chaplain at the Stratton VA.
   "Father Minkler made an appointment to see me and he told me that he did not author the letter, and he wanted to be with me face to face and to assure me that he had not written anything to Cardinal O'Connor about me," Hubbard said Monday just after hearing of Minkler's death. "He did not know the priests that were named in the letter, and he did not know how his name got associated with the letter."
• Priest Found Dead After Meeting With Bishop About Abuse Claim -- RCC.
   Fox News, www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111578,00.html , Monday, February 16, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): A priest was found dead two days after meeting with a Roman Catholic bishop over a 1995 letter alleging the bishop was part of "a ring of homosexual Albany priests."
   The Rev. John Minkler, 57, was found dead Sunday in his home in Watervliet. Police there won't say how or when Minkler died.
   "He was very disturbed that his name was associated with this letter and he wanted to assure me that he was not its author," Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard said Monday.
   Last week, Andrew Zalay said Hubbard had abused his brother, Thomas Zalay, 30 years ago. Thomas Zalay committed suicide in 1978.
   Hubbard has maintained he has never broken his vow of celibacy and has denied ever sexually abusing anyone. He also says he has handled all claims of abuse by clergy seriously and has dismissed several abusive priests.
   Minkler was ordained in 1972 and had been chaplain of the Stratton Veterans Administration Hospital (search) in Albany for about 20 years.
   "This is a tragedy no matter what the circumstances," Hubbard said. "A priest has died and I have great sympathy for his family and they will be very much in my prayers."
   Prosecutors have declined to investigate the 30-year-old claim against Hubbard, saying the allegation didn't represent a crime. The Albany Diocese, which represents more than 400,000 Catholics, has said it will hire its own investigator to look into Zalay's claim.
   A copy of the 1995 letter to the archdiocese in New York City surfaced following a press conference last week called by a lawyer who has represented several alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests. The Albany Diocese in a statement issued Monday said Minkler was identified as the letter's author in a television news report.
• Priest's Death Under Investigation -- RCC.
   Fox 23, www.fox23news. com/news/ local/story. aspx?content_ id=38EA058D- B665-4187- 9D15-92EA8 F92C528 , ~ February 16, 2004
   WATERVLIET (NY): Father John Minkler was a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany for 32 years. Tonight officials with the Diocese say they are praying for him and for all who loved him.
   Police say Reverend John Minkler was found dead inside his Watervliet home on Sunday. With him -- a note. Police Chief Jerry Beston won't reveal what the note said, but he tells Fox 23 News Minkler's death is under investigation.
   Last Thursday Attorney John Aretakis distributed a letter to the media, which he said was written by Father Minkler. The letter claimed sexual improprieties by Bishop Howard Hubbard. On Friday - Father Minkler issued a statement saying he never wrote such a letter or made such allegations regarding Bishop Hubbard.
   Neighbors are reluctant to make any connection between what happened last week and Minkler's death. "I think it's terrible people keep making more and more things out of what has happened. Until somebody says what is the reason behind what happened with Father Minkler nobody's going to know...you're just making up more stories and then it never stops," said Collette Hastings.
• Priest's records spark questions [1971-79] -- RCC.
   Des Moines Register, http://DesMoinesRegister.com/life/stories/c5351764/23542636.html , By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE, Register Religion Editor, Feb/15/2004
   DAVENPORT (IA): In 1987, James Wells of Davenport wrote a difficult letter to the man who was his uncle, priest and namesake.
   Wells, then 38, asked the Rev. James Janssen to help pay for therapy to treat his depression. Wells' psychologist believed the depression was connected to "sexual abuse I was subjected to by you while I was a child," Wells wrote to the man who he contends abused him from ages 5 to 14.
   Two days later, the priest's attorney wrote back: Janssen was shocked by and denied Wells' allegations. Moreover, the lawyer suggested, Janssen would sue him for slander if Wells pursued the allegations. A similar letter was sent to Wells' mother - Janssen's sister.
   This and more is detailed in lawsuits against Janssen and the Roman Catholic Davenport Diocese. The priest has been named by eight men who allege in separate lawsuits that he molested them as boys.
   Janssen, who served at 13 parishes between 1948 and 1990, is now retired and living at St. Vincent's Center in Davenport, a diocese retirement home. He steadfastly denies the allegations. In court papers, the diocese has always denied the allegations.
• Priest found dead in Watervliet [1970s] -- RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=219485&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=2/16/2004 , By BRIAN NEARING, 4:53 p.m., Monday, February 16, 2004
   WATERVLIET (NY): A priest whose name was linked with a letter accusing Bishop Howard Hubbard of homosexual activity was found dead in his Watervliet home this weekend.
   Watervliet police said the Rev. John Minkler was found on the kitchen floor of his home by his sister on Sunday afternoon. Police Chief Jerry Beston [said] there were no signs of trauma to the victim or forced entry. The chief said a note was found at the home, but he provided no details about it and would not say whether or not the death was self-inflicted. An autopsy is being conducted today.
   Last week, Hubbard denied the truth of a letter released purportedly written by Minkler, which accused the bishop of homosexual relationships with two other priests. The church later announced that Minkler denied he wrote the letter, and today released a statement to that effect signed by Minkler.
   The death of Minkler, 57, a Troy native who was a priest for 37 years and was serving as a chaplain at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Hospital in Albany, is the latest in a flood of unprecedented developments since Feb. 4, when Hubbard denied accusations that he had a homosexual relationship with a mentally troubled man who in 1978 killed himself because of that relationship. The following day another man accused the bishop of having sex with him in the 1970s when he was a teenage runaway.
   The 64-year-old cleric, who has led the Albany diocese for 27 years, has repeatedly stated that he never broke his vows of celibacy and would prove his innocence.

• Draft survey: 4,450 priests accused of sex abuse

[~ 4%] -- RCC.
   CNN, www.cnn.com/ 2004/US/02/ 16/church. abuse , Posted 6:28 PM EST (2328 GMT), Monday, February 16, 2004
   NEW YORK (CNN): Children accused more than 4,000 priests of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002, according to a draft survey commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   The survey, to be released February 27, found that children made more than 11,000 allegations of sexual abuse by priests. The 4,450 accused priests represent about 4 percent of the 110,000 priests who served during the 52 years covered by the study.
   The report is based on a nationwide survey of church records, and was compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for the conference. The bishops' conference commissioned the survey to get a better understanding of the scope of the crisis.
   CNN reviewed a draft copy of the survey. Officials said it may be slightly changed before its release.
   More than half of the accused priests had only one allegation against them. Nearly 25 percent, or 1,112 priests, had two or three allegations, and almost 13 percent, or 578 priests, had four to nine allegations, according to the draft report. Nearly 3 percent, or 133 of the priests, had 10 or more allegations.
   The report said that 6,700 of the 11,000 allegations were investigated and substantiated, and another 1,000 were unsubstantiated. The remaining 3,300 were not investigated because the priests involved had died by the time the allegation was made.
• Leaked report says 4,450 priests abused 11,000 children since 1950 -- RCC.
   Catholic News Service, www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20040216.htm , By Jerry Filteau, February 16, 2004
   WASHINGTON (CNS): CNN reported Feb. 16 that, according to a draft report it obtained on sexual abuse of minors by U.S. Catholic priests and deacons, roughly 4,450 clergy allegedly abused 11,000 minors between 1950 and 2002.
   "Whatever they reported is premature," said James Levine, dean of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, which last year conducted a nationwide study of Catholic clergy sexual abuse of minors and plans to release its report Feb. 27. The study was commissioned by the National Review Board established by the U.S. bishops to help them deal with the clergy sex abuse crisis.
   "We're still finalizing our report," Levine told Catholic News Service Feb. 16 by telephone. He said "it would be irresponsible" for him to comment on the figures reported by CNN.
   He said a final portion of the CNN news story, reporting underlying causes of abuse, simply did not come from a draft of the John Jay study. CNN cited that study as its source for the causes as well as the figures it gave.
• Statement of Bishop Gregory on News Reports of Study Findings -- RCC.
   Yahoo! News, http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040216/nym059_1.html . 5:16 pm ET, Monday, February 16, 2004
   WASHINGTON (DC), Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/: Belleville Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement on news stories about data said to be from the John Jay Study on the nature and scope of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, commissioned by the National Review Board at the USCCB's request:
   "On February 27, 2004 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops expects to receive two reports. One is a descriptive study on the nature and scope of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy and the other is a report from the National Review Board to focus the issues for additional study.
   "These reports will be a very sobering and important milestone. I have not seen the reports, and so I cannot comment on their substance. But I want to reaffirm that the bishops requested these studies so that we could understand as fully as possible what caused this terrible occurrence in the life of our community to make sure that it never happens again.
• Woman's case against Church heads to High Court -- RCC.
   Stuff, www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2816586a11,00.html , February 17, 2004
   NEW ZEALAND: The case of a Christchurch woman suing the Catholic Church over its handling of a complaint against a priest will go to the High Court next month.
   Bonnie Quilter, a Shirley invalid beneficiary, is seeking exemplary damages and an inquiry into the Church's abuse complaints procedures.
   She is one of four women who laid complaints of sexual misconduct against former Lyttelton priest Father Jim Consedine.
   She claims the Church failed in its duty of care towards her and did not keep proper records of the complaints process.
   It is believed to be the first time one of the Church's own investigative bodies has been sued over its performance in New Zealand.
   The Church and its various representatives named as defendants have applied to have the claim struck out through their counsel, Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, and Mark Callaghan.
   A telephone conference was held between the parties and Justice John Hansen yesterday.
   A hearing date was set for next month.
   "Procedural matters were dealt with during the telephone conference and a hearing date set," Ms Quilter said. "I hope matters will progress accordingly."
• Priest found dead after meeting bishop over abuse claim -- RCC.
   Herald Tribune, www.herald tribune.com/ apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20040216/ APN/4021 60823 , The Associated Press, February 16, 2004
   ALBANY, N.Y.: A priest was found dead Sunday, two days after meeting with Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard over a 1995 letter alleging the bishop was part of "a ring of homosexual Albany priests."
   The Rev. John Minkler, 57, was found dead Sunday in his home in Watervliet, Albany County. Watervliet police have not said how or when Minkler died.
   "He was very disturbed that his name was associated with this letter and he wanted to assure me that he was not its author," Hubbard said Monday.
   "He was the one who requested the meeting," Hubbard said in an interview. "He said 'I just wanted to look you in the eye so you could see me tell you face-to-face, man-to-man, that I was not the author of the letter.'"
   "What was said in that letter was not true," Hubbard said after he was interviewed by WROW-AM in Albany.
• 11,000 priest 'child-sex claims' [4,450 priests; 6700 out of 11,000 checked] -- RCC.
   The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA, Australia), www.theadvert iser.news.com. au/common/ story_page/ 0,5936,870 7929%255E 1702,00.html , From correspondents in New York, Feb 17, 2004
   UNITED STATES: More than 4000 US priests were accused of child sexual abuse 1950-2002, according to a draft survey for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, CNN reported Monday.
   The study, to be released February 27, said 4,450 priests were the subjects of 11,000 child sex abuse allegations.
   That means some of the priests were repeat offenders. About 25 percent of the accused priests faced allegations on two or three occasions; 13 percent on four to nine occasions and three percent more than 10 times, the draft report said, according to the network.
   Seventy-eight percent of the alleged victims were aged 11-17; sixteen percent were eight to 10 years old; and six percent were seven or younger, it found.
   The study found that of the 11,000 allegations, about 6700 were investigated and found to be true. A thousand were found to be false, and 3300 were not investigated because the accused priests had died.
• Priest Found Dead After Talk With Bishop -- RCC.
   Dayton Daily News, www.dayton dailynews. com/news/ content/news/ ap/ap_story. html/National/ AP.V2919. AP-Church- Abuse-Bi.html ; ~ February 16, 2004
   ALBANY, N.Y. (AP): A priest was found dead two days after meeting with a Roman Catholic bishop over a 1995 letter alleging the bishop was part of "a ring of homosexual Albany priests."
   The Rev. John Minkler, 57, was found dead Sunday in his home in Watervliet. Police there won't say how or when Minkler died.
   "He was very disturbed that his name was associated with this letter and he wanted to assure me that he was not its author," Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard said Monday.
   Last week, Andrew Zalay said Hubbard had abused his brother, Thomas Zalay, 30 years ago. Thomas Zalay committed suicide in 1978.
• Victim's family copes with feelings of betrayal [John Andries case] -- RCC.
   The Hourma Courier, www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2004402150313 , By JOHN DeSANTIS, ~ February 16, 2004
   LOUISIANA: Debbie and Danny Brown admired and respected Bishop Sam Jacobs for his dedication to the ministry and what they describe as his electric effect on the faithful in their central Louisiana community.
   "He was a very charismatic and caring person, very involved with the youth in our diocese," said Debbie Brown, whose family had befriended Jacobs during the 14 years he led the Catholic Diocese of Alexandria.
   "Our belief was that he cared about each and every child of that diocese," she said. "I would see the bishop on the football field at every home game with my two boys. He was not only a bishop and a leader, but he wanted to come to our level. He wanted to show the kids he was supporting them. He had a way of making you excited about Christ."
   But when a parish priest under Jacobs' charge named John Wesley Andries sexually molested their sleeping 16-year-old son in the summer of 2001, the Brown family's world changed forever. As they coped with Andries' crime and their sense of betrayal, Debbie and Danny Brown found cause to re-evaluate their faith in the church they once lived for, as well as the bishop.
• Faithful urged to pray -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1076921254130430.xml?nntn ,    By BOB DATZ, rdatz@repub.com , Feb/16/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): In a St. Michael's Cathedral that has seen happier times, the temporary leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield used yesterday's morning liturgy to set a hopeful and upbeat tone.
   Sexual abuse allegations against the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre that preceded his resignation as bishop last week thrust Monsignor Richard S. Sniezyk into the role of diocesan administrator.
   Despite what he later described as a "kaleidoscope of feelings" associated with that role in this situation, he was smooth and warm in his delivery of a brief sermon on the difficult topic.
   "I pledge that during my short time, I hope, as administrator of the diocese, I will do whatever I can to meet the needs and bring healing to all the victims of clergy sexual abuse," he said.
   He went on to tackle doubts that some area Catholics have expressed since the allegations surfaced that Dupre abused two boys years ago.
   "To them I say don't throw the baby out with the bath water. This certainly is a sad chapter in the history of our diocese, but you know, it's not the whole book," Sniezyk said. He cited the "hard work, enthusiasm and holiness" on the part of the vast majority of priests, not only on behalf of parishioners but the "many hurting people touched by our social ministry."
• Worcester Diocese releases abuse report [45 abusers, $2.3m] -- RCC.
   Boston Herald, http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=1980 , By Herald staff/Local briefs, Monday, February 16, 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): The Worcester Diocese has paid $2.3 million in sexual abuse settlements and investigated more than 100 allegations against 45 priests since 1950, according to a pastoral report released yesterday by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly.
• Bishops fulfill promises -- RCC.
   USA Today, www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-02-15-oppose_x.htm , By Francis J. Maniscalco, February 15, 2004
   UNITED STATES: With the Feb. 27 release of the findings of a study on "the nature and scope" of sexual abuse of minors by clergy within the Catholic Church in the U.S., the Catholic bishops will fulfill another of the commitments they made in their "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."
   This research, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, combined with another planned study on "the causes and context" of the abuse crisis, is intended to help bishops "understand the problem more fully and enhance the effectiveness" of their response in the future.
   The significance of the John Jay study should not be diminished by challenging it for what it never was designed to do. It always was envisioned as providing the "national picture" about this misconduct over a significant period of time - in this case, 52 years. It is part of the bishops' commitment that this past never will be repeated. Many dioceses have gone beyond the charter's requirements by releasing the statistics related to their diocesan situation.
   The John Jay research is unprecedented for any profession. The results should be important to everyone who is concerned about the drastically under-researched problem of child sexual abuse.
• Church report masks local impact of abusive clergy [1341 clergy in 40% of dioceses] -- RCC.
   USA Today, www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-02-15-our-view_x.htm , February 15, 2004
   UNITED STATES: The best way to leave a scandal behind is to get all of the facts in front of the public. Yet too few leaders of the Roman Catholic Church seem to have gotten that message as they try to quell a two-year-old controversy over pedophile priests.
   Last week, a new survey conducted by the Associated Press revealed a scandal far broader than previously estimated: 1,341 clergy from Manchester, N.H., to Honolulu have been accused of molesting minors since the 1950s. And those numbers cover just 40% of the nation's 195 dioceses.
   The church promises to release its own accounting of abuse claims on Feb. 27, but it will reveal only a national total - not a breakdown by diocese. This broad sweep provides cover for a multitude of sins. Most distressingly, it denies parishioners the basic information they need to determine whether sexual predators have been rooted out of their communities.
   The report was supposed to be a central part of a 2002 reform plan devised by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Instead, it fails to provide the openness and accountability the bishops promised.
• Cardinal a hit in Saugerties -- RCC.
   Daily Freeman, www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1769&dept_id=74969&newsid=10973534&PAG=461&rfi=9 , By Donna Cafaldo, Correspondent, Feb/16/2004
   SAUGERTIES (NY): In his first visit Sunday to the St. Mary of the Snow Roman Catholic Church in Saugerties since being ordained archbishop of New York, Cardinal Edward Egan extolled the virtues of faith and spoke of the fundamentals of church life - the parish.
   Dressed in a bright green robe and skull cap, Egan began his day in Saugerties with a 9 a.m. liturgy followed by another at 11 a.m.
   Speaking to a packed house, Egan said, "The Church walks in the shoes of its pastors." Egan added, "And we must never forget the parish is fundamental to the life of our church." ...
   Egan ever-so-briefly touched on the recent sexual abuse controversy surrounding the Roman Catholic Church, saying the church as of late has been "taking a beating from the media." To that he added, "I am originally from Chicago and I can handle it."
   Egan did say the diocese is in good financial condition and is realizing an increase in seminary enrollment and newly ordained priests.
• Group urges Catholics to bypass dioceses because money goes for molesters against children. -- RCC.
   Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com/ stltoday/news/stories. nsf/News/St.+Louis+City+% 2F+County/709EC CDB3E233632862 56E3C00170BFC? OpenDocument&Headline= Group+urges+Catholics+ to+bypass+dioceses++ , By Aisha Sultan, Feb/15/2004
   ST. LOUIS (MO): Members of a support group for people abused by priests targeted three Metro East churches Sunday morning, passing out leaflets.
   The leaflets, some of which were stuck underneath car windshield wipers, stated: "We are here today because your bishop has used your donations to fight against children and for child molesters."
   Police warned members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, to stay off private church property after the officers had received a complaint.
   Some parishioners at St. Mary's parish in Edwardsville were angry that the group was trying to discourage parishioners from donating to the diocese. The flier asks Catholics to give money directly to their schools and charities.
   One man crumpled up the flier and threw it back at the woman handing it out.
• Cleric Accused of Abuse Put on Leave [1969-71 +?] -- RCC.
   Duluth News Tribune, www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/7965778.htm , Associated Press, ~ February 16, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): A prominent cleric who was accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit has been placed on administrative leave by the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese after being accused of misconduct by a second person, church officials said.
   Msgr. Richard A. Loomis was placed on leave Friday as pastor of Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua Church in San Marino just two weeks after church leaders had told his congregation he would continue as its leader.
   Loomis was a former aide to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
   In a lawsuit filed late last year, Loomis was accused of sexually abusing a boy between 1969 and 1971. Loomis denied the accusation and the archdiocese's Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board said it had not been presented with any evidence of misconduct.
   The board, however, concluded last week that Loomis should step down after reviewing more information. A second person had leveled accusations against Loomis, said Tod Tamberg, a diocese spokesman. Tamberg said he did not know any details about the new allegations.
   Loomis was one of 11 priests in the archdiocese who remained in active ministry despite being sued late last year for alleged sexual abuse.
• Priest put on leave in wake of abuse claims [Vosen accused] -- RCC.
   Portage Daily Register, http://portage.scwn.com/articles/2004/02/16/news/news3.txt , By Brian Bridgeford - Capital Newspapers, Feb 16, 2004
   BARABOO: Church officials have placed Baraboo Catholic priest Father Gerald Vosen on leave after at least one allegation against him of sexual abuse of a minor has been found credible enough to refer to the Vatican for further investigation.
   During Sunday masses at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Baraboo, a statement was read to the congregation that was written by Bishop Robert C. Morlino, head of the Madison Diocese. Monsignor Paul J. Swain, vicar general of the diocese, represented the bishop during the services.
   In the one-page letter, Morlino wrote that he informed Vosen Friday that he has been placed on formal administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations into allegations against him. The diocese Sexual Abuse Review Board has received allegations of three different cases of abuse.
   After an initial investigation, the board unanimously agreed at least one allegation is credible enough to refer to higher church authorities at the Vatican City in Rome.
   Father Vosen has denied all of the allegations, Morlino states. Investigation of issues of fact he raised in his defense have contributed to the length of the investigation.
• Vigil held for sex-abuse victims [50 + suicides] -- RCC.
   The Times-Picayune, www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1076916544217300.xml , By Bruce Nolan, Monday February 16, 2004
   NEW ORLEANS (LA): A group of about 75 men and women stood shivering in the chill, windy dusk on a City Park lawn Sunday and prayed for dozens of victims of clerical sexual abuse who have killed themselves, for those who have survived and for their Catholic church.
   At the heart of the service, Janet Patterson, a 60-year-old mother from Conway Springs, Kan., read aloud more than 50 names of sexual-abuse victims she said were suicides -- including that of her son, Eric, who shot himself in 1999.
   He was one of five boys who eventually killed themselves years after being molested by the Rev. Robert Larson, now doing a three- to 10-year sentence on molestation charges in Kansas, she said.
   Sunday's crowd consisted of men and women active in the local chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and local members of Voice of the Faithful, a grass-roots organization seeking changes in the Catholic church.
   The service was the first public event by either group. It unfolded inside a circle staked out with the names and pictures of men and women who organizers said had been sexually abused. All were suicides.
   "If you want to see the face of God, look at these pictures," said Susan Troy, a Voice of the Faithful organizer. "These are the faces of Christ crucified."
• Bishop Reilly issues report on sex abuse [$2.28m] -- RCC.
   Telegram & Gazette, http://telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040216/NEWS/402160329/1025 , by Martin Luttrell, mluttrell@telegram.com , February 16, 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): The Diocese of Worcester released its first report on the scope of clergy sexual abuse of children yesterday, citing 112 allegations of abuse from 1950 through 2003.
   While the diocese found that only 48 were substantiated and another 31 allegations were considered credible, an activist who works with victims of clergy sexual abuse said the numbers are higher than she had thought.
   "What's new is that this is the first time we've pulled the numbers together and put them in one report," said diocese spokesman Raymond L. Delisle. "Previously, we had done this one at a time. We were doing this as part of a national study. We put it together and wanted to share that."
   Bishop Daniel P. Reilly shared the text of the pastoral report yesterday with parishioners during Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral, which was videotaped and broadcast in the evening on WCTR-TV, Channel 3.
   According to the diocese report, $2,280,833 has been paid in compensation to victims in settlements of abuses between 1950 and 2003. Of that, $1,469,000 came from insurance and $811,833 was paid directly by the diocese.
   An additional $185,879 was spent for victim counseling, services and therapy, the report states.
• Briscoe Memorial School: 'It was a truly brutal place'
   Seattle Times, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001858707_briscoe16m0.html , By Janet I. Tu, ~ February 16, 2004
   WASHINGTON: For 61 years, Briscoe Memorial School in the Kent countryside was home to thousands of boys - a haven, as one news account said, for "kids who have nobody or whom nobody wants."
   But for some of those boys, the Roman Catholic boarding school was more like a prison.
   Now grown and in their 40s to 70s, they say teachers at Briscoe dealt them severe beatings - sometimes with leather straps or fists, other times with wooden paddles while the boys were naked in the shower - that went beyond the acceptable norm for discipline at the time. They also talk of boys being taken from their beds at night by teachers, of being accosted in bathrooms, of being forced to engage in oral sex.
   Eugene Davison, 50, of Seattle, reflects on his experience in sixth grade at Briscoe Memorial School.
   Four men have filed lawsuits in King County Superior Court alleging abuse at Briscoe, which closed in 1970. Other suits will soon be filed, said Seattle attorney Michael Pfau, who represents three of the men and whose firm has talked with more than 20 others who say they experienced or knew of abuse at Briscoe.
• Accused Priest Takes Leave [1969-71; Loomis accused] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-priest16feb16,1,6450476.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro , By Richard Marosi, February 16, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): A prominent cleric in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles who has been accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit was placed on administrative leave after a second person accused him of misconduct, church officials said Sunday.
   Msgr. Richard A. Loomis, a former aide to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, stepped down Friday as pastor of Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua Church in San Marino, two weeks after church leaders had assured the congregation that he would continue as its leader.
   In a lawsuit filed late last year, Loomis was accused of sexually abusing a boy between 1969 and 1971, when he taught at a Los Angeles-area high school. He denied the accusation, and the archdiocese's Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board said that no evidence of misconduct had been presented to them.
   But last week, the board concluded that Loomis should step down after reviewing more information. Tod Tamberg, a diocese spokesman, said a second person had leveled accusations against Loomis. Tamberg said he did not know the details.
• Worshipers urged to keep faith -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/16/worshipers_urged_to_keep_faith , Associated Press, Feb/16/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The temporary leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield urged churchgoers yesterday not to abandon their faith in light of allegations that outgoing Bishop Thomas Dupre molested two boys three decades ago.
   "I know a lot of people have said this is the last straw, that they're giving up on the church," Monsignor Richard Sniezyk told about 100 parishioners at St. Michael's Cathedral. "To them I say, 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.' This certainly is a sad chapter in the diocese of Springfield, but you know it's not the whole book."
   Sniezyk was elected to lead the diocese on Friday, two days after The Republican newspaper reported that Dupre has been accused of molesting two boys while he was a parish priest in the 1970s.
   Dupre's resignation was approved Wednesday, the day after the Springfield newspaper submitted to Dupre questions concerning the abuse allegations. Dupre, who checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility last week, cited health reasons for his departure. He announced last year that he planned to retire before he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops. Dupre is 70.
   Sniezyk, who said last week that the diocese must "come clean" in its handling of sexual abuse, said yesterday he understands the frustration and feelings of betrayal that may be "the last straw" pushing Catholics away from the church.
• Church to give unprecedented abuse report [32 accused] -- RCC.
   New Haven Register, www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10973770&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6 , Associated Press, Feb/16/2004
   BRIDGEPORT (CT): The Bridgeport Diocese received allegations of sexual abuse against 32 priests since 1953, church officials announced Sunday as part of a national survey.
   The Roman Catholic Church will make an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims and costs later this month. Some bishops already have started releasing local figures.
   Bridgeport's data, released Sunday, showed that the majority of the abuse was alleged to have happened between 1960 and 1980.
   Of the 32 priests accused of abuse, officials said they have already identified 23. Of the remaining nine, seven have died and two were visiting from other dioceses, officials said.
• Accused Priests Still on Job -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.nynewsday.com/news/local/brooklyn/nyc-nycath163672658feb16,0,5338380.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left , By Stephanie Saul, February 16, 2004
   BROOKLYN (NY): Three Diocese of Brooklyn priests accused of sexual abuse last October have remained in ministry despite an ongoing investigation of their cases, an apparent violation of the requirements adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   An investigation of the priests by the diocese, which includes Queens, has, so far, found the allegations against the Revs. Vincent Gallo, Richard Lewkiewicz and Hugo Bedoya "unsubstantiated," diocesan spokesman Frank DeRosa said last week. As a result, the priests have been allowed to remain in ministry.
   But DeRosa added, "It's an ongoing investigation in terms of studying the allegations and the priests involved." Gallo and Lewkiewicz serve in parish ministries and Bedoya is a member of the panel that grants marriage annulments.
   The process outlined by DeRosa seems to conflict with requirements adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. An official of the bishops' group said its procedures require that priests step aside while sexual abuse allegations are investigated.
• 'Survivors Network' gives support to those allegedly abused by priests -- RCC.
   Staten Island Advance, 'www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1076854605151920.xml , By LESLIE PALMA-SIMONCEK, Sunday, February 15, 2004
   STATEN ISLAND (NY): When a former Staten Island altar boy was thinking about going public with an accusation of abuse against an Oakwood pastor, it was a conversation with another man who claims to have been abused that gave him the resolve to go forward.
   The family of Dan O'Dougherty, whose allegations against Monsignor Thomas Gaffney became public last month, reached out to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (S.N.A.P.) to find help for their son, who they say has been living with a terrible secret for 17 years.
   The O'Dougherty family's call to S.N.A.P. ultimately led to the first -- and so far only -- allegation against an Island priest since the pedophile scandal in the Roman Catholic Church broke wide open in Boston just over two years ago.
   O'Dougherty told the Staten Island district attorney's office in October 2003 that the monsignor, pastor of St. Charles R.C. Church in Oakwood since 1982, raped him over the course of three years when he was an altar boy and student in the parish school.
   The district attorney's office took no action on the accusation because too much time had elapsed, instead turning over its information to the Archdiocese of New York.
   The archdiocese, citing the monsignor's 54 years in ministry without an accusation and its lack of access to the accuser, has allowed the priest to continue to lead the parish. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:14 AM]
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Monday, February 16, 2004

Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Tuesday, February 17, 2004 edition follows:-
• A Bishop on TV, Proclaiming His Chastity -- RCC.
   The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/ 2004/02/18/nyregion/ 18bishop.html?ex= 1077685200&en= b3f78d4922251371&ei= 5062&partner= GOOGLE , By DANIEL J. WAKIN, for February 18, 2004
   ALBANY NY: Shoulders hunched forward and hands clasped on knees, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany looked toward a row of television cameras, his shadow cast starkly against the white wall behind him. He proclaimed that he had lived a lifetime of chastity, but acknowledged, "I think the taint will always be there."
   A man once lauded as a "street priest" who fought for social justice, Bishop Hubbard is fighting for something else these days: his reputation in the face of accusations last week that he had a homosexual affair with a man who later killed himself, and that he had sexual encounters with a teenage street hustler.
   The nation's bishops have struggled for two years with defending themselves over their handling of priests who sexually abused minors. Several have resigned after allegations of abuse, while others have quietly weathered false charges against them. But few bishops have ever waged so public a battle over such sordid accusations.
   A dose of intrigue was added Sunday when the body of an Albany priest was found in the priest's home. Although the police have not disclosed a cause of death, the Albany diocese said that it apparently was suicide. The priest, the Rev. John Minkler, 57, had met with Bishop Hubbard two days earlier over a nine-year-old letter that denounced the bishop, accusing him of homosexual affairs, tolerating gay activity in the priesthood and departing from church teachings. Bishop Hubbard said that Father Minkler sought the meeting to deny having written the letter after it surfaced in a local television report. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 10:27 PM]
• Text of the Bishop's Response to the John Jay Report -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libishopstatment0218,0,2092955.story?coll=ny-li-span-headlines , February 17, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
   No issue confronting the Church in the United States has caused more pain and hurt than the sad and ugly fact that over the past several decades a number of priests abused their priestly role and the trust of children and minors through acts of sexual abuse. This horrific reality has been made worse by the unintentional mistakes we bishops made in handling some of these cases.
   Even acting with good intentions, bishops were callous to the enormity of the harm sexual abuse does to a child or minor, often preferring to handle these issues administratively with little or no understanding of the tremendous havoc caused by these priests.
   For all this I have apologized many times before. I apologize again because I know that, as a Catholic bishop in the United States, I will go to my grave with the knowledge that I can never make up or restore to the victims the innocence lost and suffering experienced day in and day out by those who were victimized as well as their families. May the Lord grant them peace and may he forgive any and all of us for any wrong we have done in the conduct of our own ministry.
• Murphy Professes Remorse -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libish0218,0,5782290.story?coll=ny-li-span-headlines , By Rita Ciolli, February 18, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): In a sweeping apology to Long Island Catholics along with the first full accounting of the toll of the sexual-abuse scandal here, Bishop William Murphy disclosed Tuesday that 132 persons claimed they were sexually abused by 66 Catholic priests and religious brothers since the diocese was founded in 1957.
   "For all this I have apologized many times before. I apologize again because I know that, as a Catholic bishop in the United States, I will go to my grave with the knowledge that I can never make up or restore to the victims the innocence lost and suffering experienced day in and day out by those who were victimized as well as their families," Murphy said in his most conciliatory comments yet.
   The leader of Long Island Catholics said the diocese has paid more than $3.8 million for therapy and legal settlements and the remaining $10 million currently set aside in a special fund will be used "to assist victims until it is exhausted." However, the statement went on to explain that because the multiple lawsuits brought by victims allege fraud, the diocese will defend itself in a "responsible and upright manner" until a court judgment is made.
• Religious Orders Absent From Bishop's Sex-Abuse Report [4450 for two-thirds; Internet sex man not charged in 2000] -- RCC.
   NBC 5, http://www.nbc5.com/news/2852678/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65194 , February 17, 2004
   CHICAGO (IL): A draft of the bishops' report of the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal reveals that 4,450 priests have been accused of abuse involving 11,000 children over the past 50 years, NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern reported.
   But now, there are new fears that those figures are just the tip of the iceberg. In the survey, which tracked priest sex abuse, bishops provided the numbers from their dioceses, but the Washington office conducting the review said only half of the religious orders responded, and such orders account for half of the priests in Cook and Lake counties.
   In the case of a Christian Brother at a suburban high school, there is no way to know if his case has been counted. Two young men who attended St. Laurence High School said Brother Robert Brouillete (pictured, left) sexually abused them in the mid- and late-1990s.
   They have filed civil suits against him and the archdiocese, but the archdiocese says he is a Christian Brother, a member of a religious order completely separate from the archdiocese.
   Attorney Jeanine Stevens says the Christian Brothers moved him at least nine times and believes his trail of abuse extends 30 years.
   According to Stevens, "The archdiocese says, 'We have no responsibility for St. Laurence High School. The congregation of Christian Brothers is not our responsibility."
   The man was arrested at a restaurant at 81st and Harlem four years ago, after allegedly setting up a meeting on the Internet.
   "He thought he was meeting a 12-year-old boy," Stevens said.
   While no charges came from that Internet sting, he had also reportedly bragged about the child pornography he owned, and that charge stuck, though in Stevens' opinion, the punishment did not fit the crime.
• Bishop Convicted in Fatal Hit-and-Run -- RCC.
   Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48397-2004Feb17.html , By Terry Greene Sterling and T.R. Reid, Page A04, for Wednesday, February 18, 2004;
   PHOENIX (AZ), Feb. 17: Bishop Thomas O'Brien, the former head of Arizona's largest Roman Catholic diocese, was convicted Tuesday of leaving the scene of an accident in which the car he was driving struck and killed a man as he crossed a street.
   O'Brien, 68, is believed to be the first Catholic bishop in the United States to be convicted of a felony. He stepped down as head of the Phoenix diocese last summer after he was charged in the accident, which happened just two weeks after authorities agreed not to prosecute him for covering up allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
   The bishop sat stone-faced in a Maricopa County courtroom Tuesday as the verdict was read and the eight jurors confirmed one by one to the judge that they agreed O'Brien was guilty. They had deliberated less than seven hours over two days after a month-long trial.
   The bishop faces up to 45 months in prison, and sentencing was set for March 12. O'Brien wore his clerical collar throughout the trial, and as spectators and jurors quietly left the courtroom after the verdict, he sat in his chair, unmoving and silent, for half an hour. He later left with his attorney and did not comment.
   Maricopa County Attorney Richard M. Romley said after the verdict that he was "sad that we had to take a bishop to trial" but that the result demonstrates "the important principle that no matter who you are, everyone is treated equally under the law."
• Los Angeles Archdiocese Names Those Accused of Abuse Since 1930 [244 abusers] -- RCC.
   The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/national/18PRIE.html , By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, February 18, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, released a report yesterday identifying 244 priests, brothers, deacons and seminarians who have been accused of sexually abusing a total of 656 minors since 1930.
   The Los Angeles Archdiocese is the third of the 195 American dioceses to disclose the names of accused abusers, spokesmen for both the national bishops conference and victims advocacy groups said. The Archdiocese of Baltimore was the first to do so, posting names on its Web site in 2002, and the Diocese of Tucson was the second.
   "It was a painful decision to reach," said Tod M. Tamberg, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, "but we wanted to provide our people with the fullest accounting that we can of what we know. If this helps other victims to come forward and to approach the church with information, than that painful decision has been well taken."
   Naming those accused of abuse is still not accepted practice. Next week, the church in the United States is scheduled to release two reports on the scope and causes of what was once a secret trauma, but neither report will disclose the identities of those accused or even how many worked in which dioceses.
• Survey Reveals Arlington Diocese Abuse Data [10 accused] -- RCC.
   Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49273-2004Feb17.html , By Caryle Murphy, Page B03, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
   ARLINGTON (VA): Nine priests and a deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington have been accused of child sexual abuse over the past 30 years, and the diocese has spent about $155,000 on victim counseling, settlements and legal fees, according to a diocesan report to be released today. One of the nine priests was exonerated, two are deceased and a fourth, who is retired, is not permitted to administer sacraments, said the report, which was to be published today in the diocesan weekly newspaper, the Arlington Catholic Herald. The report said the remaining priests and the deacon were removed from ministry.
   The abuse allegations were made by a total of 11 people, the diocese said. The nine accused priests, it added, represent 1 percent of the 891 diocesan and religious order priests who served in the diocese in the past 30 years.
   The statistics were compiled for a national survey mandated under the children protection policies adopted in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Arlington Diocese covers all of Northern Virginia, and its review went back to 1974, when the diocese was established.
• Uproar likely to derail priest [5 women accusers] -- RCC.
Albuquerque Tribune, www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/021704_news_sanchez.shtml , By Frank Zoretich, Feb 17, 2004
   NEW MEXICO: Controversy over former Santa Fe Archbishop Robert Sanchez's work in Anchorage, Alaska, could destroy any chance of him continuing in that role, a church official said today.
   "It's made my life a lot harder and made the Hispanic community up here very upset," said the Rev. Donald Bramble, vicar general of the Anchorage Archdiocese.
   A report released Friday on clergy sexual abuse allegations in Anchorage included Sanchez's name. He occasionally flew from Minnesota to Anchorage to perform Masses and work with the Hispanic community there, Bramble said.
   Sanchez resigned his post in 1993 as a growing clergy sexual abuse scandal roiled the Santa Fe Archdiocese and shortly before five women accused him on CBS's "60 Minutes" of sexual abuse against them as teenagers.
   He never admitted nor denied those claims of abuse, although before leaving he did offer an apology for any pain he might have caused.
   Asked if Sanchez might return next week for Ash Wednesday or other Lenten services, Bramble said, "I can't imagine how, with all the press. I'm not going to put somebody in that position."
• Diocese: Most abuse involved teen boys -- RCC.
   Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, www.sentinelandenterprise.com/Stories/0,1413,106~4992~1961656,00.html , By Matt O'Brien, ~ February 17, 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): Most of the Catholic priests accused of abusing youth in Worcester County over the past 53 years were not pedophiles, but priests who abused post-pubescent teenage boys, according to a report released this week by Bishop Daniel Reilly.
   "Although the media generally refer to 'pedophile' abusers (those who abused pre-pubescent children), the larger percentage of the allegations we received involved activities by 'ephebophile' abusers (those who abused post-pubescent youth) with teenage boys," Reilly wrote in a letter to parishioners that was released Sunday.
   Eighty percent of the allegations "would be classified as ephebophile," something diocesan spokesman Ray Delisle said "from the perspective of this report is unrelated" to the sexual orientation of priests.
   Reilly wrote that "we must understand this, as we continue vigorous screening of those interested in the priesthood, and to make improvements in training programs in seminaries, general employment screening, and determining the best policies for those removed from ministry."
   A total of 112 alleged victims have made child sexual abuse allegations against 45 priests since the Worcester Diocese branched out of the Springfield Diocese in 1950, according to Reilly's report.
   Leominster resident David Higgins, who for a decade has reviewed allegations against area priests as assistant chairman for the Diocesan Review Committee, said a statistical peak of abuse during the late 1970s "represents the change in society, as far as I'm concerned."
   "I think they're perhaps trying to screen out gay priests," Higgins said of the church's response to the information. "They see that as a potential difficulty. I don't agree with that. If a priest is gay, and he's celibate, he's a good priest."
• Men who claim abuse by bishop willing to speak with church officials -- RCC.
   Providence Journal, www.projo.com/ap/ma/1077056148.htm , By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press Writer, ~ February 17, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP): The lawyer representing two men who say they were molested by retiring Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupre said his clients want to meet with church officials this week to "tell their stories."
   Roderick MacLeish Jr. said his clients want to protect their anonymity from the public, but are willing to meet with officials from the Boston archdiocese and Springfield diocese.
   "Both of my clients are prepared to make presentations to the church about what happened," MacLeish said. "They really want to tell their stories to church leaders. There are probably details that are not known to the diocese of Springfield that they want to have known."
   MacLeish said he is still working out details such as the time and place of the meeting, and who will attend. MacLeish said he has been speaking with lawyers from the diocese and archdiocese, and is insisting that the meeting be facilitated by the archdiocese because "there is a fair degree of mistrust between our clients and the Springfield diocese."
   Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the Springfield diocese, said it is appropriate for the meeting to be overseen by the archdiocese.
• Former U.S. attorney to investigate allegations -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=60129&SecID=33 , By Capital News 9 web staff, 6:19 PM, Feb/17/2004
   ALBANY (NY): A former U.S. attorney will conduct the investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   Mary Jo White was retained by the Albany Catholic Diocese to lead the independent investigation. The Diocese said it will make her findings public in a written report.
   White, who is now in private practice, served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York for nine years.
• New Information about Priest's Death -- RCC.
   Fox 23, www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=35DA2C85-7337-4372-B94E-7AFA5BD7B6C0 , ~ February 17, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): The Albany County Coroner tells Fox 23 News autopsy results on Father John Minkler's body were inconclusive, and they are waiting for more tests to determine exactly how he died. But today we spoke with several people who say they spoke with Father Minkler just days before his death.
   Stephen Brady is the director of Roman Catholic Faithful, an Illinois-based group which investigates clergy corruption allegations. Brady faxed us documents which he says are just some of his correspondence with Father John Minkler.
   The signature on the cover letter appears similar to the one on the affidavit Minkler gave the Diocese on Friday. In the affadavit, Father Minkler said he never wrote a 7-page letter to Cardinal O'Connor citing improprieties by Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   Brady claims Minkler sent him the letter in 2001 and made it clear he wanted to remain anonymous. "He made it clear he wanted to be very careful. He in no way wanted Bishop Hubbard to ever find out who was behind this, who was going to O'Connor behind his back, and who was looking into information in the Diocese regarding misconduct, especially homosexual activity," said Brady.
   The editor of The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in Minnesota, tells Fox 23 News Father Minkler has been informing him about problems within the Albany Diocese for 13 years. Paul Likoudis says he spoke with Father Minkler on Friday, just two days before Minkler was found dead in his Watervliet home.
• Bishop guilty of leaving fatal hit-and-run scene -- RCC.
   Tucson Citizen, "Bishop guilty of leaving fatal hit-and-run scene ," www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/021704bishop_guilty.html , The Arizona Republic, Feb. 17, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, spiritual shepherd of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix for two decades, was found guilty Tuesday on charges he fled the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident in June. A jury of five women and three men deliberated a little less than seven hours over two days before returning the unanimous verdict.
   The bishop faces anywhere from probation to 45 months in prison. He will be sentenced after court officials prepare a detailed presentencing report that will cover O'Brien's personal background and include details about his handling of a sex-abuse scandal that was unrelated to the hit-and-run charges.
   O'Brien was the highest-ranking Roman Catholic leader in the nation to stand trial on felony charges. He was accused of "leaving the scene of a serious injury or fatal accident" that claimed the life of Jim L. Reed, 43, on a central Phoenix street June 14.
   Reed, a Navajo who worked as a carpenter in Phoenix, was jaywalking and intoxicated at the time of the accident. Prosecutors said if O'Brien had stopped at the scene, he never would have faced criminal charges.
   O'Brien resigned as head of the Phoenix Diocese one day after his arrest, but remains a bishop for life in the eyes of the church.
• Lee County judge recuses himself from Davenport Diocese cases [1960s-70s] -- RCC.
   Daily Gate City News, www.dailygate.com/articles/2004/02/17/news/news3.txt , Feb 17 2004
   FORT MADISON (AP) (IA): A Lee County judge says he will not hear two sexual abuse lawsuits against the Davenport Roman Catholic Diocese.
   Judge R. David Fahey said that he was a member of a Fort Madison church during the 1960s and 1970s, when, various lawsuits allege, sexual abuse by priests occurred there.
   His family knew one of the priests in one of the cases alleging that abuse occurred at St. Joseph's Parish in Fort Madison, and he and his sister were nearly the same age as some of the alleged victims, Fahey wrote in an order filed last Thursday.
   "These facts are widely known and might lead reasonable persons to question, no matter which party a particular decision favored, whether (my) background weighed into the balance," he wrote of those and other reasons for ordering his own recusal.
• Diocese Hires Therapist -- RCC.
   KRGV, www.krgv.net/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1077065177,34375, ~ February 17, 2004
   BROWNSVILLE (TX): The healing process continues for the Diocese of Brownsville. Church leaders tell NEWSCHANNEL 5 they want to help victims of past sexual abuse by priests in the Valley. The Diocese reported last month, seven priests had sexually abused 12 victims in the last 30 years. The Diocese has hired a licensed therapist to talk to the victims. Doctor Gregoria Piña of McAllen will set up a support group for victims of abuse.
• Ex-prosecutor to investigate sex claims against bishop -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--churchabuse-bisho0217feb17,0,1665067.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire , By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press Writer, 7:28 PM EST, February 17, 2004,
   ALBANY, N.Y.: A former federal prosecutor has been hired to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard and publicly report her findings.
   Mary Jo White, U.S. attorney in Manhattan until 2002 and now a partner in a large New York law firm, said Tuesday she will do a "thorough, independent investigation" of the allegations starting immediately. She was retained by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese Review Board.
   Hubbard has maintained he has never broken his vow of celibacy and denied ever sexually abusing anyone. He also says he has handled all claims of abuse by clergy in the 14-county diocese seriously and notes he has dismissed several abusive priests.
• Activists say LA archdiocese report on abuse claims is insufficient [244 abusers] -- RCC.
   Herald Tribune, www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040217/APN/402171049 , By MASON STOCKSTILL, Associated Press Writer, Feb 17 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Victims of sexual abuse by priests said Tuesday the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles did not go far enough when it released a report that found 244 priests and other church officials had been accused of abuse since 1930.
   Mary Grant of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP] questioned how forthcoming Cardinal Roger Mahony has been in light of his position that priests' personnel records should not be seen by a grand jury investigating claims of abuse.
   "We feel sad that the cardinal's decision to name abusers in his archdiocese was not to genuinely protect children but to avoid criticism, and is the result of pressure, court orders and exposure for refusing to remove molesters from ministry," Grant said.
   Grant and other members of SNAP held a news conference outside the downtown Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral hours after the report was released. Many held signs reading "Names are good, files are better." They also displayed mirrors and suggested Mahony "take a good look at himself."
• Group: CNN Showed Old Sex Abuse Report [4450 and counting] -- RCC.
   Star-Telegram, www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/7975645.htm , by RACHEL ZOLL, Associated Press, ~ February 17, 2004
   NEW YORK: Researchers conducting a national survey on sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy said Tuesday that a draft report viewed by CNN was a month old and did not contain all the data submitted by dioceses.
   John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York said in a statement that the statistics CNN reported Monday about the abuse of minors "were apparently taken from a preliminary report completed in January 2004."
   The college also said it has received new data since then, with some submitted as recently as last Friday, and that the latest information included corrections to earlier drafts of the survey.
   CNN reported that 4,450 of the 110,000 U.S. clergy who served since 1950 have been accused of molesting minors. The draft report also said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the churchmen during that period, according to CNN.
   Those figures already are higher than previously estimated by some victims' groups, the media and church officials.
   A CNN spokeswoman said that its report was based on a recent draft, but would not comment further.
   The final report is due to be released Feb. 27 by the National Review Board, the lay watchdog panel the bishops formed in response to the molestation crisis. The board commissioned John Jay to collect data from the nation's 195 dioceses on the number of accused priests, the number of abuse claims and the legal and counseling costs associated with clergy sexual misconduct over five decades.
• Former N.M. Archbishop Sanchez celebrates Mass in Alaska -- Had admitted sex with teenage women. RCC.
   KOB, www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=8645&cat=NMTOPSTORIES , By Kurt Christopher, Video, 8:29:36 AM, Feb/17/2004
   ALASKA: Eyewitness News 4 has learned former Santa Fe archbishop Robert Sanchez, who resigned after admitting having sex with women, is celebrating Mass in Alaska.
   Sanchez' name is mentioned in a report just released by the Archdiocese of Anchorage. It says Sanchez has helped out the Anchorage Archdiocese's Hispanics in recent years.
   Sanchez was New Mexico's first native-born archbishop until his resignation in 1993. Sanchez did nothing illegal and he was never charged with a crime, but as a leader of Catholics, he broke the laws of the church by admitting he had several affairs with young women.
   Weeks before he resigned, three women interviewed on a national television show said Sanchez had sex with them when they were teenagers. He also was accused of covering up other priests' sexual misconduct.
   Sanchez then moved in with a group of nuns in Minnesota. Now, he has emerged in Alaska.
   In its report, the Alaska archdiocese says Sanchez "comes to the Archdiocese of Anchorage at times to assist with the Hispanic community. Permission is received from the Holy See prior to every visit to Anchorage."
   The Reverend Donald Bramble said Monday that Sanchez has helped during special seasons such as Advent and Lent.
   The archdiocese vicar general says Sanchez may again assist the archdiocese during the Lenten season that begins February 25th.
• Ariz. Bishop Convicted in Fatal Accident -- RCC.
   Dayton Daily News, www.daytondailynews.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/National/AP.V4837.AP-Bishops-Trial.html , By MICHELLE RUSHLO, Associated Press Writer, ~ February 17, 2004
   PHOENIX (AP): Bishop Thomas O'Brien was convicted of hit-and-run Tuesday for leaving the scene after killing a jaywalking pedestrian with his car, a crash that ended his career as head of the Roman Catholic diocese.
   O'Brien is believed to be the first Roman Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be convicted of a felony.
   The 68-year-old bishop, who said he thought he hit a dog or was struck by a rock, could be been sentenced to anywhere from probation to 3 3/4 years in prison on the charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
   O'Brien, who appeared in court each day wearing a black shirt, Roman collar and a cross around his neck, showed no emotion after the verdict was read. He and his attorney left the courtroom without comment.
   "It's a sad day," said Monsignor Dale Fushek, the diocese's co-vicar general and a friend of O'Brien. "It's the kind of situation where nobody wins. We respect the work the jury did, and now we just pray everyone heals." [Emphasis added]
• Jury Convicts Ex-Bishop in Ariz. Hit-And-Run Case -- RCC.
   Reuters, www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4378219 , 04:57 PM ET, Tue February 17, 2004
   PHOENIX, Ariz. (Reuters): Retired Bishop Thomas O'Brien, for 21 years the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Phoenix, on Tuesday was found guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and could face up to three years and nine months in prison when sentenced.
   An eight-member jury in Maricopa County Superior Court returned its verdict after six hours of deliberations and a five-week trial. The 68-year-old cleric was convicted in connection with a hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of Jim Reed, 43, who was jaywalking across a Phoenix street last summer. Reed died at the scene.
   At the heart of the case was whether O'Brien knew or should have reasonably known whether he struck the pedestrian in a violent collision on the night of June 14, the impact of which was so loud that the cleric said he winced and raised his hand.
   O'Brien, dressed throughout in his clerical attire, testified that he never for a moment thought he had hit a person. He said he believed perhaps it was an animal or a rock that had crashed into his vehicle, shattering the passenger-side windshield.
• Dupre secluded as probe begins -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077007541202202.xml?nntn , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, Staff writer, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb/17/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): A week after he retired following sexual abuse allegations, the former Roman Catholic bishop remained in seclusion yesterday even as the district attorney pursued an investigation.
   The Rev. Thomas L. Dupre has not yet responded to accusations that he sexually abused two boys nearly two decades ago, and no criminal charges have been filed. Monsignor Richard S. Sniezyk, the interim administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said he will give Dupre until tomorrow before he contacts him for a response.
   Sniezyk, who expressed shock at the allegations, said the next step for the diocese is to try to heal. He said a candlelight vespers service of prayer will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. at St. Michael's Cathedral at 260 State St.
   Dupre, 70, checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility for treatment of a non-life-threatening illness last Tuesday after he was confronted by The Republican with a detailed list of written questions regarding the allegations. The newspaper, which received an anonymous tip, had interviewed the mother of one of the alleged victims, who said her son confirmed the abuse took place.
• Aid for former priest debated [1972; Lavigne supposedly financed privately] -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1077007688202200.xml?nnhf . By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com , Feb/17/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The fund that possibly could provide financial support for a recently defrocked priest in the Springfield Diocese represents incredible acts of charity by donors, diocesan officials said.
   But others are raising questions, including why the church hasn't provided the same amount of charity to victims of sexual abuse.
   In announcing the laicization of convicted child molester Richard R. Lavigne Jan. 20, officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said he may be eligible for financial help from a fund recently created to financially support priests removed from ministry for sexual abuse.
   At least two people who want to remain anonymous have contributed about $100,000 in total for the fund, according to diocesan officials. More than two people, but no more than six or so, may have contributed to the fund, diocesan officials said.
   Sandra L. Tessier of Springfield, the mother of an alleged sexual abuse victim of Lavigne, expressed outrage that the diocese would facilitate a fund to support Lavigne - a person accused by about 40 people of sexually abusing them as minors. Lavigne also is the only suspect in the unsolved 1972 murder of 13-year-old Springfield altar boy Daniel Croteau.
• Bishop Kmiec's letter to area Catholics -- RCC.
   Tennessean, www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/02/47065293.shtml?Element_ID=47065293 , ~ February 17, 2004
   NASHVILLE (TN): My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
   As you may have heard, in two weeks on February 27, the results of a national study on clergy sex abuse conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the request of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Review Board will be released. I want to assure you that we fully cooperated with this study, which covered the period from 1950 to June 2002.
   Over the past several years, here in our diocese and in the Church around the country, much attention has been focused on the tragedy of abuse of minors by priests. Unfortunately, some of that abuse has taken place here in our diocese. The last abuse by an active member of the clergy of which the diocese is aware took place nearly 20 years ago, but I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the abuse of which we are aware.
• Catholic clergy sex abuse data released [< 2%] -- RCC.
   Tennessean, www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/02/47065291.shtml?Element_ID=47065291 , By BRIAN LEWIS, ~ February 17, 2004
   NASHVILLE (TN): Just under 2% of the Catholic priests who served in the Diocese of Nashville over the past 50 years are believed to have sexually abused children, according to the local diocese.
   The figures, reported in the Feb. 13 edition of the diocesan newspaper, The Tennessee Register, are part of a study being released by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Feb. 27.
   According to the diocese, seven of the 378 priests who served in the diocese between 1950 and 2002 were "credibly accused," and 30 victims have contacted the diocese. Also, it said the diocese had paid more than $200,000 for counseling and charitable assistance of victims, and that it had not agreed to any settlements.
   Many dioceses around the country have paid multimillion-dollar settlements to victims.
   The Diocese of Nashville, which included all of Tennessee during at least part of the 52-year period studied, is not aware of any incidents of abuse since 1985, officials said.
• Priest facing allegations of abuse placed on leave
   Pioneer Press, www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/states/wisconsin/7968679.htm , Associated Press, ~ February 17, 2004
   BARABOO, Wis.: A Roman Catholic priest has been placed on leave after an allegation of sexual abuse against him was found credible enough to refer to the Vatican for investigation, officials said Sunday.
   A statement written by Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison was read to the congregation during Sunday Masses at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
   In the one-page letter, Morlino wrote that he informed the Rev. Gerald Vosen Friday that he has been placed on formal administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations into allegations against him.
   Vosen, suspended as pastor after the issue surfaced last September, has denied the allegations, Morlino stated.
   "This decision should in no way be construed as a judgment of guilt concerning the allegations," Morlino wrote.
• Albany Priest Found Dead after homosexual "ring" document publicised. RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stcath173674616feb17,0,3182559.story?coll=ny-statenews-headlines , THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, February 17, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): A priest was found dead Sunday, two days after meeting with Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard over a 1995 letter alleging the bishop was part of "a ring of homosexual Albany priests."
   The Rev. John Minkler, 57, was found in his home in Watervliet, Albany County. Watervliet police have not said how or when Minkler died. "He was very disturbed that his name was associated with this letter and he wanted to assure me that he was not its author," Hubbard said yesterday.
   "He was the one who requested the meeting," Hubbard said in an interview.
   "He said 'I just wanted to look you in the eye so you could see me tell you face to face, man to man, that I was not the author of the letter.' What was said in that letter was not true," Hubbard said after he was interviewed by WROW-AM in Albany.
   Minkler was ordained in 1972 and had been chaplain of the Stratton Veterans Administration Hospital in Albany for about 20 years.
• Sex abuse claims shock for US Catholics
   Mail & Guardian, www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=31331 , 11:29, February 17, 2004
   UNITED STATES: A survey of child sex abuse claims against the Catholic church in the United States has uncovered thousands more cases than previously believed, according to a draft report leaked to the media on Monday.
   The survey of Catholic church records found that more than 11 000 abuse claims have been filed against the church since 1950. In the same period, 4 450 members of the Catholic clergy have been accused of molesting children and young people, according to a draft of the report leaked to CNN.
   The majority of those abused were between the ages of 11 and 17. Many of the sexual predators identified on Monday were involved in multiple cases of abuse.
   The survey, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, was envisaged as part of a spirit of reform within the Catholic church, ordered with a view to restoring trust in a discredited leadership.
   However, the scale of abuse exposed yesterday, and a potentially explosive publication later this month on how church leaders dealt with abuse over the years, could prolong a divisive era in American church history.
   Some commentators were confounded by the sheer scale of abuse on Monday. A web-based database of predatory priests maintained by victims' groups had previously compiled a list of 1 800 priests. The Associated Press, which has also tracked cases of sexual abuse, has reported claims from 84 of 195 US dioceses, involving some 1 413 members of the clergy.
   However, David Clohessy, president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP], argued the survey still did not reflect the true scale of abuse within the church over the last 50 years. He said: "Many Catholics will be stunned, and rightfully so, but we hope that they move beyond shock and revulsion into action, and continue pushing for real reforms in the hierarchy."
• Death poses new round of questions for diocese -- RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=219587&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=2/17/2004 , By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   WATERVLIET (NY): A priest whose name was linked last week to allegations of homosexuality against Albany Roman Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard was found dead in his home Sunday.
   The body of the Rev. John Minkler, 57, was discovered on the floor of his kitchen at 2319 Seventh Ave. by his sister, who called 911 at 1:48 p.m. Sunday, Watervliet Police Chief Jerry Beston said Monday.
   Beston said there were no apparent signs of injury or of forced entry at the home in which Minkler lived alone. Minkler left a note, the chief said, but he did not reveal its contents. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
   The note was turned over to Albany County Coroner Herman Thomas. He said results of an autopsy could take several days pending toxicology tests.
   On Monday, the diocese released a statement calling Minkler's death "a great loss for his family and friends, for the Albany Diocese and for the veterans and staff of the Stratton Veterans Administration Hospital in Albany, where he had served faithfully as Catholic chaplain for 20 years. We will pray for Father Minkler and for all who loved him."
• Clergy abuse payouts top $500 million [> $US 500m wasted; 4450 = ~4%] -- RCC.
   Chicago Sun-Times, www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-abuse17.html , BY MICHAEL SNEED AND CATHLEEN FALSANI, Staff Reporters, February 17, 2004
   UNITED STATES: An upcoming national report on the scope of sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy will reveal that the church in the United States has spent more than $500 million to settle such cases between 1950 and 2002, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times.
   The draft of the report, a final version of which is expected to be released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops later this month, also says that 11,000 victims made allegations of sexual misconduct against 4,450 priests in that same 52-year span, a source told the paper.
   The 4,450 represent about 4 percent of the 110,000 priests who served the Roman Catholic Church in the United States between 1950 and 2002.
   Advocates for victims of clergy abuse say the figures are far lower than what they believe is accurate.
   "I would think $1 billion would be closer to it," said Jeffrey Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who has represented sex abuse victims in more than half of the Roman Catholic dioceses in the nation.
   "If they're admitting to $500 million on their own self-report, how much is there really? I've been chasing these guys for 23 years and I haven't a clue," Anderson said. The prevalence of secret agreements and confidentiality clauses makes it virtually impossible for anyone besides the bishops themselves to know how much money has been spent to settle sex abuse claims, he said.
• 13 area priests accused since '50 -- RCC.
   Mobile Register, www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1077014748123301.xml , By KRISTEN CAMPBELL, Religion Reporter, Feb/17/04
   MOBILE (AL): Thirteen priests assigned to the Archdiocese of Mobile have been accused of sexual abuse of minors since 1950, the local archdiocese reported Monday in giving its first comprehensive report of such cases.
   The data, collected as part of a nationwide study commissioned by U.S. bishops, represents information gathered through Dec. 31, 2003. The statistics do not include allegations against non-clerical members of religious orders, such as Brother Nicholas Paul Bendillo, the former McGill-Toolen High School adviser recently found guilty of sex crimes against a student.
   Of the 13 unidentified clergymen accused of abuse, nine are deceased, according to a report released by the archdiocese. One priest has resigned, and three others are on administrative leave and not permitted to function publicly as priests, the report noted.
   Based on the number of cases already made public by the archdiocese, prosecutors, or alleged victims themselves, the data does not appear to constitute a significant increase in the number of living priests who have been accused of abuse.
   Stating that "any allegation or any confirmation of abuse is awful or sinful," the Very Rev. Michael L. Farmer, chancellor of the archdiocese, said Mobile's statistics indicate that such events are "rare" here.
• Local activists doubt church abuse survey [4450 admitted] -- RCC.
   The Express-Times, www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-10/107701407187660.xml , From staff and wire reports, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   NEW JERSEY: Victim advocates say a national survey that reports 4,450 clergy have been accused of molesting minors since 1950 underestimates the number of cases because it is based on self-reporting by bishops.
   The upcoming national survey of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic priests has been viewed by CNN, which reported Monday that 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. clergy during that period.
   William J. Curtis Jr. of Bound Brook, N.J., a member of the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests who sits on a review board charged with assessing allegations of abuse in the Diocese of Metuchen, said he mistrusts reports from the bishops.
   "They're still more concerned with public relations," he said of most Catholic dioceses, excluding Metuchen. "Their first concern is, 'How do we save face and keep this quiet?' "
   The survey is being overseen by the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel that the American bishops formed, and conducted by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
   Juliann Bortz, co-chairwoman of SNAP in the Lehigh Valley, said she hopes the report convinces victims to share their stories.
• Diocese encourages use of sex-abuse hot line -- RCC.
   Star-Telegram, www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/7971338.htm , By Bill Teeter, ~ February 17, 2004
   FORT WORTH (TX): About two weeks before the national Roman Catholic Church is scheduled to release a report on sexual-abuse cases involving priests, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth is encouraging congregations to use a hot line for victims.
   Judy Locke, victims-assistance coordinator for the diocese, appeared at all five Masses at St. Patrick Cathedral in downtown Fort Worth on Feb. 8 to encourage victims of sexual abuse by church personnel to call the hot line.
   "The reason I am here today is that Father Thomas Teczar has been accused of sexual abuse by two young men in Ranger. ... The diocese is currently under litigation in this case. I am here because Father Teczar, who is no longer practicing as a priest, was here at St. Patrick's for three months in 1988," Locke said, according to a copy of her remarks provided by the diocese.
   St. Patrick is one of six Texas parishes where Teczar served. No accusations of sexual abuse from his tenure in Fort Worth have been reported, she said.
   The other parishes are St. Michael in Bedford, St. Rita in Ranger, St. Francis Xavier in Eastland, Holy Rosary in Cisco and St. John in Strawn.
• L.A. Churches Detail Abuse [244 abused 656] -- RCC.
   CBS, www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/17/national/main600568.shtml , Feb. 17, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA) (CBS/AP): The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles - the nation's largest - released a detailed study Tuesday on sex abuse of minors by its clergy since 1930, reporting among the highest number of claims against a U.S. diocese to date.
   Los Angeles church officials say that, over the decades, they received allegations from 656 people who said they had been molested by 244 priests, deacons, religious brothers, seminarians and one other person.
   More than 5,000 priests worked in the archdiocese during that period.
   Cardinal Roger Mahony compiled the report as part of an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse cases commissioned by America's bishops to help ease two years of crisis over molestation in the church.
   "The archdiocese has committed significant resources to help those who were harmed to recover from their horrible experiences," the report said. "We hope our efforts will help, but we realize that only the grace of God can provide the complete healing the victims need."
• Blackstone priest removed from parish [Champion] -- RCC.
   Milford Daily News, http://www3.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=41748 , By Sara Withee, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   BLACKSTONE (MA): A Catholic priest has been removed from his parish for undisclosed reasons, a spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester said yesterday.
   Parishioners at St. Paul's Church learned the Rev. James Champion had been taken off the job over the weekend, diocese spokesman Raymond Delisle said.
   Delisle said he could not comment on reasons for the removal or the possibility of Champion's return. "He was removed for reasons unrelated to child sexual abuse, which is the thing that's on everybody's minds," Delisle said.
   Champion did not appear at any Masses at the St. Paul Street church in the center of town over the weekend.
   Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, chancellor for the Diocese of Worcester, went to Blackstone to cover the services and talk to parishioners about Champion's departure, Delisle said.
   The parish council will likely discuss Champion's removal tonight. The council is holding a regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. at the church, council member attorney William Ryan said. Ryan declined further comment yesterday, but said the meeting is open to the public.
   Delisle was uncertain whether Bishop Daniel Reilly plans to attend the meeting or visit the church in the near future.
• Child molesters seduce victims and parents -- Various backgrounds.
   Herald and News, www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2004/02/16/news/top_stories/top1.txt , By MARCIA McGONIGLE, February 16, 2004
   KLAMATH FALLS (OR): The men that Cory Jewell Jensen meets come from all walks of life. There's a school district superintendent, a youth pastor, a judge and a college professor.
   They've told her how they seduce their victims, the victims' parents and everyone around them.
   They've shared how they get children to keep the abuse a secret and how, if the child does tell, they convince others that the child is mistaken or lying.
   These men have helped Jensen, co-director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention in Washington County, understand how child molesters operate.
• Mystery shrouds priest's 'suicide' -- RCC.
   New York Post, www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/18138.htm , By FREDRIC U. DICKER, February 17, 2004
   ALBANY (NY) Police are investigating the strange death of a longtime priest - a leading critic of Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard, who is fighting charges of homosexual activity.
   The Rev. John Minkler, chaplain of the local Veterans Administration Hospital, was found dead Sunday afternoon in nearby Watervliet, amid indications that he committed suicide, according to a police official.
   A note was found with the body - which WRGB-TV in Albany said indicated Minkler's "unhappiness with Hubbard's links to homosexuality" within the Albany Diocese.
   Hubbard has been accused in recent weeks of paying for homosexual sex decades ago and with being involved with a young man who committed suicide around the same time. Hubbard has repeatedly insisted the charges are false.
   "We've been apprised of Rev. Minkler's death and we're awaiting the results of the autopsy," said Albany District Attorney Paul Clyne.
   WRGB also quoted Clyne as saying that Minkler's death came "under strange circumstances that bear watching."
• Bishop O'Brien trial jury resumes deliberating today -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0217b1-talker17.html , Feb. 17, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Jury deliberations resume at 9 a.m. today in the hit-and-run trial of Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien.
   Five women and three men began deliberating the case Thursday after 14 days of testimony. They were forced to stop, however, and begin again Friday when Judge Stephen Gerst of Maricopa County Superior Court announced that he had excused a male juror for "personal reasons". The alternate was male, leaving the jury at five women and three men.
   O'Brien, 68, is charged with "leaving the scene of a serious injury or fatal accident" that killed pedestrian Jim L. Reed on June 14. The bishop faces up to 45 months in prison if convicted.
• Letter Could Lead to Legal Showdown in 10 Days -- Catholics For Truth and Transparency attack Pope. RCC.
   Celebrity Justice, http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/news/0402/16a.html , February 16, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): 83-year-old Pope John Paul II is one of the most famous men on the planet. Loved and revered by millions, his holiness draws enormous crowds wherever he goes. But now a group called Catholics For Truth and Transparency is issuing a list of legal demands against the Pope and Los Angeles Archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahoney.
   At issue are allegations of conspiracies within the church to cover up incidents of alleged sexual abuse at the hand of priests and other clergymen.
   "CJ" has obtained a copy of a letter addressed to both the Pope and Cardinal Mahoney, accusing church of using "settlement payments," "confidentiality agreements," and the tactic of moving priests from one location to another in order to make the problem disappear.
   The letter also claims that, among other things, "The archdiocese has wrongly placed the law of the Vatican above the law of California."
   The group behind the letter is demanding that the Pope and the Cardinal put a stop to the secrecy by disclosing names of suspect priests and other documents involved in the scandal.
   Sources connected to the case tell "CJ" that it's no accident the letter has gone out just days before Mel Gibson's controversial film, "The Passion of the Christ," hits theaters. In fact, our sources tell us that the group behind the letter hopes their fight can spark just as much international attention and debate as the film.
[ A letter from this group, dated Feb 16 2004, is in PDF at http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/documents/04/02/pope.pdf ]
• Priest found dead in home -- RCC.
   Troy Record, www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10978329&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7021&rfi=6 , Record staff reports, Feb/17/2004
   NEW YORK: Rev. John Minkler, a priest at the Stratton Veterans Administration Hospital since 1984, was found dead in his Watervliet home Sunday, just days after a letter surfaced that allegedly linked him to the ongoing sex scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
   The initial autopsy was inconclusive, and further tests will be needed to determine the cause of death, according to officials. Reports Monday night indicated there was a note found and that the death may have been a suicide.
   Last week there were allegations that Minkler wrote a letter in 1995 to the late Cardinal John O'Connor claiming that Bishop Howard Hubbard had been involved in sexual relations with two priests. Minkler, in a signed affidavit, said he did not author any such letter.
   The Archdiocese of New York said that after a search of its files, it could not locate the letter, according to the Albany Diocese.
   Hubbard said Minkler asked to meet the bishop in order to tell him personally that he was not the author of the typewritten letter, which was signed "Henry." A television report previously identified Minkler as the author.
   Minkler graduated from Catholic Central High School in Troy and attended the Mater Christi Seminary and University Seminary (St Paul's) in Ottawa, Canada.
   He was ordained in 1972 and served as an associate pastor at St. Joseph's in Rensselaer, St. Francis de Sales in Troy and St. Theresa's in Albany.
• L.A. to Disclose Clergy Abuse [144 abused 656] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priests17feb17,1,7990854.story?coll=la-home-headlines , By Larry B. Stammer, Feb 17, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): In an unprecedented accounting of church sexual abuse over three-quarters of a century, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony plans to report today that 244 priests, deacons, brothers and seminarians have been accused of molesting 656 minors in the Los Angeles archdiocese since 1931.
   Not all of the allegations are truthful - indeed, the report lists some accusations that have been discredited. But the number of false accusations is outweighed by the number of abuse cases that have never been reported, church officials and victims advocates agreed.
   Over the years, sexual abuse was "woefully underreported," the report acknowledges.
   Of the 656 individuals who said they were sexually abused as minors, 519 were boys and 137 were girls. All of the reported molestations took place before 2000, with eight alleged to have taken place since 1995. The lion's share of the allegations, however, were reported after 2000, when many long-silent victims, emboldened by a burgeoning national scandal, stepped forward.
   In issuing its report, the archdiocese said the time had come for the church to leave its "cocoon of silence." The history of abuse is "a sorrowful story" in the life of the Los Angeles church, the report says.
• Abuse study says 4% of priests in US accused -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/17/abuse_study_says_4_of_priests_in_us_accused , By Michael Paulson, Feb/17/2004
   UNITED STATES: About 4 percent of Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing minors over the past half-century, according to a draft of the first comprehensive study of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in the United States. The percentage is higher than many people, including church officials, had anticipated.
   The draft of the study, done by John Jay College of Criminal Justice for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, found that 4,450 of the 110,000 priests who served between 1950 and 2002 were accused of sexual abuse of minors, according to CNN, which reported yesterday that it had reviewed the draft.
   The number of alleged perpetrators given in the draft study is higher than the tallies by news media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, that have tried to count reported allegations nationwide.
   The number is also higher than that projected by church officials. A top Vatican official, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said in 2002, according to the Catholic News Service: "In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1 percent of priests are guilty of acts of this type."
   But the number of victims is lower than expected by many.
   In December, Santa Clara University psychology professor Thomas G. Plante, estimating that about 2 percent of clergy had abused a minor, predicted that the John Jay study would indicate 24,000 victims of abuse by 3,000 priests. In 1993, the Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 priests had abused minors, and predicted more than 100,000 victims; last year, Greeley wrote that he suspected 4 percent of priests had abused minors. Plante and Greeley's projections were published in America magazine, a Jesuit weekly.
   Psychologist A. W. Richard Sipe has estimated that 4 percent to 5 percent of priests sexually abused minors.
• Sex abuse claims shock for US Catholics -- RCC.
   The Guardian, Britain, www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1149891,00.html , by Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   WASHINGTON (DC): A survey of child sex abuse claims against the Catholic church in America has uncovered thousands more cases than previously believed, according to a draft report leaked to the media yesterday.
   The survey of Catholic church records found that more than 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the church since 1950. In the same period, 4,450 members of the Catholic clergy have been accused of molesting children and young people, according to a draft of the report leaked to CNN.
   The majority of those abused were between the ages of 11 and 17. Many of the sexual predators identified yesterday were involved in multiple cases of abuse.
   The survey, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, was envisaged as part of a spirit of re form within the Catholic church, ordered with a view to restoring trust in a discredited leadership.
   However, the scale of abuse exposed yesterday, and a potentially explosive publication later this month on how church leaders dealt with abuse over the years, could prolong a divisive era in American church history.
   Some commentators were confounded by the sheer scale of abuse yesterday. A web-based database of predatory priests maintained by victims' groups had previously compiled a list of 1,800 priests. The Associated Press, which has also tracked cases of sexual abuse, has reported claims from 84 of 195 US dioceses, involving some 1,413 members of the clergy.
• Nearly 4,500 Priests Accused of Abuse, Draft Report Finds -- RCC.
   Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46367-2004Feb16.html , By Alan Cooperman, Page A02, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   WASHINGTON (DC): Nearly 4,500 Roman Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing a total of 11,000 children in the United States between 1950 and 2002, CNN reported yesterday, citing a draft of a study scheduled for release at the end of the month by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   Those figures are two to three times as high as previously reported, but senior Catholic officials have warned for weeks that the study's findings could be "startling" if viewed in isolation.
   While victims groups contend that the numbers of victims and abusers are probably even higher, Catholic leaders say that no other large religious group, corporation or profession has conducted a similar self-examination.
   "We're the only institution in the country that has done a study like this, so it's hard to compare," Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said in an interview last week.
• Survey puts abuse claims [4450 abusers] -- RCC.
   The Union Leader, www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=33311 , By RACHEL ZOLL, The Associated Press, ~ February 17, 2004
   NEW YORK: A draft of the upcoming national survey of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic priests has been viewed by CNN, which reported yesterday that 4,450 clergy have been accused of molesting minors since 1950.
   The draft survey said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. churchmen during that period, CNN reported.
   The survey is being overseen by the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel that the American bishops formed, and conducted by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
   John Jay refused to comment on the CNN report, while board members contacted yesterday by The Associated Press wouldn't say whether the latest statistics were accurate. They stressed the report is not finished, and that any numbers tallied so far could change before the study is released Feb. 27.
• National priest-abuse study leaked to media -- RCC.
   Quad-City Times, www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1024323&l=1&t=Local+News&c=2,1024323 , By Todd Ruger, ~ February 17, 2004
   DAVENPORT (IA): A draft of the upcoming national survey of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic priests has been viewed by CNN, which reported Monday that 4,450 clergy have been accused of molesting minors since 1950.
   The draft survey said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. churchmen during that period, CNN reported.
   The national numbers do not include statistics from the Diocese of Davenport, which was one among the 3 percent of all dioceses nationally that did not respond to that study, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
   The college is scheduled to release a report Feb. 27 and refused to comment on the CNN report.
   The Davenport diocese cited conflicting instructions from the study and a judge's order in one of the 12 lawsuits it faces regarding sexual abuse by priests.
• Chaplain addresses abuse phenomenon ["Clericalism" the cause: Doyle] -- RCC.
   The Advocate, www.2theadvocate.com/stories/021704/new_chaplain001.shtml , By BARBARA SCHLICHTMAN, bschlichtman@theadvocate.com , Religion and youth editor, Feb 17 2004
   NEW ORLEANS (LA): The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church is an age-old phenomenon caused by "clericalism" -- the mistaken conviction that clerics are better than other people, a canon lawyer said Monday. The Rev. Thomas Doyle spoke Monday night at Loyola University as part of the first public event in New Orleans sponsored by the city's affiliate of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. About 25 people stood up in the auditorium when Doyle asked for victims of abuse to rise.
   Doyle is a canon lawyer, Dominican priest and critic of the church's handling of sexual abuse allegations. Doyle, a U.S. Air Force chaplain, said he has served as an expert witness in more than 700 clerical sexual abuse cases throughout the world.
   He first became involved with the handling of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in 1984, when the Vatican asked him to monitor the Gilbert Gauthe case. Gauthe, a former Catholic priest, served 10 years in prison for sexually abusing children in Vermilion Parish and later admitted to abusing boys throughout his 13 years in the priesthood.
   Doyle said the Gauthe case forced him to admit to himself that the problem is corruption at the top coupled with misuse of power.
• Catholic Abuse Report Numbers Alarming -- RCC.
   WBBM, http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_047235909.html , 10:56 pm US/Central, Feb 16, 2004
   CHICAGO (IL) (CBS 2): For the first time, we're getting a better idea of the number of victims in the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church here at home, and across the country.
   In a report that is due to be released next week, there are charges that priests abused thousands of children over the last five decades.
   And now we know just how many of those victims are from the Chicago area.
   What we're talking about is a nationwide audit of Roman Catholic dioceses. Chicago isn't ready to reveal specific numbers here, but from interim reports and recent statements we now have a pretty good idea of what the final figures will be.
   Church leaders knew it was a major scandal; that the numbers would be staggering. But few were prepared for what CNN found in an interim report.
• Sex abuse by priests is topic of talk -- "Corruption at top": Doyle. RCC.
   The Times-Picayune, www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-1/10770027363740.xml , By Bruce Nolan, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
   NEW ORLEANS (LA): The Roman Catholic Church's struggle with the scandal of clerical sexual abuse of children is not a passing crisis, "but a profound experience of change" that may permanently alter the face of the church if outraged lay people seize the moment, several speakers said during a program dedicated to the crisis Monday night at Loyola University.
   "The problem is not with a few thousand priests" who sexually molested children over the past half-century, said the Rev. Tom Doyle, a Catholic priest and noted victims' advocate. "The problem is corruption at the very top and abuse of power." "The only acceptable legacy of this era of crime," said Peggy Thorp, who helped found a grass-roots Catholic group in Boston seeking change, is for Catholic lay people to pledge "that no child will ever again be hurt -- and that the laity will have a place in that assurance."
   Doyle, Thorp and three other prominent victims' advocates were part of a program sponsored by the Louisiana chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
• Priest's mysterious death raises questions -- RCC.
   Cruxnews.com ; www.cruxnews.com/articles/crux-18feb04.html , for Feb 18, 2004
   NEW YORK: Questions surround priest's death. The questions are swirling after the sudden death of 57-year-old Father John Minkler of Watervliet. His passing comes just days after a controversial letter surfaced, claiming Bishop Howard Hubbard had sexual relationships with two young priests. The letter is being attributed to the late Father Minkler. But Bishop Hubbard said once those allegations surfaced, Minkler asked to meet with him to clear his name.
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Wednesday, February 18, 2004 edition follows:-
• Vatican: Church must work with scientific experts to prevent abuse -- RCC.

   Catholic News Service, www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20040218.htm , By John Thavis, of Catholic News Service
   VATICAN CITY (CNS): In confronting the clerical sex abuse crisis, the Catholic Church needs to work more closely with scientific experts to identify potential perpetrators and make sure they cannot harm the young, a soon-to-be-published Vatican report says.
   The 220-page report, "Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Scientific and Legal Perspectives," represents the Vatican's first comprehensive effort to examine recent research into the psychological causes and types of abuse, screening procedures, recidivism rates, effects on child victims and the possibility of successful therapy for abusers.
   Although cautioning that each case of sexual abuse against minors is unique, it sketched general characteristics of priest-abusers and identified a wide range of possible "risk factors," including sexual immaturity, narcissistic traits, alcohol and drug abuse, hormonal abnormalities and endocrine disorders.
   While drawing on the experience of U.S. bishops in confronting sexual abuse, the report made a case against the U.S. policy of "zero tolerance" for clerical abusers. It suggested that the church and society are better off when abusive priests are kept in the priesthood but away from children.
   Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:26 PM
• How deep will the bishops' review board dig? -- RCC.
   National Catholic Reporter, http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004a/022004/022004c.php , By JASON BERRY [Ground-breaking journalist on the sex-abuse outrage], ~ February 18, 2004
   UNITED STATES: Last May I spent a long afternoon in a conference room at the Washington law office of Robert Bennett, who had defended President Clinton in the Paula Jones case and was steering the research effort for the National Review Board. Seated beside him was Pamela Hayes, a criminal defense attorney from New York, and the review board's only African-American. They cut quite a contrast, Bennett, a son of the Irish church and fabled lawyer of gruff exterior, and Hayes, a daughter of Harlem who had prosecuted sex offenders early in her career.
   I knew some of the people the review board had interviewed -- writer Eugene Kennedy; SNAP leaders Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy and Mark Serrano; Sue Archibald of Linkup; Frs. Andrew Greeley and Thomas Doyle. I paid my expenses to Washington and agreed not to divulge what I said, most of which was drawn from already published work. A young attorney in Bennett's firm, Joseph Barloon, with degrees from Harvard and Notre Dame, set up my appointment and took notes that day. A paralegal was present, and a young lady with a tape recorder. Otherwise, the big room had a slightly hollow feeling.
   I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a certain feeling of vindication.
   A decade earlier, when Lead Us Not Into Temptation, my first book on the sex abuse crisis, was published, I told countless journalists that the problem was much deeper, and denser, than any of us could imagine. Some of my colleagues nodded; others frowned. I finished that book unable to get documents out of Boston or New York.
• Church releases report on abuse [244 molested 656] -- RCC.
   San Gabriel Valley Tribune, www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205%7E12220%7E1962887,00.html , By Karen Rubin , ~ February 18, 2004
   CALIFORNIA: Ten local priests have been accused of molesting 75 children, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles reported Tuesday in an unprecedented accounting of sexual abuse by clergy.
   Since 1955, priests from El Monte, Walnut, Azusa, Covina, La Mirada, San Marino and the Pasadena area were accused of sexual misconduct. The names were culled from civil lawsuits, criminal records and grand jury investigations.
   The history of abuse and the archdiocese's attempt to cooperate with authorities and stop the abuse is chronicled in a 22- page document "Report to the People of God: Clergy Sexual Abuse Archdiocese of Los Angeles 1930-2003."
   The report states 244 priests, deacons, brothers, seminarians and one man posing as a priest throughout Los Angeles County sexually abused 656 children, 519 of whom were boys and 137 of whom were girls. Some of the allegations were discredited, the report states.
   It also reports that sexual abuse was "woefully underreported".
   Of the 244 clerics accused of sexual abuse, 16 remain in the ministry because the allegations have not been deemed credible, the report states.
   Among the local priests listed in the report are: Michael Baker, Michael Carroll, Albert Duggan, David Granadino, George Gunst, Christopher Kearney, John Kohnke, Theodore Llanos, Richard Loomis and Larry Lovell.
• 244 priests named in report [656 molested] -- RCC.
   Star-News, www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206%7E22097%7E1962870,00.html , By Gary Scott, ~ February 18, 2004
   PASADENA (CA): Calling it a "sorrowful chapter" in the church's history, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles released a comprehensive report Tuesday chronicling seven decades of sexual abuse allegations against the clergy.
   The archdiocese also apologized for the church's past policies that sometimes failed to protect "the most vulnerable members of the flock' from predatory ministers.
   According to the report, 244 priests, deacons, brothers and seminarians within the archdiocese have been accused of molestation by 656 children since 1931.
   The majority of the accusations were made last year, after the state lifted the statute of limitations on filing civil claims. However, the archdiocese said sexual abuse crimes continue to be "woefully underreported.'
   About a dozen clergymen from San Gabriel Valley parishes were named in the archdiocese report, including Msgr. Richard A. Loomis of the Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua Church in San Marino.
   Loomis was placed on administrative leave last week after a second accusation of sexual misconduct was lodged against him. Officials at the church refused to comment on the accusations or the archdiocese report.
• Mahony issues priests' names -- RCC.
   Daily News, www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%7E20954%7E1962621,00.html , By Michael Gougis and Dana Bartholomew, ~ February 18, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles formally released an unprecedented report Tuesday naming 211 priests and clergy members accused of molesting children since 1930, but victims said it did not go far enough and demanded that the church release personnel records related to criminal cases.
   In a letter opening the 30-page "Report to the People of God," Cardinal Roger Mahony asked forgiveness from "victims, their families and friends, from the Faithful and from society in general for the mistakes of the past."
   "I acknowledge my own mistakes during my 18 years as your Archbishop," wrote Mahony who has headed the nation's largest archdiocese since 1985. "Apologies are vitally necessary, but, of themselves, are insufficient."
   The report names 211 priests who have been accused of molesting 519 boys and 137 girls over the past 73 years. An additional 33 priests have been accused, but their names were not included because the allegations were too recent or contained insufficient information to investigate.
   While the report stressed that many of the allegations had been repudiated -- Mahony himself was named in the report but was cleared of wrongdoing -- victims and their advocates suggested that the report grossly underestimates the number of victims.
   "This report ... is nothing more than a media stunt," Steven Sanchez of Glendale, director of the Los Angeles chapter of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests [SNAP], said at a news conference outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
• Low Priest Numbers Raise Concern -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.nynewsday.com/news/local/brooklyn/nyc-nychur183676197feb18,0,3030841.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-brooklyn , By Stephanie Saul, February 18, 2004
   BROOKLYN (NY): The Diocese of Brooklyn has been hard hit in the past two years by a dwindling supply of priests, its clergy reduced 10 percent through routine retirements and suspensions forced by sex abuse allegations.
   With 217 parishes and 1.6 million Catholics in Queens and Brooklyn, the diocese has only 362 active priests, according to figures released yesterday by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan during a meeting of concerned priests.
   Figures released by the diocese in early 2002 listed 405 active priests.
   The exact impact of the sex abuse scandal on the number of priests in the diocese is expected to be disclosed later this month along with a national survey of priest sexual abuse conducted by John Jay College. The survey was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
• Men who claim abuse by Bishop Dupré may meet with church officials -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/rn0216a.html , By Father Bill Pomerleau, Observer staff, Feb 16, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Two men who allege that they were sexually abused by retired Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupré when he was a priest may soon meet with officials of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Diocese of Springfield, according to their lawyer.
   Roderick MacLeish, a prominent attorney involved in misconduct cases in Boston, told the Associated Press Nov. 17 that he was arranging a meeting for this week during which the men could "tell their stories" to the church officials.
   MacLeish has been retained by one of the alleged victims, solely in an effort to maintain his privacy. He also represents another man, a former parishioner of St. Louis-de-France Parish in West Springfield who now lives out of state, to keep his privacy and explore legal options.
   The Boston attorney told AP that his clients "really wanted to tell their stories to church leaders. There are probably details that are not known to the Diocese of Springfield that they want to have known."
   Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the Diocese of Springfield, said that having the archdiocese facilitate the meeting is appropriate, since "any allegations we would have received would have been turned over to the archbishop for his review."
• Parish priest placed on leave -- RCC.
   Telegram & Gazette, www.telegram. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/ 20040218/NEWS/ 402180347/1025/ NEWS LETTERS08 , by Martin Luttrell, mluttrell@telegram.com , Feb 12, 2004
   BLACKSTONE (MA): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester has placed Rev. James D. Champion, pastor of St. Paul Church, on administrative leave after allegations of sexual misconduct.
   Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, diocesan chancellor and director of vocations, informed parishioners of Rev. Champion's removal during three Masses on Sunday. He and Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said that the allegations did not involve children, nor result in criminal charges.
   Rev. Champion, 58, had been pastor at St. Paul for 12 years. He has been removed from ministerial duties and is no longer living at the parish rectory, Monsignor Sullivan said.
• Same-sex scandal in Catholic Church [Opposed same-sex 'marriages', although he had same-sex sex] -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077094079168311.xml?oned , Feb/18/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): During unprecedented visits to parishes in Springfield, Chicopee, Greenfield, Hadley and elsewhere in recent weeks, the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre urged parishioners to oppose same-sex marriages.
   He told them that same-sex unions would have a harmful effect on children.
   "When families are unhealthy, the children are the first to suffer and pay the price," he told parishioners at Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield on Jan. 12.
   When he spoke those words, Dupre had known for some time that The Republican was investigating accusations that he had sexually abused two boys for years, beginning in the 1970s.
   Last week, just a day after The Republican confronted him with a written list of questions about the accusations, Dupre abruptly resigned as leader of the 270,000 Roman Catholics in Western Massachusetts, citing health reasons.
   The Catholic Church is within its rights to withhold its marriage sacraments from same-sex couples and to urge parishioners to support an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
   Yet how can it say with any credibility that children must be protected from "unhealthy" same-sex marriages while church leaders have ignored for years the child victims of priest pedophiles who were protected by the church?
• Alleged victims head to Boston -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077094149168310.xml?nntn , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb/18/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Two men who say they were sexually abused as boys by former Bishop Thomas L. Dupre have decided to bypass a local diocesan panel and seek help from the Boston archdiocese, according to their lawyer.
   Meanwhile, the interim leader of the Springfield Roman Catholic diocese said his efforts to contact Dupre to respond to the allegations have been stymied by privacy laws.
   Dupre, 70, checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility and retired last week after The Republican confronted him with detailed questions about whether he abused two boys beginning more than two decades ago. The newspaper learned of the alleged abuse through a tip, and the mother of one of the alleged victims said she confirmed the allegations with her son.
   Roderick MacLeish Jr., a Boston lawyer retained by the men, said yesterday his clients will hold a private meeting this week with Barbara Thorp, director of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston's Office of Healing and Assistance Ministry.
   "My clients have made a decision that they are going to talk about all of what occurred. There are details that are not known to the diocese of Springfield that they want to have conveyed as soon as possible," said MacLeish, who has handled hundreds of priest abuse cases in Boston.
• Who won in verdict of guilty for O'Brien? [Attempted defence of O'Brien] -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0218roberts18.html , by Laurie Roberts, Feb. 18, 2004
   PHOENIX (Arizona): And so we come to the verdict in this sorry spectacle, the case of the State of Arizona vs. Thomas J. O'Brien, and I wonder.
   Who really won?
   After five weeks of hearing about the drinking habits of a carpenter and the driving habits of a bishop, after seeing terrible pictures of a beloved father and son and conjuring terrible images of a man who once was the moral leader in this town, who won here?
   Certainly not the Reed family, which will forever on this Earth carry the scars of what they have heard and what they have seen during these five weeks.
   Certainly not the bishop, whose reputation shattered in the eyes of many long before he met Jim Reed on Glendale Avenue and for others the instant they saw that windshield.
   Now, it comes to Judge Stephen A. Gerst to decide what is justice in this case. I don't envy him, for what is the punishment for not being a reasonable man?
   In the end, that's what this case was about.
   The jurors said it boiled down not to what the bishop did - or didn't do - in the 36 hours after Jim Reed's death but to the 10 seconds after Reed was struck on that darkened north Phoenix street.
   Ten seconds when they say a reasonable man would have stopped. You have only to look at the windshield to know it.
   And so he is guilty of leaving Jim Reed there to die on the street, a felony and a despicable crime all too common anymore, because people have figured out that they can get away with it if they just run.
• 'We focused on the 10 seconds' -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0218obrien-jurors.html , by Robert Anglen, Feb. 18, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): For jurors, convicting Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien came down to 10 seconds.
   That's the time it took for O'Brien to hit and kill a pedestrian and then drive away.
   On Tuesday, after seven hours of deliberation over two days, jurors said that in those same seconds any reasonable person would have stopped, even if he didn't know what he hit.
   "We focused on the 10 seconds," said juror Erik Mikkelsen of Sun Lakes. "We focused on what we knew."
   The eight jurors in the case spoke publicly Tuesday after the verdict was read. The toll of the five-week trial showed. Standing together, some hugging each other for support, they tried to convey a sense of living with the case: going to bed with arguments on their minds, deliberating in their dreams, and getting up to go to court each day.
   Jurors said what happened in the 36 hours following the accident didn't matter.
   They didn't care if O'Brien tried to avoid police; they didn't care if he attempted to get his crushed windshield replaced; the intoxicated condition of the victim didn't enter into the picture.
   What did enter into it were pictures of the damaged vehicle.
   "That was not something that happened by a little bird flying into the windshield," Mikkelsen said, adding that photos of the car did more to sway him than any courtroom video demonstration.
• O'Brien convicted -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0218obrien-verdict.html , by Joseph A. Reaves, Feb. 18, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): The worst may yet be ahead for Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien.
   The longtime spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix sat stunned Tuesday after a jury of five women and three men found him guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of pedestrian Jim L. Reed last June.
   O'Brien, 68, became the highest-ranking Roman Catholic leader in the nation to stand trial on felony charges and be convicted. He can be sentenced to anywhere from probation to 45 months in prison, pending a series of presentence procedures that will focus on the bishop's role in a series of other events, including the cover-up of a decades-long sex-abuse scandal.
   "Our prayers continue to be with Bishop O'Brien and his family," said O'Brien's successor, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. "He is our brother in Christ, and we shall continue to be one with him in prayer as we await his sentencing. Our prayers are also with the Reed family." O'Brien sat stone-faced as the unanimous verdict was read. Afterward, Tom Henze, lead defense attorney, comforted the bishop and escorted him out a side door of the courtroom 30 minutes later. Henze refused to comment on the trial or to say whether he would appeal O'Brien's conviction.
• Report suggests Sanchez abused teens [females] -- RCC.
   Anchorage Daily News, www.adn.com/alaska/story/4755599p-4702264c.html , By NICOLE TSONG, February 18, 2004
ANCHORAGE (AK): An archbishop who resigned amid scandal in Santa Fe, N.M., may not be allowed to return to Anchorage, where he has served the Hispanic community on a limited basis for the last six years, church officials said Tuesday.
   Archbishop Robert Sanchez resigned his post in New Mexico in 1993 after his sexual relationships with women became public. Church officials in Anchorage said they have learned it's possible the misconduct may also have involved teenagers.
   Sanchez has celebrated Mass with the Hispanic community during Lent and Advent at Holy Family Cathedral and Our Lady of Guadalupe. But after his name was revealed in an archdiocese report Friday on abusive priests, church officials said they learned through Albuquerque, N.M., newspaper accounts that he may have been sexually involved with teenage girls, said chancellor Sister Charlotte Davenport.
   "We were always under the impression that it was adult women," she said. "If there were teens involved, then the charter comes into effect."
   The charter was mandated by American bishops in Dallas in 2002 after the sexual abuse scandal roiled the Catholic Church. It required dioceses to permanently remove priests after a single act of sexual abuse of a minor.
   Sanchez was supposed to return for Lent next week, but Archbishop Roger Schwietz is consulting with the pope's representative in Washington, D.C., about the allegations and whether he should be allowed to minister on even a limited basis, Davenport said. A decision should be made by Monday at the latest, she said.
• Eagle River scout leader gets 18 years for molesting three girls [2000s Beard] -- Church youth worker. Pastor did nothing.
   Anchorage Daily News, www.adn.com/alaska/story/4755596p-4702260c.html , ~ February 18, 2004
   ALASKA: A former scout leader and church youth worker from Eagle River was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison for having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl over a period of about nine months and sexually molesting her two younger sisters, ages 14 and 11.
   Ted C. Beard, 38, admitted some of the sex abuse to staff at Providence Alaska Medical Center after a suicide gesture in April 2003, which was triggered by his crimes being discovered, prosecutor Taylor Winston said.
   According to Winston, a 14-year-old victim tried desperately to get someone to intervene in the ongoing abuse by telling a girlfriend, whose parents decided they didn't want to get involved; by telling her pastor, who didn't do anything; and finally, by calling her father Outside who alerted family. [### CHECK to original]
• Ex-pastor enters plea: [### CHECK Link got mixed]
   Birmingham News, ~ February 18, 2004
   ALABAMA: Also Tuesday, a former Vestavia Hills pastor accused of molesting a teen-age relative pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse and sodomy.
   The trial date of Richard Drew Barker, 44, is slated for July 19 before Circuit Judge Gloria Bahakel.
   Barker defense attorney John Rudd denies the crimes took place, saying he believes in "the long run the comments of the victim will support that."
• Diocese to release abuse report -- RCC.
   Tribune-Review, www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/pittsburgh/s_180098.html , By Tony LaRussa, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
   PITTSBURGH (PA): The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will release a report next week outlining the scope of the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the diocese since 1950.
   Release of the report here will coincide with the Feb. 27 release of a national survey of 195 dioceses on priestly sexual abuse compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
   In addition to detailing the number of priests accused of sexually abusing children, the report will reveal how much has been paid out during the past five decades in response to the allegations.
• Hubbard probe to be led by heavy hitter: Diocese names former U.S. attorney with wealth of experience to be special investigator -- RCC.
   Troy Record, www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10983741&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7021&rfi=6 , By Shawn Charniga, Feb/18/2004
   TROY, ALBANY (NY): A former U.S. attorney who investigated the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center has been hired by the Albany Diocese to investigate allegations of non-criminal sexual abuse made against Bishop Howard Hubbard in recent weeks.
   Mary Jo White, who in 1993 was appointed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton, will control the investigation and will follow up with a written report that will be released to the public, according to the diocese, which is pledging its full cooperation.
   After Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne declined to investigate last Wednesday, citing insufficient evidence, the diocese charged its review board, created to investigate claims of sexual abuse against priests, to name an independent investigator who will be paid by the Diocesan Insurance Fund.
   White could not be reached for comment Tuesday but delivered a prepared statement through the marketing arm of her employer, New York City law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, where White is a partner who chairs the 222-lawyer litigation department.
   "I accepted this engagement only after receiving an absolute assurance that I would be given complete authority over the investigation, be able to engage the necessary resources to do a thorough and intensive job and be provided with the full cooperation of the diocese to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of the allegations regarding Bishop Howard Hubbard.
• Mahony's Mea Culpas Not Very Convincing [211 molested 656, Cardinal says] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez18feb18,1,5799329.column?coll=la-util-local-metro , by Steve Lopez, Points West, February 18, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Cardinal Roger M. Mahony had me worried for a while. The leader of the Los Angeles Archdiocese was keeping such a low profile at the Rog Mahal, I thought maybe he'd lost his knack for damage control.
   Not to worry. Turns out he's still the king.
   Mahony has done us all the favor of releasing a self-assessment called "Report to the People of God," which names 211 priests and other church employees who have been accused of molesting 656 minors since 1931.
   In a grave preface, Mahony apologizes to victims, acknowledges his own mistakes and promises "to do all in my power to prevent sexual abuse by anyone serving our archdiocese now and in the future."
   The document is a beautiful piece of work, because to those who want to believe, it resembles a staggering breakthrough in truth-telling.
   But this may be the wrong place for "People of God" to put their faith.
   For starters, every one of the 211 names of the accused had already been made public. The names of another 33 accused priests were withheld because the accusations hadn't been checked out yet, or were deemed unreliable by the archdiocese.
• L.A. priests named in abuse [211 molesters named] -- RCC.
   Press-Telegram, www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~1962685,00.html , By Michael Gougis and Dana Bartholomew, ~ February 18, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles formally released an unprecedented report Tuesday naming 211 priests and clergy accused of molesting children since 1930, but victims said it did not go far enough and demanded the church release personnel records related to criminal cases.
   In a letter opening the 30- page "Report to the People of God," Cardinal Roger Mahony asked forgiveness from "victims, their families and friends, from the Faithful and from society in general for the mistakes of the past.'
   "I acknowledge my own mistakes during my 18 years as your Archbishop,' wrote Mahony, who has headed the nation's largest archdiocese since 1985. "Apologies are vitally necessary, but, of themselves, are insufficient.'
   The report names 211 priests who have been accused of molesting 519 boys and 137 girls over the past 73 years. An additional 33 priests have been accused, but their names were not included because the allegations were too recent or contained insufficient information to investigate.
   While the report stressed that many of the allegations had been repudiated Mahony himself was named in the report but was cleared of wrongdoing victims and their advocates suggested the report grossly underestimates the number of victims.
• Mahony: Protecting Minors 'Job 1' [656 introduced to sex] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priest18feb18,1,6110958.story?coll=la-home-local , By Larry B. Stammer, Richard Winton and Jean Guccione, Feb 18, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said Tuesday that he was surprised at the number of victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles over the past 73 years - 656 according to a new report - and renewed his pledge that the protection of minors from molesting priests remained "job 1."
   Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, said recent actions by the archdiocese to remove a once high-ranking priest from a San Marino parish as well as the decision to reveal the names of 211 priests accused of wrongdoing had provided evidence that the archdiocese was keeping its word.
   The report released Tuesday by the archdiocese, which tracked sexual abuse claims from 1931 through last year, is proof of his determination to be "open and transparent," Mahony said. He added that he hoped sexual abuse victims who had not spoken out would scan the names and be encouraged to step forward.
   "There are probably other victims out there," Mahony said. "I am hopeful that if they look at this list … that they will say, 'Oh, I recognize that name. I had a problem but I was afraid to come forward or say anything.' They might have courage now to say, 'I need help, too,' " Mahony said.
   Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley renewed demands that the church produce personnel records of suspected priests. The church has argued that the records are protected by the state's constitutional right to privacy and the 1st Amendment's freedom of religion clause.
• 'Monologues' on campus under fire [30 RC universities/colleges + others stage X-rated play] -- RCC.
   Baltimore Sun, www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.protest18feb18,0,5756876.story?coll=bal-features-headlines , By Mary Carole McCauley, Sun Arts Writer, February 18, 2004
   UNITED STATES: A group that promotes conservative values at Catholic universities and colleges is targeting several Maryland schools in its nationwide protest against the controversial play The Vagina Monologues.
   A full-page advertisement in Tuesday's USA Today is headlined: "Scandal! Notre Dame, Georgetown, Boston College, Holy Cross, Loyola, DePaul and 24 more Catholic colleges to host X-rated 'play' that glorifies child seduction and other horrors."
   The advertisement also criticizes by name secular colleges it says are planning productions of the Monologues by Eve Ensler in the next four to six weeks, including the Johns Hopkins University, Towson University and University of Maryland. The ad lists the addresses and phone numbers of school administrators, and urges parents and alumni to write, call or e-mail in protest.
   The Vagina Monologues is a collection of interviews by Ensler with women of varying ages and ethnicity. The women use explicit language to discuss their own experiences of sexual-abuse, self-pleasure and sexual awakening. Productions typically are staged as benefits for local organizations combating violence against women and children; the organization's Web site (www.vday.org) claims that $20 million has been raised for these community groups.
   The Cardinal Newman Society, a Falls Church, Va.-based advocacy group, seems to especially object to a scene in the Monologues in which a teen-age girl recounts her seduction at the hands of an older woman.
   "I am appalled and embarrassed that any Catholic institution would present this play, especially in the midst of the clergy sex abuse scandal," Patrick J. Reilly, the society's president, said in a statement. "Whether the perpetrator is a lesbian woman or a wayward priest, seduction of a minor is no one's 'salvation.' " (The society's Web site is at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.)
• Apology and an Accounting -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libish183676218feb18,0,1096921.story?coll=ny-li-span-headlines , By Rita Ciolli, February 18, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): In a sweeping apology to Long Island Catholics along with the first full accounting of the toll of the sexual-abuse scandal here, Bishop William Murphy disclosed yesterday that 132 persons said they were sexually abused by 66 Catholic priests and religious brothers since the diocese was founded in 1957.
   "For all this I have apologized many times before. I apologize again because I know that, as a Catholic bishop in the United States, I will go to my grave with the knowledge that I can never make up or restore to the victims the innocence lost and suffering experienced day in and day out by those who were victimized as well as their families," Murphy said in his most conciliatory comments yet.
   The leader of Long Island Catholics said the diocese has paid more than $3.8 million for therapy and legal settlements and the remaining $10 million currently set aside in a special fund will be used "to assist victims until it is exhausted." However, the statement went on to explain that because the multiple lawsuits brought by victims allege fraud, the diocese will defend itself in a "responsible and upright manner" until a court judgment is made.
• Yanta offers apologies [17 abused 41] -- RCC.
   Globe News, www.amarillonet.com/stories/021804/new_yanta.shtml , By JIM McBRIDE, jim.mcbride@amarillo.com , Feb 18, 2004
   AMARILLO (TX): Bishop John W. Yanta apologized Sunday to sexual abuse victims and said in a letter the Amarillo Roman Catholic diocese has "reasonable cause" to believe 17 diocesan clerics sexually abused 41 minors during the last 52 years.
   Yanta ordered that his letter be read at all Masses over the weekend. The diocese's insurance carriers have paid out $1.42 million for insured settlements of allegations involving sexual abuse of minors, and uninsured settlements with alleged victims cost $47,500 in diocesan funds, the letter said.
   "Particularly, I express an apology to those who have been abused by a deacon, priest or leader of the church," Yanta wrote. "While we cannot change the past, I do want to continue to reach out to those who have been hurt and victimized, and offer my personal prayers and the support of our local church. I pray for victims, both in our diocese and throughout our country, daily and hope that they will know and experience the healing that God alone can give."
   The letter detailed the results of a clergy sex abuse survey of the Amarillo diocese conducted by the Office of Protection of Children and Youth of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the John Jay College of Criminal Science.
• Diocese hires former prosecutor -- RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.timesunion.com/ AspStories/story.asp? storyID=219954&category= REGIONOTHER&BCCode= HOME&newsdate= 2/18/2004 ; By BRIAN NEARING, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): A former federal prosecutor who investigated the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and helped convict Mafia boss John Gotti has been hired by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese to probe allegations of misconduct swirling around Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   Mary Jo White, 56, will step into a growing controversy in the Albany Diocese, where Hubbard has faced a series of accusations that he has engaged in homosexual behavior. Hubbard has vehemently denied the allegations, saying he has never broken his vow of celibacy.
   The allegations took a bizarre twist Sunday when the Rev. John Minkler, a priest who was linked last week to a 1995 letter accusing Hubbard and others in the diocese of a wide array of personal and theological transgressions, was found dead in his Watervliet home. The cause of death remains under investigation.
   District Attorney Paul Clyne said Tuesday that autopsy results on Minkler, who left behind a note found by police near his body, will take several weeks. Clyne said he doubted the contents of the note will ever be made public.
• Arizona bishop convicted in hit-run death -- RCC. [### Link missing]
   The Seattle Times, from The Washington Post and The Associated Press, ~ February 18, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Bishop Thomas O'Brien, the former head of Arizona's largest Roman Catholic diocese, was convicted yesterday of leaving the scene of an accident in which the car he was driving struck and killed a pedestrian.
   O'Brien, 68, is believed to be the first Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be convicted of a felony. He stepped down as head of the Phoenix diocese last summer after he was charged in the accident, which came two months after authorities agreed not to prosecute him for covering up allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
   The bishop sat stone-faced in a Maricopa County courtroom yesterday as the verdict was read. The jury had deliberated less than seven hours over two days after a monthlong trial.
   O'Brien faces up to 45 months in jail. Sentencing was set for March 12.
• Vicar suspended over nude website claims [2000s Locke] -- Church of England.

   Irish Independent, www.unison.ie/ irish_independent/ stories.php3?ca= 27&si=1128771 &issue_id=10459 , ~ April 18, 2004
   BRITAIN: A country vicar has been suspended after shocked parishioners reported a picture of him naked appeared on a dating website.
   The site allegedly shows Fr Bob Locke, (41), vicar of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, England, seeking women sex contacts. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rev John Gladwin, suspended the married vicar while the "unsettling allegations" are investigated.
   Church chiefs decided to act after a woman living in the Burnham area, where Mr Locke is Anglican vicar at St Mary the Virgin church, reportedly saw the picture on faceparty.com. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:29 AM]
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Wednesday, February 18, 2004
• [4450 US abusers, almost half multiple offences; bishops' 'misguided willingness to forgive'] -- U.S. RCC.

4450 US priests accused of abuse

   The Australian, by Correspondents in New York, AFP, AP, p 8, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
   NEW YORK: More than 4000 American priests have been accused of child sexual abuse since 1950, according to a national survey commissioned by the US Catholic Church.
   About a quarter of the priests involved had faced allegations more than once, and 3 per cent had been accused up to nine times, according to the survey, which is due to be released this month by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   A draft version of the report says that between 1950 and 2002, 4450 priests were accused of 11,000 instances of molesting children. Of these claims, about 6700 were investigated and found to be true, 1000 more were found to be false, and 3300 were not investigated because the accused priests had died, CNN reported yesterday. [...]
   Most of the children abused -- 78 per cent -- were aged between 11 and 17, while 16 per cent were eight to 10 years old and 6 per cent were under eight, CNN reported.
   It said the report blamed the sex abuse crisis on Catholic bishops' failure to grasp the gravity of the problem, their misguided willingness to forgive, the use of unqualified treatment centres and the emphasis on avoiding scandal. [...]
   The survey is being conducted by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Betrayal of trust

ACCORDING TO CNN, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops survey found:

4450 priests were accused of child sex abuse between 1950 and 2002

That is 4 per cent of all priests who served in the US during that period.

More than 11,000 individual complaints were received -- and almost half the priests were accused of multiple offences.

6700 of the allegations were substantiated, while 3300 were not investigated, while 3300 were not investigated. Only 1000 were unsubstantiated.

78 per cent of the children were aged 11-17, 16 per cent 8-10 and 6 per cent were under eight. (By courtesy of Mrs Josie Leeden, South Perth.)
Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Thursday, February 19, 2004 edition follows:-
• Alleged victims of ex-bishop detail abuse claims -- RCC.

   Providence Journal, www.projo.com/ap/ma/1077243748.htm , By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press Writer, ~ February 19, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP): Former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupre sexually abused two boys for years while he was a parish priest and asked them to keep quiet about the abuse when he was made auxiliary bishop in 1990, a lawyer for the two alleged victims said Thursday.
   In a written statement, attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr. said the abuse of the two altar boys began in the 1970s, when one of his clients was 12 and the other was an adolescent.
   "He informed them that their 'relationship' was a logical expression of love and that God teaches love," the statement said.
   Dupre's lawyer, Michael Jennings, said he would not comment on the allegations or any aspect of his client's case.
   Dupre's retirement was approved by the Vatican last week, a day after he was confronted with allegations of the abuse by The Republican newspaper in Springfield. Dupre, 70, said he was stepping down for health-related reasons, and checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility.
   MacLeish said Thursday that Dupre was at the Saint Luke Institute in Maryland, a facility known for treating pedophile priests, but would not say how he obtained that information.
   Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:52 PM
• Ex-Prosecutor Investigates NY Bishop Sex Allegations -- RCC.
   Reuters, www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4398269 , By Holly McKenna , 06:59 PM ET, Thu February 19, 2004
   ALBANY (NY) (Reuters): A former U.S. Attorney said on Thursday she will investigate sexual abuse allegations against Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard but leave it up to Catholic diocesan officials to decide what to do with her findings.
   Mary Jo White, best known for prosecuting terrorism cases as U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 1993 to 2002, said at her first news briefing on the abuse case that she had authority to expand the investigation "to cover any other allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Hubbard that may arise."
   Hubbard, for over 25 years the bishop of the Albany, New York, diocese with about 400,000 Catholics, has denied he knew the two men with whom he is accused of having illicit relationships in the 1970s. The allegations first became public two weeks ago.
   The bishop is the latest ranking church official to become embroiled in a widespread sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church over the past two years.
   The Albany County prosecutor said last week he would not investigate the allegations because there was no proof of a crime. The diocese's internal review board appointed White to head an independent probe.
   "Our report is a fact-finding mission," said White. "We will report on those facts fully and it's up to others what they amount to and what should be done."
   The allegations against Hubbard surfaced when the family of Thomas Zalay of Albany said Hubbard had a homosexual affair with Zalay. Zalay's brother, Andrew Zalay, said he committed suicide in 1978 at the age of 25 after he apparently became troubled by the nature of his relationship with the bishop.
• Greensburg diocese releases priest abuse statistics -- RCC.
   PennLive.com ; http://pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-13/107723814146601.xml , By JOE MANDAK, The Associated Press, 7:40 p.m. ET, Feb/19/2004
   PITTSBURGH (AP) (PA): Eleven of the 334 diocesan priests - about 3.2 percent - who have served in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg since it was founded in 1951 have had accusations of sexually abusing minors substantiated against them, the diocese announced.
   The diocese released the numbers Thursday in anticipation of a report due Feb. 27, when the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York will release a national survey of such statistics from all 195 U.S. dioceses. The John Jay College survey was commissioned by the National Review Board, a lay panel picked by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to review allegations of priest sex abuse of minors in the wake of a national scandal that broke in Boston.
   Overall, the Greensburg diocese, which was formed from part of the Pittsburgh Diocese in 1951 by Pope Pius XII, has had 21 diocesan priests accused of sexual abuse, meaning the diocese determined that allegations against 10 priests were unsubstantiated.
   Substantiated cases are those in which there was "clear evidence, a confession or a civil conviction," said the Rev. Roger Statnick, general executive director for the diocese.
• Alleged victims of ex-bishop detail abuse -- RCC.
   Providence Journal, www.projo.com/ap/ma/1077241027.htm , By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press Writer, ~ February 19, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP): - Former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupre sexually abused two boys for years while he was a parish priest and asked them to keep quiet about the abuse when he was made auxiliary bishop in 1990, a lawyer for the two alleged victims said Thursday.
   In a written statement, attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr. said the abuse of the two altar boys began in the 1970s, when one of his clients was 12 and the other was an adolescent.
   "He informed them that their 'relationship' was a logical expression of love and that God teaches love," the statement said.
   Dupre's lawyer, Michael Jennings, said he would not comment on the allegations or any aspect of his client's case.
   Dupre's retirement was approved by the Vatican last week, a day after he was confronted with allegations of the abuse. Dupre, 70, said he was stepping down for health-related reasons, and checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility.
   MacLeish said Thursday that Dupre was at a Maryland facility known for treating pedophile priests, but would not say how he obtained that information.
   "I know he's there, but I don't know what he's being treated for," MacLeish said.
• Priest arrested for second time on child porn charges [2000s, computer porn] -- RCC.
   Gainesville Sun, www.gainesville sun.com/apps /pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20040219/ APN/402190717 , The Associated Press, February 19, 2004
   LAFAYETTE, La.: A priest removed from his post in Morgan City because of child pornography charges has been arrested again after investigators allegedly found explicit images during a search of his home at a monastery near Opelousas.
   Patrick R. Kujawa, 35, faces federal charges of possession of child pornography in connection with hundreds of images federal agents said they found on his computer, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
   Kujawa already is on probation in connection with child pornography charges that led to his removal in 2000 from an associate pastor's job at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City.
   He is still officially considered a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux but has been taken out of the ministry, said diocese spokesman Louis Aguirre. Kujawa has been living at a Benedictine monastery near Opelousas, Aguirre said.
   A man who answered the phone at the monastery declined to discuss the case but said that Kujawa was not connected to the Benedictine order and was only renting a trailer there.
• NYC lawyer investigating allegations against bishop -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=60402&SecID=33 , By Capital News 9 web staff, 2:31 PM, Feb/19/2004
   ALBANY (NY): An attorney from New York City is investigating the allegations against Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   Mary Jo White will look into accusations Hubbard had sexual relationships with men back in the 70's. The Albany Catholic Diocese has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
   White spoke to reporters today during a press conference and stressed her investigation is an independent one. She also answered questions about her objectivity in this case.
   She said, "I've been asked whether I'm a Catholic. I am not a Catholic. So far as I know I have never met or spoken to Bishop Hubbard. So far as I know, my law firm has never represented the Albany Diocese, Bishop Hubbard or any other diocese."
• Dupre accusations frustrating -- RCC.
   The Daily Collegian, www.dailycollegian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/18/4032d2a8b96f7 , by Dan Lamothe, February 18, 2004
   AMHERST (MA): This one hits just a little too close to home.
   As reports of a possible sexual scandal involving the bishop of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese surfaced last week, any change of me being able to ignore the abuse that has plagued the Catholic Church died.
   Two years ago, when The Boston Globe first reported on the sexual abuses in the Archdiocese of Boston and the cover-ups that went with it, it was easy to get angry. I certainly did. After growing up Catholic, including singing in a choir, attending Catholic school for nine years, and serving masses as an altar boy, I was as insulted and shocked as anyone else could have been ... from afar.
   All of that has changed now.
   The resignation and accusation of The Most Rev. Bishop Thomas L. Dupre last week hit me on so many levels. Not because I've been abused, and not because I've ever seen something like that happen to someone else. Frankly, I have very few bad memories of growing up in the Catholic Church.
   This one hurts, though. It's awkward, frustrating and confusing, and if it's true, it's infuriating. It's no longer Boston, or Pittsburgh or Portland, Me. Dupre was my bishop - the same bishop who grew up in my hometown of Chicopee, attended the same Catholic school as I did two generations before, and served as a priest in my church during the early 1970s. He's also the same bishop I shared an altar with as an altar server when I was an innocent little 10-year-old.
• Alleged priest victims issue demands -- RCC.
   The Republican, www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/021904priests.html , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb 19 2004
   GREENFIELD (MA): A lawyer representing 38 people who say they were sexually abused by priests made what he called non-monetary demands on the Springfield diocese today, including that a fund established for accused priests be used to help indigent victims.
   The demands also include lifetime counseling for victims and incorporating a prayer for victims into the Roman Catholic Mass once a month for the next 10 years.
   Greenfield lawyer John J. Stobierski made the demands public at a 1 p.m. press conference.
   Stobierski's demands come amid allegations that retired Bishop Thomas L. Dupre sexually abused two adolescent boys nearly two decades ago. The abuse of at least one boy continued into the 1980s, the mother of the victim said.
• School counselor quit amid allegation [1970s] -- RCC.
   Syracuse Post-Standard, www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1077183399170150.xml , By Renee K. Gadoua, February 19, 2004
   LIVERPOOL (NY): The Liverpool school district threatened to fire a longtime guidance counselor last year after learning he was accused of sexually abusing teen-age girls 30 years ago when he was a priest at a Utica Catholic school.
   Donald J. Crosby denied the accusations to Liverpool school officials but resigned from the district in June, within two weeks of being confronted with the allegations, said Dennis O'Hara, a lawyer representing the district.
   Crosby, 68, died Jan. 2 of natural causes, according to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office.
   Valerie Radzisz, 45, of Rochester, said she told Crosby's supervisor, Monsignor H. Charles Sewall, of the alleged abuse in 1974. It's unclear whether Sewall, who years later admitted he sexually abused a teen-age boy, reported the allegations to his superiors. Diocese officials say Crosby's file does not include any record of a complaint to Sewall.
• Diocese to release abuse report -- RCC.
   Daily Courier, www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_180336.html , By Tony LaRussa, Thursday, February 19, 2004
   PITTSBURGH (PA): The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will release a report next week outlining the scope of the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the diocese since 1950.
   Release of the report here will coincide with the Feb. 27 release of a national survey of 195 dioceses on priestly sexual abuse compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
   In addition to detailing the number of priests accused of sexually abusing children, the report will reveal how much has been paid out during the past five decades in response to the allegations.
• Two Dioceses Publish Sex Abuse Reports [39 accused, $US 2.8m wasted] -- RCC.
   CBS, http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstoriesny_story_050093951.html , 9:37 am US/Eastern, Feb 19, 2004
   TRENTON (NJ) (AP): Two Roman Catholic dioceses have become the first in New Jersey to release detailed reports on sexual misconduct claims involving clergy and children.
   In a report published Wednesday in its weekly newspaper, the Paterson diocese announced that it has spent $2.8 million since 1950 on legal fees, settlements and counseling related to "credible" misconduct claims.
   Church officials said 71 abuse allegations were made against 39 of the 737 priests who served in the diocese from 1950-2002. Of those claims, 56 cases -- involving 30 priests and one deacon -- were deemed credible after review by church boards and county prosecutors.
   The highest number of incidents allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when 47 accusers came forward. The diocese serves Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties.
   While noting that the figures may be disturbing, Bishop Frank Rodimer said their release is "in the interest of openness and accountability, of identifying the extent of the problem, and of obtaining information that will help us in making sure that it will not reoccur in the future."
• Providence diocese releases church abuse statistics [49 here of the 4450] -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/dailynews/050/region/Providence_diocese_releases_ch:.shtml , By Elizabeth Zuckerman, Associated Press, Feb/19/2004
   PROVIDENCE (RI) (AP): A total of 49 priests in the Diocese of Providence were accused of sexually abusing minors between 1950 and June 2002, according to figures released by the diocese on Thursday.
   The information is part of an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims compiled by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice. CNN this week reported that 4,450 of the 110,000 U.S. clergy who served since 1950 have been accused of molesting minors. The draft report also said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the churchmen during that period, according to CNN.
   Those figures are higher than previously estimated by some victims' groups, the media and church officials. Researchers who conducted the national survey on Tuesday said the draft was incomplete.
   The final report is due to be released Feb. 27 by the National Review Board, the lay watchdog panel the bishops formed in response to the molestation crisis.
   The Providence diocese said its figures reflect all credible accusations and are complete. The diocese expressed regret for the abuse suffered by the victims.
   "Once again, I wish to express my deepest sorrow and apologies for the errors of the past," the Most Rev. Robert Mulvee, the bishop in Providence, said in a statement.
   The Providence diocese said 27 of the accused priests are now dead, and 20 were already dead when allegations against them surfaced. Another five have left the priesthood, four are elderly and retired from ministry, and the additional 13 are suspended from all ministry.
• Bishop Zubik Releases Sex Abuse Study Findings -- RCC.
   WBAY, www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=1653983&nav=51s7KwNC , By Becky Freemal and Lisa Manna, ~ February 19, 2004
   GREEN BAY (WI): Green Bay Bishop David Zubik is speaking out about a study which will be released next week about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
   The John Jay study indicates the number of priests across the country facing sex abuse charges, and the number of known and alleged victims. The U.S. Conference of Bishops commissioned the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to compile a national report of sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Church.
   Bishop Zubik says he has not seen the results of the study but he wants people to be prepared for what comes out. The Green Bay Diocese bishop says he hopes it helps restore trust in the Church.
   "I am very much painfully aware of the struggle we deal with in this issue," Zubik said at a news conference Thursday.
• Sex abuse scandal raises insurance costs for youth service agencies
   The Ledger, www.theledger .com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/ 20040219/APF/ 402190907 , By MARTIN FINUCANE, Associated Press Writer, Feb 19 2004
   BOSTON (MA): For Kay Johnson and the kids she tries to help, the letter that rolled out of the fax machine brought some depressing news.
   Johnson's western Massachusetts Big Brothers Big Sisters agency has never been hit with a claim of child sexual abuse. Yet its cost for insurance to cover such claims has more than tripled in the past year, forcing Johnson to think about trimming some staff and, perhaps, some kids from the program.
   "I got this fax. There was this huge number on it. It was definitely a shock," said Johnson, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County.
   Across the country, insurance costs are rising for youth organizations, partly because of the sex abuse scandal that entangled the Roman Catholic Church, according to agency officials and the insurance industry itself.
   Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the industry's Insurance Information Institute, said organizations that deal with children have seen their liability insurance costs outpace the average.
   "The problems in the Catholic Church have raised this problem to a higher level than otherwise would have been the case," Hartwig said. "This is affecting the cost for all those organizations associated with youth."
• Mary Jo White Speaks about Investigation -- RCC.
   Fox 23, www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=5EAE86ED-5B02-4570-B1A7-4A0D1BA56A7C , ~ February 19, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): Mary Jo White will look into the current allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Howard Hubbard and any others that may come up during her investigation. "To do a complete job you need that authority. I asked for it and I was given that authority," said White.
   That includes claims by Andy Zalay that his brother Tom wrote about a relationship with Hubbard in his suicide note 26 years ago, and by former street hustler Anthony Bonneau who says the bishop paid him for sex back in the 1970's.
   White will also investigate the allegations in the 1995 letter to Cardinal O'Connor, which several sources attribute to Father John Minkler, who was found dead in his Watervliet home on Sunday along with a note...
   White said, "To the extent that the circumstances of the death of Father John Minkler are relevant to that inquiry those circumstances will also be covered, although the investigation of the death itself is of course a matter for the coroner's office."
   The Diocesan Review Board will pay White at a rate of $770 an hour. Members of her team of investigators are slightly less costly.
• Abuse reports are part of moving ahead, Bishop Gregory writes -- RCC.
   Catholic News Service, www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20040219.htm , ~ February 19, 2004
   NEW YORK (CNS): A study of how the church has handled sexual abuse cases may be painful, but it's a necessary part of moving ahead, said the president of the U.S. bishops' conference in an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal.
   The study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York being released Feb. 27 will analyze the extent of sexual abuse of minors by U.S. Catholic clergy since 1950.
   "While its focus is not on individuals, it will contain a portrait in aggregate of the pain and the suffering, the crimes and the sins, encompassed in this outrageous misconduct," said Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in the article in the Feb. 19 Wall Street Journal.
   He wrote that more than one person has asked him why the bishops requested this study -- "Won't it just be another wound?"
• Catholic leaders hope end of bishop's trial will allow more focus -- RCC.
   SignOnSanDiego.com ; www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040218-1410-wst-bishopstrial-recovery.html , By Michelle Rushlo, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2:10 p.m., February 18, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Leaders of the Phoenix Diocese say that while they are saddened by the conviction of Bishop Thomas O'Brien on a fatal hit-and-run charge, the trial's conclusion has given the diocese some relief and may give them more energy to move the church forward.
   Even before the trial, the Catholic diocese was buffeted by a sex abuse scandal and several leadership changes.
   The church's day-to-day activities - the soup kitchens, the youth work, its teachings - haven't changed during the crises, but its leadership has been unable to focus on much besides the troubles of O'Brien and the diocese, said Monsignor Dale Fushek, the diocese's co-vicar general.
   He said Wednesday that he hopes the leadership will now be able to devote more energy to vision and to finding new ways to reach out to people.
   "We're totally into the resurrection. I'm an optimist. Things are always getting better," he said.
   Diocese spokeswoman Mary Jo West said despite the sadness, there is a feeling of relief that the trial is over.
• Vatican Prepares Abuse Report -- RCC.

   CBS, www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/19/world/main601263.shtml , AP, Feb. 19, 2004
   VATICAN CITY, Rome (AP): The Vatican will soon publish a report about clergy sexual abuse that draws heavily on scientific opinion, including experts skeptical about ejecting from the fold any priest who has molested a child, a psychologist who helped edit the report said Thursday.
   The report grew out of a four-day symposium on pedophilia held behind closed doors at the Vatican in April.
   During that gathering, Church officials listened to and questioned therapists and other clinical experts from the United States, Canada and Germany. Among the issues on the agenda was how molesters might be rehabilitated.
   The report is expected to be published in the next few weeks and will be distributed to bishops' conferences worldwide, said a Vatican official Thursday on condition of anonymity.
   "Most of the experts present were not sympathetic" to zero-tolerance policies that calls for removing priests from the ministry when credible allegations arise, said psychologist Karl Hanson, who researches sex offenders for the Canadian government. He spoke at the symposium, and served as senior editor for the Vatican report.
   Many dioceses say they are aggressively pursuing "zero-tolerance" policies after being stung by charges that church hierarchy was trying to protect abusive priests, often by shuffling them from parish to parish.
• Hundreds gather to pray for healing -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1077180543267361.xml?nntn , By MICHAEL McAULIFFE, mmcauliffe@repub.com , Feb/19/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Several hundred people from Western Massachusetts and beyond gathered last night for a prayer service at St. Michael's Cathedral, one week after Thomas L. Dupre retired as bishop following questions about the alleged sexual abuse of two boys years ago.
   Monsignor Richard S. Sniezyk, the interim administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, presided over the bilingual English-Spanish vespers service. Sniezyk acknowledged those in attendance came with "broken hearts" and "betrayed hearts," but he told fellow Catholics not to lose faith. "If we turn away from the church, we turn away from one another," he said, adding: "We are presently suffering a crisis of faith, but in this new millennium we will hear Jesus say again to us ... 'Fear not, be not afraid. I am with you always, even to the end of the world.'"
   Sniezyk said those gathered in the church included Catholics and non-Catholics, and that people had come from Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties - the area encompassed by the diocese - and beyond.
   Among those in attendance were the Most Rev. Joseph F. Maguire, bishop emeritus, and the Right Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
• Ex-bishop retains lawyer [Dupre] -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077180436267360.xml?nntn , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb/19/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA) Former Bishop Thomas L. Dupre has hired a prominent criminal defense lawyer, who said he advised his client against responding to allegations that he sexually abused two boys more than two decades ago.
   Michael O. Jennings, a criminal lawyer with an office in Springfield, said he was hired by Dupre after meeting with him to discuss the accusations that Dupre sexually abused two boys when he was a parish priest.
   The mother of one of the boys said one child was around 13 and another a preteen when the alleged abuse began in the 1970s. In her son's case, the relationship continued into the 1980s, she said.
   Jennings, a criminal lawyer for more than three decades, said he advised Dupre not to respond to the allegations reported; however, "that could change down the road," he said.
   Jennings said he was retained to protect Dupre's interests in light of an investigation launched by the Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett. Jennings, a member of the Hampden County Bar Association, was a law partner of Bennett's when Bennett was a defense lawyer.
• Troubles Keep Piling Up for Catholic Priests -- Dimensions "staggering;" Leaders lacked "good character." RCC.
   Newsday, www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/columnists/ny-vpmcc193677309feb19,0,243913.column?coll=ny-ny-columnists , by Sheryl McCarthy, February 19, 2004
   UNITED STATES: Anyone reading the headlines this week could have concluded that Roman Catholic priests were on a rampage.
   There was Bishop Thomas O'Brien, the former head of the Diocese of Phoenix, Ariz., being convicted of fleeing the scene of a car accident after he struck and killed a drunken pedestrian.
   There was CNN claiming that a soon-to-be-released study of priestly sexual abuse, conducted by a Catholic Church-sponsored board, had uncovered allegations against more than 4,000 priests. The actual report won't be released until later this month. But, if CNN's numbers are correct, the dimensions of the sex-abuse scandal are staggering.
   In New York, the Rev. John Johnston, a Queens priest who has also been charged with making profanity-laced calls to a high school principal and carrying an unlicensed gun, pleaded guilty to skimming $50,000 from the weekly collection plates of a Long Island church where he worked part-time.
   Johnston can probably be considered just a bad apple in the scheme of things.
   But Bishop O'Brien and the possibly thousands of priests who abused women and children over the years prove that something was lacking in these leaders of the church: good character.
• Shanley gets October rape trial date -- RCC.
   Providence Journal, www.projo.com/ap/ma/1077193966.htm , The Associated Press, ~ February 19, 2004
   BOSTON (MA) (AP): A judge has set a tentative date for October for the criminal trial of former priest Paul R. Shanley, a key figure in the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
   The trial would come more than two years after Shanley was charged with child rape. He also faces pending lawsuits by 10 victims and their family members who refused to sign onto a massive $85 million settlement with the church.
   Prosecutors had sought to have the case tried before civil litigation, which lawyers said could still be delayed to follow the criminal trial.
   "It would not be conceivable to me that the civil case will go before the criminal case," Roderick MacLeish Jr., the lawyer for alleged victim Gregory Ford, told the Boston Herald.
   MacLeish said he wants the criminal trial to come first because evidentiary issues would be resolved during criminal proceedings, and witnesses would only have to testify once. Anything proven in criminal court does not have to be proven again in civil court.
• Bishop's letter addresses abuse [19 accused = ~ 2%] -- RCC.
   News Tribune, www.thnt.com/thnt/story/0,21282,909807,00.html?sec=main?=centraljersey , By RICK MALWITZ, ~ February 19, 2004
   METUCHEN (NJ): The percentage of clergy in the Diocese of Metuchen accused of sexually abusing minors is about half the nationwide figure, according to the diocese's bishop.
   CNN reported Monday that about 4 percent of American Catholic clergy who served from 1950 to 2002 were accused of sexual abuse, based on information supplied by local dioceses to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which conducted the study for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   According to a letter written by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, to be distributed to parishioners Saturday and Sunday, the Diocese of Metuchen found that about 2 percent of its clergy were accused of abuse.
   The diocese, which serves over 500,000 Catholics in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties, examined files of 990 clergy and seminarians, and reported finding 29 allegations involving 18 priests and one deacon.
   The bishop's letter, portions of which were published today by The Catholic Spirit, a diocesan publication, indicate that the diocese paid $795,000 to settle cases against five priests, though there was no legal finding of fault.
• Navajos hope for sincere apology -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0219obrien-navajos.html , BY Betty Reid, Feb. 19, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Tuba City resident and Navajo Dee Wilson wants to see Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien get a just sentence for leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident, and she has one in mind: punishment that would be served in Navajo country.
   "He (the bishop) can help pick up empty beer cans," Wilson said. The jails there don't have enough space. But she said, "I'm sure the Navajo Nation will create a cell for him.
   "I personally would not forgive him. But it would just be a way of making people realize, bishop or not, that they need to pay for the trouble they get themselves into."
• Juror says verdict not vs. church but vs. muddled man -- RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0219obrien-jurors19.html , by Robert Anglen, Feb. 19, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): One of the jurors who convicted Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien for driving away from a fatal hit-and-run accident says the verdict was not meant to be a political statement or to punish the Catholic Church.
   Joan Sundeen said Wednesday that jurors did everything they could to distinguish between O'Brien, the former leader of a half-million Valley Catholics, and O'Brien, a person who made a tragic mistake.
   The eight-member jury delivered its verdict on Tuesday.
   On Wednesday, Sundeen spoke out because she was incensed by speculation that the jury was sending a message to the church.
   "We had to go in and put the bishop aside and look at the man," the 46-year-old Chandler resident said. "We weren't trying the bishop."
   O'Brien testified that he didn't stop after he hit Jim L. Reed on June 14 because he didn't realize he'd hit a person.
• Will O'Brien prosecutors run over Reed, too? -- Immunity deal with bishop turned back. RCC.
   The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0219montini19.html , by E.J. Montini, Republic columnist, Feb. 19, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): During the trial, it was defense attorneys who ran over the memory of Jim L. Reed and left him like discarded trash on the side of the road. During the sentencing phase, it will be prosecutors.
   Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley already has revved up the engine. He is planning to bear down on Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, who was convicted Tuesday of leaving the scene of an accident in which his car struck Reed. To get to O'Brien, however, Romley must first roll over Reed.
   He has indicated that his prosecutors will bring up past behavior of O'Brien's that has nothing to do with Reed's death. It's all perfectly legal. But he shouldn't do it. Romley had a chance to drag the bishop into court once before and he chose not to. The prosecutor claimed then to have enough evidence to prove an obstruction of justice charge against O'Brien concerning the church's handling of sexual abuse allegations.
   Instead, Romley cut a deal with O'Brien in which the bishop signed a statement indicating that he had protected sexually abusive priests. Except O'Brien didn't quite see it that way.
   "Let me clarify a few things," the bishop said after the agreement was made public. "To suggest a cover-up is just plain false. I did not oversee decades of wrongdoing."
   That made Romley furious. The prosecutor and the bishop had played a game of high-stakes poker, and just as Romley was raking in the chips the bishop showed his ace in the hole: denial. And he played it after he had pocketed Romley's immunity agreement.
• Baptist church minister charged with sexual assault [? 2000s]
   Today's Sunbeam, "Pitts. church minister charged with sexual assault," www.nj.com/news/sunbeam/local/index.ssf?/base/news-3/107718243574910.xml , From staff reports, Thursday, February 19, 2004
   NEW JERSEY: A minister at a Baptist church in Pittsgrove Township was arrested Saturday on suspicion that he sexually assaulted a minor, state police announced Wednesday.
   Rev. Llewellyn Hill III, 47, of Richland, Atlantic County, was arrested at his home without incident, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Gerald Lewis. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.
   Hill, a minister at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, which is located on Gershal Avenue in Pittsgrove Township, was detained in the Atlantic County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail, Lewis said.
   Hill's arrest came one day after an area youth was brought into the state police Buena Vista substation by a Division of Youth and Family Services social worker to report she had been sexually abused.
• 1 charge dropped in molestation case against Church of God ex-pastor [2003 Holcomb] -- Church of God. Girls and boys.
   Roanoke Times, "1 charge dropped in molestation case against ex-pastor," www.roanoke.com/ roatimes/news/ story162882.html , By Shay Wessol, ~ Feb 19, 2004
   PEARISBURG (VA): The prosecutor dropped one charge and one victim from the case against a former Pembroke pastor accused of molesting children as a jury trial got under way Wednesday.
   Giles County Commonwealth's Attorney Phillip Steele gave no explanation for his decision, made minutes before the court began selecting a jury to hear the case against 52-year-old Roger Holcomb.
   Holcomb, once pastor of the Pembroke Church of God, is now charged with six counts of aggravated sexual battery and four counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor.
   Three girls and a boy, ages 7 to 10, accused Holcomb of fondling them last year between January and September at the church's parsonage. Steele dropped a seventh count of aggravated sexual battery involving a fourth girl.
• Advocates for Fairfield County Sex Abuse Victims Question Numbers [32 = 2.5%] -- RCC.
   Westport Now, www.westportnow.com/archives/003208.htm , ~ February 19, 2004
   BRIDGEPORT (CT): Advocates for sexual abuse victims say the number of abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport - including Westport -- is likely substantially higher than church officials reported over the weekend because records were destroyed by a former bishop.
   As part of a national survey, church officials announced Sunday that the Bridgeport diocese has received allegations of sexual abuse against 32 priests since 1953. At least seven of them served in Westport.
   The 32 priests, representing 2.5 percent of the total number of priests who were in the diocese in the same time period, were the subjects of 109 allegations from 107 people, according to the report.
   "I believe the number is clearly too low," said Jason Tremont, an attorney who has represented abuse victims in two settlements with the church, according to an AP report.
   Tremont's firm compiled the list that showed at least seven of the priests involved in the allegations had served in Westport from 1964 to 1990. (See WestportNow Oct. 16 and 22, 2003).
• Abuse cases may affect sentencing of O'Brien -- RCC.
   The Arizona Star, www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0219obrien-sentencing.html , by Joseph A. Reaves and Michael Kiefer, The Arizona Republic, Feb. 19, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien's attorneys will paint their client as a good man with a history of community service.
   Prosecutors want the sentencing judge to believe he has a history of avoiding responsibility whenever things go wrong in his life.
   Which characterization prevails will determine whether the former leader of the Diocese of Phoenix gets probation or spends up to 45 months in prison.
   Judge Stephen A. Gerst on Wednesday set a March 26 sentencing hearing in the Maricopa County Superior Court case.
   O'Brien, 68, this week became the first U.S. Roman Catholic bishop convicted of a felony when a jury agreed he was guilty of driving away from a car-pedestrian accident that claimed the life of Jim L. Reed last June.
   Defense attorney Tom Henze has refused to say whether the bishop will appeal his conviction or to speculate on his strategy going into the sentencing phase.
• Prayer Group Gathers One Week After Abuse Allegations -- RCC.
   TheBostonChannel.com ; www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2857671/detail.html , ~ February 19, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass.: With their faith intact and hope that their church will heal, hundreds of western Massachusetts Catholics prayed together Wednesday night, one week after their retiring bishop was publicly accused of sexual abuse.
   "We have to know from our religion that we don't judge him," said Patti Hatmaker, 52, of Westfield, who attended the candlelight vespers service at St. Michael's Cathedral. "We have to pray for him. And if these things did happen, we have to pray for the people it happened to."
   Bishop Thomas Dupre's resignation was approved by the Vatican last week, a day after The Republican newspaper in Springfield confronted him with allegations that he sexually abused two boys while he was a parish priest in the 1970s.
   Dupre hired Springfield attorney Michael Jennings on Wednesday. Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the diocese, said the church is not helping Dupre pay for the lawyer.
   Reached at home Wednesday night, Jennings said he is representing Dupre but would not comment on the case.
   Dupre checked himself into an undisclosed medical facility last week and cited health reasons for his departure. He announced last year that he planned to retire before he turned 75, which is the mandatory retirement age for bishops. Dupre is 70.
   Jennings would not say where the medical facility is or whether Dupre is still there.
   Officials from the diocese say they have not been in touch with Dupre since the allegations surfaced.
• Retired Catholic priest to be tried in LA on molest charges [1990-95 Wempe] -- RCC.
   Contra Costa Times, www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/7984917.htm , Associated Press , ~ February 19, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): A judge Wednesday ordered a retired Roman Catholic priest to stand trial on charges that he sexually molested a boy between 1990 and 1995.
   Michael Edwin Wempe, 64, was held to answer by Superior Court Judge Jacob Adajian on three felony counts of a lewd act with a child and two felony counts of oral copulation of a minor.
   The judge denied a request to lower Wempe's $500,000 bail and he remained in custody.
   The case is the second filed against Wempe. He was previously charged in a 42-count complaint that was thrown out last year when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a California law that extended the statute of limitations for child sexual molestations.
   Deputy District Attorney Todd Hicks filed the new case in September after the alleged victim came forward in the aftermath of the high court ruling. The young man was 11 at the time the alleged abuse began.
• Bishop Vows Better Communication -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lilett0219,0,5581101.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines , By Erin Texeira, February 19, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): In a striking move that could herald a shift in diocesan policy toward the Voice of the Faithful, Bishop William Murphy will form a committee to iron out his differences with the controversial parishioners' group, according to a letter issued Wednesday by priests who met with the Catholic leader.
   Murphy also vowed to improve communication between himself and parishioners by establishing a diocesan pastoral council, the priests wrote.
   Also in Wednesday 's letter, the priests wrote that Murphy will engage a professional consultant to re-examine the Presbyteral Senate, an advisory body of local priests, and Deaneries, clusters of parishes that meet to collaborate on various issues in their region, to improve the way they work.
   Lastly, the priests said Murphy directed the Diocesan Synod, a longterm body set up to report on diocesan shifts by 2007, to identify issues that can be addressed now and take action on them.
• Could Catholics Forgive Murphy? -- RCC.
   Newsday, www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libish0219x,0,4905081.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines , By Bart Jones, February 19, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): Long Island Catholics reacted with mixed emotions Wednesday to Bishop William Murphy's sweeping apology for the sex abuse scandal, with some hailing it as a bold and compassionate act and others labeling it an empty and disingenuous public relations ploy.
   Walking into a noon Mass at Our Lady of Loretto in Hempstead and holding her rosary beads, Rosa Miriam Argueta de Sanchez, 38, said the letter released by Murphy on Tuesday was "an excellent gesture" that all the faithful should take as a lesson in humility and asking forgiveness.
   But Mary Hagmeyer, 76, of Farmingdale was less enthusiastic. "Fluff, fluff and more fluff," she said, adding that she was tired of the bishop's alleged "lies."
   "He turns me off completely," said Hagmeyer, a parishioner at St. Killian's for 54 years. "I don't trust the man."
• 10 Priests With the Most Accusations -- RCC. [1947-80 Rucker] -- Girls. [1978-86 Silva] -- Boys.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priesttoptenfeb18,1,6628623.story?coll=la-headlines-california , ~ February 19, 2004
   CALIFORNIA: More allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against these 10 priests than any others, according to a report by the archdiocese. Included are civil and criminal allegations and complaints to the church. Some have been discredited.
   George Neville Rucker, retired in 1987 as priest at Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades. He has been accused of molesting 38 girls from 1947 to 1980 while at St. Anthony Parish in El Segundo and St. Agatha Parish in Los Angeles.
   Rucker, 82, was charged in 2002 with 29 counts of molesting girls and was plucked off a cruise ship bound for Russia by authorities fearing that he would try to flee prosecution. The charges were dropped in July 2003 after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down the law allowing such prosecutions. Several civil suits are pending.
   Fidencio Silva, Missionaries of the Holy Sprit priest in Mexico. He has been accused of molesting 28 young boys from 1978 to 1986 at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Oxnard. Silva, 53, was charged with 25 counts of child molestation in 2002 involving boys between the ages of 11 and 15. Those charges were dropped after the 2003 Supreme Court ruling. Several civil suits are pending [Emphasis added]
• 133 Complaints of Sex Abuse in 45 Years, L.I. Diocese Says [66 priests, 132 complainants] -- RCC.
   The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/nyregion/19abuse.html , By BRUCE LAMBERT, February 19, 2004
  LONG ISLAND (NY): A new Roman Catholic Church report on child sex abuse in its Long Island diocese says that 132 people have filed complaints against 66 priests over a 45-year period.
   Those numbers are being added to national totals that the John Jay College of Criminal Justice is compiling in a report next week for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop William F. Murphy, who took the helm of the Diocese of Rockville Centre two years ago, apologized for the "horrific reality" of abuse and the church's mishandling of complaints. In a written statement, he said that no church issue "has caused more pain and hurt than the sad and ugly fact that over the past several decades a number of priests abused their priestly role and the trust of children and minors through acts of sexual abuse."
   The bishop's statement won some praise. But critics like Dan Bartley, co-chairman of the lay group Voice of the Faithful, said that the bishop had taken the easy way by apologizing for problems occurring on Long Island before his arrival while still denying allegations that he shielded accused priests while he was serving in the Archdiocese of Boston.
• Church abuse in Bridgeport actually worse, critics say [32, 2.5% admitted] -- RCC.
   Record-Journal, www.record-journal.com/articles/2004/02/19/news/state/state03.txt , ~ February 19, 2004
   BRIDGEPORT (CT): Advocates for sexual abuse victims say the number of abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport is likely substantially higher than church officials reported over the weekend because records were destroyed by a former bishop.
   As part of a national survey, church officials announced Sunday that the Bridgeport diocese has received allegations of sexual abuse against 32 priests since 1953. The 32 priests, representing 2.5 percent of the total number of priests who were in the diocese in the same time period, were the subjects of 109 allegations from 107 people, according to the report.
   "I believe the number is clearly too low," said Jason Tremont, an attorney who has represented abuse victims in two settlements with the church. "It's bad enough over 100 people were molested by priests in this diocese. But unfortunately, I believe the numbers are significantly higher."
   Former Bridgeport Bishop Walter Curtis, who served for 27 years and retired in 1988, kept a secret archive and admitted destroying records, Tremont said. The diocese did not report abuse allegations to authorities or record complaints in some instances, he said.
• James V. Franco: Debate sparked by Hubbard allegations has many layers [23 homosexual priests: claim] -- RCC.
   Troy Record, www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1170&dept_id=7018&newsid=10991490&PAG=461&rfi=9 , ~ February 19, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): The underlying, larger story behind allegations that Bishop Howard Hubbard engaged in homosexual relations with a man and a teenage boy in the 1970s is the bitter battle between old-school Catholicism and the more liberal philosophies that have been steadily gaining ground.
   One debate is whether or not homosexuals should be ordained as priests. In my mind, it does not matter because priests vow not to engage in sexual relations of any kind. If that doctrine is followed, sexual orientation means little.
   A potentially explosive letter purportedly written by the late Rev. John Minkler in 1995 claims 23 priests in the Albany Diocese are actively homosexual. Furthermore, the letter says Hubbard had a relationship with two priests and names another bishop as being actively homosexual.
   Hubbard has staunchly denied all allegations, stating publicly he never had sex. He made a round of all local media outlets stating his case, and the diocese hired former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to investigate the allegations.
   The notion of homosexual priests does not go over well with the old school of thought, and neither do some of the other more liberal ideas like allowing priests to marry or ordaining women.
   Hubbard, one of the more liberal bishops in the nation, said he does not think either of those ideas should be taken off the table and remains neutral on whether he prefers to ordain homosexual priests or heterosexual priests.
• Nebraska bishop refuses full cooperation with sex abuse prevention measures -- RCC.
   North County Times, www.nctimes.com/ articles/2004/02/19/ special_reports/ religion/2_18_0421_33_48.txt , By JOE RUFF, Associated Press, Feb 19, 2004
   LINCOLN, Neb.: At a time when Roman Catholic bishops are submitting their dioceses to unprecedented scrutiny because of the clerical sex abuse crisis, the leader of about 90,000 faithful in Nebraska is among the hierarchy's few public dissenters.
   Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln won't require background checks of all current employees and volunteers who have regular contact with children. Nor will Bruskewitz let his diocese participate in a study designed to tally every priestly abuse case in the country since 1950.
   For these actions, Bruskewitz' diocese was recently declared out of compliance with the toughened sex abuse policy that American bishops approved overwhelmingly in 2002.
   "Every diocesan bishop does not have to follow the (new abuse policy) to be in compliance with what the church is asking," said the Rev. Mark Huber, a spokesman for the bishop.
   Huber was noting that the Vatican approved the bishops' new plan for handling abuse accusations against priests, making it church law for the United States. But Rome didn't act on other sections of the bishops' policy, such as conducting background checks or researching abuse.
   So, even though nearly all the other dioceses are following the policy, there's nothing forcing Bruskewitz to do likewise.
• Gun Convictions Overturned In Shooting of Priest in Md. [Dontee Stokes case] -- RCC.
   Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53174-2004Feb18.html , By Eric Rich, Page B04, Thursday, February 19, 2004
   MARYLAND: Maryland's highest court yesterday overturned gun convictions against a Baltimore man who, at the height of the scandal in the Catholic Church in 2002, shot a priest who he said had molested him years earlier.
   The Maryland Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Dontee Stokes, a ruling that erases the convictions from his record but has little practical effect on his liberty. Stokes, 28, has been free and on probation since November, when he completed 18 months of detention in the home of an aunt.
   "It hopefully brings to a conclusion this legal episode," Stokes's attorney, Warren A. Brown, said of the ruling. "I'm trusting that the state's attorney's office will decline to prosecute the handgun charges again."
   Yet the Baltimore state's attorney's office has not ruled that out. A spokeswoman said that the matter is under review and that a decision is expected within several days.
   The high court found that Baltimore Circuit Court Judge John N. Prevas erred when he allowed four alternate jurors to sit in, silently, during deliberations on Stokes's guilt or innocence.
• Dioceses release abuse investigation results [> 4%] -- RCC.
   Star-Ledger, www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1077175151176050.xml , BY JEFF DIAMANT, Thursday, February 19, 2004
   PATERSON (NJ): More than 4 percent of the priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson were credibly accused of sexual misconduct involving minors, and the diocese paid $2.8 million in related legal fees, settlements and counseling over the past half-century, church officials said yesterday.
   Allegations from 56 people against 30 priests and one deacon were deemed credible, the diocese reported in today's edition of the Beacon, its weekly newspaper. In all, 71 accusations were lodged from 1950 to 2002 against 39 of the 737 priests in the diocese, which serves Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties.
   The highest number of incidents allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when 47 accusers came forward, the diocese said.
   The Diocese of Metuchen also offered a glimpse of its own history of sex abuse. In today's edition of its newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, the diocese said that from 1950 to 2002, 1 percent of its 990 clergy and seminarians were credibly accused of sexual abuse involving minors, and that the diocese paid $795,000 in settlements, legal and medical fees.
• Ex-priest relieved as drug counsel [1970s-80s] -- RCC.
   The Kansas City Star, www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/7985204.htm , By KEVIN MURPHY, ~ February 19, 2004
   KANSAS CITY (MO): A former Kansas City priest is not being allowed to serve as a Jackson County drug court counselor pending resolution of a lawsuit alleging he molested boys and gave them marijuana.
   Thomas Reardon is among about 10 counselors working for Addiction Recovery Services. Last week, the county renewed a $224,000 contract with the company for drug court counseling.
   Six plaintiffs in a Jan. 21 lawsuit said Reardon abused them sexually and several said he gave them alcohol and marijuana in the 1970s and 1980s when Reardon was a priest.
   Through an attorney Wednesday, Reardon denied the allegations. The attorney, Matthew O'Connor, said that a motion to dismiss the lawsuit would be filed soon. "One thing people are missing is that this is not a criminal case, and two it's just an allegation," O'Connor said. "It's a civil lawsuit, they are seeking money damages."
• Making a SNAP decision
   Hampden Journal, www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1345&dept_id=432726&newsid=10986559&PAG=461&rfi=9 , Editorial Board, February 18, 2004
   CONNECTICUT: News that a support group for survivors of sexual assault by clergy has formed in Hamden will surprise some residents. But Hamden is not immune to national events. In many ways, the town is a perfect cross-section of the larger society, with all its good and bad aspects.
   Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claims to be the nation's largest self-help group for those abused by clergy. The Chicago-based group says it has 4,600 members.
   The group's Connecticut founder, Landa Mauriello-Vernon, is a Hamden resident who filed suit last year against Sacred Heart Academy, Sister Linda Cusano and the religious order that runs the school, claiming Cusano sexually assaulted her during the 1991-92 school year.
   We think such a support group is a good idea and a positive development for those who have suffered abuse at the hands of religious figures. Support groups enable their members to share their experiences and draw strength from their common experience. Such groups also provide a network of confidantes for those times when only someone who has suffered similarly can help.
• Duplicity over accountability -- RCC.
   Orange County Register, http://www2.ocregister.com/ ocrweb/ocr/article.do? id=81525§ion=COMMENTARY& subsection=ORANGE_ GROVE&year=2004& month=2&day=18 ; By Joseph D'Hippolito, Fullerton resident, Feb 18, 2004
   CALIFORNIA: In the wake of the Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse crisis, Bishop Tod Brown nailed his "Covenant With The Faithful" to the door of Holy Family Cathedral in Orange last month. But who makes sure Brown keeps that covenant?
   In Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony raises duplicity to artistic heights. In Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in disgrace after losing all credibility by failing to stop the secret transfers of clerical predators and confront the ensuing public anger forthrightly.
   Law, Mahony and Brown illustrate a fundamental problem in the church: a governing structure that contains no effective mechanisms to hold bishops accountable.
   It discourages transparency, isolates bishops and encourages institutional arrogance.
   Corona del Mar's Joelle Casteix knows firsthand. Casteix, who is suing the diocese over sexual abuse she allegedly suffered while attending Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, belonged to a diocesan oversight committee that handles abuse complaints. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 02:41 AM]
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Thursday, February 19, 2004
• US bishop convicted in fatal hit-run accident [2003] -- RCC.
   CathNews from Church Resources, Australia, "US bishop convicted in fatal hit-run accident," http://www.cathnews.com/news/402/109.php , 19 Feb 2004
   PHOENIX (Arizona): Former head of the Phoenix Diocese in Arizona, Bishop Thomas O'Brien, was found guilty on Tuesday of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, making what is believed to be the first case in which a US bishop has received a criminal conviction.
   After deliberating just six-and-a-half hours over two days, the eight jurors told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gerst in a packed courtroom that they unanimously agreed the bishop was guilty.
   Conviction carries a sentence ranging from probation to as long as three years and nine months in prison.
   Bishop O'Brien, 68, had admitted driving the car that struck and killed 43-year-old Jim Reed on a dark Phoenix street on 14 June. Although witnesses said a second car also hit Reed, no other vehicle has ever been traced to the accident.
   On 18 June, two days after police arrested him, Bishop O'Brien resigned as head of the diocese, a position he had held for 21 years.
   In statements to police and in testimony during his trial, Bishop O'Brien said he had no idea what had hit his windshield with a loud crack as he drove home from a confirmation ceremony.
   At his trial, the bishop said when he couldn't see any obvious cause for the damage, he decided to drive the five minutes to his home, rather than stop.
SOURCE: Retired Phoenix bishop convicted in fatal hit-and-run accident (Catholic News Service 17/Feb/04)
LINKS: Former Phoenix Bishop convicted of felony (Catholic World News 17/Feb/04)
Bishop convicted in hit-and-run (CNN/Associated Press 17/Feb/04)
Bishop guilty of fatal hit-run (Associated Press/The Australian 19/Feb/04)
Ariz. Bishop Convicted in Fatal Accident (The Guardian/Associated Press 18/Feb/04)
Arizona bishop defends actions at hit and run trial (CathNews 13/Feb/04)
Click to COMMENT ON THIS [Feb 19, 04]

Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Friday, February 20, 2004 edition follows:-
• Doing penance [211 accused] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Daily News, www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20951~1964383,00.html , ~ February 20, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): "Apologies are vital and necessary," says Cardinal Roger Mahony, "but of themselves, are insufficient."
   He's absolutely right -- and that's his problem, as well as that of the church in grappling with the child-molestation scandal.
   Mahony's release of the 211 names of priests and other Catholic Church personnel accused of molesting children in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles amounts, in the end, to not much more than an apology -- one of many over the past few years.
   Publishing the names might help speed the wheels of justice for the alleged offenders, but it does nothing to exact justice for their enablers. Those in the church hierarchy who, either through inexcusable naivete or an outrageous sense of self-protection, turned a blind eye to the abuse in their midst must also be held accountable.
   And publishing a list of names won't do that.
   Nor will any of the other measures Mahony has publicly taken, such as adopting "zero-tolerance" guidelines or ferreting known abusers out of active ministry, constructive though those steps are. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:18 PM]
• Archdiocese and accuser reach settlement [1980s Anderson] -- RCC.
   Kansas City Star, www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/8003532.htm , by CHERYL WITTENAUER, Associated Press, ~ February 20, 2004
   ST. LOUIS (MO): The St. Louis Archdiocese and a 29-year-old man reached a $22,500 settlement this week over claims that a Roman Catholic priest had sexually fondled the alleged victim at a boys home in the 1980s.
   The settlement, reached in mediation and announced Friday, puts to rest litigation and countercharges among Arthur Andreas of St. Louis; the Rev. Alexander Anderson, pastor at Most Sacred Heart Church in Eureka; and the archdiocese.
   Archdiocesan officials said they do not believe Andreas' claims have merit but agreed to help him pay for therapy.
   Anderson also maintained his innocence, and asked that the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests [SNAP] take him off its list of child abusers. He said at a news conference Friday that he prays for his accuser and forgives him, and that SNAP, "is slow to disbelieve allegations."
   Monsignor Richard Stika, vicar general of the St. Louis Archdiocese, said the settlement is "not meant as a payoff. It's a pastoral act of charity." He said Andreas had had a difficult life and appeared to need help.
• Reporting abuse
   Telegram & Gazette, http://telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040218/NEWS/402180497/1020/OPINION , Feb 18 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): Revelations of decades of child sexual abuse by rogue priests prompted the Legislature to add members of the clergy to the list of those required to report abuse that already included educators, social workers and others in positions to see early warning signs.
   Lawmakers should follow up by acting on Senate Bill 204, introduced last year, that is intended to deter institutional defiance of the mandated-reporter law.
   The legislation, sponsored by the state attorney general's office, would increase the maximum penalties for failure to report abuse to the proper authorities from the current maximum of $1,000 to as much as $25,000 and up to 2-1/2 years in jail.
   Clearly, such penalties would be rare, reserved for willful disregard of the law - a point emphasized by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly in testimony last year: "This amendment is not an attempt to impose unreasonable penalties in the isolated case where a school teacher or social worker fails to report as a result of a misunderstanding of his or her responsibilities. In fact, experience has shown that most mandated reporters take their responsibility very seriously."
   However, his experience during the priest abuse scandal persuaded him that higher penalties must be available to ensure that all those who are mandated to report instances of child abuse do so without hesitation. The legislation would give judges the flexibility to impose adequate penalties, he said, "in egregious cases, such as those involving large institutions or multiple instances of abuse."
• Staggering statistics [79 admitted cases; $US 2.28m] -- RCC.
   Telegram & Gazette, http://telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040219/NEWS/402190486/1020/OPINION , Feb 19 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): A new, nationwide survey of child sex abuse cases commissioned by the American Roman Catholic bishops underscores the folly of past attempts by church officials to hush up criminal behavior by priests.
   For decades, the report shows, individuals in the Roman Catholic hierarchy acted as enablers to child abuse, moving errant priests from parish to parish, state to state, rather than reporting them to civil authorities and warning the public. Because of the cloak of secrecy diocese officials wrapped around such cases, few if any church leaders understood the full scope of the problem.
   Now the facts are coming out. The survey report to be released in its final form later this month reveals that a shockingly large number of clergy in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church - 4,450 - have been accused of molesting minors in 11,000 claims since 1950. It is a much larger figure than estimated by the national media and victims' advocates.
   The study is based on reports from individual dioceses throughout the United States, including Worcester.
   The report of the Worcester Diocese, released earlier this week, cites 112 allegations of abuse from 1950 through 2003. The diocese substantiated 48 cases and deemed 31 credible. Those numbers were higher than first thought.
   In Worcester, $2.28 million was paid in compensation to victims of abuse. The diocese's figures are in line with those released late last month by District Attorney John J. Conte, but questions remain. Only the names of the 15 religious who were charged by the district attorney's office or removed by the diocese have been made public. The names of clergy involved in other substantiated and credible allegations remain under wraps.
   The bishops' draft report rightfully puts the onus on church leaders, pointing out that bishops failed to understand fully the seriousness and breadth of the problem. As the hierarchy tried to avoid public scandal, thousands of young people were vulnerable.
• Massachusetts Bishop resigns amid charges -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=60484&SecID=33 , By Ryan Peterson, 8:26 AM, Feb/20/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Bishop Thomas Dupre has headed the diocese of 260,000 Catholics, which includes Berkshire County, since 1995.
   For the past two years he has guided the diocese through at least 15 lawsuits against former diocesan priest Richard Lavigne, and has now retained his own lawyer to guide him through allegations that he molested two young boys while he was a parish priest in the 1970's.
   "You're saying, wow, what's happening here, our own bishop, he's been accused. I don't know about the clarity of the allegations, whether they're credible or not. That will be determined I think in a short time," said Monsignor Richard Sniezyk.
   Monsignor Sniezyk, the acting diocesan administrator, has worked hand in hand with Dupre for the past nine years. He has had no contact with him since his resignation.
   Bishop Dupre played such a significant role in the development of the procedures and the support system, now in place in the Springfield Diocese for victims of abuse, that the victim's advocate for the diocese is now worried how those already in the system will react to the latest allegations.
• Priest, accuser settle dueling lawsuits -- RCC.
   Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com/ stltoday/news/stories. nsf/0/B352DCABBA476 49586256E4 0007D2201? OpenDocument&Headline= Priest,+accuser+ settle+dueling+ lawsuits ; By Bill Lhotka, Feb/20/2004
   ST. LOUIS (MO): Neither the Rev. Alexander R. Anderson of Eureka nor Arthur Andreas -- a man who is both the accused and the accuser -- got the apologies they wanted from the other side, but they did settle their dueling lawsuits.
   In the settlement made public today, Andreas dismissed his suit alleging he had been sexually abused by Anderson 15 years ago when he was a troubled youth at St. Joseph's Home for Boys and Anderson was assigned there.
   Anderson dismissed his slander suit in St. Louis County Circuit Court against Andreas in which he had claimed that he was the victim of false accusations, that his reputation as a priest was damaged, and that he suffered embarrassment in the community.
   Andreas also dropped his "unreasonable publicity claim" against the Archdiocese of St. Louis in which he had alleged that church officials and Anderson had conspired to make his name public through the defamation suit.
   Besides the dueling suits, the protagonists had dueling press conferences today. David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, praised Andreas for coming forward with his allegations of sexual abuse and said a cash settlement was indicative of an admission of possible wrongdoing.
• Alleged victims issue demands -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077266962250052.xml?nncic , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb/20/2004
   GREENFIELD (MA): A lawyer representing 38 people who say they were sexually abused by priests made what he called nonmonetary demands on the Springfield diocese today, including that a fund established for accused priests be used to help indigent victims.
   The demands also include lifetime counseling for victims and incorporating a prayer for victims into the Roman Catholic Mass once a month for the next 10 years. Greenfield lawyer John J. Stobierski made the demands public at a 1 p.m. press conference. Diocesan officials said they welcomed the demands and already had implemented some, including offering counseling for victims as long as needed.
   Stobierski's demands come amid allegations that retired Bishop Thomas L. Dupre sexually abused two adolescent boys nearly two decades ago. The abuse of at least one boy continued into the 1980s, the mother of the alleged victim said.
• Time for the truth -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve. org/editorial.html , ~ February 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Like parishioners throughout the Springfield Diocese, Catholic Communications staff members were stunned and saddened last week by the resignation of and the subsequent abuse allegations against our now-former Bishop Thomas L. Dupre. Our anguish is compounded, however, by our roles as Catholic media professionals - and, perhaps more importantly, as members of the organization at the center of this evolving news story.
   Not only are we reporters, editors, producers, photographers, videographers and graphic designers; most of us are also practicing Catholics in local parishes. As we record the history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, we find ourselves standing in the glare of our own spotlights and in the sharp focus of a camera lens.
   Caught in the web of a national clergy abuse scandal, we must be clear about our responsibilities and goals as Catholic journalists. The first mandate, for both secular and religious media, is to seek and report, as fairly as possible, the truth. For us, that frequently involves interviewing the people who sign our paychecks, and those whose financial calculations may eliminate some of our jobs in the future.
   We must be honest. When we present our publications and programs to the public, we are both privileged by and limited by our relationships with our employers. Likewise, secular reporters and editors are also beholden to their publishers, whose beliefs and biases may influence the content of their products.
• A longing for Lent -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/observations.html , By Rebecca Drake, Editor, ~ February 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Tears fell and jaws dropped in the Diocese of Springfield last week when news of abuse allegations against our bishop followed the announcement of the Vatican's approval of his early resignation. The troubling headlines add yet another blow to a diocese, and a church, already beaten down by the clergy abuse scandal of the last two years.
   I'm not sure I can add anything new to the communal conversation about the future of the Catholic Church in Springfield and across the nation. I will add my agreement to those who proclaim that our first response, as a people of faith, should be to minister to victims of abuse and injustice through our prayers, our presence and our charity. As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to help and heal any part of the body that suffers, not least of all because an injury to one is an injury to all.
   In addition to meeting the psychological, spiritual and financial needs of victims, our Christianity commands us to also offer our forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. For most of us, this, alas, is easier said than done.
• Laicization of a priest involves consideration of due process -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/bc.html , By Bishop Thomas L. Dupré, Bishop of Springfield [Presumed written before he suddenly resigned this year. Date not shown on orig. webpage], © Copyright 2003 Catholic Communications Corp. (issued Wednesdays and Saturdays)], ~ February 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Upon my return from Washington where I participated in the Pro-Life March and other events connected with the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision which is responsible for the deaths of millions of unborn children, I was surprised to read some of the comments in the press on the granting of the laicization of Richard Lavigne by Rome. Particularly surprising were comments such as "long overdue" and "It's 30 years overdue."
   There is a program on the Fox network which is called the O'Reilly Factor where the host makes it a point to say "the spin stops here." Now I leave it to your judgment whether or not Mr. Bill O'Reilly has his own spin or not. The point is that it is often difficult to find the facts even in the media when each person has a particular spin with which he interprets the facts.
   We see this most obviously in the political campaigns and in the political advertisements on television. We also see it in the slant which people put on the facts when they have a particular agenda or point of view which they are promoting.
   In the case of Richard Lavigne, it appears that, in the minds of some people, the Diocese of Springfield can never do anything right and is always at fault. When people are that opinionated and one-sided, it is hard to take them seriously.
• Diocese responds to demands made at February 19 press conference in Greenfield -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/rn0220b.html , Feb 20 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, MA: "The Diocese welcomes these suggestions and will review each recommendation on its own merit.
   We are also aware that in order to be truly effective and bring about long-term healing, we will need to develop strategies in communication with the entire Catholic community. Suffice it to say, while we may debate particulars, we share the over riding goal of healing for the whole Church, but especially for the victims and their families.
   #1, We have already released all documents not covered by privilege or confidentiality. We will continue to review all matters on a case-by-case basis because that is what is most fair, not just for the Church, but for victims. It is Msgr. Sniezyk's intention and he has instructed the diocesan lawyers to seek a fair, just and equitable settlement for all victims.
   #2, The Diocese has already begun the process of adding the services of a private investigator to our Review Board's procedures.
   #3, This has been the topic of discussion, but it has always been thought to appoint victims then a priest must also be placed on the Board. We feel that we have very qualified individuals on the Review Board from many different professions, many who deal with youth. Nonetheless, we will submit this to the Review Board for consideration.
• Identities of men who claim abuse -- RCC.
   Iobserve ; www.iobserve.org/rn0220c.html , By Father Bill Pomerleau, Observer staff, Feb 20 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The identities of two men who allegedly were abused by retired Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupré were all but made completely public Feb. 20 when The Republican newspaper of Springfield revealed details of the life story of one of the men.
   The published particulars of the story, contained in a media advisory from Boston attorney Roderick MacLeish, made it possible for a large number of Catholics in the Diocese of Springfield to readily identify the parish and family name of one of the victims.
   The Catholic Observer, like other media, is withholding the details.
   MacLeish, a prominent attorney involved in misconduct cases in the Archdiocese of Boston, said in his statement issued through his law firm, Greenberg Traurig, "Our clients have been very grateful to the media, particularly The Springfield Republican, that there have been no reports to date that have identified them or which would tend to identify them"
   "However, Greenburg Traurig has learned that our clients' names are known by many and that some details of the abuse have been disseminated to media in the Springfield area and to other individuals," said MacLeish.
• Study says 22 local priests abused minors in last half-century -- RCC.
   Iobserve.com ; www.iobserve.org/rn0220a.html , By Father Bill Pomerleau, The Catholic Observer, Feb 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass.: Twenty-two priests ministering in western Massachusetts had credible accusations of abuse against 70 minors during a 53-year period that ended last May, according to statistics released this week by the Diocese of Springfield.
   An additional three priests were falsely accused of sexual misconduct, while the cases against five more priests remain unresolved during the same period, according to data supplied to a study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice commissioned by the U.S. bishops.
   A summary of the data given to the John Jay researchers says that five of the credibly accused priests were religious priests who were asked to leave the diocese. Four of the diocesan priests and at least one of the credibly accused religious priests are dead, and one was voluntarily laicized.
   Twelve living diocesan priests who were accused were either retired or suspended at the time of the study. That total has since dropped to 10 with the recent death of a retired accused priest, and the laicization of Richard Lavigne.
   The study data shows that the misconduct problem in the diocese was most acute in the turbulent years immediately following the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council.
• Study: 22 'credible' accusations against priests in past 50 years [70 complainants] -- RCC.
   Providence Journal, www.projo.com/ap/ma/1077311895.htm , By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press Writer, ~ February 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP): They were mostly boys, between 11 and 14. Many say they were abused by priests between 1966 and 1970, and half say they were all abused by a single cleric.
   In the past half century, a total of 30 priests were accused of sexually abusing 70 youths in the Springfield Diocese, which in the last week has been reeling from allegations that its outgoing bishop molested two boys when he was a parish priest.
   The numbers, released by the diocese Friday, are part of a nationwide accounting of abuse claims compiled by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice. CNN this week reported that 4,450 of the 110,000 U.S. clergy who served since 1950 have been accused of molesting minors. The draft report also said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the clergy during that period, according to CNN.
   Those figures are higher than previously estimated by some victims' groups, the media and church officials.
• Suit accuses Jehovah's Witness official of abuse [1980s Glew]
   The Press Democrat, "Suit accuses church official of abuse," www.pressdemocrat. com/local/news/19 jehovah.html , By STEVE HART, possibly Feb 19, 2004
   CALIFORNIA: Four former members of the Jehovah's Witnesses have filed a lawsuit in Superior Court, contending they were sexually abused by a church official in Sonoma County during the 1980s and the church covered up the crime.
   The lawsuit names two Sonoma County congregations of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Donald L. Glew, a former church member who was convicted in 1989 of four counts of child molestation. Glew, now 52, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
   According to the lawsuit, Glew was a church leader in Santa Rosa and Petaluma who used his position to gain access to young children of church members. He started molesting two of the plaintiffs when they were infants, the suit alleges.
   The other alleged victims were 1 and 5 years old when Glew started molesting them, according to the complaint filed Feb 9.
   "He was someone vested with authority," said Bill Brelsford, a Sacramento attorney who represents the four plaintiffs, identified only by their first names in the 22-page complaint.
   But a top Jehovah's Witnesses attorney Wednesday said Glew was never a church official.
• Diocese hires outside investigator -- RCC.
   The Daily Star, www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2004/02/20/investigator.html , By Paul Ertelt, Capitol Bureau, Feb 20 2004
   ALBANY (NY): Former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White promised Thursday that she will do a thorough, independent investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   The Albany Diocese's sexual misconduct review board hired White, former U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District, to review recent allegations that the bishop engaged in homosexual activity. The bishop has denied the allegations.
   White said she took the job under the conditions that she will be allowed to run the investigation as she sees fit and will get the full cooperation of the review board, the diocese and all diocese employees.
   White's New York City law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, will bill the review board $770 an hour for her services, but it will bill lesser amounts for other lawyers and investigators assigned to the investigation, she said.
• Minister charged with sexual abuse [1991-96] -- RCC.
   Cecil Whig, www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10999418&BRD=1973&PAG=461&dept_id=214849&rfi=6 , By Carl Hamilton, cahamilton@cecilwhig.com , Feb/20/2004
   ELKTON (MD): A minister accused of sexually abusing a girl at his Elkton residence during a five-year period has been charged with 20 criminal counts, according to Cecil County Circuit Court records.
   Ernest Gottfred Olsen, 63, of the 1500 block of Blue Ball Road, allegedly molested the girl, a relative, between Jan. 30, 1991 and Jan. 29, 1996, court records show.
   The alleged sexual abuse began when the girl was 5 and ended just before her 10th birthday, according to an indictment filed Jan. 21 against Olsen.
   Court officials recently unsealed Olsen's indictment and criminal file, which bears "secret case" on the docket sheet.
   Indictments don't become public record until the court receives notice that the defendant has been served his or her charging documents.
• [DE Presbyterian Minister Charged] [1992-96] - Presbyterian. Girl.
   WPVI, "DE Minister Charged," http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/2204-church-deminister.html , Feb. 20, 2004
   ELKTON, Maryland: A Delaware minister living in Elkton, Maryland, faces 20 criminal counts in the alleged sexual abuse of a young girl at his home.
   According to court documents in Cecil County (Maryland), 63-year-old Ernest Olsen is accused of molesting the girl during a five-year span, ending in 1996 -- just before the girl turned ten years old. The court records say the victim is a relative.
   Olsen's lawyer, Harry Barnes, says the charges against his client are unfounded.
   Prosecutors say Olsen has been a pastor at a Presbyterian church in Delaware but aren't saying which church or Olsen's current status with the church.
• Evangelical churches resist Ohio abuse-reporting bill
   First Amendment Center, www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12728 , By The Associated Press, Feb.20.04
   COLUMBUS, Ohio: Several fundamentalist churches oppose a bill that would require the clergy to report child abuse, saying the legislation is an unnecessary intrusion into the separation of church and state.
   The bill, supported by mainstream churches including Roman Catholics and Methodists, easily passed the Senate last year but is stalled in a House committee because of the ministers' concerns.
   Pastors of independent Baptist churches and evangelical congregations around Ohio say the requirement raises privacy concerns about pastors' approach to counseling and even church teachings on corporal punishment.
   "If corporal discipline is considered abuse and the pastor preaches that the Bible teaches corporal discipline, what should the pastor do if the parishioners follow his preaching?" said Daniel Whisner, pastor of the Church at Chapel Hill in Mount Vernon. "Should he then turn them into the state for abuse?"
• Minister charged in sexual abuse of girl at his Elkton home [1992-96] -- Presbyterian Church.
   ABC 2, www.insidebaltimore.com/news/local/04-02-20-sa-elktongirl.shtml , February 20, 2004
   ELKTON, MARYLAND: A Delaware minister living in Elkton faces 20 criminal counts in the alleged sexual abuse of a young girl at his home.
   According to court documents, 63-year-old Ernest Olsen is accused of molesting the girl during a five-year span, ending in 1996 -- just before the girl turned ten years old. The court records say the victim is a relative.
   Olsen's lawyer, Harry Barnes says the charges against his client are unfounded.
   Prosecutors say Olsen has been a pastor at a Presbyterian church in Delaware but aren't saying which church or Olsen's current status with the church.
• Diocese's expenditures for abuse near $800,000 [19 accused] -- RCC.
   The Express-Times, www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1077290551321220.xml , By JOHN ZUKOWSKI, Friday, February 20, 2004
   METUCHEN (NJ): A new report released by the Roman Catholic Metuchen diocese reveals about 1 percent of its 990 priests and seminarians were credibly accused of sexual abuse involving minors since 1950.
   The diocese was created in 1981, but statistics in its report include claims from parishioners at churches that were formerly part of the Diocese of Trenton. These churches are now within Metuchen's boundaries of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties.
   The diocese reported having a total of 29 allegations involving 18 priests and one deacon, according to the report published in the Metuchen Diocese weekly newspaper, The Catholic Spirit. The diocese is in the process of investigating eight allegations involving four priests and one deacon, and none of the accused is in the ministry. Diocese and civil investigations have concluded three allegations involving three priests were unfounded.
   The diocese spent $795,000 for settlements, legal and medical fees related to the allegations during the time period, the report says.
• Diocese outlines 3 decades of priest-sex allegations [8 accused, 30 victims] -- RCC.
   Star-Telegram, www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/8001346.htm , By Darren Barbee, ~ February 20, 2004
   FORT WORTH (TX): Eight priests in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese have been accused of improper sexual behavior with minors since the diocese was founded in 1969, according to a report released Friday by Bishop Joseph P. Delaney.
   The diocese settled one of those cases for $12,500. Another lawsuit involving a former priest is pending. In all, 30 victims have come forward during those years, the report states.
   The report is part of a larger study by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to study the scope and cost of a nationwide priest abuse scandal. Victims of abuse say the report is flawed, though not meaningless.
   Through a spokesman, Delaney declined to comment on the report. In a prepared statement, he called the abuse scandal and the eight accused priests, three of whom are dead, a source of great sorrow.
   "I am especially saddened by the pain that the victims of this abuse have suffered," the statement said. "If there are other persons who have not told me of any abuse of them by a priest, deacon, or any other employee of the Church, I urge them to get into contact with me through our Victims Assistance Office."
• Priest won't face charges [1986 DeLorenzo] -- RCC.
   Flint Journal, www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-19/107730120124740.xml , By Ron Fonger, Friday, February 20, 2004
   FLUSHING TWP., MICHIGAN: Resigned priest Vincent DeLorenzo won't be charged in connection with a new allegation of sexual abuse, township police said this morning.
   Detective Sgt. Don Gansen said he was told of the decision today by Genesee County Prosecutor Arthur A. Busch.
   Police investigated and turned over their findings to Busch last week after a 22-year-old Columbus, Ohio, man alleged in November that he was abused by DeLorenzo when he was 5 years old.
   Prosecutor Arthur A. Busch said today his office believed it did not have enough evidence to sustain criminal charges. There also were issues relating to legal time limits for bringing charges, he said.
   "We carefully reviewed this case," Busch said. "Our feeling was the investigation was well done. (But) there were some rather unusual circumstances where corroboration is really critical to proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
• Diocese paid $352,000 to settle sex abuse cases -- RCC.
   The Valley Independent, www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/news/s_180554.html , By Craig Smith, For The Valley Independent, Friday, February 20, 2004
   GREENSBURG (PA): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg and its insurance carriers have paid more than $352,000 for counseling and settlements related to 11 substantiated sexual abuse allegations since 1951.
   The bulk of that -- just over $267,000 -- was used to settle one case in the 1980s.
   The numbers were released Thursday in advance of a statistical study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that will detail for the first time the extent of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the United States from 1950 to 2002.
• Bishop Releases 'Time To Heal' Sex Abuse Report [32 acused, 216 claims, $US 16m] -- RCC.
   Turn to 10, www.turnto10.com/news/2863089/detail.html , ~ February 20, 2004
   FALL RIVER, Mass.: -- The Fall River diocese releases its report on sexual abuse in the diocese
   The report, A Time To Heal, says since the early 1950s, 32 priests have been involved in allegations of sexual misconduct. None of them are currently in active ministry.
   There have been 216 claims against the diocese. Of those 131 involved former priest James Porter.
   And the diocese has paid $16 million in settlements for those 216 cases.
   Copies of a 'Time to Heal' will be distributed to parishioners at Masses this weekend.
• Fort Worth Catholic diocese reports on abuse [8 accused, 30 victims, $12,500 paid, 1 case pending] -- RCC.
   Denton Record-Chronicle, www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D80R7G1O0.html , Associated Press, Feb/20/2004
   FORT WORTH (TX): Eight priests in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese have been accused of improper sexual behavior with minors since the diocese was founded 35 years ago, according to a report released Friday.
   The diocese settled one of those cases for $12,500. Another lawsuit involving a former priest is pending. In all, 30 victims have come forward during those years, the report states.
   The report is part of a larger study by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to study the scope and cost of a nationwide priest abuse scandal, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Friday.
   Victims of abuse say the report is flawed, though not meaningless.
   Through a spokesman, Bishop Joseph P. Delaney, who released the report, declined to comment. In a statement, he called the abuse scandal and the eight accused priests, three of whom are dead, a source of great sorrow.
   "I am especially saddened by the pain that the victims of this abuse have suffered," Delaney said in the statement. He also said others who have not come forward should contact him through the church's victims assistance office.
• Charity's director to leave [Sex abuse, money accusations] -- RCC.
   The Dallas Morning News, www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/022004dnmetlucio.14800.html , By BROOKS EGERTON, Feb 20, 2004
   DALLAS (TX): A suspended Dallas priest has agreed under pressure to retire as executive director of Casita Maria, the tarnished immigration counseling service he founded after a late-1980s parish sex scandal.
   The Rev. Justin Lucio had been forced off Casita's board last year under a deal with the Texas attorney general, who let him keep his top staff job in exchange for promises of financial reform. But state officials persuaded an Austin judge to seize the charity in December, after a new board member quit and complained that fiscal abuses were continuing.
   Garrett Vogel, a Dallas accountant who was appointed by the judge to temporarily run Casita, said Father Lucio "didn't have a lot of choice" about leaving. "I assume he decided there was a new sheriff in town and he'd better get out as gracefully as could."
   Father Lucio, who has long denied sexual and financial misconduct, declined to comment Thursday. The acting president of the board, José Lincón, referred questions to Mr. Vogel.
• Good Cop, Bad Church [1980s ? Another "missing" priest] -- RCC.
   Orange County Weekly, www.ocweekly.com/ink/04/24/news-arellano.php , by Gustavo Arellano, ~ February 20, 2004
   CALIFORNIA: The 29-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department was one of two detectives who, in 1986, pursued allegations that Father Andrew Christian Andersen of St. Bonaventure Catholic Church had repeatedly fondled four preteen altar boys over the course of three years. Gilligan talked to witnesses. He visited scenes where Andersen was alleged to have assaulted the boys by reaching into their underwear and rubbing their penises. And Gilligan accompanied Senior Detective Gary Brooks to meet with diocesan officials.
   The subsequent probe into the popular priest's activities concluded with Andersen pleading guilty to 26 counts of molesting four boys. It remains the only criminal conviction of a Roman Catholic priest on molestation charges in Orange County history. But Gilligan's most vivid-and painful-recollection involves visiting St. Bonaventure with Brooks and attempting to interview Andersen and his superior, Monsignor Michael Duffy.
   "At that point in the investigation, no one seemed to know where Father Andersen had gone," said Gilligan, a lifelong Catholic who attends Santiago de Compostela in Lake Forest. "He apparently got wind of what was going on and left town. So, we went out to St. Bonaventure to talk with Father Duffy, thinking he could give us his whereabouts." ...
• Ex-Prosecutor Puts Focus on Sex Claims Against a Bishop -- RCC.
   The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2004/02/20/nyregion/20white.html , By DANIEL J. WAKIN, February 20, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): Since the charges first surfaced on Feb. 4, the bishop, Howard J. Hubbard, has been waging a highly public campaign to proclaim his innocence, and he is banking on Ms. White to support his claim that he never violated his vow of celibacy. She was named on Tuesday by the review board of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
   In her first appearance before the news media since then, Ms. White, 56, said in Albany yesterday that her investigation would be wide-ranging but acknowledged that it might ultimately be inconclusive. It may also be expensive - she said she would charge the diocese her usual fee of $770 an hour, not including the cost of investigators and other expenses. She said the diocese gave her a blank check on resources.
   "It's not an easy assignment, and definitive answers may not be found to some or all allegations," said Ms. White, who is now in private practice. "But I intend to conduct this investigation expeditiously and thoroughly and will pursue every conceivable, reasonable avenue to find definitive answers."
• Local report generates little reaction [45 accused, 112, $2.28m] -- RCC.
   The Catholic Free Press, http://catholicfreepress.org/Report.html , By Kevin Luperchio, ~ February 20, 2004
   WORCESTER (MA): A bishop's report on clergy sexual abuse of minors has generated little reaction around the diocese.
   The report, published in a pastoral letter last week, outlines child sexual abuse allegations against clergy to the diocese's establishment in 1950. It included the number of priests accused of sexual abuse (45), the total number of allegations reported to the diocese (112), and the amount of money the diocese has paid in settlements ($2.28 million).
   Raymond L. Delisle, diocesan director of communications, and Patricia Engdahl, director of the diocese's Office for Healing and Prevention, said they received no inquiries or feedback from the report. The Office for Healing and Prevention, established as a response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis, provides outreach to survivors of sexual abuse and works to educate the public about the issue surrounding such abuse.
   Mrs. Engdahl said the lack of response to the bishop's report suggests that "people's questions are being answered. We are giving people the information they are looking for."
   Msgr. Thomas J Sullivan, diocesan chancellor, said he thinks people find the diocese report credible, especially in light of the separate report released weeks earlier by District Attorney John J. Conte.
• Blackstone pastor removed from parish [NOT children, nor parishioner/s] -- RCC.
   The Catholic Free Press, http://catholicfreepress.org/Removed.html , ~ February 20, 2004
   BLACKSTONE (MA): Father James D. Champion, pastor of St. Paul Parish for the last 12 years, has been placed on administrative leave of absence because of allegations of sexual misconduct, Bishop Reilly has announced.
   The bishop, in a letter sent to priests of the diocese Tuesday, said the allegations do not involve children or minors or any of the parishioners at St. Paul's.
   Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, diocesan Chancellor, has been named temporary administrator of the parish, Bishop Reilly announced today. He will continue as Chancellor and Director of Vocation with his residence remaining at the bishop's residence.
   Msgr. Sullivan told parishioners about Father Champion's removal at the Masses last weekend. He assured them that the bishop would assign a priest to be responsible for the spiritual and temporal administration of the parish. "The stability and strength of St. Paul's is very important to the bishop. All of the regular parish scheduling will then continue as planned and parish activities will not be curtailed," Msgr. Sullivan said.
• Abuse victims dismiss 'false memory' theory -- RCC.

   One in Four, http://oneinfour.org/news/news2004/victimsdismiss , Irish Independent, ~ February 20, 2004
   IRELAND: Child abuse victim groups have angrily rejected a claim that many former residents of Church-run institutions have conjured up false or exaggerated memories of their time in industrial schools and orphanages.
   The legal adviser to the British False Memory Society, Margaret Jervis, said in Dublin yesterday that the therapy business was "a machine for manufacturing false memories" which could lead to taxpayers being ripped off through the Residential Institutions Redress Board.
   Ms Jervis said she accepted that abuse did take place in residential institutions. "But there has been a trend for people with problems in their adult lives to be made to think they had problems as a child, whether they could remember them or not."
   However, Ms Jervis's claim has been strongly rejected by John Kelly of Irish SOCA (Survivors of Child Abuse).
   He said that victims began to tell their stories of abuse in the 1990s "not because they had suddenly recovered long-suppressed or forgotten memories, but because the stigma of being abused had faded, which made it easier for them to come forward".
• Mass. bishop named in sex case: Rape allegations vs. Springfield prelate [Dupre] -- RCC.
   Boston Herald, http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=2101 , By Eric Convey, Friday, February 20, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Two men brought the most serious charges to date against a member of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in New England yesterday, claiming recently retired Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupre plied them with wine and cognac and raped them repeatedly throughout their teen years.
   One of the unidentified accusers said he was going public because he was offended by Dupre's prominent advocacy against gay marriage in recent months.
   "The level of anger and feelings of hypocrisy" pushed the victim, who is gay, to speak out, said attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr.
   According to a statement released by the men through MacLeish's Greenberg Traurig law firm, Dupre had described their 1970s sexual encounters as part of long-term, loving relationships.
   "Our clients grew up believing Bishop Dupre truly cared about them and loved them," MacLeish said.
   Dupre resigned as bishop of Springfield Feb. 11 after the Springfield The Republican newspaper confronted him with abuse allegations. Neither he nor his lawyer could be reached for comment yesterday.
   Dupre had previously drawn criticism for his oversight of former priest Richard R. Lavigne, a confessed child molestor who was eyed as a suspect in the still-unsolved murder of an altar boy.
   According to interviews and a three-page summary of the accusations made public last night, Dupre met one boy when the child was a newly arrived 12-year-old refugee from Southeast Asia. Dupre, then a local priest, told the boy he would teach him to read and proceeded to initiate a sexual relationship.
   Dupre allegedly took the boy on a porn-buying trip to Connecticut and on other out-of-state excursions where they had sex, including a trip to Canada.
• Dupre accusers tell lurid tale [1976 -] -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1077267109250050.xml?nntn , By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY, bdewberry@repub.com , Feb/20/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): A little more than a week after Bishop Thomas L. Dupre resigned amid sexual abuse allegations brought forward by The Republican, his two alleged victims broke their silence last night to provide lurid details of sexual assaults they said began when they were 12 and 13 years old.
   The former Catholic bishop of Springfield introduced the two boys, one of whom was a 12-year-old refugee, to homosexual sex and gay pornography after taking one under his wing when he was a parish priest about 28 years ago, the men said last night.
   The two men, one aged 40 and the other 39, issued a statement through their lawyer detailing the alleged abuse. One of the men, who is now gay, said he was moved to anger after the Roman Catholic Church and Dupre began a crusade against gay marriage in Massachusetts.
   Dupre, 70, checked himself into an undisclosed medical center and retired within a day of being confronted with questions about the allegations by The Republican last week.
   Roderick MacLeish Jr., a lawyer for the men, said the bishop is being treated at St. Luke's Institute in Silver Spring, Md., which is known for treating pedophile priests. This could not be confirmed last night.
   Dupre, who cited a heart condition in his retirement announcement, has yet to address the charges. His lawyer, Michael O. Jennings, a Springfield criminal defense attorney, said he had no comment last night.
• NYC lawyer investigating allegations against bishop -- RCC.
   Capital News 9, www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=60470&SecID=33 , By Elizabeth Hur, 9:41 PM, Feb/19/2004
   ALBANY (NY): Mary Jo White is the first to admit this is not an easy assignment. It is possible definitive answers may not be found to some or all the allegations because some of them are from over 30 years ago and critical witnesses are no longer living. But White intends to do all that she can to find the facts sought by many.
   "Reason I agreed to accept this, twofold. One how important I think it is that answers be found if they can be found. And if I can contribute to that, I think I should contribute to that," said White.
   Secondly, White said she was assured full independence and complete cooperation from the diocese. Attorney John Aretakis, who represents many victims of clergy sex abuse, immediately issued a statement questioning such assurances.
   "Bishop Hubbard and Father Doyle's credibility has been seriously questioned when they promise Miss White their full cooperation and independence. It sounds like the same empty promises and misinformation," said Aretakis.
   Promises and misinformation Aretakis claims to have received from other officials in the past.
• Investigator pledges independence -- RCC.
   Troy Record, www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10998761&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7021&rfi=6 , By Shawn Charniga, Feb/20/2004
   COLONIE (NY): Making the initial appearance of her independent investigation of Bishop Howard Hubbard, former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White said Thursday, an "expeditious" and "thorough" review would determine if Hubbard had been a practicing homosexual since becoming bishop in 1978, or if his denials of that claim are true.
   White said the investigation, whose end point is uncertain, would draw upon "all possible sources," living and dead. While White acknowledged it will be difficult to investigate events that allegedly occurred so long ago, she said she has investigated with success events that stretched even further back. White was hired by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese's Sexual Misconduct Review Board.
   A full report, including any crimes uncovered, will be released to the public at the close of the investigation, she said, declining to speculate on disciplinary actions or charges that might follow. She also declined to specify the contents of the "growing list" of records she has requested.
   "Our report is a fact-finding mission. It's up to others what those facts amount to and what will be done," White said.
   She confirmed she will seek a rumored suicide note by the late Rev. John Minkler, but would not confirm that she would delve into the diocese's personnel records of individual priests. While Hubbard has made available his own personal records, he refuses to divulge his priests' records, as he said that would violate their civil rights.
   White, who was appointed to the U.S. attorney's office in southeastern New York by President Clinton in 1993, became a partner in the 500-attorney New York City firm Debevoise and Plimpton LLP after stepping down from her U.S. attorney's position in 2002. Her government tenure saw her participate in investigations of both attacks on the World Trade Center and the prosecution of gangster John Gotti.
• A probe at $770 per hour -- RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.timesunion.com/ AspStories/story.asp? storyID=220742&category= REGIONOTHER&BCCode= HOME&newsdate= 2/20/2004 ; by Fred LeBrun, Friday, February 20, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): At five minutes past the appointed hour, former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White strode purposefully to the press conference microphone on Thursday, looking neither left nor right along the way, and got right to the point.
   All allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Howard Hubbard, head of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, will be looked into in detail, leaving no rock unturned, without fear or favor.
   That includes, but is not limited to, accusations from Andrew Zalay and Anthony Bonneau, and any allegations inferred or stated in a letter sent by the recently deceased Rev. John Minkler to the late Cardinal John O'Conner in 1995. Mary Jo White was in high command presence mode: polite but unsmiling, direct and unflappable.
   No, she's not a Catholic. Yes, she has a totally open mind about the bishop. She has never met Bishop Hubbard or spoken to him, has never represented the bishop or diocese, or any other diocese, and neither has her 500-member Manhattan law firm, as far as she knows.
   The former federal prosecutor, at one time the bane of terrorists and Wall Street miscreants alike and who was replaced in that high-profile post by a Bush appointee, made it clear that she is asked to do far more investigations than she has time for.
   She only agreed to this assignment because of its importance and because the employer -- the diocesan review board, not the bishop or diocese proper -- was willing to meet all her conditions of accessibility to information, and the discretion to look into just about anything she deems appropriate.
• Tulsa Diocese reports seven clergy accused [10 victims, $US 200,000] -- RCC.
   The Oklahoman, www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1181734 , The Associated Press, Feb 19 2004
   TULSA (OK): Seven clergy members of the Diocese of Tulsa have been accused of child abuse in the nearly 20 years since it was formed, officials said.
   Figures released by the diocese, which covers eastern Oklahoma, also show that there have been 10 abuse victims and payments of more than $200,000 made for victims, counseling, legal services and medical treatments.
   The so-called John Jay Study Report is scheduled to be released next week. Henry Harder, chancellor of the Diocese of Tulsa, this week made public the information the diocese forwarded to those conducting the study.
   U.S. bishops commissioned the survey after news of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal broke.
   "I do not know yet what they contain, but I fear the worst," the Most Rev. Edward J. Slattery, bishop of the Tulsa Diocese, told the Tulsa World.
• Student key witness in bishop case [2003] -- RCC.
   Arizona Daily Wildcat, http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/97/101/01_3.html , By Jessica Lee, Friday, February 20, 2004
   PHOENIX (AZ): When Kellie Gonzalez came across a man lying in the middle of a Phoenix street on the night of June 14, 2003, she had no idea it would affect her entire first year in college.
   Gonzalez, a pre-physiological sciences freshman, was a witness in the trial Tuesday that convicted Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien of leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run. O'Brien was head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, a position he no longer holds.
   Although she did not see pedestrian Jim Reed get hit in the accident, Gonzalez was the first person on the scene.
   "I left work and was driving down Glendale Avenue to attend a work party, and that was when I saw Mr. Reed in the road. Immediately I called 911," Gonzalez said.
   Working as a lifeguard for the City of Phoenix, Gonzalez used her basic first aid and CPR skills in an attempt to help Reed.
• Bishop inquiry already started -- RCC.
   Albany Times Union, www.timesunion.com/ AspStories/story.asp? storyID=220711&category= REGIONOTHER&BCCode= HOME&newsdate= 2/20/2004 ; By BRIAN NEARING, Friday, February 20, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): A former federal prosecutor promised Thursday to conduct a no-holds-barred investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   Calling it the first time a diocese has appointed an independent investigator to examine charges against its leader, Mary Jo White said she took the job only after the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese promised its "full cooperation" and her complete independence "to expand the investigation" if she wants to. Stepping into an unprecedented crisis of confidence in the spiritual leader of 400,000 Catholics, White promised she would take her investigation wherever it leads but will not look at misconduct claims against other priests.
   "We will put in this investigation whatever we need," said White, who is a partner in the 500-member firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. "We have some lawyers and investigators on it now," she said.
   Her report will not be made available to anyone before she issues it publicly. "No one sees it before everyone sees it," she said, declining to set a timetable on her investigation. She was hired by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese's Sexual Misconduct Review Board that Hubbard created to look into claims of clergy sexual abuse.
   During an afternoon news conference at The Desmond hotel, White said her first call was made Wednesday to local attorney John Aretakis, who earlier this month helped ignite the controversy swirling around Hubbard after publicizing two claims of homosexual behavior against the bishop.
• Paterson and Metuchen dioceses detail abuse cases [$US 2,800,000 + $US 795,000] -- RCC.
   The Call, www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b5-3nj-church1feb20,0,5353306.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed , February 20, 2004
   TRENTON, N.J.: Two Roman Catholic dioceses have become the first in New Jersey to release detailed reports on sexual misconduct claims involving clergy and children.
   In a report published Wednesday in its weekly newspaper, the Paterson diocese announced that it has spent $2.8 million since 1950 on legal fees, settlements and counseling related to "credible" misconduct claims.
   Church officials said 71 abuse allegations were made against 39 of the 737 priests who served in the diocese from 1950-2002. Of those claims, 56 cases - involving 30 priests and one deacon - were deemed credible after review by church boards and county prosecutors.
   The highest number of incidents allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when 47 accusers came forward. The diocese serves Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties.
   While noting that the figures may be disturbing, Bishop Frank Rodimer said their release is "in the interest of openness and accountability, of identifying the extent of the problem, and of obtaining information that will help us in making sure that it will not reoccur in the future."
   A similar report published Thursday in the Diocese of Metuchen's newspaper said it spent $795,000 for settlements and legal and medical fees during the time period. The report said 1 percent of its 990 priests and seminarians were credibly accused of sexual abuse involving minors.
• Greensburg divulges priest sex-abuse data [21 accused, $US 352,604 paid] -- RCC.
   Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, www.post-gazette.com/pg/04051/275418.stm , By Ann Rodgers, Friday, February 20, 2004
   PITTSBURGH (PA): The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg reports that since it was founded in 1951, 21 priests have been accused of sexually abusing minors and 11 of those cases were substantiated. The diocese and its insurance carriers paid $352,604 in settlements and counseling fees.
   The data were released in anticipation of a report next Friday from researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who the U.S. Catholic bishops commissioned to study the scope of child sexual abuse by priests.
   Although the national study will not be broken down by diocese, many dioceses are releasing their statistics.
   Pittsburgh and Erie are expected to release their data next Friday, while Youngstown did so last week. The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown released its statistics on accusations in December and plans to release financial data Monday. Many cases have been reported previously due to court action or other diocesan reports.
• Diocese seeks dismissal of abuse suit -- RCC.
   Tribune-Review, www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/pittsburgh/s_180440.html , By Glenn May, Friday, February 20, 2004
   PITTSBURGH (PA): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has asked a county judge to dismiss a lawsuit that blames diocesan officials for sexual abuse four men claim they suffered as youths at the hands of priests.
   In court papers filed Feb. 13, diocese lawyer Joseph W. Selep argues that a lawsuit filed by the men last month fails to include specific facts supporting allegations that Bishop Donald Wuerl, his predecessors and other church leaders knew about the abuse claimed in the suit.
   Selep's objections to the Jan. 14 lawsuit also argues it includes no facts to back up allegations that church leaders shuffled priests from job to job to hide their histories of sexual abuse.
• Denouncing gay marriage riled accuser, lawyer says [Helped victim along gay road? The biter bit?] -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, "Sermon riled accuser, lawyer says," www.boston.com/ news/local/ massachusetts/articles/ 2004/02/20/ sermon_riled_ accuser_lawyer_says , By Kevin Cullen, Feb/20/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): Not long after Bishop Thomas L. Dupre stood in a Greenfield church last month, denouncing gay marriage, a young man who says Dupre had sex with him when he was a 12-year-old sat 3,000 miles away, in California, reading a newspaper account of Dupre's sermon, speechless over what he considered unspeakable arrogance and hypocrisy.
   According to the man's lawyer, it was Dupre's outspoken opposition to gay marriage that triggered the resolve to hold Dupre accountable for the alleged abuse.
   Dupre, who abruptly resigned last week as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, may have unwittingly unleashed the forces that led the California man and a Massachusetts man to come forward with allegations against him and could lead to him becoming the first American bishop to be prosecuted on charges of sexually abusing minors.
   In an interview yesterday, Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett said he will encourage the two men to press charges.
   Bennett, however, stressed that the decision was up to the two men. "They may not wish to have their private lives made so very public," Bennett said.
• Greensburg Diocese releases results of sex abuse investigation [11 accused, 3.2%] -- RCC.
   Herald-Standard, www.heraldstandard.com/ site/news.cfm?newsid= 10998134&BRD= 2280&PAG=461& dept_id= 480247& rfi=6 ; By Frances Borsodi Zajac, Feb/20/2004
   GREENSBURG (PA): Since the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg was founded in 1951, 11, or 3.2 percent, of its 334 diocesan priests have had substantiated allegations made against them concerning sexual abuse of minors, officials said Thursday.
   In addition, one outside priest who served within the diocese for a time was involved in a substantiated case.
   None of these priests is involved in active ministry, and all of these cases are old, according to officials.
   The diocese released the numbers in anticipation of the Feb. 27 release of a national study by the U.S. Catholic clergy into the problem of sexual abuse of minors.
   "We've been open all along, and we wanted to be consistent," said Angela J. Burrows, executive director of Infomedia Services for the diocese. She noted that the numbers do not include religious-order priests who have served in diocesan parishes, since they would report to their own religious superiors.
   The findings were made public by a report written by Burrows in The Catholic Accent, the diocesan newspaper.
• 4 Priests Face New Abuse Charges [1995, 2003, 1970s, 1988-93] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priest20feb20,1,3030752.story?coll=la-headlines-california , By Richard Winton, February 20, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Four of 10 priests who escaped sexual abuse charges in Los Angeles County last summer after a U.S. Supreme Court decision are facing new charges of sexual abuse.
   One former priest faces life in prison in Texas if convicted, two more are awaiting sentencing, and the fourth is awaiting trial on new charges.
   "One by one, these guys are going down," said Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. William Hodgman. "If they struck once, they tend to strike again."
   The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1994 California law allowing the retroactive prosecution of decades-old child sex crimes. But the state attorney general's office has concluded that crimes that occurred after Jan 1, 1988, are still prosecutable.
   • Michael Wempe faces trial on allegations that he sexually abused a boy in his hospital chaplain's office as recently as 1995. Earlier molestation charges against Wempe were dropped last summer. He was forced to retire from the ministry in 2002.
   • John Anthony Salazar was charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old in a Texas hotel room last September, six months after charges were dismissed against him for molesting two boys in the 1980s at an Eastside Los Angeles parish. Salazar, who was working as a priest at the time of the alleged assault, has since been removed from the ministry.
   • Lawrence Lovell, who has been removed from the priesthood, is awaiting sentencing in Prescott, Ariz., for molesting a 13-year-old boy there in the late 1970s. Charges that Lovell abused four altar boys at the San Gabriel Mission from 1980 to 1984 were dropped last year after the high court decision.
   • Carlos Rene Rodriguez faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting two boys at a Santa Paula parish from 1988 to 1993. Rodriguez was arrested in December, five months after charges that he molested a Los Angeles altar boy in the 1980s were dismissed. He has been removed from the ministry.
• Report details sex-abuse allegations in diocese [35 accused] -- RCC.
   Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_14797805.shtml , By Jean Peerenboom, jpeerenb@greenbaypressgazette.com , ~ February 20, 2004
   GREEN BAY (WI): Between 1950 and 2002, allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made against 35 of the 819 priests and deacons who served or are serving the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Bishop David Zubik said Thursday.
   Zubik released the statistics during a news conference Thursday morning, eight days before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is to release a national sex-abuse study.
   The national report is a step on the "road to alleviating this societal problem and restoring trust in the Catholic Church," Zubik said at the news conference.
   Of the 35 Green Bay area priests and deacons who faced allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, "15 are deceased, 15 have withdrawn or have been removed from priestly ministry, one is facing criminal charges and four others are laicized - completely out of the priesthood," Zubik said.
   "In five other cases, charges were dropped either by the police or by the alleged victims."
• St. Norbert Abbey releases its abuse cases [16 accused, 5 still in the Order] -- RCC.
   Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_14804354.shtml , ~ February 20, 2004
   WISCONSIN: The community of St. Norbert Abbey also released information that it provided for the national study on sexual abuse of minors that is to be released Feb. 27 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   "Sexual abuse of minors is fundamentally contrary to the goals and mission of the Premonstratensian Order," said Abbot Gary Neville.
   "The order, since its establishment in the United States, has been committed to the education of young people, especially in the Green Bay Diocese. Thousands of young people have had the benefit of a good moral Catholic education in the diocese and beyond. However, regrettably, some priests associated with our Abbey have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of children. The facts are these:"
   • In the past 111 years, 16 out of 267 priests have been accused of sexual misconduct with children.
   • Most of the accusations relate to events more than 20 years ago and some as long as 50 years ago.
   • There have been 54 allegations against Norbertines, nearly half of which were levied against two priests. One died more than 10 years ago; the other left the priesthood.
   • Of the 54 allegations, most were found credible. However, four were found false and several are deemed questionable.
   • Of the 16 accused priests, eight are deceased and three are no longer in the order. The remaining five are still members of the order but no longer function in active ministry.
• Diocese has fielded 59 sex abuse cases [35 accused] -- RCC.
   Post-Crescent, www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_14806181.shtml , Post-Crescent and wire reports, ~ February 20, 2004
   GREEN BAY (WI): There were 59 allegations of sexual abuse against 35 priests in the Diocese of Green Bay during the 52 years ending in 2002, the diocese said Thursday.
   The diocese released the figures that are part of a study being conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York.
   The national figures in the study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are to be released Feb. 27.
   The diocese said charges were dropped either by authorities or the alleged victims in five other cases.
   It said 15 of the 35 priests have died, 15 no longer have priestly duties but have not officially been taken out of the priesthood, one is facing criminal charges and four have been removed from the priesthood.
• Albany bishop inquiry vowed -- RCC.
   Democrat & Chronicle, www.rochesterdandc.com/news/0220GK3BDMF_news.shtml , The Associated Press, February 20, 2004
   ALBANY (NY): An ex-federal prosecutor promised a thorough independent investigation of sex abuse allegations against Roman Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard.
   At a news conference Thursday, Mary Jo White, hired by the Albany diocese's review board, said several attorneys and investigators from her New York City law firm were already at work. The board examines claims of sex abuse by members of the clergy.
   "It's an independent investigation," White said. "There's no conceivable way I'd do anything else."
   She said she is not Catholic and has no "particular feelings about the Catholic faith." She also said she has not been influenced by the diocese.
   Hubbard has denied two recent allegations of improper homosexual relationships in the 1970s and others raised in a recently uncovered letter written in 1995. The bishop said he has kept his vow of celibacy and has dismissed several priests from the 14-county diocese for credible sex abuse claims.
   The priest who allegedly wrote the confidential 1995 letter, the Rev. John Minkler, was found dead at his suburban Albany home Sunday. The cause of his death is under investigation.
• Mahony Comes Up Short [244 abusers] -- RCC.
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-priests20feb20,1,2152644.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials , ~ February 20, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Cardinal Roger M. Mahony has insisted throughout the allegations of priestly abuse of minors in the Los Angeles Archdiocese that his top priority was the protection of victims. Unfortunately for all involved in this heartbreaking affair, the available evidence finds him still dragging out the process.
   Even in Mahony's welcome and heralded "Report to the People of God," issued this week, there's little that's new. For instance, although the report states that 244 priests, deacons and others associated with the Catholic Church have been accused of abuse, only the 211 names already made public by the press or in court proceedings are given in the report.
   Providing authorities with the names of the other 33 people accused of misdeeds, no matter what the archdiocese deems the quality of the accusations, would have been new and worthy. Instead, through litigation the archdiocese continues to block the release of personnel files that would move all such cases forward.
   Handing over needed information to authorities would not dismiss a presumption of innocence. It would, however, show a commitment to protecting children from possible continued abuse by allowing civil authorities to decide on the allegations' worth. For more than 20 months the district attorney's office has sought archdiocese records regarding allegations of child sex abuse.
   Through its legal resistance, the archdiocese, under the umbrella of protecting the possibly innocent, sends a message that its clergy carry more weight than protecting and providing justice to children.
• Swampscott man removed as church pastor -- RCC.
   The Daily Item, http://www2.thedailyitemoflynn.com/news/moreCoverage.bg?articleid=209 , By David Liscio, Friday, February 20, 2004
   SWAMPSCOTT (MA): A Swampscott native and deputy national chaplain for the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) has been placed on administrative leave from his post as pastor of St. Paul's Church in Blackstone following allegations of sexual misconduct.
   The Rev. James D. Champion, 58, a graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, was ordered off the pulpit last week, and church officials last Sunday offered parishioners an explanation for his absence.
   Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, chancellor and director of vocations for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, told parishioners during three Masses that Champion had been removed.
   Sullivan said Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte assured the diocese that the sexual activity did not involve children, and would not result in criminal charges because the man who made the complaint chose not to publicly come forward. The accuser was not a parishioner, Sullivan said.
   The monsignor further explained to parishioners that the allegations first came to his attention about three weeks ago, adding that Bishop Daniel P. Reilly made the decision to place Champion on administrative leave while the Diocesan Review Board conducts an investigation. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:34 AM]
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Friday, February 20, 2004
• Vatican report urges work with experts on sex abuse -- RCC.

   CathNews, "Vatican report urges work with experts on sex abuse," http://www.cathnews.com/news/402/114.php , Feb 20, 2004
   VATICAN CITY: A 220 page Vatican report has recommended that the Catholic Church should work more closely with scientific experts to identify potential perpetrators.
   Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Scientific and Legal Perspectives represents the Vatican's first comprehensive effort to examine recent research into the psychological causes and types of abuse, including screening procedures, recidivism rates, effects on child victims and the possibility of successful therapy for abusers.
   Although cautioning that each case of sexual abuse against minors is unique, it sketched general characteristics of priest-abusers and identified a wide range of possible "risk factors," including sexual immaturity, narcissistic traits, alcohol and drug abuse, hormonal abnormalities and endocrine disorders.
   While drawing on the experience of US bishops in confronting sexual abuse, the report made a case against the US policy of "zero tolerance" for clerical abusers. It suggested that the church and society are better off when abusive priests are kept in the priesthood but away from children.
   The report, to be published by the Pontifical Academy for Life, was based on a Vatican-sponsored symposium of scientific experts held last April.

   ADELAIDE: Meanwhile, South Australia's Court of Criminal Appeal has refused to reduce the sentence imposed on a former Catholic school bus driver, who sexually abused three intellectually disabled boys.
   67 year old Brian Perkins was jailed for 10 and a half years for assaulting the boys between 1987 and 1991.
   On Wednesday the appeal court rejected all of his lawyer's grounds of appeal.
   Chief Justice John Doyle said Perkins' offending had a corrosive effect on society, and made the community question the bona fides of volunteers.
   Justice Ted Mullighan said it was hard to image a worse crime than placing intellectually disabled boys in bondage and subjecting them to demeaning treatment.
SOURCE: SA court rejects school bus sex offender's appeal (ABC 18/Feb/04)
LINKS: Vatican: Church must work with scientific experts to prevent abuse (Catholic News Service 18/Feb/04)
Adelaide archbishop welcomes paedophile's "appropriate" jail sentence (CathNews 15/9/03)
Church faces class action by parents for damages (CathNews 5/8/03)
Archdiocese of Adelaide
Pontifical Academy for Life
Click to COMMENT
• Hungarian Christian university ordered to take back expelled gay seminarian -- Govt overrules Reformed Church.

   Catholic World News, "Hungarian Christian university ordered to take back expelled gay seminarian," www.cwnews.com/ news/viewstory.cfm? recnum=27809 , February 20, 2004
   BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (CWNews.com): A state-funded Hungarian Christian university was ordered to take back a seminarian expelled from the school and its theology faculty because it was said he was gay.
   The Budapest District Court ordered the university run by the Hungarian Reformed Church to take back the 24-year-old physically handicapped seminarian who was expelled in January.
   The man has a motor neuron disability and is unable to walk and has difficulty speaking. Most Christian groups in the country protested the court action, saying the state had no right to infringe on religious freedom.
• Bishop William Murphy must step down -- RCC.
   Parents For Megan's Law, USA , e-mail February 20, 2004
   UNITED STATES: Bishop William F. Murphy, the current Bishop of the Rockville Centre Diocese on Long Island, helped to orchestrate the largest cover-up of the sexual victimization of children in the history of our nation. Incredibly, the Vatican is currently allowing him to supervise over 200,000 children in schools, religious education and youth sports programs.
   The Attorney General in Massachusetts found Bishop Murphy played a vital role in the cover-up of the massive abuse of children. During his eight-year-tenure as second-in-command Bishop Murphy supervised the response to many sexual abuse cases. And, even with undeniable information available to him on the risk of recidivism, Bishop Murphy continued to place a higher priority on preventing scandal and providing support to alleged abusers than on protecting children from sexual abuse.
   Send a message to the Vatican that you want Bishop William F. Murphy to be held accountable and you want him to step aside for his role in Boston. Cardinal Law is gone, Bishop Thomas V. Daily is gone and now Bishop William F. Murphy has to go.
   HELP PROTECT CHILDREN AND TAKE ACTION!
   TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION
   Call [= telephone] Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to United States of America, Telephone: (202) 333-7121
   Tell him that Bishop William Murphy, former second-in-command to Cardinal Law, must be held accountable - he must step down. [Feb 20, 04]

Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Saturday, February 21, 2004 edition follows:-
• Atlanta Archdiocese: 25 children molested by priests since 1950 [13 accused] -- RCC.
   AccessNorthGeorgia.com ; www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=31762 , The Associated Press, Feb 21, 2004
   ATLANTA (GA): A report by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta released Friday reveals that 25 children were alleged victims of sexual abused by 13 priests over the past 52 years.
   The report, part of a nationwide audit that will be the first comprehensive measure of sexual abuse within the church, collected claims dating back to 1950, calculating that the archdiocese has paid about $1.5 million in damages to victims.
   Results of the national study will be released next week, but some bishops decided to release the results for their own dioceses ahead of time.
   In a written statement, Atlanta Archbishop John Donoghue said Friday that he released the numbers to respond in a Christ-like way to what we see as a tragedy. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:20 AM]
• Ex-priest mum after sex probe dropped [1987 DeLorenzo]
   Flint Journal, www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1077373210105210.xml , By Ron Fonger, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: If Vincent DeLorenzo and his attorney were celebrating after prosecutors decided not to press charges against the resigned priest, they weren't talking about it Friday.
   DeLorenzo decided to say nothing after county Prosecutor Arthur A. Busch said there wasn't enough evidence to back up an allegation of sexual abuse that dated back to 1987.
   DeLorenzo's attorney, Peter Bade, wouldn't even characterize his client's mood or reaction to the decision.
   Two sexual abuse claims against DeLorenzo - both filed years after incidents allegedly happened - have been investigated by police but neither were pursued by Busch.
   The prosecutor said Friday that attorneys in his office believed they did not have enough evidence to sustain criminal charges and might have problems with legal time limits for bringing charges in the latest case.
• Childhood Forever Lost [Jennifer Chapin; $US 3m] -- RCC.
   Modesto Bee, www.modbee.com/local/story/8149957p-9002353c.html , By JULISSA McKINNON, February 21, 2004
   OAKDALE (CA): No amount of money can give Jennifer Chapin her childhood back. No wad of cash can undo the damage inflicted by years of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest.
   But Chapin doesn't expect it to. The 31-year-old Oakdale woman sees her record $3 million settlement from the Oakland Catholic Diocese as just another step in what she calls her healing journey.
   Chapin's settlement established a state record for the amount paid by a diocese to a single victim of clergy sexual abuse.
   She said the money will probably go to fixing the leaky roof on her family's farmhouse, buying a new swing set for her children, replacing the weeds out front with grass, and maybe buying a Friesian horse to add to their animal farm out back. And whatever therapy is not covered by the diocese, she added. [...]
   Chapin said she sees no need to forgive her abuser, Monsignor George Francis, for "repeatedly and ritualistically raping" her, sometimes using ropes and religious objects. Francis died in 1998.
   "Why should I have to forgive him? Anger, love, hate -- that's all energy," [...]
   Chapin said Francis threatened that if she ever told anyone, God would kill someone in her family or someone she loved.
   "He was the pastor of our church, he built the church and the school halls," Chapin said, flicking back her waist-length brown hair. "He was a very upstanding man, and when I was a kid, I believed priests talked to God all the time." ...
• Fall River Diocese abuse claims below national rate [216 incidents] -- RCC.
   Boston Herald, http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=2117 , By Eric Convey, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   FALL RIVER (MA): Sexual molestation of minors by priests was less of a problem in the Diocese of Fall River than in the country as a whole over the past 50 years, data released yesterday indicates.
   Some 32 priests - 2.4 percent of the 1,353 who served in Southeastern Massachusetts during the period - were accused of abuse, according to diocesan figures made public in accordance with a policy set by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
   A draft of a related national report viewed by CNN put the national rate at about 4 percent.
   The national figures and those for the Archdiocese of Boston are scheduled to be released this week.
   Archdiocesan officials declined in recent days to characterize the Boston numbers before their public distribution.
   Fall River's numbers also show that most of the alleged abuse occurred before 1980. Only six of 216 incidents were reported to have occurred during the past 24 years.
   But victims' advocates insist more recent abuse may be obscured because many victims cannot discuss being molested until many years have passed.
   The report also showed former priest James Porter was responsible for the vast majority of reported abuse in the diocese.
• Priest: 'We ... have failed our children' [30 accused, 70 victims] -- RCC.
   Cape Cod Times, www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/priestxz21.htm , February 21, 2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): They were mostly boys, between 11 and 14. Many say they were abused by priests between 1966 and 1970, and half say they were all abused by a single cleric.
   In the past half century, a total of 30 priests were accused of sexually abusing 70 youths in the Springfield Diocese, which in the last week has been reeling from allegations that its outgoing bishop molested two boys when he was a parish priest.
   The numbers, released by the diocese yesterday, are part of a nationwide accounting of abuse claims compiled by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice.
   CNN this week reported that 4,450 of the 110,000 U.S. clergy who served since 1950 have been accused of molesting minors. The draft report also said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the clergy during that period, according to CNN.
   Those figures are higher than previously estimated by some victims' groups, the media and church officials. [...]
   "There can be no greater sadness than failing our children," Monsignor Richard Sniezyk wrote in a letter introducing the report, which was published in The Catholic Observer, the diocesan newspaper. "We, as a church, have failed our children and this has been acknowledged by the U.S. bishops."
• Alleged sex offender arrested in Alabama [Ex youth pastor; 128 counts]
   The Herald-Dispatch, www.herald-dispatch.com/2004/February/21/LNlist8.htm , By ERIC FOSSELL, February 21, 2004
   ASHLAND (WV): A 31-year-old Ashland man sought by Boyd County, Ky., authorities for alleged sexual crimes against children was arrested Friday evening in Huntsville, Ala., according to Wendell Johnson, public information officer with the Huntsville Police Department.
   Johnson said Jeffrey Bryan Monn -- reported to be an ex-youth pastor -- was arrested just after 6:30 p.m. at an apartment complex in southwest Huntsville. Huntsville police had received a tip from the Decatur (Ala.) Police Department that Monn could be living in the area, Johnson said, explaining that the cities are about 30 miles apart.
   Monn was sought in connection with a multiple-count Boyd County grand jury indictment. The charges are 60 counts of first-degree sodomy with a victim under age 12, 10 counts of first-degree attempted sodomy with a victim under age 12 and 58 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. There were multiple victims, according to a Decatur Police Department release.
   After receiving the tip, Huntsville police converged on an apartment complex where Monn was reportedly staying, Johnson said.
   "They knocked on the door, and he wasn't there," he said. "A short while later, he pulled up in his vehicle and was arrested."
• Coach suspended after sexual-abuse allegations [1992] -- RCC.
   Philadelphia Inquirer, www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/7987257.htm , Feb. 19, 2004
   WARMINSTER (PA): Head coach Brian Duross of the girls' basketball team at Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster has been suspended after a former student accused him of sexually abusing her a dozen years ago.
   Duross, 43, of Willow Grove, did not coach his team in a victory Friday night over Archbishop Ryan High. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in a written statement yesterday that the allegation had been referred to authorities and that Duross had been suspended pending further investigation.
• 'It was truly hell' [1950s Brothers of the Sacred Heart] -- RCC. Boys.
   WALA, www.fox10tv.com/Stories/Story.asp?iSection=&CategoryID=1&SubCategoryID=11&StoryID=1946 , Feb/20/2004
   MOBILE (AL): A Mobile man says he's been carrying a painful secret. He's speaking publicly for the first time about sexual abuse he says he experienced as a child at the Catholic Boys Home in Mobile. It was run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, the same order to which Brother Victor Bendillo belongs. Bendillo was recently convicted of abusing boys at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School.
   Donald Hearn gets emotional when he talks about all the medals he earned during his 9 years of military service. But, his most painful memories aren't from the war, they're from his childhood. Hearn told me, "It was truly hell. The Catholic Boys Home as a hidden prison, with no walls and no fence."
   That's how Hearn remembers the Catholic Boys Home. He says he was nine years old when he went to the home around 1953.
   "This particular group of Brothers of the Sacred Heart, it was a bad crop. They physically, sexually fondled our private parts," he said. He also says he never reported the abuse. Why not? "Who's gonna listen. I had no parents," he said.
   Hearn says two Brothers, and a priest molested him and other boys at the home. Fox Ten News is not releasing the names of the alleged abusers at this time because no charges or official allegations have been made against them.
   The Catholic Boys Home was not too far from the intersection of Dauphin and Sage Avenue. The Home closed years ago, but Hearn says he can never forget the things he experienced the years he lived there.
• Men allege sex abuse at Catholic Boys' Home -- RCC.
   Mobile Register, www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1077358671304700.xml By KRISTEN CAMPBELL and STEVE MYERS, Feb/21/04
   MOBILE (AL): Donald Hearn of Mobile and Joe Shepard of Williamsburg, Va., said Friday they were sexually abused by Catholic priests and brothers while living at the Catholic Boys' Home in Mobile during the 1950s. Hearn said the abuse began shortly after he came to live at the Catholic Boys' Home at age 9 or 10 and continued until his freshman year at what was then McGill Institute. Hearn said he believed he wasn't the only victim at the home and that he was coming forward in hopes others would follow.
   "It wasn't just me," he said, stating that he believes a priest, whose name he did not recall, at one point investigated allegations of physical and sexual abuse.
   Both Hearn and Shepard said they never reported the abuse to the Archdiocese of Mobile or to civil authorities.
   The Very Rev. Michael L. Farmer, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Mobile, said Friday he had not heard of the men's allegations of sexual abuse at the former orphanage.
• Diocese details abuse [216 claims; $US 16m] -- RCC.
   Cape Cod Times, www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/diocesedetails21.htm , By SEAN GONSALVES, Feb 21, 2004
   FALL RIVER (MA): Thirty-two priests who served in the Fall River Diocese since 1954 have been accused of molesting minors, according to a clergy sex-abuse report released yesterday.
   The 216 claims made against those priests cost the church $16 million to settle.
   The report was issued by the Fall River Diocese, which includes 101 churches in Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the islands, as part of a nationwide review of abuse claims.
   "The tragedy of clergy sexual abuse of minors has touched every diocese in the nation and affected in some way every Catholic," Fall River Diocese Bishop George W. Coleman said in a prepared statement yesterday. "To those who have suffered abuse at the hands of anyone ministering in the name of the Fall River Diocese, and to their families, I extend as bishop my most sincere apologies." [...] The report yesterday was published in the diocese's newspaper, the Anchor, and is available on the Web site fallriverdiocese.org .
• Idaho bishop releases state abuse numbers; 12 priests were accused between 1950 and 2002 -- RCC.
   The Idaho Statesman, www.idahostatesman.com/Story.asp?ID=61548 , Feb-21-2004
   IDAHO: There were 21 credible allegations of child abuse made against 12 Catholic priests in Idaho between 1950 and 2002, Bishop Michael Driscoll said Friday. None of the dozen remain in the ministry.
   "We regret that any child or young person was ever abused by someone working in the name of the church," Driscoll wrote in Friday editions of the Idaho Catholic Register. "We also want to do all in our power to cleanse the church, to restore trust and to protect children and young people."
   Driscoll did not immediately return a phone message left Friday by The Associated Press.
   The 12 clergy members accused of child sexual abuse represented 2.8 percent of the 422 priests that worked in the diocese in the half century. That was about par with other dioceses around the country, he said.
   The church did not name the priests, though one case is a matter of public record.
• Study details clergy abuse [22 abused 70] -- RCC.
   The Republican, http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/scratch-33/1077353307211601.xml?zzz-bc , By MICHAEL McAULIFFE, mmcauliffe@repub.com , Feb/21/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield yesterday released a report that states 22 priests were found to have abused 70 children and teen-agers over a period spanning more than a half century. The study shows that 1.6 percent of diocesan priests were found to be abusers, significantly lower than the roughly 4 percent figure of clergy accused of abuse included in the draft of a national survey scheduled to be released next week.
   According to the report, allegations were deemed to be credible through an admission by a priest, the determination of the diocese's Review Board or by a finding in a court case.
   A national organization representing victims of clergy sex abuse and lawyers who have brought lawsuits on behalf of alleged victims criticized the diocese's report, questioning the validity of the data and the omission of the names of abusive priests.
   The report, published yesterday in The Catholic Observer, the diocesan newspaper, is part of the national study of clergy sexual abuse of minors requested by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 and does not include allegations leveled against former Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupre. Dupre retired last week after The Republican confronted him with a list of questions regarding alleged abuse against two adolescents that began more than 20 years ago.
• Two L.A. Teachers Are Accused of Molestation [No religion link in this newsitem]
   Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/ news/local/los_angeles_ metro/la-me-teacher 21feb21,1,1066148. story?coll=la-commun- los_angeles_metro , By Karima A. Haynes, Feb 21, 2004
   LOS ANGELES (CA): Two Los Angeles Unified School District teachers have been accused of child sexual molestation in two unrelated cases, authorities said Friday.
   A North Hollywood teacher and former Sun Valley church music instructor has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual and child abuse, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said.
   David Gray, 53, was arrested Friday on a felony warrant charging him with four counts of sex abuse of a child younger than 15, one count of child abuse, one count of physical abuse of a child and two counts of dissuading a witness, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Marie Wise.
   Gray rotated among five district schools in Los Angeles: Los Feliz Elementary, Cheremoya Avenue Elementary, Wilton Place Elementary, Grant Elementary and Pio Pico multilevel school.
   Gray, also a former music teacher at Grace Community Church, is suspected of sexually and physically abusing three young family members - a boy, now 6, and two girls, now 8 and 10, officials said. The abuse allegedly began in December 2000.
• Ex-pastor's wife she helped set abuse case in motion [2000s Holcomb] -- Church of God
   Roanoke Times, www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story162982.html , By Shay Wessol, shay.wessol@roanoke.com , 381-1665, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   PEARISBURG (VA): Roger Holcomb's wife, in a fit of anger, made a phone call in August that helped touch off the sexual abuse investigation against him.
   Frome Holcomb testified Friday that she called the Giles County Department of Social Services and told a caseworker that her husband, who was then the pastor of the Pembroke Church of God, spent too much time with a young girl who attended his church. Frome Holcomb also claimed that she thought that the girl's parents might be abusing and neglecting her.
   That claim, and several other callers reporting what they considered "inappropriate" behavior between Roger Holcomb and the girl, now 10, led to the girl's claim that Holcomb had molested her, Sherry Thwaites of social services testified Friday - the third day of the trial - in Giles County Circuit Court.
   Early Friday, Circuit Judge Colin Gibb dismissed two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor after both attorneys conceded that the alleged victims had said nothing about those accusations while testifying Thursday.
• Church Making Changes In Light Of Abuse -- RCC.
   TheOmahaChannel.com ; www.theomahachannel.com/news/2863495/detail.html , Posted February 20, 2004
   OMAHA, Neb.: The Omaha Archdiocese released a report Friday detailing church abuse for the past 52 years.
   As a result of past problems, the Catholic Church is adding new training sessions for everyone who has contact with children in the church, and they must have a background check.
   A lot has changed in the Catholic schools and churches in Nebraska since sexual abuse cases were made public across the state.
   "We worked with what does a healthy relationship look like," said Barb Marchese, principal of St. Philip Neri Catholic School, one of the trainers for the Archdiocese's Safe Environment training. "What are appropriate and inappropriate boundaries."
   Those who have had the training watch for signs of abuse among the kids. They also help police the priests and each other.
   "There's a lot of children out there who are very vulnerable," said Marchese. "It really made us step back and say, 'OK, could this be misconstrued or seen as inappropriate?'"
   Rev. Damian Zuerlein, of St. Peter church, said he's "overly cautious" when he's around children now, and that he doesn't think the extra awareness is a bad thing. He wants people to keep a watchful eye.
   The next step for the Archdiocese's Safe Environment training is to teach the children. They'll learn about their rights. Currently, the training is in the works.
• Diocese adds abuse claims; Update reveals extra $10 million spent, 47 more cases [$US 14.3m wasted] -- RCC.
   The Cincinnati Enquirer, www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/21/loc_kydiocese22.html , By Jim Hannah, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   COVINGTON (KY): Nearly 50 more people were abused by priests in the Covington Diocese than the church previously reported and an additional $10 million was spent to settle abuse claims.
   "It's been six months since our initial of release of data," Bishop Roger J. Foys said in a statement Friday. "I made a pledge to keep the faithful of the diocese informed. Updating these figures at this time is part of that pledge."
   The new report says 35, or 9.6 percent, of the diocesan priests abused 205 victims since 1950. That's an increase of 47 reported victims since the last report. Lawyers in a class-action lawsuit against the Covington Diocese claim the numbers are higher.
   The diocese spent $14.3 million settling claims - $4.9 million from its own coffers and $9.4 million paid by insurance companies.
• Catholic bishops brace for sex-abuse report [~ 4%] -- RCC.
   Palm Beach Post, www.palmbeach post.com/news/ content/auto/epaper/ editions/today/news_ 0463ad4ab57732 cf10a0. html , The Washington Post, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   UNITED STATES: The nation's Roman Catholic bishops will hand ammunition to their critics next week by releasing a nationwide study of sex abuse in the church, but they hope that doing so will lead other organizations that care for children to conduct similar research, the president of the bishops' conference said Friday.
   "I would like to believe that the Catholic Church is taking a bold step not only because of the seriousness of this issue for us, but the seriousness of this issue for all of society," said Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill.
   The report will reveal, for the first time, what church records show about the number of U.S. priests who have been accused of child sexual abuse, the ages and genders of their victims and the legal settlements that helped keep many cases out of the public eye.
   CNN reported this week that a draft of the study said 4,450 priests have been accused of molesting more than 11,000 minors since 1950. That would mean that roughly 4 percent of the estimated 110,000 priests who have served during that period have faced abuse allegations.
• Charlotte priest removed over sex abuse allegations [1990s; denies] -- RCC.
   Wilmington Star News, www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040221/APN/402210535&cachetime=5 , The Associated Press, February 21. 2004
   NORTH CAROLINA: A priest removed from the ministry over allegations he sexually abused minors in New Jersey denied he has done anything wrong and said he didn't even know he'd been accused.
   The Rev. Gregory Littleton, 42, resigned Friday from Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church after officials in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte found the accusations "credible," acting diocese spokesman David Hains said.
   Littleton told The Charlotte Observer he denies the allegations and has never abused a child. He said he wasn't aware of any allegations against him until he was told of them Friday morning by Charlotte diocese officials. He said he is seeking legal counsel to help figure out his next step.
   The alleged incidents occurred in the 1990s, but no one connected with the case would give any additional details.
   Hains said Littleton has not been accused of anything since he arrived in the Charlotte diocese from the Metuchen, N.J., diocese in 1997. He served two small parishes in western North Carolina, part of the Charlotte diocese, before coming to Our Lady of the Assumption.
• BR diocese gives abuse report [$US 2.072m] -- RCC.
   The Advocate, www.2theadvocate.com/stories/022104/new_church001.shtml , By BARBARA SCHLICHTMAN, bschlichtman@theadvocate.com , Advocate Religion and Youth editor, Feb/21/04
   BATON ROUGE (LA): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge reported Friday that 10 diocesan priests have been accused by 20 victims of sexual abuse of minors throughout the diocese's history.
   The diocese also reported spending $2,072,274 on victims' compensation, legal fees, therapists and counselors for victims and priests, part of which was covered by insurance.
   There has not been a new allegation in the Baton Rouge diocese since 1992, said the Very Rev. John Carville, vicar general for the diocese.
   "While we are extremely sorry that anyone representing our church, particularly clergy, has ever abused a minor, we are grateful that there have been no incidents of abuse reported or alleged for the last 12 years," Carville said.
   The diocese voluntarily released the numbers that had been gathered for a national report, which will be released Friday. Bishop Robert Muench said the diocese released its numbers for the sake of openness; the national report will not break down the numbers by diocese.
   The diocese reported in April 2002 that six priests had been removed from active ministry because of accusations of molesting minors. Since then, three more priests were accused, and the diocese discovered an accusation in unrelated records bringing the total to 10.
• Abuse victims hold service with candlelight. -- RCC.
   San Antonio Express-News, http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1132020 , By Sheila Hotchkin, Web Posted : Feb/21/2004
   SAN ANTONIO (TX): The Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio and an advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse by priests joined Friday night to hold a candlelight healing service at Mission Concepción.
   The service organized by the San Antonio chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] featured prayers, music and Bible readings. Monsignor Lawrence Stuebben, the archdiocese's vicar general, took part.
   "If it heals one person tonight, that makes the biggest difference in the world," said Barbara Garcia Boehland, director of the San Antonio chapter.
   Garcia Boehland's 20-year-old son committed suicide in 1997, several years after being molested by a priest while a student at St. Anthony's High School Seminary.
   A few dioceses nationwide, including the Diocese of Oakland, Calif., have participated in such services, said David Clohessy, executive director of the group's national office.
   But he said the services are "certainly not common," because the last thing most bishops want is to give cases of priest sex abuse more visibility.
• Clergy abuse tallied -- RCC.
   The Sun Chronicle, www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2004/02/21/city/city1.txt , Feb 21, 2004
   FALL RIVER (MA): Allegations of sexual misconduct have been leveled against 2.3 percent of priests in the Fall River Diocese over the past 50 years, according to a report released Friday.
   And James Porter -- the notorious former priest who first preyed on children at St. Mary's Church in North Attleboro, then went on to molest children in other parishes -- accounted for most of the claims of sexual abuse in the diocese over a half-century.
• Charlotte priest removed over sex abuse allegations -- RCC.
   WCNC, www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D80RF4S81.html , Associated Press, Feb/21/2004
   CHARLOTTE (NC): A priest removed from the ministry over allegations he sexually abused minors in New Jersey denied he has done anything wrong and said he didn't even know he'd been accused.
   The Rev. Gregory Littleton, 42, resigned Friday from Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church after officials in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte found the accusations "credible," acting diocese spokesman David Hains said.
   Littleton told The Charlotte Observer he denies the allegations and has never abused a child. He said he wasn't aware of any allegations against him until he was told of them Friday morning by Charlotte diocese officials. He said he is seeking legal counsel to help figure out his next step.
   The alleged incidents occurred in the 1990s, but no one connected with the case would give any additional details.
• Diocese's report on sex abuse questioned [? 1.6%] -- RCC.
   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/21/dioceses_report_on_sex_abuse_questioned , By Kevin Cullen, Feb/21/2004
   SPRINGFIELD (MA): The Catholic Diocese of Springfield said yesterday that only 1.6 percent of the 1,003 priests who served in its parishes over the last half-century had faced "credible accusations" of sexual abuse, but the Hampden County district attorney said the report was flawed because there is evidence that some diocesan records have been withheld and that others may have been destroyed.
   Law enforcement officials said they are considering legal action to search diocesan records themselves.
   The report issued yesterday by the Springfield Diocese is part of a nationwide study of the scope and cause of sexual abuse by priests that is scheduled for release Friday in Washington. Officials of the Springfield Diocese released the report a week after Bishop Thomas L. Dupre resigned after being confronted with allegations that he had sexually abused two boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
   The report found that 30 priests from the diocese had been accused of abusing 70 minors over the last 50 years and that 16 of those accusations were credible. Officials in the Fall River Diocese released figures yesterday saying there were allegations against 32 of 1,353 priests, or 2.4 percent. A leaked draft of the nationwide report suggested that 4 percent of priests have been accused.
   Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their advocates called the Springfield report worthless, saying they did not trust the diocese to report truthfully about the extent of sexual abuse by its priests.
   Roderick MacLeish Jr., the Boston lawyer who represents two men who say Dupre abused them when they were boys, said Springfield's figures "are ridiculously low."
• Fall River: Porter accounts for most abuse claims [216 incidents, $16m paid] -- RCC.
   Daily News Transcript, http://www3.dailynewstranscript.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=27106 , By Associated Press, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   FALL RIVER (MA): Nearly 61 percent of the sexual abuse claims made against priests in the Diocese of Fall River in the past 50 years were made against defrocked priest and convicted pedophile James Porter, according to figures released by the diocese yesterday.
   And of the more than $16 million in settlements paid to abuse victims, nearly 83 percent, or $13.3 million, went to Porter victims.
   The numbers, released by the diocese yesterday, are part of a nationwide audit of abuse claims compiled by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice.
   Since 1954, allegations of sexual misconduct involving minors have been made against 32 of the 1,353 priests who have served in the diocese, or about 2.4 percent. That is well below the national average of about 4 percent.
   Of the 216 abuse incidents that occurred in the diocese, all but six occurred before 1980, although most were not reported until after 1990.
• Church acknowledges child sex abuse ... Bishop admits 21 'credible' allegations against Idaho priests in past 50 years [2.8%] -- RCC.
   The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho; www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate/index.asp?StoryID=8397 , The Times-News and The Associated Press, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   BOISE (ID): Twenty-one credible allegations of child sexual abuse were made against 12 Catholic priests in Idaho between 1950 and 2002, Bishop Michael Driscoll said Friday.
   None of the dozen remain in the ministry.
   "We regret that any child or young person was ever abused by someone working in the name of the church," Driscoll wrote in Friday editions of the Idaho Catholic Register. "We also want to do all in our power to cleanse the church, to restore trust and to protect children and young people."
   Driscoll did not immediately return a phone message left Friday by The Associated Press.
   The bishop wrote in Friday's Idaho Catholic Register that the 12 clergy members accused of child sexual abuse represented 2.8 percent of the 422 priests who worked in the diocese in the half-century. That was about par with other dioceses around the country, he said.
   "Most of the incidents happened many years ago," Driscoll wrote. "Of the 21 incidents reported, two occurred in the 1950s, two in the 1960s, 11 in the 1970s and five in the 1980s. The last known incident took place in 1996."
   The church did not name the priests, though one case is a matter of public record.
• Church releases abuse stats -- RCC. Porter had 131 accusations.
   Herald News, www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11003649&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=6 , By KATHLEEN DURAND, Feb/21/2004
   FALL RIVER (MA): There have been 216 allegations of sexual abuse of minors by 32 priests in the Fall River Diocese in the last 50 years and 131, or 60.65 percent, of those accusations were against former priest James R. Porter.
   That is one of the statistics in "A Time to Heal," a report being released to diocesan parishes this weekend by Bishop George W. Coleman.
   Porter pleaded guilty in 1993 to 41 charges of sexual abuse, involving 28 children in the diocese in the 1960s and 1970s. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but although he is due to be let go, he still has not been released. He is awaiting a hearing on March 2 in New Bedford Superior Court to determine if he is a sexually dangerous person.
   District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. filed for the hearing when he was notified that Porter was due to be released from jail at the end of January. Porter is being held at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater.
• Vatican report is said to question zero-tolerance on abuse -- RCC

   Boston Globe, www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2004/02/21/vatican_report_is_said_to_question_zero_tolerance_on_abuse , By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press, Feb/21/2004
   VATICAN CITY: The Vatican will soon publish a report about sexual abuse by clergy that draws heavily on scientific opinion, including specialists skeptical about removing from the ministry any priest who has molested a child, a psychologist who helped edit the report said.
   The report grew out of a four-day symposium on pedophilia held behind closed doors at the Vatican in April.
   Monsignor Charles Scicluna, a symposium participant, said scientific feedback will help the Vatican focus its policy toward offenders and victims.
   "We're on a learning curve," said Scicluna, whose office is a key player in setting church positions on the sex abuse. Insight came, he said, on "how to secure a safer environment for young people."
   During that gathering, church officials listened to and questioned therapists and other clinical specialists from the United States, Canada, and Germany. Among the issues on the agenda was how molesters might be rehabilitated.
   The leader of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said yesterday the survey had to be done so the church can move beyond the abuse crisis.
   "I'm not afraid," said Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill. "We need this information to make sure that the steps we have taken thus far are adequate to the problem. We need to know the truth."
   The report is expected to be published in the next few weeks and will be distributed to bishops' conferences worldwide, a Vatican official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.
   [COMMENT: "We're on a learning curve"! 1500 years +! RCs break another record! 1985 warnings set aside due to Crimen Sollicitationis, 1962, perhaps? COMMENT ENDS.]
• Diocese tallies abuse toll; There have been 59 allegations against 35 priests in 52 years, here -- RCC.
   News-Chronicle, www.greenbaynewschron.com/page.html?article=124489 , By Ray Barrington, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   GREEN BAY (WI): In advance of a national study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, the Diocese of Green Bay released its numbers of victims, priests involved and the cost over a 52-year period.
   The numbers, covering the period from 1950 to 2002, are part of a study being conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. The study was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with the national figures to be released Feb. 27.
   Green Bay Bishop David Zubik said the diocese did not have to release numbers, as the study will only release totals, not breakdowns by region or diocese. He said his diocese wanted to be "transparent" in handling the issue.
   The numbers, Zubik said, are these: Over the period 1950-2002, 59 people have made allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against 35 priests in the diocese out of 819 who served during those years. In five other cases, charges were dropped either by authorities or the alleged victims.
   Posted by Kathy Shaw at 03:38 AM
//////////////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Saturday, February 21, 2004
• Extradited man faces sex charges [Swann] -- No religion link known at this stage.
   The West Australian, "Extradited man faces sex charges," p 42, Saturday, February 21, 2004
   AUSTRALIA: A man extradited from NSW [New South Wales, Australia] was remanded in custody when he appeared in a Perth court yesterday accused of tying up and sexually assaulting an eight year old girl.
   John Thomas Swann, 47, of Gosford, north of Sydney, was ordered to appear again on April 30. The charges include sexually penetrating a child under 13. [Feb 21, 04]
• Catholic Organization Issues Demand Letter to Archdiocese and Vatican.
   PR Web, www.prweb.com/ releases/2004/ 2/prweb106 212.htm , February 21, 2004
   Below is a press release regarding a Demand Letter that was recently sent to the Ardiocese of Los Angeles and The Vatican demanding full disclosure and an accounting of the finances relating to the Church's handling of the sex abuse scandal.
   UNITED STATES (PRWEB) February 21, 2004 -- Catholics for Truth and Transparency Issues Demands on the Vatican/LA Archdiocese.
   Catholics for Truth & Transparency (CTT) - a Los Angeles-based non-profit association of concerned Catholics and friends, whose membership includes lawyers, physicians, and businesspeople, among others - has presented a detailed set of demands on the Vatican and the LA Archdiocese, in general demanding full disclosure of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the sex scandal and its cover-up that have shaken and demoralized the Church since 2002.
   CTT is demanding, among other things, that the LA Archdiocese declare openly that the Church's Canon Law, Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela,* which regulates the handling of complaints of sexual abuse be declared void and of no effect in California or any other United States jurisdiction where priests are mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse. The Canon Law under attack requires priests to report child abuse to the Vatican alone and to otherwise maintain secrecy while the Church conducts an investigation. CTT says this is illegal and tantamount to a criminal conspiracy.
   In addition, CTT is also making several demands which are designed to create transparency in the financial affairs of the LA Archdiocese, noting that the Church's recent claims of a financial crisis are not credible. It has requested detailed documentation as to the source and destination of funds solicited for charitable purposes so as to know how much of the Church's resources have been diverted to defending or covering up or investigating priests accused of sexual abuse. CTT notes that this is a matter amenable to redress through the equitable power of the courts pursuant to various statutes including the California Business and Professions Code §§ 172000 et seq., in order to prohibit these unlawful activities from continuing in California.
   CTT gave the Church ten days to respond to its letter. The organization is prepared to proceed to Federal District Court to end once and for all any confusion the Church may have regarding allegiance to its canon law or the California Penal and Civil Code.
   CTT is quite serious that if its demands are not met that it will proceed to court -- probably in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California -- to address these matters.
   Although it was the intention of CTT not to release the letter until the ten day response period mandated by the letter had expired, a full copy of the letter was apparently leaked, and the full text is now circulating the net and can be found -- among other places -- at: http://celebrityjustice. warnerbros.com/ documents/ 04/02/pope .pdf . Contact: David Martin 323-936-9956
   Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company listed in the press release. Please do not contact PRWeb. We will be unable to assist you with your inquiry. PRWeb disclaims any content contained in these release. Our complete disclaimer appears here.
____________________
* This is cited in a Vatican document "CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENT, INSTRUCTION, Redemptionis Sacramentum, at: www.vatican. va/roman_curia/ congregations/ccdds/ documents/rc_con_ ccdds_doc_2004 0423_redemptio nis-sacrament um_en.html , as follows:
   Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter (Motu Proprio), Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, 30 April 2001: AAS 93 (2001) pp. 737-739; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ep. ad totius Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopos aliosque Ordinarios et Hierarchas quorum interest: de delictis gravioribus eidem Congregationi pro Doctrina Fidei reservatis: AAS 93 (2001) p. 786. .
   [COMMENT: If the petitioners are correct, this pro-secrecy document ranks alongside the Crime of Solicitation Crimen Sollicitationis, which relates to the Sacrament of Reconciliation / Penance / Confession. COMMENT ENDS.] [Feb 21, 04] FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker SIGN-UP: www.ncrnews.org/abuse/signup.php for daily e-mails
or click Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse for current on-line
The Boston Globe Spotlight http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse
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