• [Evangelical pastor accused of sexually assaulting girl.] - Evangelical.
Daily Herald, "Ex-pastor accused of sexually assaulting girl,"
www.dailyherald. com/cook/main_ story.asp?intID= 37694151 ,
by Matt Arado, Posted March 14, 2003, dated Mar 16, 2003
MOUNT PROSPECT (IL): Former pastor and Mount Prospect resident Alfredo Julio Cesar Aguilar was indicted Thursday on charges that he sexually assaulted a female relative younger than 13.
Authorities said the abuse happened September 1997 through August 2000 while Aguilar was living in Mount Prospect. Aguilar, 63, now lives in Island Lake.
Aguilar is the former pastor of Cristo es la Roca church, a Hispanic ministry that operates out of the Evangelical Free Church of Wauconda, 700 W. Liberty St. Cristo es la Roca was formed in July 1996.
Mount Prospect police arrested Aguilar in February after a joint investigation with the Department of Children and Family Services that lasted several months. [Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynteronline, 3:43:57 PM, Mar 16 03]
• Brother of the Sacred Heart molested boy repeatedly. - RCC.
NASHUA (NH): The gold cross in Kevin Dandley’s left ear is not a sign of his faith.
The 43-year-old truck driver swears he doesn’t believe in God. Not anymore.
Whatever belief he had was taken away piece by piece by Brother Guy Beaulieu, a former teacher at Bishop Guertin High School, Dandley said.
In a lawsuit Dandley has filed against Beaulieu, the school and the religious order that owns and operates it, the Hudson man accuses his former teacher of molesting him more than 100 times while he was a camper
at a Catholic summer camp and then a student at BG.
"It’s tough going around without faith," Dandley said recently from his lawyer’s Manchester office. "That all went out the window with Beaulieu."
-- The Telegraph, "Church abuse victim seeks redemption,"
http://www. nashuatelegraph. com/ Main.asp? SectionID= 25&SubSectionID= 354&ArticleID= 75648 ,
by Jonathan Van Fleet,
vanfleetj@ telegraph- nh. com ,
Poynteronline Mar 16, 2003
• Catholic Church's failure to understand enormity of priest sex abuse. - RCC.
BOSTON (MA): The "Compass" television programme "Abused and Catholic," is a bit out of date because it was filmed up to about October 2002 (Cardinal Law's resignation was accepted belatedly on December 13 2002).
It gives valuable insights into the Church leaders' seeming inability to understand the enormity of the sexual corruption of children and young adults they have allowed to continue for decade after decade.
Videos of people demonstrating and shouting through loudhailers outside the Boston cathedral showed a placard reading "Some people still don't get it."
An example of the "blindness" at the highest level was the accusation by three former members of the Legion of Christ. Their case of sex abuse, against the order's founder, was suspended without any reason given by Cardinal Ratzinger of the Vatican. There were interviews with homosexual priests attending a homosexual Catholics' gathering.
The producers played the infamous tape of Bishop Quinn advising other Catholic leaders to send incriminating files to the Vatican Embassy, and to destroy unsigned complaints.
The reporter, British journalist Mark Dowd, had been abused by a teaching brother, and was a homosexual.
-- Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "Compass," "Abused and Catholic," Sun Mar 16, 2003
[Emphasis added]
[COMMENT: We assume that even such programmes won't open the eyes of the Church leaders, who seeing the reporters' orientation condition will comfort themselves with that thought, instead of feeling horror that he had been led into sexual practices before he was mature -- and by a supposed spiritual mentor.
By the way, in the Catholic doctrine, corrupting others, and willingly having sexual pleasure outside marriage, are serious sins -- there is no WRITTEN exception for clergy and brothers, but it seems as though there are unwritten rules and practices, just as there seem to be regarding telling the truth! COMMENT ENDS]
[Mar 16 03]
• Bravehearts comment on forthcoming Queensland Anglicans' report.
- Anglican.
AUSTRALIA: A leading child welfare advocate has raised doubts whether a report into the Anglican Church's handling of sexual abuse would be released this week.
Brisbane Archbishop Philip Aspinall is expected to receive the report of a 10-month inquiry on Friday.
But Bravehearts spokeswoman Hetty Johnston said she had been told the report, which had already received an extension, would be further delayed.
-- The West Australian, "Abuse report delay," Mon Mar 17 03 p 12
[FOOTNOTE:Previous newsitems on this include The Weekend Australian, "Brisbane Anglican Church tackles sex abuse past," February 16-17 2002.
FOOTNOTE ENDS]
• Former Wesley college head in court.PERTH, Western Australia:
A former headmaster of a Perth boys' college appeared [?] in court today charged with using a school computer to obtain objectionable material.
John Bednall, 56, resigned from Wesley College last year after the school notified police of the alleged offence.
He was charged with one count of using a computer to obtain objectionable material.
He appeared in a Perth Magistrate's Court today where he was remanded to reappear on April 16.
Bail was required as the matter was dealt with by summons. [See reports including Aug 9 02.]
-- The Sunday Times Online, Perth, "Former boys' college head in court,"
www.sundaytimes. news.com.au/ common/story_ page/0,7034, 6152851% 255E2761, 00.html ,
Mar 19 03
• Wesley principal case called in court.PERTH: We hear . . . that a group of students from Wesley College were settling in to watch a bit of court action during a tour of Perth Magistrate's Court yesterday when they were suddenly ushered out of the room and into another court.
Listed to appear for a mention in the court where the kids had been sitting was former Wesley principal John Bednall on charges of using a computer to obtain objectionable material.
Mr Bednall did not appear in person.
-- The West Australian, "We hear,"
www.thewest.com.au/ 20030320/ unassigned/ tw-unassigned- home- sto9121.html
Thu Mar 20 03
• 72 out of 95 abused children unable to be helped.PERTH: Low federal aid, supposedly because of the Goods and Services Tax recoup to the States, was causing aid agencies to be unable to help children abused or neglected by their parents. Parkerville Children's Home executive director David Roberts said services could not cope, and he sought corporate sponsors. A board member, former resident George Jones, now chairman of mining company Portman, said he hoped to raise awareness of what was possible. Bishop Philip Huggins said there was a housing crisis across Australia.
-- The West Australian, "Abused children turned away," by Kate Gauntlett,
Thu Mar 20 03
• First two indicted after year-long inquiry in Ohio.
CINCINNATI (OH): A Roman Catholic priest and a former colleague were indicted Friday on charges of sexual crimes involving boys -- the first charges issued in a yearlong investigation into Archdiocese of Cincinnati clergy.
The archdiocese said it regretted the charges and is cooperating with the investigation, which prosecutors said is continuing.
The Rev. Kenneth Schoettmer, who is on leave, was charged with gross sexual imposition, sexual battery and rape, Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen said.
Schoettmer, who is accused of using force to sexually abuse a 17-year-old boy he was counselling in 1999, could be sentenced to 15 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
-- Newsday,
Priest, Ex-Colleague Indicted for Abuse,
http://www.newsday.com/ news/nationworld/ nation/wire/ sns-ap-church- abuse.story ,
by John Nolan, Associated Press Writer,
Mar 21 03
!!!: Sodomised by a crucifix! 'I felt ugly inside'ONTARIO (CANADA): A victim of ritualistic sexual abuse by Father Thomas O'Dell testified yesterday that the Catholic priest denigrated him as an "evil, ugly child" after showing him a photo of him being sodomized by a crucifix.
The now 33-year-old Northern Ontario man told Madam Justice Katharine Swinton that he was so traumatized by the sordid experience that he shredded pictures of himself.
"It stuck in my mind. I felt ugly inside," said the man, his face turning crimson as he wiped away tears.
"Growing up, I'd tear up any photographs of myself."
The plaintiff -- who can't be named under a publication ban -- is seeking almost $4 million in damages in a civil lawsuit against O'Dell, 56, and the Northern Ontario diocese that he alleges concealed the priest's abuse
of youths.
-- The Toronto Sun, "Victim 'felt ugly inside'; Abusive priest sued,"
http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-03-21-0030.html ,
by Sam Pazzano, Courts Bureau,
Mar 21 03
• Church and University won't let VOTF use premises.
DAYTON (OH): The local chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay group formed in response to the pedophile priest scandals, has lined up two nationally known speakers for its first meeting April 3, but they won’t be speaking on Catholic property.
Both the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton declined to provide a venue for appearances by Jim Post, national president of Voice of the Faithful, and David Clohessy, national director of the
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
The speakers’ presentations and a discussion afterward will be held at the Dayton Marriott Hotel starting at 8 p.m.
Post and Clohessy have been at the national forefront in pressing for changes in Catholic hierarchical policies toward priests who sexually abuse children and teenagers.
-- Dayton Daily News,
Church rejects Voice of Faithful meeting, Catholic survivors' group to meet at Marriott,
by Jim DeBrosse, jdebrosse@coxohio.com ,
(Poynteronline, Posted by Ann Brentwood 11:56:33 PM),
Fri Mar 21 03
• Church abuse plaintiffs win access to priest files.
LOUISVILLE (KY): Plaintiffs suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
have won access to church personnel files and other documents on any
priest accused of sexual abuse during the past five decades.
William McMurry, a lawyer representing most of the plaintiffs, had
subpoenaed the files as evidence of what he contended was the
archdiocese's "pattern and common scheme to wantonly endanger" children.
More than 200 people have pending lawsuits against the archdiocese,
alleging that it covered up cases of sexual abuse by 27 priests and six
other people associated with the church.
The judge rejected the archdiocese's argument that an order to turn over
the documents would violate First Amendment protection of freedom of
religion.
The ruling Wednesday by Jefferson County Circuit Judge James Shake said
the church does not have to turn over any documents relating to abuse
before 1954, nor does it have to provide records on any priest who may
have had a consensual, noncriminal sexual relationship with an adult.
-- The Cincinnati Enquirer, Church abuse plaintiffs win access to priest files,
http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/21/loc_kypriests21.html ,
The Associated Press,
Posted by Ann Brentwood 11:42:25 PM
Mar 21 03
• Up to 20 clergy, 75 victims -- higher ranks might be prosecuted.
CINCINNATI: Two former Catholic priests were indicted Friday on charges of sexually abusing boys while working at churches in Greater Cincinnati.
The charges against George Cooley and Ken Schoettmer - who have both admitted to sexual misconduct in the past - are the result of a Hamilton County grand jury investigation of priests suspected of abuse.
Prosecutor Mike Allen said the investigation has turned up evidence of sexual misconduct involving as many as 20 priests and 75 victims, mostly boys and young men.
Allen said the indictments Friday do not end the investigation. He said prosecutors will continue to investigate whether high-ranking church officials broke the law by failing to report accusations.
If they did, Allen said, criminal charges are possible.
-- The Cincinnati Enquirer,
Two ex-priests indicted on sex abuse; Investigation involves up to 20 clergy, 75 victims,
http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/22/loc_archdiocese22.html ,
By Dan Horn,
Sat Mar 22 03
• Courts battled to get Church documents of abuse. "Second coming of Christ" to seduce trainee nuns.
BOSTON (MA): The allegations have been sordid, the details shocking and the numbers higher than anyone expected.
A Roman Catholic priest who molested more than 130 children. Another who pulled boys out of religious classes and raped them in a confessional.
Another who seduced girls studying to become nuns by telling them he was "the second coming of Christ." Still another who fathered at least two children and later left the children's mother alone as she overdosed.
In just over a year's time, the personnel files of 138 priests in the Boston Archdiocese have been made public -- thousands of pages released at the behest of attorneys representing alleged victims suing the church -- training a spotlight on a host of accusations of molestation, rape and sexual misconduct involving boys, girls, and some adults.
The onslaught has changed the perception of the archdiocese and clerical sex abuse far beyond Boston.
. . .
Early in the crisis, Law blamed poor record-keeping for the archdiocese's failure to remove priests after they were accused of molesting minors.
But the documents -- many of them handwritten notes and memos detailing sordid allegations -- made it clear that the church kept voluminous records on complaints they received against priests.
Church lawyers vigorously fought against the release of the files. But a judge ordered the once-confidential records turned over to lawyers involved in approximately 500 civil lawsuits against the archdiocese.
-- Monterey Herald, California, "Documenting patterns of abuse,"
http://www.montereyherald.com/ mld/montereyherald/ 5456594.htm ,
by Denise Lavoie, Associated Press,
Sat Mar 22 03
•
Police pass file on Cardinal's handling of child abuse priest to prosecutors.
- RCC.
BRIGHTON (England): Police have passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service after concluding their investigation into complaints that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, covered up claims of child abuse.
The final decision on whether to bring any criminal prosecution now rests with the CPS, which has yet to study the documents. A CPS spokesman said last night that a decision would be taken "in line with established
procedures: is there sufficient evidence to support a charge and would it be in the public interest to proceed?"
The allegations against the Cardinal date from 1985, when he was bishop of Arundel and Brighton. They concern his admission that he failed to report allegations of child abuse against Fr Michael Hill, a priest in his
charge.
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor did not inform police about the allegations against Hill. Instead, the Cardinal moved him to the chaplaincy at Gatwick Airport where he believed that Hill would not be a danger to children.
-- The Daily Telegraph, Police pass file on Cardinal's handling of child abuse priest to CPS,
www.dailytelegraph. co.uk/news/main. jhtml?xml=/news/ 2003/03/23/ncorm23. xml&sSheet=/news/ 2003/03/23/ixhome. html ,
By Chris Hastings, (Filed: Mar/23/2003 ???)
Sat Mar 22 03
• 'An agreement to conceal a crime is void as a matter of law.'
LEOMINSTER (MA): Worcester Country District Attorney John Conte is now a contributor to the Worcester Voice, a Web site established by Mary Jean of Leominster as an information source for alleged clergy sexual abuse victims in the Worcester Catholic Diocese.
Readers logging on to the site can find a Q&A (questions and answers) piece authored by Conte, which is designed to correct "a good deal of disinformation out there.
"When you get into this kind of area, there are a lot of rumors, rather than factual information," Conte said Friday.
He goes on to urge victims to come forward even if they have signed confidentiality agreements in settling civil cases because "an agreement to conceal a crime is void as a matter of law."
-- Sentinel & Enterprise, Fitchburg, MA, Conte urges victims to come out,
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/Stories/0,1413,106~4992~1261832,00.html ,
By Mike Bassett,
Mar 22 03
• Father Bob had 22 known victims, nobody guessed.
ST. PETERSBURG (FL):
The St. Petersburg diocese has been mostly insulated from the scandal enveloping the Catholic church. Until now. With Father Bob scheduled for trial next week, the story emerges of a diocese coming to terms with
ugliness long avoided.
They called him Father Bob, an amiable bear of a man who never put on airs. With his scraggly beard and wayward shirttail, no one ever mistook him for bishop material.
Older parishioners adored him. They say he was direct and kind, you could talk to him.
Young men of the church describe a different Father Bob, whose video games and outings exacted a terrible price. Lost innocence still evokes shame and anger.
Allegations span two decades, at six churches, in three counties. Boys in the rectory. Boys staying overnight. Chance after chance for somebody, anybody, to blow the whistle.
Finally, it came down to a decades-old birthday spanking. In April, a mother and father reported that Father Bob had taken their son behind closed doors and paddled his bare bottom.
Such incidents raised nary an eyebrow back then. But by last year, Catholics all over the country were challenging their church.
The era of trust was over. It was time to bring Father Bob in for a chat.
Robert Schaeufele goes on trial Tuesday, accused of capital sexual battery of a minor. Thousands of Catholic priests have worked in the Tampa Bay area and none ever faced a jury on such charges, which speaks well for a diocese of 350,000 parishioners.
Yet these wounds run deep.
The diocese now knows of 22 men who say Schaeufele molested them. How could this have gone on so long? Did church leaders turn a blind eye? Or were they so unskilled and skittish about sex that they just didn't look hard enough?
-- The St. Petersburg Times, Forever altered,
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/22/TampaBay/Forever_altered.shtml ,
by Stephen Nohlgren,
Mar 22, 2003
•
Globe crusade creates new victims.
( http://www.s-t.com/ daily/03-03/ 03-23-03/ b02op075.htm )
BOSTON (MA): The Boston Globe likely will collect a Pulitzer Prize within a couple of days. We hope it does because it deserves it.
Without the Globe's cold-eyed focus on horrific patterns of priestly abuse, Cardinal Bernard Law and his advisers might well have continued to cover up an appalling scandal and more innocent young people and children would have been endangered.
Justice for the victims of priestly depredations would have been further delayed or altogether denied.
The Globe with its coverage galvanized public opinion in Boston and around the country, made quick work of Cardinal Law and, in the process, dealt a devastating blow to the moral authority of the Catholic Church.
This past month, the Globe took front page notice of the precipitous decline in Catholic church attendance and contributions from the diminished number of Catholic faithful.
The Globe had done its job and no doubt earned all the professional honors
headed its way.
But there is another side to the Globe's remorseless campaign against the
church and Catholic hierarchical authority that deserves some consideration.
For all the good it achieved, particularly in ousting Cardinal Law and bringing a measure of recompense to victims, it also created an immense wave of new victims through the single-minded zealotry of its crusade against the church.
. . .
The victims . . . are the countless number of people who will be stripped of housing and educational opportunities and health and nutritional care because support for the Catholic programs that would provide them has withered away after the Globe barrage.
While it did a masterful job exposing the evil inflicted by miscreant priests, the Globe seemed to have little interest in reminding readers of the social stakes at risk in a diminished Massachusetts Catholicism.
The Globe covered the institutional church the way Woodward and Bernstein covered Watergate, treating it as strictly a political entity without any reference to the social let alone the spiritual realm.
-- The Standard Times,
by Ken Hartnett (Mr. Hartnett is editor of newspaper),
Mar 23 03
[COMMENT: Mr Hartnett sounds like some of the Eastern Europeans who sigh for the government flats and regular low-paid work they were guaranteed before the Berlin Wall fell -- if they didn't ever want to think unsafe thoughts! Truth is more important than that. COMMENT ENDS]
• Church continues to defend perpetrators: Child sodomized from age 5 to 8.
WISCONSIN: I appreciated the March 15 article on Archbishop Timothy Dolan ("Dolan sent letter to judge in abuse case"). It exposed the Catholic Church's continued attempts to defend perpetrators and its lack of care and support for victims.
This article reminded us that the church and religious are not above the law, although many continue to believe they are not accountable simply because they are "the church."
A 5-year-old boy was sodomized and abused for three years. That terror will haunt him for years. The perpetrator is sentenced to 15 years in prison; the boy is sentenced to many more years in a prison only other victims can truly understand. Yet Dolan asks for leniency for the perpetrator.
-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Letter,
"It appears church still thinks it's above the law,"
http://www. jsonline.com/ news/editorials/ mar03/126946.asp ,
Posted by Kathy Shaw 9:04:45 AM,
Poynteronline Abuse Tracker Mar 23 03.
[Take care with word "sodomize" in the U.S.A. It appears from the Grand Jury report about the Rockville Centre clergy abuse that in that jurisdiction "sodomize" has a "legal" meaning wider than the dictionary, and includes oral sex as well.]
• Catholic group starts charity to compete with Bishop's Appeal.
BRIDGEPORT (CT): By donating to The Voice of Compassion -- Voice of the Faithful in the Bridgeport Diocese, a lay organization of Roman Catholics disappointed with the church's handling of clergy sex abuse, is asking parishioners who want to continue giving to local charities but do not want to participate
in the Annual Bishop's Appeal, to donate to its new fund.
"If they want to contribute to the Bishop's Appeal, that's their right to do that," said local VOTF President Joseph O'Callaghan of Norwalk. "What we are suggesting is an alternative."
Bridgeport Fund, modeled after a similar fund started by the first Voice of the Faithful chapter in Boston, Catholics are telling Bishop William Lori that they want him to be more forthcoming about diocesan finances,
O'Callaghan said.
The diocese has reportedly paid out $12 million to $15 million in legal settlements to abuse survivors, he said, and parishioners want to know exactly how much of their money was spent, where it came from, and its
effect on insurance premiums and diocesan programs.
-- The Stamford Advocate, Catholic group starts charity to compete with Bishop's Appeal,
http://www.stamfordadvocate. com/news/local/ scn-sa-votf7 mar23,0,5830410. story?coll= stam-news-local-headlines ,
by Donna Porstner,
Mar 23 03
• [Austrian cardinal, 83, accused of molesting boys, dies.]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/ 2003/03/24/ international 1721EST0773.DTL ,
VIENNA (AUSTRIA): Roman Catholic leaders urged Austrians to forgive
and forget Monday after the death of Cardinal Hans Hermann Gröer, who
scandalized the alpine nation by becoming embroiled in allegations that he
molested boys in the 1970s.
Groer, 83, died Sunday night of pneumonia at a hospital in St. Poelten, 40
miles west of Vienna, where he was being treated for cancer, the
Archdiocese of Vienna announced Monday.
Groer was cardinal of Vienna from 1986 until 1995, when allegations first
surfaced that he had sexually molested students at an all-male Catholic
boarding school in the early 1970s.
He resigned later in 1995 as head of the Austrian Bishops' Conference
under pressure from church and lay leaders. In 1998 -- on the Vatican's
orders, but without admitting any guilt -- he relinquished his church
duties and went into months of exile in Dresden, Germany.
Although the affair threw Austria's church into turmoil, reaction to
Groer's death was surprisingly muted Monday.
-- San Francisco Chronicle,
Austrians urged to forgive, forget after death of cardinal accused of molesting boys,
by William J. Kole, Associated Press Writer,
Mar 24 03
• 'It puts a public name on the terrors I fight weekly.'
DUBUQUE (IA): As a person who experienced clergy sexual abuse as a young child, I would like to respond to Monsignor James Barta's question, "What good does it do to talk about the sins of priests who are dead?" (March 7).
A direct answer: It puts a public name on the terrors I fight weekly in church settings. It demystifies those terrors and lets them be assigned to one man rather than a generic group of men "ordained by God." I no longer have to first struggle through a fog of negative emotions about myself, other people and the world, but am able to feel safe and to see clearly the goodness in people who are not this man or those who knew of and
condoned his actions.
It tells me in the deepest part of my being that he was wrong in what he did and that society as a whole will not tolerate it. Rather than feeling cast out by a society that embraces this man, it welcomes me back.
It tells me I was not singled out because of some flaw in me. It tells me this man also injured others in the same way and that they also bear the scars and continue the same struggle. It tells me that my life matters as much as that of the person who did this.
Finally, and perhaps what I find most important, it allows me to release all of this. I need no longer carry the memories in solitary isolation inside myself. They are now a matter of public record and can be seen by anybody. The memories may now reside in the past.
This is what good it does to talk about the sins of priests who are dead.
-- The Telegraph Herald, "Many reasons to discuss late priests' sins,"
http://www.thonline.com/ News/03252003/ Opinion/171358.htm ,
by JOANNE WRIGHT, 770 Lowell St,
Tue Mar 25 03
• Suicide leads to charges against priest.SYDNEY (Nova Scotia, Canada): A suicide note written by a Langford man about the sexual abuse he suffered as an altar boy has led to 23 sex-related charges against a Roman Catholic priest who served at parishes in Nova Scotia.
Rev. Hugh Vincent MacDonald, 80, who now lives in Ontario, will be arraigned in Sydney, N.S. provincial court Tuesday, police said.
The indecent assault and gross indecency charges stem from alleged incidents in the 1960s and 1970s. MacDonald also faces a single count of rape following an RCMP investigation which dates back to 1961 in Dingwall, Victoria County.
The charges involve 15 different alleged victims -- 10 women and five men. One woman is from the northern Cape Breton community of Ingonish. The others live in the Sydney area.
-- Canada.com Canada, "Suicide leads to charges against priest,"
http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=%7B2B56DD8C-BD57-4226-9442-71CC820A1300%7D ,
by Louise Dickson,
Tue Mar 25 03
• Another Boys' Town Resident Claims Abuse.
OMAHA (NE): Another former resident of Boys Town is claiming he was abused decades ago by a priest and a counselor at the famous home for wayward youth.
A lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Douglas County District Court against the Rev. James E. Kelly and Father Flanagan's Boys Town, the parent company of Boys and Girls Town.
The man who filed the lawsuit is only identified as John Doe. He claims he was repeatedly abused by Kelly and the late Michael Wolf, a former counselor.
The other lawsuit was filed in January by James Duffy against Boys Town. Both Duffy and John Doe claim repressed memories of the alleged abuse by Wolf and Kelly only resurfaced in the last year.
-- KETV 7 NE, Another Boys Town Resident Claims Abuse; 'John Doe' Files Lawsuit,"
http://www.theomahachannel.com/ news/2064247/ detail.html ,
Posted : 7:08 p.m. CST Mar 25 03
• Manchester diocese cuts jobs, sacks journal editor, plans restructuring.
MANCHESTER (NH): The Manchester Diocese, which paid $6.9 million in sex abuse settlements last year, has eliminated 15 jobs and plans to restructure its services in an effort to reduce its budget by $500,000
annually. Reductions are needed because $2.2 million of the 2002 settlements came from the diocesan savings fund, depleting the account which had generated interest and dividend income used in the past to cover
a portion of budget expenses, said Patrick McGee, diocesan spokesman. He also cited an anticipated drop-off in contributions. About 60 sex abuse suits are still pending with no estimate yet as to how much this will cost
the diocese, said McGee. One cost-cutting casualty may be Tidings, the diocesan newspaper which appears 15 times a year. Editor John Haywood was one of the employees dismissed March 18, and after the April issue the
paper will be suspended pending a study of the entire diocesan communications operations, said McGee. Other jobs eliminated were administrative posts and adult education, catechetics and youth ministry positions, he told Catholic News Service ( http://www.catholicnews.com ) on March 24.
-- Catholic News Service, "Manchester diocese cuts jobs, plans restructuring of services,"
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20030325.htm ,
Mar 25 03
• Trio still hope to meet pope on abuse. Boston Globe, www.boston.com/ dailyglobe2/084/ metro/Trio_still_ hope_to_meet_pope _on_abuse+.shtml
Associated Press, March/25/2003,
VATICAN, ROME -- Three Americans who say they were victims of priest sex abuse as children said yesterday they have been unable to obtain a meeting with Pope John Paul II to express their concerns over the scandal that has
engulfed the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
"We will knock on any door until one opens," said Gary Bergeron, of Lowell, who came to Rome with his father, Joseph Bergeron, 78, and Bernie McDade of Salem.
Gary Bergeron and McDade said they were abused as children by the same priest, the Rev. Joseph Birmingham, who died in 1989. Joseph Bergeron said
he, too, was abused when he was an 8-year-old altar boy.
Gary Bergeron, who has been an outspoken critic of the Church's handling of abusive priests, said he doesn't believe the pontiff understands the extent of the scandal in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynteronline, 9:03:11 AM]
[Mar 25 03]
• [Priest-psychologist wants society to study the problem some more!]
NORTH SMITHFIELD (RI): A priest-psychologist said the clergy sex abuse that has rocked the Catholic Church needs more scientific study to determine its causes. Dominican Father Joseph J. Guido led a workshop called "The Sins of the Fathers: Understanding and Responding to Clergy Sex Abuse of Minors," at the 36th annual Religious Education Workshop Day at Bryant College March 15.
He said there is no known causal connection between clergy sex abuse and celibacy or homosexuality, but rather the crisis is a known subset of the much broader general phenomenon of sexual abuse. Father Guido, a member of the Providence diocesan Child Protection Advisory Board and an assistant professor of psychology at Providence
College, said 40 million Americans -- one in every seven -- will be sexually abused at some point in their lives.
That statistic points to "a national problem of the victimization of young people," he added. Sexual abuse, he said, occurs at all socioeconomic levels and, according to statistics, is perpetrated 52 percent of the time by a family member and 29 percent of the time by a close family friend.
-- Catholic News Service, "Priest-psychologist urges more study of causes of clergy sex abuse,"
http://www.catholicnews. com/data/ briefs/cns/ 20030326.htm ,
(Poynteronline, Posted by Ann Brentwood 11:54:11 PM),
Mar 26 03
• [New York diocese's fund-raising drops by a third.]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/ archive/2003/03/26/national1445EST0728.DTL ,
LONG ISLAND (NY),
San Francisco Chronicle,
FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer,
(03-26) 11:45 PST ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (AP):
A Roman Catholic diocese on Long Island says contributions to its annual
fund-raising drive have dropped by a third because of the priest sex abuse
scandal.
Donations to the 2003 Bishop's Annual Appeal are down 34 percent from the
pledges received a year ago for parishes and Catholic charities. The
Diocese of Rockville Centre said donations are not used to pay settlements
of sex abuse cases.
"We've certainly heard from people who say they are not giving because of
the sexual abuse by priests," Joanne Novarro, the diocesan spokeswoman,
said Wednesday. "I can't deny that people are upset."
-- New York diocese's fund-raiser lags amid revelations of priest abuse,
Mar 26 03
• [Mahoney's privacy move leads to State Senate hastening to extend time limit.]
SACRAMENTO (CA): State legislation that would freeze the statute of limitations before time runs out to prosecute scores of Los Angeles-area Roman Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse got a boost Tuesday when a key Senate committee unanimously endorsed the measure.
The bill, proposed last month by the Los Angeles district attorney's office, would extend the deadline to file criminal charges against clerics until the courts decide whether Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and the priests
under investigation have a right to keep church documents private.
Testifying before the Public Safety Committee, L.A. Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Hodgman said that without the proposed law, "well over 100 investigations" into clergy sexual misconduct could be jeopardized.
State lawmakers are scrambling to get the bill passed before the one-year statute of limitations expires on the first cases, beginning April 8.
-- Los Angeles Times, "Senate Panel OKs Bill to Extend Priest Case Deadline,"
http://www.latimes.com/ news/local/ la-me-priest26 mar26,1, 7673414.story ,
by William Lobdell,
Mar 26 03
• [First anniversary message from Voice of the Faithful.]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What a grace it is to be marking the first anniversary of Voice of the Faithful. Our actual date of birth is still debated by the founders, but there is no doubt that we first introduced ourselves to the public on March 9, 2002. On that day, a group of pioneer women (and three men) from Wellesley, MA - each wearing red - attended the archdiocesan convocation in the name of "Voice of the Faithful."
It did not take very long for our pioneers to make an impression on the thousands in attendance that day. They were intelligent, articulate, and identifiable in their red outfits.
They spoke of shame, sin, and scandal. They called for justice, awareness, and commitment to correcting a system that had failed so many innocent children. They asked the archbishop cardinal to listen and to act. They were angry and they said so.
. . .
Today there are over 160 affiliated groups across the country, each numbering from 30 to over 600 members. VOTF has motivated parishioners to educate themselves about the rights of the laity as described in Church documents from Vatican II and Canon Law. These new insights have created a spirit of hope and renewal out of the ashes of shame.
This moral awakening of the laity - and its attendant moral voice - has been heartening. It began one year ago when VOTF's pioneers stood up and said to their bishop and to the world, "We are the Church. We are the Body of Christ."
(and more)
-- In the Vineyard, "This Spirit-ed Year,"
http://www.votf.org/ vineyard/ anniversary/post.html ,
by Jim Post, president of VOTF,
Mar 26 03
• Falsely accused monk deserves an apology.
WORCESTER (MA), (Letter):
It took a jury of six one hour to clear the name of an 84-year-old monk falsely accused of sexually molesting an adult woman. Why, I wonder, did the district attorney choose to prosecute, at public expense, such a flimsy case?
Court records show, and the jury found, that the accuser, a make-believe nun, had no credibility. She hugged the monk and then charged him with fondling her. Did no one in the district attorney's office put two and two together and conclude that this charge was ludicrous and without merit?
I fear that, with all the furore surrounding the prosecution of priests who molest children, the district attorney prosecuted a case that never would have made it to court had a priest not been involved.
-- Telegram & Gazette, "Falsely accused monk deserves an apology,"
http://www.telegram.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel? SearchID= 73130319433194&Avis= WT&Dato= 20030327&Kategori= NEWS& Lopenr= 303270523&Ref=AR ,
Letter from CHARLES B. VAN PELT Jr., Worcester, Massachussets,
Mar 27 03
• [Some are "ephebophiles", not "paedophiles".] [Now, doesn't that make us all feel better!]
Archbishop has said tests indicated former priest 'not a pedophile'; pyschologist says more likely ephebophile.
MOBILE, Alabama: Since announcing last week that the Rev. J. Alexander Sherlock, a longtime Mobile priest, admitted to sexually abusing three minors during his 37-year ministry, Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb has said psychiatric tests indicated that Sherlock was "not a pedophile."
While the word "pedophile" has become nearly synonymous with the scandal that's rocked the Catholic Church, reports indicate that the majority of the abusive clergy who have resigned or been removed have sexually abused teenagers, not young children.
Menlo Park, Calif., psychologist Thomas Plante has counseled 30 to 40 Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse during the past 14 years. Between 80 and 90 percent of all priests who abuse minors have "sexually engaged" with adolescent boys, he said.
Such individuals, Plante said, are not technically pedophiles, a mental disorder the American Psychiatric Association's revised 2000 edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" characterizes as sexual activity with a child, usually 13 or younger.
Instead, people sexually attracted to adolescents are generally known as ephebophiles. The behavior is not classified as a psychiatric disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's manual, Plante said.
"The fact that a man could be sexually attracted to a male or female adolescent is not a big surprise," Plante said. "It's the acting out of that that's the problem."
. . .
Dr. Fred Berlin, founder of the sexual disorders clinic at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, acknowledged that other psychological factors can affect ephebophiles who act on their predilection. . . .
As the sex abuse crisis has unfolded within the Catholic Church, Berlin said, he has seen a mix of cases involving priests with pedophilia and ephebophilia, as well as those who may have "acted improperly" once and don't have any sexual disorders.
-- Mobile Register, Alabama, "Expert puts another name on abuse: Archbishop has said tests indicated former priest 'not a pedophile'; pyschologist says more likely ephebophile,"
http://www.al.com/search/ index.ssf?/base /news/ 1048846575240280. xml?mobileregister?nmet ,
by Kristen Campbell, Religion Reporter,
Mar 28 03
• Overdue Irish official inquiry into Catholic Church, starting at Ferns.DUBLIN, Ireland: An Irish commission on Friday launched its first investigation into the Roman Catholic Church's apparent cover-up of decades of sexual abuse by priests, targeting a notorious southeast diocese.
A government-appointed panel of experts led by a retired Supreme Court judge, Frank Murphy, will focus on Ferns, a diocese where cases of alleged abuse and victims' anger have run particularly high.
Scandals there forced the diocese's popular bishop, Brendan Comiskey, to resign last year.
Health Minister Micheal [? Michael] Martin also left open the possibility that the panel's work could be extended to other dioceses, particularly Dublin, where more than 150 lawsuits by alleged abuse victims are pending against
priests and their superiors.
-- Newsday, "Ireland Begins Investigating Diocese,"
http://www.newsday.com/ news/nationworld/ wire/sns-ap-ireland- sex-abuse.story ,
by Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press Writer, Mar 28, 2003
• An Irish Play Seeks to Ease the Pain of Child Abuse Survivors.DUBLIN, Ireland: For the better part of a decade, the issue of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy has stayed at the forefront of public awareness here, usually in the form of national confessions broadcast during prime time.
For the last two weeks, this chapter in Irish history has also been brought to life onstage in a fringe theater here. A chaotic and cathartic one-man play by a survivor of such abuse, Gerard Mannix Flynn, tells the story of one man's troubled life, from birth to the savage reality of sexual abuse and its aftermath.
"This show concludes my personal journey, as a private individual in my struggle with my inner self and with my soul," Mr. Flynn said in an interview.
He says that the play, "James X," is only loosely based on his own life, but the performance is accompanied by a dossier of photocopied documents that were mostly taken from his personal file at the Department of Health,
dating from age 7.
-- The New York Times, "An Irish Play Seeks to Ease the Pain of Child Abuse Survivors,"
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2003/03/29/ international/europe/ 29IREL. html?tntemail0 ,
by Brian Lavery,
Mar 28 03
• Ex-priest convicted of molesting South Tucson boy.
TUCSON (AZ): A former priest was convicted of molesting a South Tucson boy in the early 1980s, although he didn't show up for his trial.
Prosecutors said the Rev. Thomas P. Purcell, who once worked as a visiting priest in the Diocese of Tucson, is now considered a fugitive.
On Tuesday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Purcell, whose last known residence was in Bullhead City.
Purcell's defense attorney, Leo Plowman, didn't return a phone message Friday to The Associated Press.
Jurors convicted the 61-year-old Purcell on Thursday of three counts of
sexual conduct with a minor and one count of attempted sexual conduct with
a minor.
The convictions were related to a sexual relationship he had with a 13-year-old boy for nearly two years between January 1982 and December 1983.
-- The Arizona Republic, Tucson, "Ex-priest convicted of molesting South Tucson boy,"
http://www.azcentral. com/news/ articles/ 0328Priest- Abuse-ON.html ,
Mar 28 03
• New DNA Testing Sought In '72 Slaying Of Altar Boy.
SPRINGFIELD (MA): Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett confirmed this week that his office has submitted evidence from the unsolved 1972 slaying of an altar boy for new DNA testing.
Bennett declined to disclose details or indicate when the evidence was submitted. But he said investigators believe the tests could yield fruitful results in the death of Daniel Croteau of Springfield whose body was found on the banks of the Chicopee River nearly 31 years ago. The 13-year-old had been bludgeoned to death.
"The investigation is open and active, including additional DNA testing," Bennett said Wednesday. "There are new procedures available now that weren't available then that allow more testing with less evidence."
The Rev. Richard R. Lavigne, who was close to the Croteau family, was the chief suspect in the case, according to investigators. Lavigne, who denied any involvement in Croteau's death and was never charged, passed a polygraph test in 1972, documents show.
--Hartford Courant, "New DNA Testing Sought In '72 Slaying Of Altar Boy,"
http://www.ctnow.com/ news/local/ nc/hc-dna 0328.artmar28.story ,
by Roselyn Tantraphol,
Mar 28 03
• Persistent sex abuse victims get message from pope.ROME (ITALY): At any given time, Rome is swimming with people who believe they have some urgent reason to see the pope. Motives run from the kooky (wanting to brief John Paul on the latest Masonic plot to subvert the church) to the charming (a Boy Scout troop wants to give the pope an honorary merit badge).
. . . when Americans Gary Bergeron, his 78-year-old father Joseph, and their friend Bernie McDade, all from the Boston area, arrived in Rome on March 23 to seek a private meeting with John Paul II, they faced long odds. And in fact, they flew back to Boston the morning of March 28 without any face time with the pontiff.
They took home, however, something that the vast majority of seekers never get: a personal message from the pope, carried to their hotel by one of his senior aides, communicated over the course of a private meeting that stretched over more than an hour.
-- National Catholic Reporter, "Persistent sex abuse victims get message from pope,"
www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/ ,
by Vatican Correspondent
jallen@natcath.org ,
(Poynteronline 2 Apr 03, Posted by Ann Brentwood 5:59:50 PM)
Mar 28 03
• SNAP Finally Meets Boston Fill-in Bishop, asks him to ease up in court tactics.
BOSTON (MA): March 29 - Bishop Richard G. Lennon, interim leader of the Archdiocese of Boston, has met for the first time with a group representing people abused by clergy members and heard their concerns about how the archdiocese has handled the problem.
The group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, requested the meeting shortly after Bishop Lennon took over from Cardinal Bernard F. Law in December, said one of its leaders, Ann Hagan Webb. The meeting took place in Bishop Lennon's residence at the archdiocese chancery.
"It was an opportunity for us to have some sort of a dialogue, to let him know what some of our concerns are," said William Gately, another group official. . . .
Group members said they had asked Bishop Lennon to tell archdiocese lawyers to stop what they called hardball tactics.
-- The New York Times, Abuse Victims Group Meets With Bishop,
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/national/30CHUR.html?tntemail1 ,
by The Associated Press,
Mar 29/30 03
• Massachusetts 1987 warrant against ex-seminarian now charged with California abuse.
BOSTON (MA): The Suffolk district attorney's office is deciding whether to prosecute a Chelsea man for alleged sexual abuse against a 12-year-old Massachusetts boy before sending the former seminarian to California to face abuse charges there.
Amado Pena, 52, was arrested at his Chelsea home Thursday night after Massachusetts state police received a tip that Pena, who was wanted in California, was living in the apartment.
Prosecutors found an outstanding 1987 Massachusetts warrant for Pena's arrest for allegedly sexual assaulting a 12-year-old boy, and are deciding whether Pena can still be prosecuted on those charges, said David
Procopio, spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Conley.
-- The Mercury News, San Jose, "Possible Massachusetts charges against ex-seminarian held in LA case, "
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5519700.htm , Associated Press,
Posted to WWW Sun Mar 30 03
• Catholic Teacher Is Charged With Sodomizing Boy, 15, in December 2002 [? 2000s].
INWOOD (NY):
A teacher at a Catholic school in Harlem was arrested on Friday on charges that he sodomized a 15-year-old boy and wrote him sexually graphic messages over the Internet, the police said yesterday.
The teacher, Thomas Higgins, 52, is employed at Rice High School, a Catholic preparatory school for boys on West 124th Street, where he was arrested at 1:15 p.m., the police said. The boy had been a student of Mr.
Higgins's years ago at Good Shepherd, a Catholic school in Inwood, the police said. Last December, the teacher and his former student bumped into each other on the street, and the teacher asked for the student's Internet
address, according to court papers.
Several "instant messaging" conversations followed, the court papers said. They included an offer of money from Mr. Higgins in exchange for sex, according to the criminal complaint.
At some point in December, the boy went to Mr. Higgins' apartment, at 85 Seaman Avenue in Inwood, and engaged in sexual activity, for which Mr. Higgins paid him, the complaint said. The Internet conversations
continued, and the teenager went to the police. A police detective listened in on a phone conversation in which Mr. Higgins acknowledged the sexual activity, the complaint said.
-- The New York Times, Teacher Is Charged With Molesting Boy, 15,
http://www.nytimes. com/ 2003/03/30/ nyregion/30TEAC.html?ex=1050033046&ei=1&en=545125e641ffd058 , by Shaila K. Dewan,
Mar 30 03
• Pontiff off limits to locals,
LOWELL (MA): Three survivors of alleged priest molestation did not achieve their goal of meeting with Pope John Paul II last week, instead meeting with a high-ranking Vatican official.
Gary Bergeron, a Lowell native who claims he was abused by now-deceased Fr. Joseph Birmingham, said he and his father Eddie who claims he was also abused as a child and Bernard McDaid, another alleged Birmingham victim, met with a monsignor from the Vatican's Secretary of State office on
Thursday in Rome.
Gary Bergeron said the meeting was energized and wide-ranging, as the three men talked for over an hour with the Catholic Church official.
"It was very intense. It was also very open, very honest, very frank," Bergeron said. "He definitely got a taste of the human side of the reality of this crisis and how it's affecting real lives and real families."
(Poynteronline, Posted by Ann Brentwood 12:01:12 PM),
-- The Lowell Sun,
http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4761~1282293,00.html ,
Lowell men meet with Vatican official but fail in attempt to talk with
pope,
By Jason Lefferts, probably Mar 30 03
• Niece among accusers of priest Louis Miller.
LOUISVILLE (KY): Mary Miller says it has been a rough year - for her and her family.
"My family hasn't been a family in more than a year," said Miller, niece of a retired Roman Catholic priest who is scheduled to stand trial Monday on multiple felony charges of sexual misconduct involving dozens of children.
Mary Miller is one of the alleged victims - all now adults - of the Rev. Louis Miller, her uncle.
"I've been waiting 30 years for this," Mary Miller, of Louisville, said in a recent interview. "Finally someone believes. I'm not alone. I'm going to get my day in court."
Father Miller, 72, of Louisville, is facing 50 felony counts of indecent and immoral practices with another and sexual abuse in Jefferson County, involving 21 alleged victims. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He also faces trial on similar charges in neighboring Oldham County in June.
-- Cincinnati Enquirer "Niece among accusers of priest; Sex abuse trial of Louis Miller slated to start Monday,"
http://enquirer.com/ editions/ 2003/03/30/ loc_kychurchabuse30.html ,
by Lori Burling, The Associated Press, Mar 30, 2003
[Posted by Ann Brentwood 11:52:31 AM]
• 6 more clerics named as child abusers -- Barmasse, Butler, Dyke, Judd, Francis Miller, Miranda.
TUCSON (AZ): The Catholic Diocese of Tucson on Saturday released the names of five more priests and a deacon with "credible accusations" of child molestation against them.
The new names bring to 25 the number of clerics - 24 priests and the deacon - on the diocese's public list of clerics who have accusations of child abuse against them - accusations that Catholic officials believe to
be true.
The men are the Rev. Kevin Barmasse, the Rev. Richard Butler, the Rev. George Dyke, the Rev. Richard Judd, and the Rev. Francis Miller. The deacon named was Ray Miranda. Butler, Dyke and Judd are deceased.
All worked in the diocese 12 or more years ago.
-- Arizona Daily Star,
http://www.azstarnet. com/star/ sun/ 30330 ABUSIVEPRIESTS.html ,
by Stephanie Innes,
Mar 30 03
• Bishop O'Brien refuses to partially step aside in a Catholic-brokered deal that would have ended criminal investigation.
PHOENIX (AZ): Two of the state's most prominent lawyers, both staunch Catholics, tried to broker a deal with prosecutors that would have called for Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien to partially step aside in return for an end to the criminal investigation of the Phoenix Diocese.
The private initiative was made just before Christmas by Ernest Calderon, president of the Arizona Bar Association, and Michael C. Manning, who represented both O'Brien and the diocese until Dec. 8.
Kim Sue Lia Perkes, spokeswoman for O'Brien, on Monday dismissed any proposed deal as unauthorized and unwarranted.
"The bishop had no knowledge that anyone was trying to broker a deal on his behalf," she said.
A Maricopa County grand jury has been investigating the diocese's handling of decades of sexual abuse by priests and church employees since last summer. Two priests have been indicted and County Attorney Rick Romley has refused to rule out the possibility that senior church officials could face charges for covering up the abuse.
-- The Arizona Republic,
"Bishop refuses deal that would have ended criminal investigation,"
www.azcentral.com/ ,
by Joseph A. Reaves,
Mar 31 03
• Lawyer Sues Catholic Archdiocese Over Sexual Abuse.
OKLAHOMA CITY (OK): An Oklahoma City lawyer is suing the Catholic Church over allegations he was sexually abused by a former priest.
Attorney Philip Schovanec claims he was sexually abused as an adolescent over a period of years by former Enid and Alva priest Dave Imming.
Schovanec says Imming admitted to providing alcohol to minors and engaging in nude contact with them while he was a priest. The church says Imming retired last year.
Schovanec says the church did not inform its members of Imming's abuse and take appropriate action. He also says the church has disregarded his claims.
The lawsuit was filed today in Oklahoma County District Court.
Church spokesman the Reverend Edward Weisenburger was not immediately available for comment.
-- Oklahoma News Channel 8, "Lawyer Sues Catholic Archdiocese Over Sexual Abuse,"
www.ktul.com/ news/stories/ 0303/81113.html ,
Mar 31 03
• Fr Louis Miller Pleads Guilty To 50 Charges.
LOUISVILLE (KY): A retired Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty Monday to multiple counts of sexual misconduct as his jury trial was scheduled to begin in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
The Rev. Louis E. Miller, 72, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of indecent and immoral practices with another and sexual abuse.
The charges against Miller involve 21 victims, according to court documents. He faces trial on similar charges in neighboring Oldham County in June.
Miller retired from public ministry last year when accusations of abuse became public. Miller is accused of abuse in more than 80 lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, which employed the priest for more than 30 years.
--WAVE 3, "Priest Pleads Guilty To All Charges,"
www.wave3.com/ ,
Mar 31 03
• Retired priest Louis Miller pleads guilty to 50 sex-abuse charges.
LOUISVILLE (KY): In a hallway press conference after the court session, some of the alleged victims talked about reactions to the plea.
Dr. Boswell Tabler, a plaintiff in a suit accusing Miller of abuse, said, "It's a start. We've been saying for quite some time that these crimes have been going on and this gives credence to what's been said.
"We need to seek out and identify and hold accountable anyone who had any knowledge of this behavior. Why was Father Miller allowed to remain a priest for so long? Why was he allowed to abuse children over decades? Why wasn't he stopped."
The victims called for more reforms within the church on the ways abuse cases are handled, including consulting with alleged victims and other lay people on allegations against priests and educating children on how to avoid abuse. The Rev. Louis E. Miller pleaded guilty this morning to 50 charges of sexually abusing children during the four decades he served at parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville.
The plea covers 44 charges of indecent or immoral acts with another and six charges of first-degree sex abuse. The admissions involve sexual abuse with 21 children between 1957 and 1982. The priest also has been accused of abuse in more than 80 lawsuits against the archdiocese.
Miller, who is retired, entered an "open plea," meaning there is no agreement with prosecutors on the sentence, which Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann O'Malley Shake will set.
A hearing and sentencing is scheduled for May 27, during which victims and Miller supporters could testify.
Miller, 72, could face 20 years in prison, or possibly more because of the laws in place when the offenses occurred, prosecutor Carol Cobb said.
Miller also is scheduled for trial June 9 in Oldham Circuit Court on 14 similar charges involving eight children. He has pleaded innocent to those charges.
By pleading guilty to the Jefferson charges, Miller gives up his right to appeal.
He faces more criminal charges than any other priest, teacher or coach named in connection with the hundreds of child sex-abuse allegations against the archdiocesee.
-- The Courier-Journal,
"Retired priest pleads guilty to 50 sex-abuse charges,"
www.courier-journal.com/ ,
by Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
Mar 31 03
• Cardinal says priest-bishop confidentiality a "foundation of Catholicism."
LOS ANGELES (CA): Last spring, following an emergency Vatican summit on clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Roger Mahony met with a roomful of reporters to present himself as a reformer in the scandal consuming the Catholic church.
"Here in Los Angeles, our continuing progress in how we handle these matters is very gratifying," Mahony said.
Since then, the leader of 5 million Catholics in the nation's largest archdiocese has consistently said he wants to help those who were sexually molested by priests. At the same time, the archdiocese has acted
aggressively to keep internal church documents concealed from prosecutors and the public.
On Tuesday, church lawyers will make their case in court, claiming that communication between Mahony and the suspected priests is protected by the First Amendment. The lawyers say priest-bishop confidentiality is a foundation of Catholicism and that interfering with it violates the free exercise of religion.
-- Monterey Herald, "Cardinal fights document release,"
http://www.montereyherald. com/mld/ montereyherald/ 5523703.htm ,
by Sandra Marquez, Associated Press,
(Poynteronline 31 Mar/01 Apr 03, Posted by Kathy Shaw 9:53:07 AM)
Possibly 31 Mar
• No grounds found for prosecuting allegations of abuse.
MONTEREY (CA): After looking into 40 years of sexual-abuse allegations against local Diocese of Monterey priests and employees, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday it has found no wrongdoing it can take to court.
None of the 12 sexual-abuse complaints that the diocese turned over last year could be prosecuted now, district attorney's representatives said Thursday.
Some of the cases, which stretch back as far as the 1960s, involve plaintiffs or priests who have died or can't be located. Other cases occurred outside of the district attorney's jurisdiction or lacked sufficient evidence.
-- Monterey Herald, http://www.montereyherald. com/mld/ montereyherald/ news/5504558.htm ,
by Alex Friedrich,
Possibly 31 Mar 03
INTENTION: The intention of this group of Webpages is NOT to HARM religion, but to help religion to remove people who seduce youngsters while hiding behind religion, and those who collude with them. THE INTENTION IS TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN.
FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED
PRAYER:- Prayer of St. Germaine Cousin, Patroness of victims of child abuse:
Saint Germaine, watch over those children who suffer abuse as you did. Help us to give them the love and protection you only got from God. Give us the courage to speak out against abuse when we know of it. Help us to forgive those who abuse the way you did, without sacrificing the lives of the children who need help.
Amen. Visit
http://saints.catholic.org/ saints/germainecousin.html
Order Fidelity magazine
www.j23.com.au Australia
Some clickable links are for network access only, so might not work for you.
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