References cont. (37) — Clergy Child Molesters

• ['60 Minutes' Pell promised Red Hat.]

ROME: The conservative Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, will receive the red hat of a cardinal after being elevated alongside 30 others yesterday to one of the Church's highest tiers by Pope John Paul II. Archbishop Pell has been accused within some sections of the Church of driving ay members from its ranks. Last night, however, he spoke of the unity of the Church in Australia in a statement after the Pontiff's announcement, which was delivered from a studio window overlooking St Peter's Square as pilgrims and tourists gathers for the Pope's traditional Sunday message. Archbishop Pell said: "It is a signal honour to be appointed a cardinal of the Catholic Church. The ancient College of Cardinal reflects the unity and universality of the Catholic Church, both wonderful blessings. As Archbishop of Sydney my appointment also recognises the contribution of the Catholic community to Australian life." Pope John Paul will formally elevate the group at consistory on October 21. -- The West Australian, "Sydney archbishop becomes cardinal," p 7, Mon Sep 29 03

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Most newsitems are from http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46 • Committee to quiz Dempsey about Laffoy resignation.

DUBLIN, Ireland: The Oireachtas committee on education is due to question Education Minister Noel Dempsey today about the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. Mr Dempsey is expected to be questioned at length about the reasons why Justice Mary Laffoy resigned earlier this year as chair of the commission. In her letter of resignation, Ms Justice Laffoy accused the Government of delaying and obstructing her inquiry into the physical and sexual abuse of children in state-owned institutions. She stepped down after Minister Dempsey announced plans to change the remit of the commission so it could only investigate a sample of the abuse cases that have come to its attention. -- Ireland Online, (http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=34821506&p=348zy8x8) Sep 29 2003 (This is the first item in Poynteronline Abuse Tracker for Monday, September 29, 2003, Posted by Kathy Shaw 9:32:00 AM) Sep 29 03
• Pope passes on Hub archbishop. BOSTON (MA): A frail Pope John Paul II yesterday added to the growing roster of men who will eventually choose his successor, appointing 31 new cardinals, with one notable exception. Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley, installed two months ago to lead the nation's fourth-largest archdiocese out of the sexual-abuse crisis that began here 20 months ago, was not among the new "princes" of the church. O'Malley, celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Manchester-by-the-Sea, dismissed his exclusion on the list and praised those who were selected. "Among those men were many good friends of mine and I'm very happy for all of them," he told reporters prior to Mass. On its surface, the omission seemed surprising, since the Vatican had hand-selected the 59-year-old Franciscan friar as one of its chief troubleshooters in the crisis. But after only two months as the spiritual leader of the archdiocese's 2 million Catholics, O'Malley also has only begun to settle into the post, with much of his time consumed by the fallout from the scandal that led to the resignation in December of his predecessor, Bernard Cardinal Law. -- Boston Herald, (http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/omal09292003.htm) by Marie Szaniszlo, Monday, September 29, 2003
• Settlement eyed in Vt. church abuse case. RUTLAND (VT): Roman Catholic Church officials in Vermont are negotiating a possible settlement in a lawsuit filed by a former North Adams, Mass., city councilor and Berkshire County commissioner who alleges he was abused as a teenager by a priest in the late 1980s. Paul Babeu, who is 34 and now lives in Arizona, asserts that he was 15 when the Rev. George Paulin, who was a pastor in Ludlow before resigning this year, abused him on an overnight visit to Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. "We are in negotiations with the Burlington Diocese," his lawyer, Thomas Bixby, told the Rutland Herald. The New Yorker magazine reported last year that former Massachusetts priest Richard Lavigne, a convicted child molester, drove Babeu to Vermont to leave him alone with Paulin. Babeu has also filed a suit in Massachusetts against the Diocese of Springfield alleging that he was abused by Lavigne. -- Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/272/metro/Settlement_eyed_in_Vt_church_abuse_case+.shtml) , By Associated Press, Sep 29 03
• Pope leaves O'Malley off his list of 31 new cardinals. BOSTON (MA): Pope John Paul II yesterday named 31 new cardinals, but passed over Boston's new archbishop, Sean P. O'Malley, as the ailing pontiff continued to shape the group that will elect his successor. The pope will add only one American to the College of Cardinals, Archbishop Justin F. Rigali of St. Louis, who is to be installed as archbishop of Philadelphia on Oct. 7. Rigali is extraordinarily well-connected in Rome, where he worked at the Vatican for three decades. The pope offered no explanation for how he selected the new cardinals, who will receive their red hats at a ceremony, called a consistory, on Oct. 21, just a few days after the Oct. 16 celebration of John Paul II's 25th anniversary as pope and the Oct. 19 beatification of Mother Teresa. Some scholars had expected O'Malley to be included among this group of appointees, both because Boston's archbishops have traditionally been cardinals and because naming O'Malley a cardinal could signal the Vatican's support for him and for the Archdiocese of Boston as the new archbishop endeavors to heal the wounds caused by the clergy sexual abuse crisis. "This is an indication that, from the Vatican's point of view, the American sexual abuse crisis is over, because if they felt it was a burning issue, O'Malley, rather than Rigali, would have gotten the red hat," said John L. Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. "The crisis response that drove O'Malley's appointment in the first place has been set aside, and ordinary logic has been allowed to resurface. Rigali had been in the queue a lot longer, and he has very important friends in Rome." In the eyes of the Vatican, Boston already has a cardinal, Bernard F. Law, who resigned as archbishop of Boston last December and who now resides at a convent in Maryland. Law, 71, resigned amid controversy over his failure to remove sexually abusive priests from ministry, but he remains an active member of the College of Cardinals, serving as a member of numerous Vatican congregations that oversee the church bureaucracy, and entitled to vote in papal elections until he turns 80. O'Malley said yesterday that he was not disappointed to be left off the list. -- Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/09/29/pope_leaves_omalley_off_his_list_of_31_new_cardinals/) , By Michael Paulson, Sep 29 03
• Old, new lawsuits could sap diocese money. PENNSYLVANIA: Mounting legal bills from a lawsuit unresolved for more than a decade and ten new lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests could sap a small western Pennsylvania Roman Catholic diocese's finances and eventually force it to take out a loan, a diocese official warned. Even if the Altoona-Johnstown diocese is successful in the latest lawsuits, the damage may have already been done. The diocese is also fighting to get insurance companies to pay it $1.2 million, and because of legal appeals the church doesn't yet know if it will have to pay $1 million to an abuse victim. "There's a finite limit to the amount of money available," said Larry Sutton, financial director of the diocese. Sutton said he didn't know how much longer the diocese can continue its legal battles without tapping into donations from its 110,000 parishioners in eight mostly rural counties. -- NEPA News, (http://www.nepanews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10238068&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6)
• Abuse victims' group guarantees safety of Minister in talks. IRELAND: Irish Survivors of Child Abuse say they are confident there would be no threat to the safety of Minister for Education Noel Dempsey if he meets with abuse survivors' groups. The assurance comes after it was revealed a senior civil-servant was assaulted by an abuse survivor two weeks ago. SOCA co-ordinator John Kelly says he believes the attack on the civil servant was an isolated incident. However, the Irish group SOCA is criticising Minister Dempsey for refusing to attend a meeting today where abuse survivors will discuss the collapse of the Laffoy Commission to inquire into child abuse. -- Irish Examiner, (http://www.examiner.ie/breaking/2003/09/28/story115209.html) , Sunday, September 28, 2003
• SOCA: 'No threat to Minister’s safety'. IRELAND: The Irish Survivors of child abuse have assured the Minister for Education, Noel Dempsey that there will be no threat to his safety if he agrees to meet with abuse survivor groups. The SOCA have criticised Minister Dempsey for refusing to attend a meeting today where abuse survivors wish to discuss the collapse of the Laffoy Commission inquiring into child abuse. An abuse survivor assaulted a senior civil servant two weeks ago. SOCA Co-ordinator John Kelly said he believes the attack on the civil servant was an isolated incident. -- Ireland Online, (http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=66828760&p=668z934x)
• Pell made a cardinal. AUSTRALIA: Catholic archbishop George Pell was named a cardinal last night by the Pope. The rare appointment to the college of cardinals places the controversial Dr Pell at the apex of the Catholic church, allowing him to vote in the election for the next Pope. The forthright and sometimes combative Dr Pell will remain at his post in Sydney. Cardinal is an honorary title given to senior advisers to the Pope. ... Dr Pell was educated in Rome and at Oxford and was archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 until 2001, during which time he was periodically embroiled in controversy. In October 2002 he was cleared of an allegation of sexual abuse at a church holiday camp in the early 1960s, brought against him by a former altar boy. -- News.com.au, (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7404466%255E28100,00.html) By Gerard McManus, September 29, 2003
• Protecting the children. CHICAGO (IL): After months of laying the groundwork, Archdiocese of Chicago officials have begun a training program designed to curb sexual abuse and assure protection for children. The initiative, called the "Covenant to Protect Children," was announced at a Sept. 17 press conference. It sets up a new archdiocesan ministry, the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, to be headed by former director of campus ministry Jan Slattery. The first of many sessions to train adults to spot and prevent abuse was held just days before the announcement. Ultimately, training sessions will include more than 25,000 clergy, archdiocesan employees and volunteers, encompassing 375 parishes, 283 schools and the more than 100 ministries and programs. Archdiocesan Personnel Services director Carol Fowler said planning for the covenant has been going on for over a year. The name "covenant" was chosen because of its biblical implications. -- The Catholic New World, (http://catholicnewworld.com/cnw/issue/children_092803.html)
• Being Left Out, Version Two. UNITED STATES: On September 8, 2003, the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, I was deeply sad and wrote an article that, after great input, I did not publish. As I prayed the Hours that morning I rejoiced in the absolute beauty of the treasury of the Catholic Tradition. How wonderful to be a Catholic Christian! I reaffirmed my dedication to the New Evangelization mission that Pope John Paul II has championed. The Church is our mother and we are all members of a new family in Jesus Christ! Yet, that day was bittersweet because I was "left out" of a meeting I truly wanted to attend. Like so many of my readers, I have agonized over the time of purification that our beloved Church is passing through. Rooted in what the Holy Father has called the "mystery of iniquity", our current "clergy sexual (sin) crisis" and our devastating struggles, particularly in some segments of the Catholic Church in America, reveal the desperate need for God’s intervention. The sexual sin of a small minority [Small? Possibly 6%] of our clergy and the failure of some within the hierarchy to act clearly, definitively with immediacy has had devastating effects on the faithful, eroding their trust in the Church. It has also impeded our message as Catholic Christians at a critically important time in history. I have prayed for God’s mercy and for a renewal of holiness among the clergy and all the people of God. I have prayed for our Bishops, our wonderful Pope, and especially for the victims of this evil. I have tried to understand how all of this could have even happened, sought to explain it to my children, as well as to Christians of other communities and to people of good will. -- Catholic Way, (http://www.christianity.com/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID5339|CHID14|CIID1645412,00.html) by Deacon Keith A Fournier
• Affidavit contradicts church on abuse. SPRINGFIELD (MA): At the heart of several sexual abuse suits against the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese is a simple question: What did the church know and when? Diocesan leaders have maintained that they received the first complaint against a priest eventually accused of abusing more than 33 children in 1986. But a longtime lay church leader says the church knew of the abuse nearly two decades earlier. Taken together with the statements of alleged victims and police, the affidavit of Maurice E. DeMontigny, a confidant of the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon, may make it more difficult for the church to prove it acted properly to protect children from the Rev. Richard R. Lavigne. Lavigne, who pleaded guilty to molesting two brothers in 1992, served as a priest in parishes from Springfield to Shelburne Falls until 1991, when he was removed from ministry by the diocese. "I believe, based upon my familiarity with the workings of my parish and of the Diocese of Springfield, that Diocesan officials knew, as of the late 1960s, that Lavigne was a child molester," says the affidavit by DeMontigny, who was appointed by Weldon to local and New England boards for religious education and was a founding member of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Springfield. His statement was filed in opposition to a recent church request that five abuse suits be dismissed based on charitable immunity laws that protected the church before September 1971. The diocese is fighting to have the affidavit removed from court records. -- Sunday Republican, (http://www.masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1064734209187259.xml?nnse) By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com Sep 28 03
• Affidavit: Springfield diocese knew of alegations against Lavigne in 1960s. SPRINGFIELD (Mass.): A Chicopee layman who was active in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said in an affidavit he believes church authorities knew of abuse allegations against the Rev. Richard R. Lavigne as early as the late 1960s - years before the diocese says it first learned of such allegations. The Sunday Republican of Springfield reported that Maurice E. DeMontigny, a confidant of the late Bishop Christopher Weldon, recounted being told by his former pastor of such allegations in the late 1960s. DeMontigny told The Associated Press on Sunday he had no concrete evidence that the parish priest, the late Rev. Thomas P. Griffin, told Weldon about the allegations against Lavigne. But, he said, "my gut feeling of who he is and who he was is that (Griffin) would have reported that to Bishop Weldon." Church officials and their lawyers have said they didn't receive complaints that priests were molesting children until 1986, when Lavigne was accused of raping altar boys. The diocese stands "staunchly" behind that statement, spokesman Mark Dupont told the AP on Sunday. Lavigne pleaded guilty to molesting two other boys in 1992. The diocese settled 17 sexual abuse suits against Lavigne in the 1990s, and at least 14 more are pending. -- Providence Journal, The Associated Press (http://www.projo.com/ap/ma/1064776214.htm)
• Pope names new cardinals; O'Malley not included. VATICAN CITY: Pope John Paul II named 30 new cardinals on Sunday, including Philadelphia archbishop Justin Rigali, further putting his mark on the group that will name his successor. Not on the list of new cardinals was Boston's new archbishop, Sean O'Malley, the replacement of Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as archbishop amid public outcry over a sex abuse scandal. The ailing, 83-year-old pope also designated a 31st cardinal but did not name him. That man was named "in pectore," or close to his heart, a term used for prelates in a country where the church is oppressed. Even as Vatican City - along with most of Italy - was without power from a massive blackout, the pope read the list out from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square to pilgrims and tourists gathered for his traditional Sunday greeting. His voice was amplified with a backup generator provided at the last moment by Italy's RAI state television. The College of Cardinals is already mainly made up of like-minded conservatives reflecting John Paul's choices during his 25-year-papacy. The new batch will further strengthen the pope's influence on the choice of his successor. -- Providence Journal, (http://www.projo.com/ap/ma/1064757016.htm) by VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer, (Posted by Kathy Shaw 11:48:48 AM)
########## End of Poynteronline, Abuse Tracker, Monday, September 29, 2003
• Pell made a cardinal. SYDNEY (NSW) Australia: Catholic archbishop George Pell was named a cardinal last night by the Pope. The rare appointment to the college of cardinals places the controversial Dr Pell at the apex of the Catholic church, allowing him to vote in the election for the next Pope. The forthright and sometimes combative Dr Pell will remain at his post in Sydney. Cardinal is an honorary title given to senior advisers to the Pope. In theory, at least, the appointment also makes Dr Pell eligible to be in the running to become John Paul II's replacement. In a statement released last night, the Ballarat-born prelate said: "It is a signal honour to be appointed a cardinal of the Catholic church. -- Herald Sun, Melbourne, "Pell made a cardinal," www.heraldsun.news.com.au , By Gerard McManus, Sep 29 03
• Pell's elevation to cardinal gets mixed reaction. AUSTRALIA: The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, says he believes he has the support of the majority of Australian Catholics following his appointment as a cardinal by the Pope. Dr Pell, who was born in Ballarat and once played in the AFL, was widely expected to be elevated to the College of Cardinals. He is being promoted less than two-and-a-half years after his appointment as Archbishop of Sydney. The Prime Minister, John Howard, has congratulated Dr Pell. [He also backed Dr Hollingworth, an Anglican who presided over payments for silence, and no court prosecutions.] "It's a great personal tribute to him as a person and it's also a great recognition of the significance of Catholic community to the life and experience of Australia," Mr Howard said. "I have a very high personal regard for George Pell, I think he's a great intellect and a person of great determination and strength." But Dr Pell's promotion has not been welcomed by some sections of the Church. The Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra, Pat Power, believes it is a signal the Church is moving away from liberal theology toward conservatism. But Dr Pell says he is faithful to the teachings of the Church. "The Catholic Church is not a small sect, we're a great Church, there's a billion Catholics throughout the world and obviously there are different schools and theologies, as there are here in Australia. "I am a loyal son of the Second Vatican Council and stand with the Pope, I don't run around making up teachings." The Rainbow Sash Movement, which represents gays and lesbians within the Catholic Church, says the elevation of Dr Pell will be greeted with cynicism by many Australian Catholics. Spokesperson Michael Kelly says Dr Pell has sought high office throughout his career. "I think there'll be a lot of people around the country who'll just see this as a career promotion that he has worked on for quite some time," Mr Kelly said. "It's a matter of power and control, not a matter of really promoting the Gospel or what really matters in Christian life." The appointment will be formalised at a service in Rome on October 21, when Dr Pell will receive the red hat from the Pope. He is one of 31 new cardinals appointed by Pope John Paul as the elite "princes" of the Roman Catholic Church. -- Australian Broadcasting Corporation News Online, www.abc.net.au , September 29, 2003
• Dr Pell hid the truth, and gets promoted. AUSTRALIA: The appointment of Dr Pell as a cardinal convinces me that the Vatican has decided to reward prelates who paid "silence money" to victims of clergy sex abuse. Anyone who really believes Dr Pell is suitable for promotion ought to read the transcript of the 60 Minutes television programme "Loss of Faith" of June 2 last year, thoughtfully and slowly, pausing over the four denials of the Ridsdale telephone call, and think! -- Anonymous to various newspapers, Sep 29 03
########## Poynteronline, Abuse Tracker, Tuesday, September 30, 2003 edition follows:-
• Old, new lawsuits could sap diocese money. ALTOONA (Pa.): Mounting legal bills from a lawsuit unresolved for more than a decade and ten new lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests could sap a small western Pennsylvania Roman Catholic diocese's finances and eventually force it to take out a loan, a diocese official warned. [and so on, like the NEPA News account above.] -- PennLive.com, AP, (http://pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1064811853289510.xml) (Posted by Poynter Institute)
• Judge asked to toss sex suit. BETHEL (Alaska): Attorneys representing the Fairbanks Diocese and the Society of Jesus asked a judge Monday in Bethel to dismiss a lawsuit by six former altar boys who say they were sexually abused by a Jesuit priest. The attorneys, Robert Groseclose of Fairbanks and James Gorski of Anchorage, argued that the Catholic Church is protected by the statute of limitations against a lawsuit seeking justice for events going back to the 1970s and, for one of the altar boys, to the 1950s. The church said the standard two-year limit should apply, especially since the accused priest, the Rev. Jules Convert, died in France in 1995 at age 85, making it difficult for the diocese and the Jesuit order to defend themselves. -- Anchorage Daily News, Judge asked to toss sex suit; Church is protected by statute of limitations, lawyers say. (http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4044435p-4065569c.html) By RICHARD MAUER
• Archdiocese Delays Naming the Priests It Will Ban. NEW YORK: The wait will go on for New York priests accused of sexually abusing minors. Cardinal Edward M. Egan has decided which clerics will be removed from the priesthood permanently over allegations that they molested minors. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York had said the names would be released this week in its monthly newspaper, Catholic New York, which comes out on Thursday. But yesterday, the archdiocese said the announcement was on hold. The delay came because the archdiocese decided to make a last-minute check with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that all was in order, said the archdiocesan spokesman, Joseph Zwilling. The conference referred the archdiocese to a canon lawyer, who advised that the cases be passed on for examination to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mr. Zwilling said. That is the powerful Vatican agency that oversees abuse cases. -- The New York Times, (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/30/nyregion/30PRIE.html?ex=1065585600&en=e62dc95f980a9f9b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE) , By DANIEL J. WAKIN
• Bishop Reilly refills church coffers. FITCHBURG (MA): There were games, auctions and food at last weekend's Fall Festival, the first major fund-raising event parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church have held since their former pastor was charged with stealing their money. Then came the arrival of Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, of the Diocese of Worcester, and Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, making a rare trip to the Walnut Street church to help raise parishioners' spirits even more. Bishop Reilly presented the church's recently formed finance committee with two checks totaling $174,500 from the diocese's insurance company. He also told finance committee members they can expect another $50,000 check in a month, and $25,000 in January - covering the $250,000 allegedly stolen by the Rev. Donald C. Ouellette from a church fund-raising account. "He came down especially for the checks - he didn't want to put it in the mail," said Normand Babineau, a parishioner and member of the church's finance committee. "He wanted to come see us and compliment us. To see the spirit of the people in the parish." It's been about six months since Rev. Ouellette left the church for what were termed medical reasons. Soon after, parishioners learned he was the target of an investigation into missing church funds, sending a ripple throughout this close-knit community that has spent years raising money for a new elevator. The former pastor was indicted last month for allegedly stealing $250,000 of that money. He has pleaded not guilty. -- Telegram & Gazette, (http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030930/NEWS/309300453/1007/NEWS05) , by Milton J. Valencia, Sep 30 03
• Bishop, priest clash on facts. SPRINGFIELD (MA): The Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, yesterday denied under oath that he said one of his predecessors destroyed legally sensitive church files. Meanwhile, the priest who said Dupre made the statements also testified yesterday that his allegations were truthful. Two weeks ago the Rev. James J. Scahill said Dupre made statements last year to members of one of his advisory councils that the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon destroyed records that could have involved details about accusations of clergy sexual abuse. Dupre denied that he said Weldon destroyed such records in the 1970s, and offered to repeat his denial under oath. While Scahill was deposed in private in his lawyer's office, Dupre was questioned in front of six news reporters for more than two hours in the offices of downtown Springfield law firm Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy. The questioning was not completed yesterday and will continue at a later date. The deposition was interrupted for 10 minutes when a man who has identified himself as a victim of clergy sexual abuse attempted to gain access to the bishop. -- Republican, (http://www.masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1064907127277731.xml?nntn) , By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com , Sep 30 2003
• Broadcaster's 'focus was on old and recycled cases' -- archbishop. [to 1999] SCOTLAND: One of the leading figures in the Catholic Church has issued a scathing attack on the BBC, accusing individuals and elements within it of producing biased and hostile programmes. The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Birmingham, has singled out sectors of the BBC’s news and current affairs department for its "aggressive and antagonistic" attitude towards Catholicism. The archbishop, who launched his attack at a press conference in London, was protesting on behalf of five million Catholics in England and Wales. His remarks, which have come at time when the BBC’s news coverage has been under close scrutiny at the Hutton Inquiry, were made in advance of three BBC programmes to be screened shortly: Kenyon Confronts, about child abuse allegations in the English Church; a Panorama documentary called Sex and the Holy City and a cartoon called Popetown caricaturing the Pope. ... The bulk of his ire was directed against the investigative show Kenyon Confronts, which has looked into sex abuse cases and allegations in Birmingham. Three priests have been convicted of sex offences in the city and a further two are currently being investigated for alleged sex offences in cases relating to claims made between 1992 to 1999. Rev Nichols said that the programme’s focus was on old and recycled cases. He described the style and approach of Kenyon Confronts as being deeply offensive to every Catholic in the country. The archbishop, who has written to Greg Dyke, the BBC’s director general, and Richard Sambrook, the director of news, said that he was fed up with BBC reporters "going around the diocese for eight months snooping around before they approached me". -- The Scotsman, Corporation accused of anti-Catholic bias, (http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/paperboy.cfm?id=1081542003) By Karen McVeigh. [COMMENT: The news media "snooped" for eight months -- and discovered the crimes. The anointed archbishops around the world couldn't stop repeat offenders stealing souls from the Church for decade after decade! But numbers of them blame the news media! COMMENT ENDS.]
• ID of removed priests delayed indefinitely. NEW YORK: The Archdiocese of New York said Monday that the publication of names of priests removed from active ministry due to allegations of sexual abuse had been delayed indefinitely as the result of a request by the Vatican to review the investigations. The archdiocese had previously indicated it would publish the list of names this week in its newspaper, Catholic New York, following an internal investigation of sexual molestation charges. But Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for Cardinal Edward Egan, said that on Sept. 23 a lawyer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops informed the archdiocese that the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wanted to review the investigation before the cases were concluded and the priests' names were released. Zwilling said he did not know how long the process would take. -- Newsday, AP, (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--churchabuse0929sep29,0,783163.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire) 6:36 PM EDT, September 29, 2003,
• Springfield bishop testifies he never said predecessor destroyed records. SPRINGFIELD (Mass.): The leader of the Springfield Diocese stepped up his denial Monday, saying he never said one of his predecessors destroyed files related to sexual abuse by priests. In a deposition conducted by church lawyers with the media present, Bishop Thomas Dupre said he did not state that former Bishop Christopher Weldon destroyed personnel records before or after his retirement in 1977. "I never would have said that Bishop Weldon would have destroyed any papers after his retirement or before his death," Dupre said. "I never would have said that because I don't know that." Dupre's deposition follows accusations made by the Rev. James Scahill, who earlier this month said Dupre told an advisory council that Weldon had the records destroyed. Scahill was deposed Monday by a lawyer representing 21 of the 25 people suing the diocese for clergy sex abuse. That testimony was not open to the media, but transcripts of his deposition will likely be made public within 30 days, according to his lawyer, Mary McNally. -- Providence Journal, (http://www.projo.com/ap/ma/1064874809.htm) By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press Writer
• Five abusers had been returned to ministry. CINCINNATI (OH): My dear sisters and brothers in the Lord, The purpose of this letter is to bring our local church of Cincinnati up to date on the matter of child abuse by priests of the archdiocese. First of all, please know that, as far as I am able to determine, there is now no priest active in ministry in this archdiocese who has ever sexually abused a minor. You may remember that in March of 2002, when the question of sexual abuse by clerics began to be an urgent issue, I said in a public forum that, in accord with our stated and published policies, we had returned five abusive priests to ministry. -- Catholic Telegraph, "A letter from Archbishop," www.catholiccincinnati.org , Sep 26 03
• Catholics fear shift back to dark age. CANBERRA, Australia: Australia's guardian of traditional Catholic values, Sydney Archbishop Dr George Pell, has been named as one of 31 new Cardinals in a decision that has re-opened wounds in the Church. The elevation was long expected: every Archbishop of Sydney since 1946 has become a Cardinal and Pell moved from Melbourne in 2001 in the belief that he would follow his predecessors. "I was in many ways reluctant to leave Melbourne, but I did realise the consequences of coming to Sydney," he told ABC radio yesterday. "I couldn't say it was a big surprise." ... Pell was later to suffer personal agonies when he was forced to step aside last year to allow an investigation of allegations -- later proved false -- [NO, "not proven" either way] that he had as a young priest in the 1960s sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy. Until they were disproved Pell's eventual appointment as a Cardinal was at risk, but he said yesterday that when he was exonerated the doubts had been dispelled. He also said the Church needed to face up to the truth of sexual abuse within its ranks, however unpleasant that might be. -- New Zealand Herald, Catholics fear shift back to dark age, (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3526179&thesection=news&thesubsection=world) , By Greg Ansley, Australia correspondent Sep 30 2003
########## End of Poynteronline, Abuse Tracker, Tuesday, September 30, 2003
• Archbishop complains about BBC reporters' behaviour. BIRMINGHAM, England: Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham in the UK has made an official complaint about the behaviour of BBC TV reporters involved in making an undercover program about old child abuse cases in Birmingham. He claims that during the past nine months, several priests in the diocese have been approached by BBC reporters in 'unacceptable' ways. One reporter for the program Kenyon Confronts gained access to an elderly priest in a retirement home by claiming to be a friend. The BBC has not yet responded to the Archbishop's letter, though his complaint was itself the subject of a news story yesterday. -- Catholic News, Australia, www.cathnews.com , (Cathnews, from Church Resources, PO Box 1522 Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia), Sep 30 03 [COMMENT: Perhaps His Grace ought to read below how a Brisbane newspaper's undercover research led to the unmasking of a serial child-abuser, whom the Church there transferred each time after complaints. COMMENT ENDS.] Sep 30 03
• Irish abuse claims could reach $A1.71 billion. DUBLIN, Ireland: The Irish Government yesterday revealed that the total bill facing the country to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse could total one billion euros ($A1.71 billion). The Irish bishops' conference struck a deal with the government last year for compensating victims of physical and sexual abuse at government-chartered children's homes run by religious orders from the 1930s until the 1970s. The Church agreed to pay $A217.62 million into the compensation fund in exchange for indemnity from future claims relating to child abuse in the past. However a report by the government's Auditor General now estimates there could be as many as 10,800 claims with an average payout of $A164,301. The Auditor General's report said an office receiving claims said it was receiving compensation requests at a rate of 50 per week. Alleged victims of abuse have two more years to send in compensation claims. SOURCE: Catholic World News www.cwnews.com . -- Catholic News, Australia, www.cathnews.com , Sep 30 03
• Is the struggle over? Voice of the Faithful letter. UNITED STATES: Dear Friends, Recently, the Boston Archdiocese agreed to an $85 million settlement with 552 survivors of clergy sex abuse -- the largest settlement of sexual abuse claims ever made by the Catholic Church. This historic event in Boston has resounded across the nation. As the media sought Voice of the Faithful's reaction to the settlement, one reporter asked the most startling question: "Did you (Voice of the Faithful) expect this to be over so soon?" "Over"? Our reply was clear: the problems facing the Catholic Church -- our Church -- will never be resolved until the root causes of the problems are addressed, diocese-by-diocese, throughout the United States and beyond. Identifying and rectifying the underlying issues that allowed this horrifying period in our Church's history to occur has always been at the core of VOTF's mission and will remain our focus until trust is restored and our Church is healed. Voice of the Faithful will promote this restoration of trust and healing by using our voice for advocacy and reform. We have recently completed a strategic planning process that reinforces the goals of Voice of the Faithful, outlines our next steps and identifies our measures of success. In the coming months, VOTF will continue to provide much-needed support to the survivors of clergy sexual abuse and our priests in their ministry; we will continue to inform and engage fellow Catholics in the work of VOTF; we will continue to call for substantive, active lay involvement in the Church; and we will increase our efforts to establish dialogue with Church decision-makers in an effort to foster honest, open and respectful relationships between the laity, the clergy and the Church leadership. It is an ambitious plan - and can only be accomplished with your help. Now more than ever, I hope you will consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Voice of the Faithful. While our mission is clear and our path defined, we need your financial support to provide the resources necessary for VOTF to succeed. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this important request. The proposed settlement in Boston does not signal an end to this crisis. Rather, together, we will continue to make unprecedented progress toward the healing of our Church. With gratitude, James E. Post, President, VOTF,[by e-mail] September 30, 2003
• Paid to Picket. BOSTON (MA): Amidst the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal, a raft of advocacy groups works nonstop, with rallies, press conferences and conventions, to crank up the rage machine. Some attack the settlement of $55 million reportedly offered by the Boston archdiocese to settle 542 claims, arguing this isn't about money--and that, um, they want more of it. Which raises a question: Who is funding these groups? In some cases the cash comes from the same plaintiff lawyers who stand to reap windfalls in clergy settlements. "There has been an incestuous relationship between victim lawyers and victim groups for some time," says William Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. "It's a bad stew." Even some groups agree. Survivors First, a Boston group, refuses to take money from plaintiff lawyers. "I would hate to be seen as a lead generator for plaintiff lawyers," says Paul Baier, the group's founder. Yet the largest national group, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), with 4,600 members, lists as its number one donor Laurence E. Drivon. The Stockton, Calif. lawyer, who represents 320 plaintiffs in clergy cases, donated $20,000 last year. Another big SNAP donor: Jeffrey Anderson, a lawyer in St. Paul, Minn. who has 250 clergy cases pending; he donated $10,000, according to SNAP's IRS filing. Anderson says he has since donated $20,000 more and pledged another $30,000 matching grant for 2003. -- Forbes, (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0915/054_print.html), Tuesday, September 30, 2003
• Priest bids to nix rape case with loophole on residency. CAMBRIDGE (MA): A priest charged with child rape at a Waltham parish two decades ago took the stand in Middlesex Court yesterday to persuade a judge to dismiss the case, asserting prosecutors improperly waived statute of limitations laws when they claimed he moved to New Hampshire in the mid-1990s. Yet under cross-examination by Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougal, the Rev. Robert V. Gale conceded he listed his Middleton, N.H., cottage as his address on several sworn documents, including his car registration, drivers license and tax withholding forms. "You filed taxes in 1997. Your filing address was that address?" the prosecutor asked. "Yes," he responded. Later, she added, "You checked 'I am a resident of the state of New Hampshire' on June 13, 1997, is that correct?" "I guess so," he replied. In his defense, several witnesses attested the suspended priest -- who for the first time publicly acknowledged a "sexual addiction" -- lived in Brighton until last year. -- Boston Herald, (http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/prie09302003.htm), by Robin Washington, Tuesday, September 30, 2003
• Disciplined to the max: Source: Guard union pushed transfer of ex-priest Geoghan. BOSTON (MA): Prison guard union officials strong-armed the superintendent of MCI-Concord into putting pedophile ex-priest John J. Geoghan - an inmate with no history of violence in prison - on the fast-track to a supermax prison where he was killed, sources said. "You have a 68-year-old frail, elderly man who had no record of violence toward adults," a former longtime Department of Correction employee told the Herald. "I don't know of anybody ever sent to Level 6 (maximum security) for the (disciplinary) reports this guy had. Violence, that's what you go to a Level 6 for - violence. Why is he going to the highest-security prison in the state?" Between June and October 2002, Geoghan was disciplined 10 times, mostly for charges of disobeying an order, lying or insolence, violating regulations, misuse of medication, conduct interfering with security, and use of obscene, abusive or threatening language, according to DOC records. The source said representatives from the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, including acting union President Jack Farrell, met on at least two occasions with MCI-Concord superintendent Michael Grant and badgered him into moving the 68-year-old Geoghan after his correction officer, Cosmo Bisazza, complained about him. -- Boston Herald, (http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/geog09302003.htm) by Franci Richardson Tuesday, September 30, 2003
• Bishop denies saying predecessor destroyed abuse data. SPRINGFIELD (MA): Bishop Thomas L. Dupre yesterday denied under oath that he said one of his predecessors had destroyed records about sexual abuse by priests in the Springfield diocese he heads, but admitted he put a priest who had been removed from parish work for sexual abuse in charge of the diocese archives. In what legal observers said was an unusual, if not unprecedented, move, Dupre agreed to be deposed by lawyers for alleged victims of sexual abuse in the presence of journalists, saying he wanted to publicly and under oath deny saying that the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon destroyed personal and personnel files after retiring in the mid-1970s. Dupre's deposition came immediately after one of the priests under his supervision, the Rev. James J. Scahill, was deposed and repeated allegations he made to The Boston Globe and The Republican newspaper of Springfield that Dupre made the remark about destroyed records after the clergy sexual abuse scandal exploded in Boston in the winter of 2002. Scahill said Dupre made the comment while suggesting the Springfield diocese would not face the same problems that the Archdiocese of Boston was facing at the time over its handling of priests who abused minors. Scahill's St. Michael's Parish in East Longmeadow has withheld the diocese's portion of weekly collections in protest over Dupre's handling of the sexual abuse crisis. Under questioning by diocesan lawyer Edward J. McDonough Jr., Dupre said he "never would have said Bishop Weldon destroyed any papers . . . because I don't know that." Dupre said the executor of Weldon's estate destroyed personal papers after Weldon died in 1982, but that any personnel files would have been returned to the diocese's archives. -- Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/09/30/bishop _denies_saying_predecessor_destroyed_abuse_data/), By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff, Sep 30 2003
• Ireland may face billion euro abuse compensation bill. IRELAND: The cost of paying compensation to thousands of people who suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse in child care institutions run by the Roman Catholic church may exceed a billion euros, the government's public spending watchdog said on Tuesday. The number of people making claims to a Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) may end up between 9,000 and 10,800, according to the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell. The average payout from the RIRB will average around 96,600 euros, including costs, but might lie in the range of 82,100 to 111,000 euros. As a result, the report says, the final cost could be between 869 million euros and 1.04 billion euros (1.21 billion dollars). -- EU Business, (http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/030930203336.foxcfoqa), Probably Sep 30 03 FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED The POYNTER INSTITUTE is a Journalism School, based at St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A.
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