References
cont. (7) — Clergy Child Molesters
SOME of the NEWSITEM HEADLINES below have been CHANGED to amplify
the meaning
• "Paedophile priest faces prison for second time. Catholic Church rocked by more revelations of child molesting." [1960s-80s]
The Guardian (UK),
www.guardian.co. uk/child/story/ 0,7369,842894, 00.html ,
by Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent, Tuesday Nov 19 2002
BRITAIN: An ailing Michael
Hill, 68, faced the final humiliation of a career of abuse that stretched
back more than 30 years and has already seen him serve one prison sentence.
It is thought he may have abused more than 30 children between the 1960s and late-1980s. Church sources said last night that the Vatican was finally
moving to remove him from the priesthood.
It was revealed two years ago that the Church's leader, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, when a diocesan bishop in Brighton and Arundel in the 1980s, had given Hill another job despite warnings about his tendencies.
[Nov 19, 02]
• [Professionals to inquire into statue with scented vegetable oil "tears," but not the claimed miracles.]
PERTH, Australia: Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey has appointed three
people to investigate the weeping statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, at Rockingham,
south of Perth. The three are: Father Kevin Long, rector of St Thomas More
College (Jesuit residential near the University of Western Australia, Crawley);
Dr Thelma Koppi, a scientist from UWA (a non-Catholic); and Dr Michael
Shanahan, a surgeon. The statue's owner, Mrs Patty Powell, has agreed.
The panel will interview her and the parish priest Fr Finbarr Walsh. The
commission will not check the claimed miracles. The weeping was noticed
on March 19, and then during Easter, and began again on August 15 and wept
continuously since. Tests had previously been held at Murdoch and Curtin
Universities, arranged by the Channel 7 programme Today Tonight. The statue
will continue to be venerated on Sunday afternoons. --
The Record, "Statue inquiry announced," Nov 21 2002, p 1
[COMMENT: Fr Walsh has been asked in a letter if the weeping statue
could work the miracle of drying the tears of the survivors of clergy
sex-abuse, and this Church in Perth has been asked by petition three
times in the months following, up to January 2003, to dismiss child-abusing clergy
and others. There was no reply from Fr Walsh, and Archbishop Hickey's
reply saying that Perth archdiocese did that was dated 5 March 2003. The inquiry
ended in February 2003, but its terms were not made public. The results were
the removal of the statue from public display, and the "going on leave"
of the clergyman. The other participants are still in office. -- see report
of Feb 22 03 criticising both the secrecy and the alleged weeping. END
of COMMENT.] [Newsitem Nov 21, 02]
• [Bishops vote to remove priests and deacons who abuse children.
"Reform" again.] WASHINGTON: The U.S. bishops' November 11-14 meeting
here will be best remembered for its approval of the revised norms on clergy
sex abuse that had emerged from a joint Vatican-U.S. commission in October.
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said that the sex-abuse norms were intended
both to protect minors and protect bishops' relationships with their priests.
Many people say the bishops cannot do both. The norms and a "Charter for
the Protection of Children and Young People" call for "removal from ministry
of any priest or deacon who has sexually abused a minor." They also call
for victim assistance, review boards, and co-operation with civil authorities.
Bishops made speeches saying that the revisions were a refinement and strengthening
of what the bishops had done at their Dallas June meeting. The norms were
approved 246-7. There was a PHOTOGRAPH of three bishops, focussed on Boston
Cardinal Bernard Law, at a final press conference.
The meeting also approved 243-1 a two-country statement
that migration between Mexico and the U.S.A. was necessary and beneficial.--
The Record, "Bishops confer," by Nancy Frazier O'Brien, CNS, Nov
21 02, p 12
[COMMENT: But, the U.S. bishops had been seriously warned
for years (1967 for example), and had agreed to mend their ways in 1985
and 1993, but most didn't. And notice, they have left another loophole,
by not voting to remove molesting subdeacons. The U.S. psychotherapist
Richard Sipe's Report of 1996 (?) says
at section 104: "It is my opinion that the cases involving Fathers Peebles,
Hughes, and Kos fit a nationwide pattern that I have observed over the
last 35 years. This pattern involves knowledge of ongoing sexual misconduct
by Catholic priests and religious and co-operation among bishops to keep
such misconduct from becoming public knowledge. Such a pattern is found
in all dioceses and religious orders in the United States and perhaps in
many countries in the world."
The US bishops' previous "reforms" did not occur, nor
did they become Church law in Rome nor get adopted in countries like Britain
and Australia. For example, what about the paedophile priest reinstated
through Vatican intervention, in Melbourne, in 1996? (reported July 6 2002)
What about the offers of a house and car for an Australian victim to keep
quiet, and a $50,000 offer to another, reported June 1 and 2 2002? What
about the U.S. bishop caught on tape suggesting concealing abuse evidence
in the Vatican Embassy, reported May 31 02? Do ordinary Catholics know
that all of the latest U.S. bishops's "decisions" can be overturned case-by-case
in secretive Vatican tribunals? If the U.S. bishops refuse to employ bad
priests, they have been and still can be transferred to other countries,
and continue their sex abuse. END of COMMENT.] Newsitem Nov 21 02
• "Paedophile priest in Catholic church row jailed for five years,"
BRITAIN: Michael Hill, who pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault
against three children aged between 10 and 14 at an earlier hearing, is
thought to have attacked about 30 boys between his ordination in 1960 and
the late 1980s. Yesterday the priest was jailed on counts including the
abuse of a teenager with learning difficulties who went to the airport's
chapel after missing a flight. (The bishop had posted him to the airport,
thinking it would be similar to an "industrial chaplaincy" where only adults
would be counselled!) Hill was freed two years ago after serving three-and-a-half
years of a five-year sentence imposed in 1997 for abusing seven young boys.
[Also was reported on Australian Broadcasting Commission radio news about
8.50 am WST on 22 Nov 02] -- www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,845212,00.html
, Tania Branigan and Stephen Bates, The Guardian Fri Nov 22 02
• Secrecy still enforced on victims.
SYDNEY: "Secret men's business" is how the Sydney Sun-Herald [NETWORK
ONLY] headlined the talks about sex-abuse, and the possible tens of millions
of dollars yet to pay, which the 40 Australian Catholic bishops were going
to hold that week at an undisclosed location. They weren't talking to the
news media.
However, the R.C. National Committee for Professional Standards
executive officer Sister Angela Ryan said the publicity about the accusation
against Sydney Archbishop George Pell had led to up to 10 people a week
contacting her about abuse allegations. "I welcome the attention. I think
it is very good that people are coming forward so that we can get it out
in the open and deal with it rather than have it under cover," Sister Ryan
told Australian Catholics magazine, dated
Christmas '02. "I think it is good that the media are interested." Broken
Rites said that, during the publicity surrounding Dr Pell's case, it had
up to 300 calls a month from people claiming they had been abused by priests
or members of religious orders.
The newsitem ended: "Melbourne's Archbishop Denis Hart spent
tens of thousands of dollars in joint advertising with Archbishop Pell
stating that the Church did not pay hush money to sex-abuse victims. The
next day The Sun-Herald revealed that victims were still being forced
to sign secrecy clauses to get compensation." -- The Sun-Herald, Sydney,
"Secret men's business," By Frank Walker, www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/23/1037697937329.html
, Nov 24 02
• Catholic priest-training colleges losing numbers in Western
Europe; OXFORD, England: However, enrolments are healthy in Eastern Europe.
Poland with 6810 seminarians has 25 per cent of Europe's total. In traditionally
Catholic Ireland, seven out of eight seminaries have suspended taking enrolments,
leaving 110 students at Maynooth. In predominantly Catholic Belgium enrolments
have fallen by 50 per cent in five years. In October 26 mostly foreign
seminarians began studies, according to the daily Le Soir. In France
admissions have fallen from 1210 in 1991 to 927 in 2001. -- The Record,
Jonathan Luxmoore (Catholic News Service), Perth, Nov 28 02, p 4
!!!; Paedophilia is an obsession of the
news media! seems to be the belief of writer Tom Utley. LONDON:
Mr Utley writes after the exposure of the R.C. Archbishop of Westminster
for allowing a predator priest to remain in ministry, sending him to an
airport chaplaincy, where he found another under-age victim.
-- The Telegraph, London, www.telegraph.co.uk
"Paedophile obsession is killing trust in the Church," By Tom Utley, Nov
30 02
[COMMENT: It is now becoming boring to read this sort of defence of the indefensible, which as is common includes anti-media attacks, such as his against The Times newspaper and the Today programme on Radio 4. This sort of attack
on the news media is part of organised religion's defence mechanism, dating
right back to the coverage of court cases decades ago, and for all I know,
against "whistleblowers" for centuries. The Church leadership did nothing
decades ago, but kept on the fake "contrition" and "rehabilitation" system,
that is, to avoid the complaints from schools, parents, and/or victims,
the sex-abuser clergy were moved to other districts. END of COMMENT) [NOTE:
Mr Utley's material, in which he seems to think that the Press's "obsession"
with paedophilia is the main problem, was reprinted in the Perth Record
on Jan 2 2003 on page 4 with a more positive headline. END of NOTE]
• US CANON LAW MEMBERS DISCUSS 1962 SECRECY DOCUMENT IN ROME.
CLSA December 2002 Newsletter, Canon Law Society of America, www.clsa.org/news/dec02/dec02.htm ,
December 2002
ROME, Italy: On February 7, 2002, officers from the Canon Law Society of America met with officials at the Roman Curia to discuss specifically the issue of child abuse and the procedures in handling child abuse, particularly and explicitly the 1962 Document. They summarized that day's events in their December 2002 Newsletter www.clsa.org/news/dec02/dec02.htm
Thursday, February 7, 2002
We began our meetings with a 9:00 am session at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. We made contact with Father Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., and Monsignor Charles Brown. Our discussion at the Congregation focused on identification of certain aspects of procedures for clergy sexual misconduct, particularly the 1962 instruction "Crimen Sollicitationis" and the more recent instruction "Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela." Other aspects of the discussion focused on possible procedures and time limits in the prosecution of particular cases. ...
(By courtesy of: www.laurencesweeney.com/visit.htm .)
[Some time later, when the 1962 secrecy instruction was exposed in the world mass media, a Vatican spokesperson claimed that it had been superseded. An Irish newspaper disproved this by quoting a Latin-language document on the Vatican's website which quoted the 1962 document.]
[Discovered by using MetaCrawler on 08 July 2004.]
[Article: Dec, 02]
!!!; [Silence for money is still demanded.]
Australian Catholics (free at R.C. churches), 300 Victoria
St, Richmond, Vic 3121, Australia; "Healing touch," by Kent Rosenthal SJ,
Christmas 2002 (issued early Dec.), pp 22-23.
MELBOURNE, Australia: Silence for money is still demanded,
the mid-2002 admission and then 10 days of denials by Archbishop George
Pell, and in spite of it being against the "Towards Healing" rules adopted
in 2000.
"Work is in progress to remove any confidential clauses that have
been included in documentation," says Sister Angela Ryan, executive officer
for the past three years of the National Committee for Professional Standards,
which is supposed to deal with sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, religious
(e.g., brothers and nuns) and other Church employees and volunteers.
She
quoted the Church's official "Towards Healing" document, section 41.1 --
"no complainant is required to give an undertaking which imposes upon them
[sic] an obligation of silence concerning the circumstances which led them
to make a complaint."
Sr Angela is a former school principal, Provincial
[= leader] of the Brigidine Sisters in Victoria, and president of
the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes.
-- Australian Catholics (free at R.C. churches), 300 Victoria
St, Richmond, Vic 3121, Australia; "Healing touch," by Kent Rosenthal SJ,
Christmas 2002 (issued early Dec.), pp 22-23.
[See also the The Sun-Herald entry of Nov 24, 02.]
[COMMENT: So, this lady has been three years in the top job, and the "hush
money" was banned in 2000, but the silence clauses still exist, and to
remove them is still "work in progress"! She can quote the section, but
has evidently been unable to stop the bishops from imposing the "silence
clauses." This is more evidence that TV Channel 9's "60 Minutes" exposure
of Archbishop George Pell on June 2 2002 was quite correct, and his 10
days of denials were untrue. The transcript
itself starting at http://sixtyminutes. ninemsn.com.au/sixty minutes/stories/ 2002_06_02/story_602.asp
, if closely studied, reveals Dr Pell admitted that silence was required
by the sworn contracts. It also exposes him to challenge for denying four
times that a young victim had reported sexual abuse to him. Astonishingly,
a book about Dr Pell has been published as if no doubt of his veracity
exists, and he continues to hold other offices in the Church. For a fuller
account of Dr Pell's 10-day denial of the existence
of silence clauses and a little of his part in enforcing them, see a version
of a 9 Sep 2002 letter to News Weekly, (ignored) now titled "Dr
Pell muddied the waters on ‘60 Minutes’" at www.multiline.com. au/~johnm/ethics/ pell60.htm . END of COMMENT] Article dated Christmas 2002
• "Phoenix Bishop Accused of Abuse Coverup;" PHOENIX (AP) -
Phoenix Bishop Thomas O'Brien once advised the family of a teenage boy
who allegedly was sexually abused by a priest in 1979 and 1980 not to contact
authorities, a prosecutor said Tuesday. O'Brien, who was a priest but not
a bishop at the time, told the family then that going to authorities would
only cause the victim more harm, said Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.
Romley made the allegations during a news conference to announce that the
former priest, John Giandelone, 55, has been charged with three counts
of sexual conduct with a minor stemming from the incidents. -- Associated
Press, (from Google cache discovered 06 Jan 2003, AFP http://asia.news.yahoo.com/16/,
Reuters http://asia.news.yahoo.com/40/, · AP 10:08 AM), Wed Dec
4, 2002
• Bishop Raymond Burke's response to the immensity, callousness
of the clergy scandal. Speech at forum of December 6-7, 2002,
published Dec 12 2003, By Most Rev. Bishop Raymond Burke, Diocese
of La Crosse, Wisconsin - Milwaukee Wanderer Forum.
UNITED STATES: Introduction.
December, 2002 - What has happened in the last eleven months in the life
of the Church in our nation is something that I could never have imagined.
Having grown up in the Catholic faith, in a family which has always loved
the Church and had the deepest respect and affection for her pastors, it
has been most difficult for me to comprehend the seemingly unending stories
of the sexual abuse of children and young people by Catholic priests and
bishops, recounted in the newspapers and through the other communications
media. It has been equally difficult to comprehend the reports of the callous
manner of handling such abuse on the part of certain Church authorities.
What has been a scandal for so many in the Church has also been a scandal
for me as a bishop of the Church. I have to confess to times of profound
anger with individuals who have perpetrated such crimes and with bishops
who have not taken appropriate action to discipline the perpetrators and
to protect children and young people from such profound harm. (Picture
of Bishop Raymond Burke)
-- Catholic Citizens of Illinois, "The Catholic response to scandal," www.catholiccitizens.org/press/contentview.asp?c=10583 , published 8:30:00 PM , Dec 12 2003.
This address was given at the Milwaukee Wanderer Forum, December 6-7, 2002, Co-sponsored by the St. Gregory VII Chapter of Catholics United for the Faith Wanderer Forum Foundation, and Living Catholic Seminars Wisconsin - Milwaukee Wanderer Forum,
December 6-7, 2002.
[NOTE: On 04 Jan 2004 I received this 2002 speech published in Dec 2003, and put it into this webpage the same day. NOTE ENDS. -->
[REFERENCE NOTE: A much longer version is in date order of publication, Dec 12 2003.
It is a very long detailed religious answer, admitting most of the main failures by the Church's systems, but recommending more of the systems -- prayer and obedience -- as the cure! REFERENCE NOTE ENDS.]
[Forum date: December 6-7, 2002]
!!!; [Fatal drug overdose in priest's presence,
priest's housekeeper thrown downstairs, seduction of novice nuns! Calls
to remove Cardinal.] BOSTON: After shocking new revelations, hundreds
demonstrated against Cardinal B. Law at his cathedral on Sunday (but he
had slipped off to Rome again), and priests' "no confidence" group letter
was circulating. Revelations: Priests gave drugs to the young, seduced
would-be nuns, threw a housekeeper down stairs, and a Boston priest did
not promptly call for medical aid as the mother of his two children (yes!)
suffered a fatal drug overdose; bankruptcy authorised by vote of diocesan
leaders. The West Australian, "Pressure on abuse row cardinal to
go," Tue Dec 10 02, p 23
!!!; Gaolbird put into Amarillo parish until May 2002! "More
U.S. strife;" WASHINGTON D.C.: Cardinal B. Law of Boston to face
grand jury, facing 400 claims and insurance problems, met Voice of the
Faithful. A judge had asked the Boston Archdiocese to hand over 11,000
documents dealing with 65 accused priests. The archdiocese was negotiating
about seeking bankruptcy protection. 568+ victims were noted in this article.
15 R.C. Church groups face courts -- Boston, Manchester (New Hampshire)
and an Order priest, Massachusetts Sacred Heart Brother, Los Angeles Carmelite,
Amarillo (Texas; gaoled offender re-hired!), San Francisco, Seattle, Oregon
diocese and Oregon Benedictines, Portland, Baker, Florida and a Florida
Salesian, plus the Vatican. -- The Record, "More US strife", by
Jerry Filteau (CNS), Dec 12 02, p 12
• Document from 1999 of "hush-up" transfer policy
imposed by Rome, Vatican direction draws it into the moral morass,
hushing up scandal, not shielding children. NEW YORK: Among the hundreds
of Church documents made public in recent days is a translation of the
Pope's order defrocking convicted paedophile Robert Burns in 1999. It demands
he leave areas "where his previous condition is known". (He had child sex
accusations in New Hampshire, Ohio, and Massachusetts.) However, the paedophile
may remain "if it is foreseen that the presence of the suppliant will cause
no scandal". Victims' lawyers said this was evidence that the Vatican policy
was not to protect local children, but to hush up embarrassment. Well-publicised
accused priest Paul Shanley was released from pre-trial gaol on Dec. 11
after friends and family posted bail of $US300,000. -- The Telegraph Group,
London; Los Angeles Times; and Reuters; The West Australian, "Sex
priests scandal draws in the Vatican," Fri Dec 13 02, p 32
• The First Sign That Rome Is Ready to Face the Sexual Abuse Crisis,
http://www.beliefnet.org/story/118/story_11861_1.html
, by Charlotte Hays, Beliefnet Team, 13
Dec 02
!!!; [Pornography and cocaine priest put into
parish in 2001; CARDINAL SUCCUMBS TO SCANDALOUS REVELATIONS.] NEW
YORK: Cardinal B. Law's resignation is accepted in Rome. Massachusetts
State Attorney-General Tom Reilly accused Boston Church officials of an
"elaborate system" over a period of "decades, and perhaps generations"
to shield priests who allegedly abused children. Subpoenaed to appear before
a grand jury, and petitioned to resign by 58 of his priests and a vote
of Voice of the Faithful, Dr B. Law secretly flew to Rome, and his resignation
(which the Pope had refused in April) was accepted by the Pope on
13 December 2002. Sordid behaviour was still condoned, according
to documents -- a cocaine-snorting priest who extensively looked at child
pornography on the internet was re-assigned in 2001 to another parish.
The last straw for some Catholics came when friends and relations of the
disgraced priest Paul Shanley, 71, raised $US300,000 bail so he could leave
gaol. Speculation continues as to how much Fr Shanley could tell the courts
of the Church's sordid past. Voice of the Faithful leader James Post said
a vote calling for Dr Law's resignation had been carried. Mr Post said
that paying off claimants had diverted tens of millions of dollars from
the work of the Church. -- Rodney Dalton, The Weekend Australian,
"Cardinal succumbs to sex abuse scandal;" Dec 14-15 02, p 17
• VATICAN ACCEPTS LAW RESIGNATION ON DEC 13. Huge cover-up and transfer policy. ROME: Cardinal Bernard Law's resignation was accepted yesterday (Dec 13 2002). He apologised and begged forgiveness. He had been 18 years
"at the helm." The Vatican might decide whether the archdiocese ought to
go bankrupt to protect itself from huge payments to sex-abuse victims.
Cardinal Law and seven bishops who once worked for him were subpoenaed
last week to appear before a Massachusetts grand jury. He has been accused
of shuffling from parish to parish priests who were accused, often repeatedly,
of sexually abusing minors. The State Attorney-General said there had been
an elaborate cover-up scheme, but it was difficult under State laws to
hold a superior accountable for the acts of another person. -- Associated
Press. The West Australian, "Vatican accepts Law resignation," Sat
Dec 14 02, p 25
• Will Cardinal's Resignation Trigger a Domino Effect? DALLAS
(TX): Pressure is mounting for other U.S. Catholic church leaders to follow
Cardinal Bernard Law’s lead and resign over their handling of clergy sexual
abuse. The bishops coming under the greatest scrutiny are several who previously
were Law’s top aides the Archdiocese of Boston. Several of them, as well
as the cardinal, have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating
the scandal — and the Massachusetts attorney general said this week that
he had evidence of a cover-up of priests’ criminal behavior. One of the
longtime lieutenants, Bishop John B. McCormack, who leads the diocese in
Manchester, N.H., acknowledged this week that prosecutors in that state
had enough evidence to win a conviction against his diocese for harboring
abusive priests. The Rev. Thomas Doyle, a former official in the Vatican
Embassy in Washington, said church leaders who knowingly let children or
adults suffer because of sexual abuse should resign so the church could
“repair itself.” -- Opus Bono Sacerdotii (Work for the Good of the Priesthood),
"Will Cardinal's Resignation Trigger a Domino Effect?" http://www.opusbonosacerdotii.org/121402dallas.htm
, December 14, 2002, by REESE DUNKLIN, Dallas
Morning News, Dec 14 02
• Temporary R.C. Boston leader; "Rallying call to Catholics;" bankruptcy still possible.
BOSTON: The temporary head of Boston's Catholic Archdiocese,
Bishop Richard Lennon, 55, spoke on Sunday during Mass at the Cathedral
there. Many Boston-area Catholics knew little about Bishop Lennon. Boston's
attendance and donations are in steep decline, the Church leaders will
face a grand jury investigation, plus at least 450 sex-abuse lawsuits that
could cost $117 m. Lawyers believe insurance will cover about $159m in
claims. Spokesperson Rev Christopher Coyne said that the archdiocese has
not ruled out declaring bankruptcy. Bishop Lennon said: "... the household
of faith is only strong when all of us are united in that faith." [COMMENT:
It's a pity that Bernard B. Law and his predecessor and their criminal
clergy did not remember that! COMMENT ENDS.] -- Knight-Ridder Tribune. The West Australian,
Tue Dec 17 02, p 22
• "Man cleared of priest kill bid;"
BALTIMORE: A jury acquitted Mr Dontee Stokes, 26, hairdresser, of a charge
of attempted murder of a priest, Fr Maurice Blackwell, whom Stokes said
had sexually assaulted him nearly a decade ago. Jurors on Monday took eight
hours to acquit him of attempted murder and eight other counts. They convicted
Stokes of three handgun charges but submitted a note to the judge asking
for a lenient sentence. Stokes said he was having an out-of-body experience
when he shot and wounded Fr Blackwell after confronting him on the street
seeking reconciliation! [A report
of the wounding was in The West Australian May 16 02] The West
Australian, Wed Dec 18 02, p 32
• "Cardinal Law steps down at Vatican meeting;" Law had defied
colleagues' recommendations against accused priests, and the bishops' own
1993 guidelines. VATICAN CITY (CNS): Following a yearlong scandal over
the handling of priestly misconduct cases in the Archdiocese of Boston,
Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, 71,
and named a temporary administrator to head the archdiocese. There had
been further disclosures of priestly misconduct in Boston, and there was
the spectre of bankruptcy. There was growing anger among sex abuse victims'
groups in early December over newly-released files showing that some accused
priests had received or retained assignments despite recommendations against
them. As a cardinal, Law retains his right to vote in a papal election
for pope until he turns 80 in November 2011. Law was born in Mexico, ordained
in 1961 for Jackson Diocese, was 11 years bishop of Springfield-Cape Giarardeau,
Mo, before being named archbishop of Boston in 1984, and became a cardinal
in 1985. In 1991 a Canadian archbishop resigned after he was accused of
covering up priestly sexual abuse and doing little to help victims. In
New York, Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, editor
of America magazine, said that the cardinal's handling of sex abuse
was "unusually bad" because it continued after the U.S. bishops had established
national sex guidelines in 1993." -- The Record, John Norton, Catholic
News Service, Dec 19 02, p 20
• Because the Irish Republic government will hold a 26-county inquiry,
the all-island Church inquiry disbands: DUBLIN, IRELAND, Dec 20 (AFP) -- ClariNet,
"Irish Catholic church abandons probe into clergy child abuse," http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/dd/Qireland-religion-abuse.RruF_CDK.html
, Story from AFP, Copyright
2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) , Fri 20 Dec 02
• Ferns inquiry set to pass deadline.
The Irish Examiner, Ireland,
"Ferns inquiry set to pass deadline,"
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2003/12/23/story606185321.asp , By Neans McSweeney, Tuesday, December 23, 2003
IRELAND:
AN INQUIRY into clerical sexual abuse in a Wexford diocese will take more than a year, with an interim report most likely to be published in March, its secretary has estimated.
As the Ferns Inquiry winds up for this year, Marian Shanley said its focus will move towards St Peter's College, a seminary and boarding school believed to have been plagued by abuse throughout the 1970s and '80s.
However, evidence from incidents in Monageer, Poulfour and other parishes in Wexford will continue to be heard.
"It's been a big task, but we've not encountered any delays or problems so far. We've been up and running since March and we've never not had a full day's work to do," said Ms Shanley.
"The oral evidence from victims and from other witnesses and people with stories to tell has been ongoing, along with our efforts to sift through loads of documentation. [...]
One of the final witnesses of the inquiry is expected to be Dr Brendan Comiskey, former Bishop of Ferns. He resigned in the wake of a BBC documentary into his and the Church's handling of abuse allegations in the Ferns diocese. He is not due to give evidence until February at the earliest.
The Ferns Inquiry is non-statutory, but when announcing the inquiry Health Minister Micheál Martin ruled that if there was any evidence, hint or even suggestion of non-cooperation by anybody, he would not hesitate in granting the team statutory powers.
December 23, 2003
• Boston Archdiocese seeks First Amendment protection from lawsuits:
BOSTON -- The Boston Archdiocese asked a judge Monday to dismiss the hundreds
of sexual-abuse lawsuits against the church on freedom-of-religion grounds.
But the archdiocese said it is still committed to reaching a settlement.
The archdiocese said it made the dismissal request to satisfy its insurers
that it has employed all possible legal defenses.
Star Tribune www.startribune.com/stories/1697/3552551.html
Associated Press, Published Dec 24 02
• Denier Pell gets more good Press from the Church! A Zenit
interview with Tess Livingstone, praising "denier" Sydney Archbishop George
Pell but not touching on sex-abuse subjects! Ms Livingstone is the author
of an autobiography George Pell. Dr Pell grew up in his parents'
country hotel in Ballarat, and recovered from illness to be a star footballer
etc. at St Patrick's CBC in Ballarat. He ran Caritas Australia and was
auxiliary biship of Melbourne 1987-1996 [so he knew about the "hush money,"
and had some access to charity money!Hmm!]. She praised him for being a
prolific reader with a very wide world knowledge, loyal to Christ and His
Church, and "tends to see the best" of most people including his opponents.
He mixes freely and well with people of other faiths, for example Judaism
and Islam. And so on, and so on ... -- The Record, "The Church's
helmsman Down Under," (Zenit), Dec 26 02, p 6
• Thank you to good priests, on Internet;
UNITED STATES: Two Catholics, trying to help the clergy in the United States, have received more than 25,000 messages of thanks to good priests since their special website started in August 2002.
Joe Lilly and Rick Redman with a few friends had created the Thank You Father Website www.thankyoufather.com
. -- The Record, "Thousands hit Joe and Rick's 'thank you' website;
New site aims to register vote of thanks to priests," Dec 26 02, p 6
• On December 18 2002 Polish Fr Roman Kramek in the U.S.A. sexually
assaulted a girl, 17, receiving his counselling on sex assault!
NEW
YORK: "Abuse fighters set sights on Bishop" John
McCormack, who in June 2002 moved a priest who had sex with a teenager
to a new parish! Also, as Dr Bernard Law's aide he had sent colourful Fr
Paul Shanley to California, had moved accused Fr Joseph Birmingham on,
thought priest okay if he had sex with 18-y-o, and sex with a boy from
another parish is not as culpable as same-parish child abuse! For 10 years
he was in charge of the Boston diocese's response to allegations of sex
between clergy and children! -- The Weekend Australian, Nicholas
Wapshott (New York), Dec 28-29 02, p 8
!!!: Restraining order, Australia: MELBOURNE:
Jilted lady invited herself to Archbishop's Christmas dinner! In 2001
there had been a "relationship" with an ex-priest, woman claims. Melbourne
R.C. Archbishop Denis Hart obtained a restraining order against Anne Furness
who alleges she was bullied and received sexual abuse following a relationship
with a former priest, Barry Whelan. She had encounters with the archbishop
for six months, and threw a stone through a window of his home on Dec 4.
[Dr Hart is another denier. He had joined Dr Pell in denying that the Church
paid hush money to victims. -- The West Australian, Fri June 7 02,
p 5] -- The Weekend Australian, "Churchman restrains stalker," Dec
28-29 02, p 4
• "The abusive behaviour continues still; No broad vision in Fr Steve Rossetti's defence of indefensible
U.S. bishops." This is a RESPONSE to "I say, I say...." (No more prevalent
in the Church than it is in society) by Paul Gray, giving a number of arguments
by Fr Steve Rossetti, in The Record, Perth, Nov 7 2002.
The bizarre "antics" of some of the sex-abuse clergy reach
world-wide audiences. But what about the sex-abuse victim-survivors who
accept compensation "silence money" privately, and never reach the courts?
Also it was stated that one priest offender "is one too many," and "...
it's no more prevalent in the Church than it is in society." Why isn't
it FAR LESS than in society, preferably almost NON-EXISTENT? Aren't the
bishops and priests supposed to be showing through their celibacy a sign
of sacrifice and holiness to the world? (see Pope John XXIII, quoted in
E.Gilson, "Souvenir du Père," in La France Catholique, No.
862, 7:vi:1963)
For years since the publicity about priest serial child-abusers
such as Fr Gilbert Gauthe in 1985 and Fr James Porter in 1992, the global
Catholic establishment has been pretending the problem is smaller than
it is, and has adopted "milk and water" reforms on paper but not in practice.
The article had said that a case had come up in Boston diocese over Fr
John Geoghan, and "people assumed the worst." The reality is far worse
than that. Fr Geoghan has cost the Church millions in compensation money
since the mid-1990s, there was a court case in January 2002, compensation
conferences are being held, and two more charges are pending. Boston archdiocese
might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. [Insurance companies in
Boston and elsewhere are now almost certain that the Church has a deliberate
policy, approved all the way to the Vatican, to retain compulsive child-abusers,
move them from place to place, and pay "hush money" outside the court system
if possible.]
Sordid details, not all sex-abuse related, are coming to light
month after month as the courts and news media through court orders obtain
more and more documents from Church archives. A list of some of the other
offenders and suspects is given back to 1985, including the name of a current
colourful accused Father Paul Shanley (publicised since at least April
2002), to counter the Paul Gray / Father Steve Rossetti attempt to minimise
the huge extent of the problem, in duration, number of victims, and newsworthiness.
The U.S. bishops had received a researched warning paper in 1967, and had
gone through the motions of adopting "reforms" in 1985 and 1993.
Literature shows that the bishops' policy of transferring sex-abusers
and other unsuitable priests from place to place is still continuing in
2002. The response points out that priestly sex-abuse continues almost
to this day, by listing the July 31 2002 report that in mid-2002 two U.S.
priests were alleged by Montreal authorities to have sought sex with boys,
and the Dec 28-29 report that a Polish priest in Connecticut has been charged
with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl he was counselling about a
previous sexual assault. He has admitted having sex with her. [There are
sordid details from every Continent except Antarctica! Watch this website!]
Written Dec 30 2002
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