UNITED STATES
USA Today
The Associated Press
A Vatican evaluation of American seminaries planned three years ago in response to the clergy sex abuse crisis is expected to move forward under new Pope Benedict XVI and will likely tackle the polarizing issue of whether gays should become priests.
The appraisal will focus on conditions in the seminaries, including how instructors present church teaching on sexuality and celibacy, to look for anything that contributed to the scandal.
Church officials conducting the review will inevitably take up complaints that gays are enrolling in large numbers in the seminaries and their sexual activity is tolerated at the schools, experts on Catholicism said. Some Catholics contend an atmosphere of sexual permissiveness — for straight and gay seminarians — was a factor in the crisis, which has led to more than 11,000 abuse claims in the last five decades.
Dean Hoge, a Catholic University sociologist who has spent 30 years studying the priesthood, said seminary rectors are anxious about the review — called an "apostolic visitation."
"Having the boss show up makes anyone nervous," Hoge said.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Houston Chronicle
Associated Press
FORT WORTH — The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have asked a judge to unseal records of sexual abuse allegations against priests who worked in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese.
Tarrant County District Judge Len Wade ordered the diocese to surrender the records last year in a lawsuit that accused Bishop Joseph Delaney of employing known predators.
But the judge kept the records secret and ordered the plaintiffs to do the same. The newspapers say the records should be unsealed because they concern public health and safety.
"We're not aware of any authority for putting these documents under seal and believe that the public not only has a right to see these documents but also would be interested in their contents," said David Starr, deputy general counsel for Belo Corp., which owns The News.
The diocese recently agreed to settle the lawsuit, without admitting wrongdoing, by paying two accusers of the Rev. Thomas Teczar a total of $4.15 million.
Delaney employed Teczar from the late 1980s to the early 1990s after a Massachusetts diocese barred him from ministry because of misconduct with boys.
INDIANA
Fort Wayne News Sentinel
By Ryan Lengerich
rlengerich@news-sentinel.com
After 20 years leading the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop John D’Arcy cherishes his time inside Fort Wayne’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
“Sometimes when everybody has gone home at 6 or 7 o’clock, I go over there because it is so beautiful,” the 72-year-old bishop said. “I pray that the souls of the faithful and priesthood and the diocese will be good and pure and as spiritual as the cathedral is beautiful.” ...
The Rev. James Shafer, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Fort Wayne, remembers when D’Arcy’s leadership began. Priests, he said, were being removed and little reason was given.
“There was an unsettledness among us about what was going on,” Shafer said. “All you saw was somebody leaving and you didn’t know what was going on, and to his credit he kept it confidential.”
That confidentiality would manifest itself in 2003, when allegations nationwide that priests had sexually abused children rocked the Catholic Church. D’Arcy gained national attention for his efforts to alert church officials to sexual abuse while serving in Boston in the 1970s and early ’80s.
After his move, he said a Washington lawyer had helped him probe files, and his tight initial scrutiny into his new diocese’s priests was intentional.
“When the crises broke we had addressed it already, we had removed people,” he said. “I felt an obligation to communicate with people.”
STAMFORD (CT)
The Jewish Ledger
By Judie Jacobson
STAMFORD —- Rabbi Mark Dratch, who has served for the past eight years as spiritual leader of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, will leave that post in June to head up The Jewish Institute Supporting an Abuse-Free Environment (JSafe), a new non-profit educational institution that aims to address the issue of domestic and sexual abuse within the Jewish community.
Headquartered in New York, JSafe's mission is to create an environment in which every institution and organization across the entire spectrum of the Jewish community conducts itself responsibly and effectively in addressing the wrongs of domestic violence, child abuse and professional improprieties, whenever and by whomever they are perpetrated.
"The purpose is create a systemic change in the Jewish community n to hold everyone and every institution and organization responsible in these areas. To make sure they have the proper training, the proper policies and can never sweep a problem under the rug," explains Dratch, who is a member of the Jewish Advisory Board of Faith Trust Institute, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Religion and Abuse, and as chair of the Task Force on Rabbinic Improprieties for the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA).
JERUSALEM
The Jewish Press
Posted 4/28/2005
By Editorial Board
Jerusalem Bet Din Reaffirms
Last week the Jerusalem Bet Din of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate reaffirmed its initial decision in Rabbi Mordecai Tendler`s case against the Vaad Hakavod of the Rabbinical Council of America. The Bet Din, in unmistakably clear language emphasized that it is prohibited for an investigative committee such as the Vaad Hakavod to take any action which can cause or bring about the dismissal of a rabbi in the Jewish community and that any such action must be taken through an independent bet din.
The Jerusalem Bet Din reemphasized that an investigative committee such as the Vaad Hakavod could not in any way damage or effect any services provided by, or any status or position of, Rabbi Mordecai Tendler. The Jerusalem Bet Din explained that its decision was in the nature of a preliminary injunction intended to preserve the status quo until such time as a competent bet din dealt with the merits. (The text of the Bet Din`s second decision is reproduced after this editorial.)
Notably, the Bet Din`s second decision came in response to a request by the Vaad Hakavod to vacate or modify the earlier ruling. Not surprisingly, not only did the Bet Din refuse to modify its decision in any way, but it repeated and emphasized with unmistakable clarity the import of its earlier words. It did add, in an apparent attempt to remind the RCA rabbis of their antecedents, that they were the students of the Rav, zt"l, one of the greatest Torah leaders of the previous generation and that the Rav, zt"l, maintained a respectful relationship with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and its rabbinic courts. ...
As many of our readers may know, the Awareness Center is a website that regularly publishes allegations of abuse made against rabbis, cantors, etc. We underscore allegations because, while some of the listed persons have been convicted, the overwhelming number of those persons listed have merely had allegations made against them by unidentified accusers. More important, this website makes no pretense of having investigated or vetted the accuracy of the complaints or the integrity of the accusers.
AUSTRALIA
news.com.au
By Simon Kearney and Kate Legge
April 30, 2005
FORMER governor-general Peter Hollingworth is costing taxpayers more than $1600 a day to maintain since he resigned as Australia's vice-regal representative.
New figures provided by John Howard show Dr Hollingworth's office and travel expenses after his resignation on May 28, 2003, and up to December 31 last year, total $648,675.
His pension over the same period cost taxpayers $296,605, bringing the daily cost of supporting the ex-governor-general to $1621.
The figures show Dr Hollingworth spent $240,898 on fitting out his luxury office on the 21st floor of 101 Collins Street in Melbourne. ...
Dr Hollingworth was appointed governor-general by Mr Howard in June 2001, but resigned just short of two years into his term amid continuing controversy over his handling of sexual abuse allegations against Anglican clergy while he was archbishop of Brisbane.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Saturday, April 30, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
More than 90 new people, all of whose identities are shielded from public exposure, have come forward with claims against the bankrupt Archdiocese of Portland. Details of the claims are confidential, although most are presumed to have been possible victims of clergy sexual abuse.
The claimants join 83 known others who have filed sex-abuse claims as of Friday, the deadline for all claims in the church's Chapter 11 reorganization case.
The new claimants seek nearly $71 million, bringing the total dollar amount of claims to more than half a billion dollars.
That total may rise significantly, because only 26 of the new claimants listed dollar amounts with their claims.
All of the sex-abuse claims now will go to mediation, with the first group beginning Aug. 8.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
By Luaine Lee
Scripps Howard News Service
Showtime couldn’t have come up with a better time to air its controversial film “Our Fathers.”
With the death of Pope John Paul II and the choosing of his replacement, Pope Benedict XVI, in the news, the church has been more visible than ever.
The show, which deals with the Catholic Church’s cover-up of the sexual abuses in Boston, premieres May 21 on Comcast Channel 4. This film, based on David France’s bestseller, “Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal,” takes a penetrating look at the actions of the church’s hierarchy.
“One of the things we learned in Boston was that there’s a corporate problem and that the corporate CEOs were responsible for the problem,” France says.
These ecclesiastical leaders have not taken the responsibility of seeing to it that the malefactors were punished for their deeds, France says.
MICHIGAN
Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Saturday, April 30, 2005
By Jon Malavolti
Staff Writer
After surviving several violent relationships, Melissa is recovering and putting her life back together.
The Jackson woman, who asked that her last name not be printed, joined more than 50 other community members Friday evening for the eighth annual Take Back the Night march and rally. ...
The event, sponsored by the AWARE shelter, featured speaker and author Jim Parker, who was sexually abused as a child by a priest in Lansing.
"Most people are kind of unaware of the lifetime effects of sexual abuse," Parker said.
He didn't fully come to terms with his abuse until he was an adult and his mother died. Then he decided to tell his story in a book, "Raped in the House of God, The Murder of My Soul and Its Lifetime Effects."
OAKLAND (CA)
Oakland Tribune
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
An Arizona man had a right to seek punitive damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland for failing to protect him from molestation by an Antioch priest about 25 years ago, a state appeals court ruled Friday.
Bob and Tom Thatcher were altar boys at Antioch's St. Ignatius when the Rev. Robert Ponciroli molested them at ages 10 and 8. An Alameda County Superior Court jury awarded Bob Thatcher $875,000 in punitive damages April 13 in his lawsuit against the diocese, as well as $875,000 in compensatory damages; Tom Thatcher sought no punitive damages but won $180,000 in compensatory damages.
But the diocese months ago had appealed a judge's ruling clearing the way for Bob Thatcher to seek punitive damages. The diocese claimed letting him do so would violate the state and federal constitutions' ex post facto clauses, prohibiting retroactive application of a law to criminalize conduct that was legal when originally performed.
The California Court of Appeal on Tuesday concluded there's no violation of the ex post facto doctrine. Punitive damages, while a form of punishment, are civil and not criminal in nature, the court concluded.
HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle
By PAIGE HEWITT and HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
A federal judge is considering whether to dismiss a case that accuses the new pope of conspiring with local Catholic officials to cover up the alleged sexual abuse of three boys.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal halted the case this week until she decides whether to grant a motion by Catholic officials to dismiss it.
The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs known only as John Does I, II and III, who say they were molested as boys by a seminary student about 10 years ago.
Pope Benedict XVI, who was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was added to the lawsuit this year, wrote a May 18, 2001, letter calling for adherence to a 1962 guideline for dealing with allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The lawsuit calls the guidelines "a virtual 'green light' for all bishops to actually facilitate, albeit secretly, the sexual exploitation of minors, and even brute animals, by clergy."
OREGON
The Register-Guard
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard
Former members of New Hope Christian Center in Veneta filed a lawsuit Thursday asserting they are entitled to nearly $1.5 million - the value of the property and furnishings of the church from which they say they were evicted last summer.
The former members also allege that district and international officials with the Pentecostal Church of God knew, or should have known, that former New Hope associate pastor Charles Fenwick Jr. previously had engaged in "sexually inappropriate conduct" with minor females while serving a church in California.
The suit was filed in Lane County Circuit Court on Thursday during a settlement hearing before Judge Karsten Rasmussen. The hearing has been continued to an unspecified date sometime this summer.
The mediation session and new filing are the latest wrinkles involving Fenwick, who was sentenced last August to five years in prison, the maximum term, for sexually abusing a female parishioner, beginning when she was 14.
The female, now 20 years old, filed a $10 million lawsuit in October alleging that New Hope and a second church, the Lighthouse Temple in Eugene, were negligent in hiring and retaining Fenwick as an associate pastor. Fenwick worked at New Hope in 1998 and 1999 and at the Lighthouse Temple in 2000.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Todd Ruger
The trial on a Davenport man’s civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a former Catholic Diocese of Davenport priest will start Monday after last-minute settlement talks failed, the plaintiff’s attorney announced Friday afternoon.
Davenport attorney Craig Levien called area news media representatives to the Scott County Courthouse for a “statement given in open court” regarding the lawsuit and then had a video camera trained on the witness stand in a courtroom.
But Levien, who previously has said during court hearings that his client’s settlement offer asked James Janssen to admit to decades-old claims of sexual abuse, entered the courtroom alone and said, “The talks have been unsuccessful.
“The trial is scheduled and will commence Monday morning,” he added, referring to the lawsuit filed by James Wells.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Robert Patrick
Of the Post-Dispatch
Friday, Apr. 29 2005
Dozens of people convicted of exposing their genitals to children could be
freed from prison or have their sentences reduced, based on a Missouri Supreme
Court decision this week clearing a former St. Louis elementary school
counselor and onetime Roman Catholic priest of such charges.
The court, in a 4-3 decision Tuesday, said there was not enough evidence to
convict James Beine of sexual misconduct involving a child by indecent
exposure. The court also said that the Missouri law was "patently
unconstitutional" because it is over-broad and could criminalize simply using a
public restroom.
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said Friday that he would ask the state
Supreme Court to reconsider. Nixon has 15 days from the ruling to seek a
rehearing.
If that fails, those imprisoned on a sexual misconduct charge could ask the
courts to be released, Nixon said.
Stephen Easton, an associate professor at the University of Missouri Law
School, said the question then would be whether courts applied the ruling
retroactively. Judges could decide that it applies only to open cases, he said.
They also could say the decision clears everyone convicted of the crime - or
something in between.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Traci Shurley
Special to the Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH _ Attorneys for the Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News asked a state district judge Friday to unseal records in a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth that involved allegations of sexual abuse by a priest.
The motion says state District Judge Len Wade failed to follow a Texas Rule of Civil Procedure when he placed a protective order on diocesan records having to do with ``clerics, other than Thomas H. Teczar, against whom allegations have been made involving the sexual misconduct of minors.''
Early this month, the diocese announced that it would pay a total of more than $4 million to two men to settle a 2003 lawsuit. The men accused Teczar, a former priest in the diocese, of raping and groping them in the early 1990s in Ranger
In October 2004, Wade sealed some records submitted by the diocese during the pretrial preparations for the suit. Wade ordered that the records be returned to the diocese within 45 days of the conclusion of the suit.
His order covered the diocese's files on priests other than Teczar.
TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News
08:48 PM CDT on Friday, April 29, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asked a judge Friday to unseal records of sexual abuse allegations against priests who worked in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese.
Last year, Tarrant County District Judge Len Wade ordered the diocese to surrender the records in a lawsuit that accused Bishop Joseph Delaney of employing known predators.
But the judge kept the records secret and ordered the plaintiffs to do the same. The newspapers say the records should be released because they concern matters affecting public health and safety.
"We're not aware of any authority for putting these documents under seal and believe that the public not only has a right to see these documents but also would be interested in their contents," said David Starr, deputy general counsel for Belo Corp., which owns The News.
The diocese recently agreed to settle the abuse lawsuit, without admitting wrongdoing, by paying two accusers of the Rev. Thomas Teczar a total of $4.15 million. Bishop Delaney employed the priest from the late 1980s to early 1990s, after a Massachusetts diocese barred Father Teczar from ministry because of misconduct with boys.
Documents sought by the newspapers regard other priests, whom public court files don't name.
In a letter to parishioners last year, Bishop Delaney said eight clerics who worked in the diocese after its 1969 founding have been accused of "improper sexual behavior with a minor." He did not name the priests.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
By Debra Douglas
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
29 April 2005
A former Co Londonderry headmaster who abused three young boys was today sentenced to four years in prison.
Jude Lynch (44), of Earmount Road in Park, admitted 33 sex offences against three boys age 13, 14 and 15, including indecent assault and gross indecency.
Sentencing the former principal, Judge David Smyth QC said: "As a headmaster you were in a position to understand the extent of the wrong you were doing."
Describing Lynch's victims as vulnerable he said: "They were under the age of consent and you as a headmaster knew that."
Judge Smyth described Lynch as the architect of the incidents and said he used his organisational ability and talents to book hotels to impress these "vulnerable children".
CALIFORNIA
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer/Appellate Courts
Alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse by members of the clergy, entitled to sue under a law reviving time-barred claims, may seek punitive damages, the Court of Appeal for this district ruled yesterday.
Ruling as part of a coordination proceeding involving about 1,000 plaintiffs, Div. Eight rejected the argument that allowing punitive damages for claims brought after the original statute of limitations period has expired violates the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal constitutions.
The specific case ruled on yesterday was that of Bob Thatcher, who two weeks ago was awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages and an equal sum in punitive damages for molestation he suffered at the hands of a Catholic priest in the Bay Area city of Antioch in 1980 and 1981.
Jurors found that the Diocese of Oakland failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the abuse. While such claims must normally be brought no later than the plaintiff’s 26th birthday, Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 340.1 gave victims above that age one year, beginning Jan. 1, 2003, to bring suit.
TUCSON (AZ)
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
April 29, 2005
In July 2004, attorney Ivan Abrams of Tucson, Ariz., filed a federal lawsuit on behalf a former seminarian and alleged abuse victim, 45-year-old Philip A. Hower. The suit, which is still pending, was filed under provisions of the RICO statute, used primarily to fight organized crime.
In the lawsuit, Hower alleges that he was blocked from being ordained a priest because he had blown the whistle on sexual misconduct of priests with whom he resided while preparing for his ordination.
Also according to the lawsuit: In 1987, Hower alleges that Father Richard E. Troutman, then-pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Yuma and currently pastor and vicar at St. Odilia's parish in Tucson, asked Hower to perform a sexual act on him (Troutman) in the hospital where Troutman was being treated for alcohol abuse. Hower had been visiting Troutman in a pastoral capacity and was shocked by Troutman's scandalous request.
Hower also alleges that, in 1988, he was sexually assaulted by Father Steven Stencil, the then-vocations director for the Diocese of Tucson. (Stencil was suspended from the priesthood in 2001 after an unrelated allegation of sexual misconduct was lodged against him by a 17-year-old male student.)
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor
Monitor editorial
April 29. 2005 8:00AM
If Dorothy Rabinowitz is right, everything you think you know about sexual abuse by Catholic priests is suspect.
Who is Dorothy Rabinowitz? Well, she's no amateur. She is a distinguished member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, having won, among other awards, the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Her winning entries included columns about Violet, Cheryl and Gerald Amirault, the Malden, Mass., day care center operators convicted in the 1980s of raping and molesting children in their care.
Rabinowitz called the case against the Amiraults "a sham built on accusations coaxed from children drilled in stories about a bad clown and a magic room." It was too convenient by half, she suggested, that the acts the Amiraults supposedly had committed were "identical to those of most of the other renowned prosecutions of child care workers" at the time.
Readers of a two-part commentary written by Rabinowitz this week will notice a similar theme. This time her focus is the prosecution of Roman Catholic priests, a group that she allows includes "true predators." That said, she is certain the clergy sex abuse scandals, "their nonstop press coverage, and the irresistible pressure on the Church to show proof of cleansing resulted in a system that rewarded false claims along with the true."
NORTHERN IRELAND
U.TV
A paedophile priest who plied a young boy scout with alcohol, before sexually abusing him, has been jailed for 18 months suspended for two years.
Father Daniel Curran, admitted indencently assaulting the boy on two occasions between June 1986 and June 1989.
The priest, who is 65 and lives with his elderly parents in Newcastle, has already served a seven-year jail sentence for indecently assaulting nine other boys in the 1990s.
Downpatrick Crown Court, sitting in Enniskillen, heard the boy was aged between eleven and 13 at the time of the offence.
ROME
Vermont Guardian
ROME — The honeymoon may already be over for Pope Benedict XVI. The sources of the problem are a long-ignored 12-page letter about abuse forwarded to the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1997, and his subsequent decision to keep the investigations secret.
In the letter, Father Juan Vaca charged that Father Marcial Maciel, founder of a conservative evangelical order, the Legionaries of Christ, sexually abused him and other teenagers. According to Britain’s Observer, Vaca claims that the new pope ignored his charges because Maciel was a close friend of Pope John Paul II.
In 1997, Ratzinger was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican body with the power to excommunicate priests guilty of sexual abuse. Bishop John McCann of New York forwarded him the details of charges made by Vaca, who had outlined them in an open letter to Maciel.
Ratzinger took no immediate action, but eventually issued an order that investigations into child sex abuse be carried out in secret. A confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. In it, Ratzinger asserted the church’s right to hold inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood.
Lawyers representing abuse victims claim the goal was to prevent the allegations from becoming public knowledge or being investigated by the police. They accuse Ratzinger of “obstruction of justice.”
ADRIAN (OH)
Toledo Blade
By ROBIN ERB
blade staff writer
ADRIAN - A California woman who has accused the choir director of Adrian College of raping her when she was a student at a California Catholic high school met briefly yesterday with the college's president.
But Joelle Casteix, who said she wanted to share information with school officials about Thomas Hodgman, the choir director, said she walked out of the meeting in tears.
"I wasn't expecting the questioning of my story. I wasn't prepared for them to call it a consensual relationship even though I was a minor. … I was berated, belittled, and revictimized," she said.
Claudia Vercellotti, head of the Toledo chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, accompanied Ms. Casteix to the meeting with President Stanley Caine and Phil Baither, a college attorney.
Calls to Mr. Caine were not returned yesterday. But Mr. Baither said Ms. Casteix shared information that the college will pursue. He confirmed Ms. Casteix left the meeting, but said he did not consider it a "confrontational" discussion.
MAINE
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
April 28, 2005 -- Investigatory files pertaining to never-prosecuted allegations of Roman Catholic priest sex abuse must be released by Maine Attorney General G. Steven Rowe because the privacy interests of the 18 dead priests and their families don't outweigh the public's right to know about how the department conducted the investigation, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled April 22 in a sharply divided opinion.
Newspaper publisher Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. -- owner of the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec (Augusta) Journal and the Waterville Morning Sentinel newspapers -- requested the records, pertaining to 18 dead Roman Catholic priests, from Rowe's office in June 2002. Rowe refused to release the files, citing an exemption to state open records law for documents whose release would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
The newspapers sued, and Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup ruled in their favor in 2003, declining to even require redaction of alleged victim and witnesses names. Rowe appealed.
A 4-3 majority of the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the trial court's ruling that the records must be released, but permitted victim and witness names to be redacted.
IOWA
WHO
West Des Moines, April 28th - A former Dowling High School student is accusing his former priest of sexual abuse. Tonight, Dowling is responding to the allegations.
John Chambers alleges that he was sexually abused while attending the school in the 1960's. Dowling is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. But the school's president did respond to the case, saying the school has a strict set of procedures to ensure sex abuse does not happen at the school.
That abuse allegedly happened 37 years ago. So how can Chambers file a lawsuit over something that happened more than 3 decades ago? It's because of a statute known as a "repressed memory clause." It basically says that a person has four years to file a lawsuit from the time they realize they were harmed. Attorney Mark Pennington says there is a problem with trying repressed memory cases. Often, so much time has gone by that the accusations are hard to prove.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By MARY ZAHN
mzahn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 28, 2005
Eighty-four Milwaukee diocesan Catholic priests - or about one in five - supported a statement critical of a policy approved by Archbishop Timothy Dolan that would have required priests to consent to unannounced searches of their homes and other restrictions if church officials suspect or know they have been involved in inappropriate behavior.
The statement was read to Dolan on Thursday at a meeting of the Council of Priests, an advisory group to the Archbishop. In addition to the 26 priests and two bishops who are members of the council, an estimated 40 other priests attended the meeting, according to Father Curt Frederick, vicar for clergy.
"It was tough for me to hear these things," Dolan said after the meeting Thursday. "I think I learned something about myself. I have to examine my own style. The candor of the priests moved me."
The statement written by the Milwaukee Archdiocese Priest Alliance was approved by more than 65% of its 129 members, according to Father Kenneth Mich, a spokesman for the group. The alliance was formed in 2003 as a support network and independent voice for clergy.
MANCHESTER (NH)
The Union Leader
By DENIS PAISTE
Union Leader Staff
MANCHESTER — Superior Court Judge Arthur Brennan yesterday stood by his sentencing of suspended priest Gordon MacRae, whose trial and imprisonment were the subject of a two-part essay in the Wall Street Journal this week.
"I did my best to be fair and impartial in the case, and the jury made its decision, and I carefully considered the arguments of both sides at sentencing and made the decision to sentence Gordon MacRae to a substantial sentence based on the arguments I heard and the considerations of sentencing in New Hampshire," Brennan said yesterday in a telephone interview from Sullivan County Superior Court.
MacRae received the maximum New Hampshire prison sentence in November 1994 of 33½ to 67 years for sexual assault on a male between 13 and 16 years old.
The sentencing followed a three-day hearing in which five victims described how MacRae befriended them as teenagers and then sexually molested them. Only one alleged victim testified during the jury trial.
Wall Street Journal editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz's articles Wednesday and yesterday focused not only on the question of MacRae's guilt or innocence, but also on the system that allows anonymous accusers to receive financial settlements for allegations of sexual abuse against priests.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
News-Leader
Associated Press
St. Louis — Federal and St. Louis prosecutors are weighing additional sexual-misconduct charges against a defrocked priest who could soon be freed from prison. James Beine's attorney questioned the scrutiny, calling his client "a sacrificial lamb" in addressing sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
A Missouri Senate panel also took the first step Thursday in shoring up a statute the state's highest court narrowly deemed unconstitutionally broad two days earlier in scrapping the conviction of Beine, a former elementary school counselor also known as Mar James.
A U.S. appeals court threw out Beine's federal conviction of possessing child pornography and a sentence of nearly five years, ruling that investigators illegally seized evidence.
COSTA RICA
swissinfo
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A Costa Rican Catholic priest, who attracted hordes of followers as the host of a popular televised prayer session, was jailed for 30 years on Thursday for sexually abusing minors.
In a case that triggered hysteria and anger among some of his fans, Enrique Delgado was found guilty of abusing three teenagers at his home on various occasions in 2002 and ordered to pay them the equivalent of $17,000 in compensation.
The 50-year-old priest, whose prayer show was one of the most-watched TV programs in the country, has always denied the charges and said his accusers were trying to persecute the Church.
The Catholic Church worldwide has been hit by an endless stream of child abuse allegations over the past few years.
HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Voice
By BINNIE FISHER
Friday, April 29, 2005
Three Houston-area men are using a letter written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was a cardinal as the basis for a lawsuit against the Catholic Church.
In a report by KPRC-TV, Channel 2 on Tuesday, the attorney for the plaintiffs told a federal judge during a hearing that the pope in 2001 sought to cover up cases involving the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priests.
The plaintiffs, who claim they are victims of the church’s sex scandal, say that a letter written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as instructions to bishops from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, is proof that he conspired to keep claims of sex abuse secret.
The men are suing the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza.
Their attorney, Daniel Shea, argued Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal that Pope Benedict XVI was among those who sought to cover up the child sex abuse scandal in the church.
“We believe, actually, that the current pope, when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, was actively involved in that conspiracy,” Shea argued.
DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
April 29, 2005
Two new lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Dubuque, bringing to 12 the number of cases pending in federal and state courts in Iowa alleging sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Fayette County, John Doe III, a resident of Polk County, alleges he was sexually abused by the Rev. William A. Goltz at Sacred Heart parish in Oelwein beginning in 1954. Goltz also was named in a February lawsuit alleging sexual abuse while he was a priest at the parish.
Jane Doe II, a resident of Dubuque County, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Delaware County alleging she was sexually abused by the Rev. Patrick McElliott in 1964 at St. Patrick parish in Colesburg. This is the third lawsuit filed by women naming McElliott, who died in 1987.
Monsignor James Barta, vicar general of the archdiocese, said Thursday that he could not comment on the lawsuits because he had not yet seen them.
The lawsuits against the archdiocese have named six priests: Goltz, McElliott, Albert Carman, William Roach, William Schwartz and John Schmitz. Archbishop Jerome Hanus has refused to name priests against whom there are founded allegations of abuse.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua Telegraph
Published: Friday, Apr. 29, 2005
MANCHESTER (AP) – The Diocese of Manchester has settled four new sexual abuse complaints against three of its priests dating as far back as the 1950s.
Concord lawyer Chuck Douglas recently settled the claims on behalf of two women and two men. He wouldn’t say how much his clients were paid, but said the total was in the six-figure range.
KEENE (NH)
Concord Monitor
By DANIEL BARRICK
Monitor staff
April 29. 2005 8:00AM
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal said yesterday that Gordon MacRae, a New Hampshire priest convicted of child sexual assault a decade ago, is the victim of "a corruption of the justice system."
MacRae was convicted in 1994 of raping a 15-year-old boy at a Keene church. He later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three other boys. He is serving a 33½- to 67-year sentence at the state prison.
In two articles that appeared on the newspaper's editorial page Wednesday and yesterday, Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the Journal's editorial board, contends that MacRae was wrongly convicted of the rape and bullied into signing false confessions. In an interview yesterday, Rabinowitz depicted MacRae as the victim of false accusations, overzealous law enforcement and church officials who put fear of bad press ahead of the welfare of their priests. Above all, Rabinowitz said, cases like MacRae's are driven by lawyers looking to make money.
"People have to come to understand that there is a large scam going on with personal injury attorneys, and what began as a serious effort has now expanded to become a huge money-making proposition,"Rabinowitz said. "These things have a life of their own. In a climate where there was a great wish to cleanse and punish priests, people were swept up; a judge was swept up."
NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News
A priest who admitted sexually abusing a young boy scout has been given an 18 month suspended sentence.
Father Daniel Curran pleaded guilty at Downpatrick Crown Court to indecently assaulting the boy on two occasions between 14 June 1986 and 15 June 1989.
At the time, Curran was a priest at Saint Paul's parish in Belfast and chaplain to a scout troop.
Curran has already served seven years in jail for abusing nine other boys in the 1990s.
Passing the sentence, which was suspended for two years, the judge said Curran had already been given a "severe punishment" at the time.
TEXAS
New York Daily News
By DAVID J. KRAJICEK
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
On the last day of her life, Irene Garza went to confession.
The lovely 25-year-old drove her father's Ford 12 blocks from her family's home in McAllen, Tex., to their Catholic church, Sacred Heart.
The date was April 16, 1960, the day before Easter Sunday.
Garza enjoyed a modest celebrity among the parishioners, and many people noticed her at the busy church that afternoon.
She had been the first Latina head drum majorette at McAllen High School. She was prom and homecoming queen while studying at Pan American College in nearby Edinburg, and in 1958 she won the title of Miss South Texas.
Her parents, who owned a dry-cleaning business, were admired for raising a proper, devout daughter. She was active in the parish Legion of Mary, and after college she took a job teaching school on the poor, Hispanic side of town.
Garza had made plans with a girlfriend to see a movie that night, and she may have been impatient while waiting in the long confessional line. At some point, she left the church and went to the adjacent rectory, where she made a confession to a young priest, the Rev. John Feit. At 27, he had recently been ordained and was at Sacred Heart for a year of pastoral training.
Feit later said Garza left the rectory at 7:15 p.m.
But she did not return home that night. Her parents called police, and officers found her car still at Sacred Heart.
Five days later her corpse was found in an irrigation canal off the Rio Grande.
The body was clothed except for shoes and underwear. Her blouse had been unbuttoned. She had two black eyes and bruises to her face and genitals. She had been raped.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
KansasCity.com
JIM SUHR
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - Federal and St. Louis prosecutors are weighing additional sexual-misconduct charges against a defrocked priest who could soon be freed from prison. His attorney questioned the scrutiny, calling his client "a sacrificial lamb" in addressing sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
A Missouri Senate panel also took the first step Thursday in shoring up a statute the state's highest court narrowly deemed unconstitutionally broad two days earlier in scrapping the conviction of Beine, a former elementary school counselor also known as Mar James.
A U.S. appeals court already had thrown out Beine's federal conviction of possessing child pornography and the resulting prison sentence of nearly five years, ruling that investigators illegally seized key evidence.
It was unclear how soon Beine, 63, might be freed from the Farmington Correctional Center, where he has been serving a 12-year sentence on the St. Louis convictions in 2003. Generally, the state has 15 days from the opinion to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider, with the inmate remaining jailed until the state's intention is known.
The New York Times
By JACQUES STEINBERG; COMPILED BY ERIK PIEPENBURG
Published: April 4, 2005, Monday
The death of Pope John Paul II has prompted an adjustment in Showtime's promotional efforts for a forthcoming made-for-cable movie called ''Our Fathers.'' The movie, a dramatization of the sexual abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese featuring Ted Danson (as a lawyer for several victims) and Christopher Plummer, right (as Cardinal Bernard F. Law), is scheduled to have its premiere on the premium cable channel on May 21. While that date apparently still stands, Showtime decided over the weekend to postpone a screening it had planned in Boston, at Faneuil Hall, on April 12.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER— On more than one occasion, Department of Correction employees at the state prison in Walpole recommended to Joseph L. Druce that he fire John H. LaChance, the lawyer appointed to represent him on a murder charge in the prison slaying of defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan, Mr. Druce told a judge yesterday.
Testifying at a Worcester Superior Court hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the murder indictment, Mr. Druce said the comments were accompanied by suggestions that Mr. LaChance wasn’t doing enough for him and contributed to a rift that developed between him and his lawyer.
Mr. Druce is awaiting trial in the Aug. 23, 2003, strangulation and beating death of the 68-year-old Mr. Geoghan in the former priest’s cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. At the time of the killing in the protective custody unit at the maximum-security prison on the Lancaster-Shirley line, Mr. Druce was serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder of a man he believed was gay. Mr. Geoghan, a central figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Boston Archdiocese, had been imprisoned for fondling a young boy.
Mr. Druce, 38, allegedly told investigators he killed Mr. Geoghan “to save the children.” Mr. LaChance has said he intends to raise an insanity defense on Mr. Druce’s behalf.
In October 2003, Mr. Druce was transferred from Souza-Baranowski to the Departmental Disciplinary Unit at the state prison in Walpole. From 1999 until April 2003, when he was sent to Souza-Baranowski, Mr. Druce was confined at the disciplinary unit in Walpole for sending a hoax letter bomb to a federal judge Mr. Druce believed had not acted quickly enough on one of his appeals.
The motion to dismiss is based on a claim that state Department of Correction officials have interfered with Mr. Druce’s right to a fair trial through what Mr. LaChance has described as “a pattern of misconduct and coercion.” Mr. Druce alleges that prison officials have placed unreasonable restrictions on his communications with his legal team, taken legal materials from his cell and failed to return them and threatened to cause problems for him and his loved ones if he did not plead guilty and seek a transfer to an out-of-state prison.
At one point during yesterday’s proceedings, Judge Timothy S. Hillman prohibited Assistant District Attorney Lawrence J. Murphy from questioning Mr. Druce about whether he had any assistance from correction officers on the day of the slaying.
“Isn’t it fair to say you had no help from any guards on Aug. 23, 2003?” the prosecutor asked. Mr. LaChance objected and Judge Hillman sustained the objection.
Mr. Murphy then asked if any guard helped him gain access to Mr. Geoghan’s cell the day the defrocked priest was slain. Again, Mr. LaChance objected and again, Judge Hillman sustained the objection.
The hearing is scheduled to resume Wednesday afternoon.
IOWA
TheIowaChannel.com
Diocesan response to media inquiries.
We are aware that a lawsuit has been filed against the Diocese of Des Moines and a priest by a man alleging sexual abuse when he was a minor.
The man who filed this suit made a number of complaints and accusations against Father Leonard Kenkel. The man claims he was sexually abused nearly 40 years ago.
The Allegation Review Committee for the Diocese of Des Moines reviewed these complaints and allegations. The Allegation Review Committee is a group of expert volunteers that was created pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Allegation Review Committee (whose members include a police detective who does sexual abuse investigations, an attorney with experience prosecuting child abuse cases, a psychologist who has conducted research on child abuse and a judge who has handled juvenile and criminal cases involving child abuse and neglect) reviewed several complaints of past abuse over the last few years. On three occasions in the past, the Allegation Review Committee found evidence of abuse and recommended removing priests from the ministry. Bishop Joseph Charron followed these recommendations.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor staff
April 28. 2005 8:00AM
The Diocese of Manchester has settled new sexual abuse complaints against three of its priests for allegations dating back to the 1950s and 1970s. Two of the three priests - Monsignor John Boyd and the Rev. Gerard Beaudet - have not been previously accused. The third, the Rev. Romeo Valliere, has.
Concord lawyer Chuck Douglas settled the claims on behalf of four people, two women and two men. He declined to be specific about how much the diocese paid the four, saying only that the total "ranged up to and over six figures." In the two and a half years since the clergy sexual abuse scandal broke, Douglas has represented about 30 alleged victims. He said this recent round of negotiations was a bit different.
First, the diocese has hired a former federal agent experienced in child sexual abuse to investigate the complaints against priests. Diocesan staff had handled those investigations in the past. Secondly, the diocese told Douglas this time that it has much less money to pay out now than it did in 2002, when it settled claims from 78 alleged victims for nearly $6 million.
"They are very clear that they cannot pay the numbers they were paying," Douglas said. "They said they just can't do it, and I confirmed that (they can't) through other sources."
MANCHESTER (NH)
Foster's Daily Democrat
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The Diocese of Manchester has settled four new sexual abuse complaints against three of its priests dating back to the 1950s and 1970s.
Concord lawyer Chuck Douglas recently settled the claims on behalf of two women and two men. He wouldn’t say how much his clients were paid, but said the total was in the six-figure range.
Two of the priests involved, Monsignor John Boyd and the Rev. Gerard Beaudet, are dead. The third, the Reverend Romeo Valliere, retired in 2001.
Boyd was accused of abusing one of the women in the 1950s when he oversaw what is now Holy Trinity School in Laconia. Beaudet was accused of abusing the other woman and one of the men when he served as pastor of Saint Albert’s parish in West Stewartson in the 1970s.
Asbury Park Press
By EILEEN P. FLYNN
Pope Benedict XVI continues to make news. When he held his first meeting with members of the media Saturday, he spoke for about 15 minutes, making general comments about the good the media can do in providing information. The pope also reminded the media that they should observe the ethical requirements of their profession.
I was disappointed that the pope did not invite questions. If I had been there and been able to ask questions, I would have asked him about sexual abuse by priests.
Although in the past year or two, members of the Catholic hierarchy have tried to assure American Catholics that the sex abuse crisis is "history," until significant aspects of that crisis are resolved it will continue to undermine the credibility of the Church.
When the College of Cardinals elected Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the office of supreme pontiff, they chose a person who has a mixed record in addressing the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests. Pope Benedict XVI needs to apologize for the wrong things he said and the poor policies he implemented before his pontificate will be able to move forward.
The biggest problem facing the new pope is that he is on record as having said in November 2002 that he thought that the media in the United States were spearheading a campaign against the Catholic Church.
DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
April 28, 2005
A Des Moines man has sued the Diocese of Des Moines and the Rev. Leonard Kenkel, alleging that he was sexually abused by the priest when he was a student at Dowling Catholic High School.
John S. Chambers, who has been a member of St. Augustin's Parish, alleges that during the 1967-68 school year, Kenkel kneaded and fondled his buttocks during sophomore biology class.
Chambers also alleges that the priest exposed himself while talking about "receiving the body of Christ."
Kenkel now serves St. Edward's Parish in Afton and Holy Spirit Parish in Creston, according to the Des Moines Diocese's Web site.
Anne Marie Cox, communications director of the diocese, acknowledged the lawsuit in a statement that said the diocese's Allegation Review Committee had reviewed Chambers' complaint, but did not find sufficient evidence to confirm abuse.
"The diocese will vigorously defend any claim that has been determined to lack any basis in fact," said Cox's statement.
POTTSVILLE (PA)
Times-Leader
Associated Press
POTTSVILLE, Pa. - A Roman Catholic priest admitted he owned hundreds of child pornography photos, magazines, videotapes and DVDs and embezzled more than $23,000 from the church.
The Rev. Ronald J. Yarrosh, 57, formerly an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility and three counts of sexual abuse of children.
A plea agreement calls for Yarrosh to serve a three- to 23-month county prison sentence followed by 10 years' probation.
County President Judge William Baldwin deferred sentencing so Yarrosh could be evaluated to determine whether he's a sexual predator, which would require him to register with state police under Megan's Law. Baldwin said the state would have 90 days to complete the evaluation.
Yarrosh was freed on unsecured bail. He and his lawyer, Emmanuel H. Dimitriou, declined to comment.
MICHIGAN
MLive.com
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Author Jim Parker will be the speaker for the "Take Back the Night" march and rally from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Parker recently wrote "Raped in the House of God, The Murder of My Soul and Its Lifetime Effects." In the book, he alleges he was raped by a Catholic priest in Lansing when he was a 12-year-old altar boy.
He is now the southern Arizona leader of SNAP -- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests -- and is an ardent advocate for survivors of clergy abuse.
The march will begin at Bucky Harris Park at the corner of N. Jackson Street and W. Michigan Avenue and proceed to the Jackson Symphony Orchestra offices for Parker's talk.
The event is sponsored by Jackson's AWARE Shelter to mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month. For more information, call AWARE at 783-2861.
COLUMBUS (OH)
Ohio News Network
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Roman Catholic officials are fighting a legislative proposal that would allow lawsuits over decades-old allegations of child abuse.
Victims' groups are trying to counter the Roman Catholic lobbying, which has included two bishops meeting privately with the House speaker. The Senate approved the bill last month.
The provision will not promote healing for victims and could endanger the rights of the accused to defend themselves, Columbus Bishop Frederick Campbell said Wednesday. Campbell and Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair met with House Speaker Jon Husted last week.
"I don't think it promotes any form of justice," Campbell said. "The whole idea of the statute of limitations is to permit a right of defense, and after years and years and years the right of defense just evaporates."
TUCSON (AZ)
The News Tribune
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 12:43 PM (PDT)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson has filed an amended bankruptcy organization plan, seeking to cap its payout for sex-abuse claims at $20 million. A plaintiffs' lawyer said the amount wasn't enough and vowed to challenge the proposal.
Initial payments to alleged abuse victims would range from $100,000 to $600,000, depending on the severity of the abuse, according to the amended plan filed Monday.
The bankruptcy court has logged 103 abuse claims against the diocese, which in September became the second in the country to file for Chapter 11 reorganization protection in the face of litigation stemming from alleged sexual abuse by priests.
Critics said the cap falls short of compensating victims whose claims are substantiated.
TUCSON (AZ)
KVOA
New details are in from the Diocese of Tucson on how it proposes to pay the victims of the sexual abuse scandal.
Church lawyers filed the plan shortly before midnight Monday.
The document is important because, for the first time, the Diocese of Tucson is discussing dollar amounts.
The Diocese proposes to limit its payout to alleged sex abuse victims to $20 million.
Alleged victims would collect between $100,000 and $600,000 each. The exact amount would be based on criteria including their age, emotional injury and how long the abuse lasted.
HOUSTON (TX)
TheBostonChannel.com
UPDATED: 2:35 pm EDT April 27, 2005
HOUSTON -- Three Houston-area men used a letter written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was a cardinal as the basis for a lawsuit against the Catholic
The men claim that they are victims of the church's sex scandal and that a letter written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is proof that he conspired to keep claims of sex abuse secret.
In a Houston federal courtroom, the men's attorneys told Judge Lee Rosenthal Tuesday that the now-pope tried to cover up sex crimes against children in the Catholic Church.
"We believe, actually, that the current pope, when he was head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, actually was actively involved in that conspiracy," plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Shea said.
DES MOINES (IA)
TheIowaChannel.com
POSTED: 6:17 pm CDT April 27, 2005
UPDATED: 6:43 pm CDT April 27, 2005
DES MOINES, Iowa -- A Des Moines man has filed a lawsuit against a priest in the Des Moines Catholic Diocese. John Chambers claims he was abused nearly 40 years ago while he was a student at Dowling High School, NewsChannel 8 reported.
Chambers' lawsuit said he was sexually abused by Leonard Kenkel.
The Catholic Diocese said in a statement that Chambers' allegations have already been reviewed. The Allegation Review Committee interviewed both Chambers and Kenkel, NewsChannel 8 reported.
"After conducting its investigation, the Committeee found there was not sufficient evidence for finding of sexual abuse. The Allegation Review Committee did not recommend Father Kenkel be removed from ministry," according a statement from the Diocese.
The Diocese said in the statement that it recommended Kenkel remain as a priest, but suggested that he meet with a counselor to help him better understand appropriate boundaries for physical contact.
MANCHESTER (NH)
The Union Leader
By DENIS PAISTE
Union Leader Staff
MANCHESTER — Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator Dorothy Rabinowitz appeared to take up the cause of imprisoned, suspended New Hampshire priest Gordon MacRae in the first of a two-part series in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.
In an article that accused the Catholic Church of rewarding false claims of abuse against its priests, as well as legitimate grievances, Rabinowitz painted an unflattering portrait of several of MacRae's accusers.
Yesterday, Keene Police Detective James McLaughlin, who helped put MacRae behind bars, and Diocese of Manchester Chancellor Rev. Ed Arsenault each noted that MacRae was convicted by a jury.
"I have a problem with second-guessing a jury who take their duty seriously, who hear from witnesses, assign credibility to those witnesses, hear information firsthand — not through transcripts, not through sources that have agendas — and then deliberate as a group and look at the strengths and weaknesses of a case," McLaughlin said in a telephone interview.
"They had no reservations about his guilt," he said of MacRae's 1994 conviction in Cheshire County Superior Court. McLaughlin, who would later establish a reputation for stopping Internet sexual predators, noted MacRae's conviction was based on witness testimony.
IOWA
WHO
A Polk county man says he was sexually abused by his priest back in 1967. Now 37 years later he says the Des Moines diocese should be held accountable and he's filing suit.
John Chambers says he was sexually abused on multiple occasions by his priest, Father Leonard Kenkel, a man who also happened to be his science teacher at Dowling High School. The accused is still a priest in the Des Moines diocese, and both the catholic church and his congregation have come to his defense.
John Chambers, who claims to have been one of Kenkels former students at Dowling High School says that during the 1967-68 school year, Kenkel engaged in repeated harmful, and illegal conduct.
Chambers says Father Kenkel fondled his buttocks. Chambers claims Kenkel also showed him his penis, according to Chamber's attorney, it scarred him for life. The Des Moines diocese is also named in the suit.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
A Schuylkill County Catholic priest who was charged with having hundreds of child pornography photos, books, magazines, videotapes and DVDs at his home and a rental storage unit and with embezzling church money, pleaded guilty Wednesday in county court to three counts of sexual abuse of children, criminal use of a communication facility, theft and receiving stolen property.
But a judge delayed sentencing pending an evaluation of the Rev. Ronald J. Yarrosh.
Yarrosh, 57, was an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven and on the advisory board of the parish grade school when charged in April 2004.
Police searching Yarrosh's bedroom, library-sitting room and office at the rectory April 23 found a "voluminous" amount of pornography that included books and magazines with pictures of prepubescent children in various stages of dress, performing sex acts and in erotic poses, an affidavit says.
MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Robert Patrick
Of the Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, Apr. 27 2005
The Missouri Supreme Court's decision overturning the conviction of an
elementary school counselor and former Roman Catholic priest on sexual
misconduct charges triggered quick responses by state and federal officials
Wednesday.
The 4-3 decision in favor of James Beine, also known as Mar James, cleared him
of charges he exposed himself to three Patrick Henry Elementary students during
the 2000-2001 school year and declared unconstitutional the statute prohibiting
sexual misconduct involving a child by indecent exposure.
The decision means Beine could be freed from the Farmington Correctional
Facility in St. Francois County where he is incarcerated. A federal appeals
court in December 2003 overturned Beine's separate conviction and 57-month
prison sentence on a federal child pornography charge.
On Wednesday, however, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Massey said that
federal prosecutors in Illinois would re-examine a charge of receiving child
pornography that prosecutors dropped in 2003 after Beine was convicted on the
federal charge in St. Louis.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
ssutner@telegram.com
WORCESTER— A retired priest who is facing 32 counts of sexual abuse of boys in Bellingham in the 1970s and 1980s was being treated at an undisclosed area hospital yesterday, according to jail officials.
The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, 81, is seriously ill, suffering from diabetes and the effects of childhood polio.
Contrary to reports circulating at the Worcester courthouse, the retired priest did not have a heart attack, said Mathew Beaudet, a spokesman for the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston.
“He is basically in a vegetative state,” Mr. Beaudet said.
PORT CARBON (PA)
The Express-Times
Thursday, April 28, 2005
By FRANK ANDRUSCAVAGE
The Pottsville Republican
PORT CARBON -- A Roman Catholic priest who formerly served in Easton pleaded guilty Wednesday to theft and sexual abuse of children.
Ronald J. Yarrosh, stationed in Schuylkill Haven until his arrest, appeared before Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin on charges of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility and 101 counts of sexual abuse of children.
Although each of the charges carried a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine, Yarrosh will serve only between three and 23 months in prison under a plea agreement reached with the county district attorney's office. The three- to 23-month sentence is for the theft charge and includes $250 in fines and $23,629 in restitution to the parish where Yarrosh was stationed.
The charge of receiving stolen property merged with the theft charge, Baldwin said. Assistant District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon said the commonwealth agreed to lessen the 101 sexual abuse counts to three counts for the sake of record-keeping in the clerk of courts office.
She said three counts will include one for all the pornographic tapes recovered, the second for pornographic books and the third for pornographic photographs. Baldwin ordered Yarrosh to serve five years probation consecutive to the theft charge on the first count, and then five years concurrent probation on each of the two additional charges.
NEW JERSEY
Echoes-Sentinel
RITA ANNAN-BRADY 04/27/2005
LONG HILL TWP The name of the Rev. Gerald Ruane is one that is well known, not only locally but also on a national and international scale.
The former Catholic priest, once director of the Sacred Heart Institute of Healing on Roseland Avenue in Caldwell, and a former professor at Caldwell College, was a renowned member of the charismatic healing movement for decades. He has written numerous books and produced audiotapes, videos and speeches on the practice of spiritual healing.
But, according to the Archdiocese of Newark, Ruane has been out of the ministry since 2002 following an allegation of sexual misconduct 25 years ago that the Archdiocesan Review Board found to be credible.
So when it was learned that the former priest concelebrated Mass at the Shrine of St. Joseph in the Stirling section of Long Hill Township on Holy Thursday, March 24 this year, Michael Iatesta, the alleged victim of Ruane, was moved to speak out.
Through his pastoral counselor, the Rev. Robert Hoatson, Iatesta complained to the Newark Archdiocese about Ruane’s role in performing the Mass.
HOUSTON (TX)
News Channel 10
UPDATED: 2:35 pm EDT April 27, 2005
HOUSTON -- Three Houston-area men used a letter written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was a cardinal as the basis for a lawsuit against the Catholic Church.
The men claim that they are victims of the church's sex scandal and that a letter written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is proof that he conspired to keep claims of sex abuse secret.
In a Houston federal courtroom, the men's attorneys told Judge Lee Rosenthal Tuesday that the now-pope tried to cover up sex crimes against children in the Catholic Church.
"We believe, actually, that the current pope, when he was head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, actually was actively involved in that conspiracy," plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Shea said.
The plaintiffs said when they were 11, 12 and 13 years old, they were molested at St. Francis de Sales in southwest Houston in 1995.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
A Schuylkill County Catholic priest who was charged with having hundreds of child pornography photos, books, magazines, videotapes and DVDs at his home and a rental storage unit and with embezzling church money, pleaded guilty Wednesday in county court to three counts of sexual abuse of children, criminal use of a communication facility, theft and receiving stolen property.
But a judge delayed sentencing pending an evaluation of the Rev. Ronald J. Yarrosh.
Yarrosh, 57, was an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven and on the advisory board of the parish grade school when charged in April 2004.
Police searching Yarrosh's bedroom, library-sitting room and office at the rectory April 23 found a "voluminous" amount of pornography that included books and magazines with pictures of prepubescent children in various stages of dress, performing sex acts and in erotic poses, an affidavit says.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Cleveland Scene Weekly
BY CHRIS MAAG
feedback@clevescene.com
The victims rose, one after another, for eight full hours, telling stories of their childhoods, when the most trusted people in their lives raped them.
Sodomized them.
Groped them.
Lied to them.
Under the intricate gold leaf of the hearing room, beneath the oversized portraits of dead statesmen and the bank of senators peering down from a high bench, people who had never before talked in public took the microphone and described the abuse they had suffered at the hands of Catholic priests. Their families stood behind them and cried.
As the tears fell, something amazing happened up on that bench. The senators listened. Ohio law currently bars people over the age of 20 from suing someone who abused them when they were children. Senate Bill 17 raises the age to 38. It also creates a "look-back" period: For one year after the law's passage, anyone victimized after 1970 would be allowed to sue.
Most of the senators entered the room that March morning either neutral or opposed to the bill. This, after all, is the Ohio Senate, where the Republican majority has done its best to stop injured people from suing.
But as testimony wore into the evening, the audience watched as senators grew still, leaned forward, pushed tears from their eyes, and changed their minds. "It was the most amazing thing I've seen in my legislative experience," says Senator Marc Dann (D-Liberty Township). "Usually these hearings are pretty perfunctory, and the decisions are made beforehand in a back room. But this time, you could tell it was real."
SPOKANE (WA)
KXLY
It is the most comprehensive snap-shot released publicly of the sex abuse scandal that has driven the Catholic Church in Eastern Washington into bankruptcy.
On Tuesday the Spokane Diocese released a detailed list of the 140 claims of priest sex abuse. The earliest claim stems from abuse dating back to 1932. The most recent claim reportedly happened in 1989. Fourteen priests are named, 6 clergy unnamed. Nineteen claims were resolved for 1.5-million dollars before bankruptcy. Fifty-seven more were in litigation with plaintiffs asking for more then 60-million dollars. Still another 64 victims have claimed abuse, but were not fighting the church in court.
If you'd like to read these documents yourself, check the links section.
TUCSON (AZ)
phillyburbs.com
The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson has filed an amended bankruptcy organization plan, seeking to cap its payout for sex-abuse claims at $20 million. A plaintiffs' lawyer said the amount wasn't enough and vowed to challenge the proposal.
Initial payments to alleged abuse victims would range from $100,000 to $600,000, depending on the severity of the abuse, according to the amended plan filed Monday.
The bankruptcy court has logged 103 abuse claims against the diocese, which in September became the second in the country to file for Chapter 11 reorganization protection in the face of litigation stemming from alleged sexual abuse by priests.
Critics said the cap falls short of compensating victims whose claims are substantiated.
"It's nowhere near going to pay the victims what they deserve," said Kim E. Williamson, an attorney representing 25 alleged sex-abuse victims.
MISSOURI
KSDK
By Cordell Whitlock
(KSDK) - A second conviction against a former priest and school counselor has been overturned. Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled James Beine was wrongfully convicted on sex charges.
In 2003, Beine was sentenced to twelve years in prison for exposing himself to three boys in a restroom at a St. Louis elementary school.
Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict Beine, and that the statute under which he was charged was unconstitutional.
The justices said the law was too broad and could punish anyone for using a public restroom.
In December of 2003, an appeals court overturned a child pornography conviction involving Beine. They ruled the evidence was seized illegally in that case.
WORCESTER (MA)
The Standard-Times
By ADAM GORLICK, Associated Press writer
WORCESTER -- The convicted murderer accused in the jailhouse killing of John Geoghan said yesterday that he was beaten by prison guards after he was pulled from the former priest's cell.
Joseph Druce, who is already serving a life sentence for another murder, is asking a judge to dismiss the charges that he killed Geoghan, a convicted pedophile, in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
He testified during a hearing in Worcester Superior Court that he has been abused and harassed by officials at the maximum-security prison in Shirley and barred from meeting privately with his lawyers there and at MCI-Cedar Junction, the prison where Druce was transferred in October 2003.
Druce said guards handcuffed and shackled him after he was taken from Geoghan's cell following the Aug. 23, 2003, killing. "They walked me out and around the corner," he said, "and that's when my head was pummeled."
He said the beating resulted in a cracked or broken rib.
SAN ANTONIO (TX)
Express-News
Tom Bower
Express-News Staff Writer
A 52-year-old Catholic priest on probation for indecent exposure was indicted Tuesday on four counts of possession of child pornography.
Pornographic images were discovered by a cable service technician at the priest's Leon Valley home, according to a 2004 affidavit.
Father Jerzy Sieczynski, former associate pastor of St. Matthew Catholic Church, is accused of having photo images of boys engaged in sexual conduct on his laptop computer, First Assistant District Attorney Michael Bernard said Tuesday.
"There were hundreds of (images), but we only charged him with possession of four of them," Bernard said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Sieczynski remained in Bexar County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.
SAN ANTONIO (TX)
KSAT
POSTED: 9:33 pm CDT April 26, 2005
UPDATED: 9:41 pm CDT April 26, 2005
SAN ANTONIO -- A San Antonio priest on probation for indecent exposure is back in jail, charged with four counts of possession of child pornography.
The Rev. Jerzy Sieczynski appeared before a magistrate Tuesday afternoon and bond was set at $15,000. He's being held at the Bexar County Jail.
"It is an abuse of children in many aspects; from those that produce it and take photographs and whatnot to those who use it for sexual gratification," said Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed.
The indictment comes two years after Sieczynski was placed on probation for exposing himself to an undercover police officer at a local park.
Sieczynski pleaded no contest to the charge and was removed from St. Matthews Catholic Church, where he was an associate pastor. He was also prohibited from public ministry in the San Antonio Archdiocese.
JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star
HEATHER J. CARLSON
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the sexual misconduct conviction of a former priest and elementary school counselor accused of exposing himself in front of three boys in a school bathroom.
In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled Missouri's sexual misconduct statute was unconstitutional and too broad.
James Beine, a counselor in St. Louis schools for more than a decade, was dismissed from the priesthood in 1977 over allegations of sexual abuse. He allegedly exposed himself to two male students while using a urinal in the spring of 2001. A third boy lodged a similar complaint.
BROCKTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | April 27, 2005
An 80-year-old suspended priest was arraigned yesterday, accused of raping a boy twice on the same day 14 years ago at a church in Plymouth, officials said.
On April 1, a Plymouth County grand jury indicted the Rev. Anthony J. Laurano, the former pastor of St. Mary's Parish, on two counts of child rape. The indictment charges that Laurano raped the 8-year-old boy the week before his first Holy Communion.
Laurano, who lives in Hull, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton and was released on his own recognizance yesterday morning, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz. Superior Court Judge Suzanne DelVecchio also ordered Laurano to have no contact with children under age 18 and to stay away from the victim until the trial.
ROCKFORD (IL)
Rockford Register Star
The issue getting the most court time in a sexual assault lawsuit against the Rockford Catholic Diocese is how much information can be made public.
A Kane County court ruled last week that sworn testimony gathered by lawyers as they prepare for trial shall not be shared beyond the attorneys, their staffs and their clients.
The order refers to statements made in pretrial depositions regarding the suit, which was filed by two young women who say they were assaulted by priest Mark Campobello in 1999 and 2000 when he served a Kane County church and school. The two women, now young adults, are suing the diocese and Campobello, asking for more than $50,000 each for emotional and psychological damage.
Still to be decided, at the next court hearing June 16, is whether the diocese has to release files on more than 30 other priests who have been accused of sexual misbehavior in the past 50 years.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
'OUR FATHERS' IN TOWN Actor Christopher Plummer, who plays Cardinal Bernard Law in the Showtime movie ''Our Fathers" about the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis, will be in Boston on Tuesday. Plummer will be joined by author David France for a screening of the film at Parris in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The film will be followed by a question-and-answer session with local abuse survivors and their advocates, including Olan Horne and Bernie McDaid from the Survivors of Joe Birmingham, William Gately from Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, and Jim Post from Voice of the Faithful. The film will air May 21 on Showtime.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Robert Patrick
Of the Post-Dispatch
Tuesday, Apr. 26 2005
St. Louis' top prosecutor said Tuesday she will try to build a new case against
James Beine after the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the conviction of the
former school counselor who had been accused of exposing himself to three
students at the city elementary school where he worked.
"I'm disappointed and frustrated by it," said Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce.
"In my opinion, Mr. Beine has had a long career of abusing children. In my
opinion, he's dangerous."
Joyce said her office has received at least 36 complaints alleging sexual abuse
by Beine, a former Roman Catholic priest, but that the statute of limitations
has expired for "virtually all." She said she would decide today whether there
is anything more she could prosecute.
It was the second major legal victory in about four months for Beine, most
recently of Highland, whose federal conviction on a charge of possessing child
pornography was reversed by an appeals court in December.
Three students at Patrick Henry Elementary School, just north of downtown, said
Beine exposed his genitals during the 2000-2001 school year as he urinated in a
bathroom. He was indicted in 2002 and convicted by a jury in 2003 of four
counts of sexual misconduct involving a child by indecent exposure. He was
sentenced to 12 years in prison.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER— The inmate accused of murdering defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan told a judge yesterday that he was beaten by correction officers and denied immediate medical attention after being removed from the victim’s cell on the day of the killing.
Joseph L. Druce, charged with murder in the Aug. 23, 2003, strangulation and beating death of the 68-year-old Mr. Geoghan at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, recounted his removal from the defrocked priest’s cell during a Worcester Superior Court hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the charge against him.
Mr. Druce testified that he did not put up any resistance after being handcuffed and shackled by guards and led around a corner from Mr. Geoghan’s cell to a “blind spot,” outside the range of prison surveillance cameras. “That’s when I had my head just pummeled,” Mr. Druce said. He testified he was taken to the prison’s health services unit, where he said he was denied pain medication until after he spoke to state police investigators.
Mr. Druce allegedly told police he killed Mr. Geoghan, who was serving time for molesting a 10-year-old boy, “to save the children.” At the time of the killing, Mr. Druce was serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder of a man he believed was gay.
Still pending is a motion to suppress Mr. Druce’s statement to investigators in the Geoghan slaying. His lawyer, John H. LaChance, maintains that Mr. Druce was “in pain, suffering from a major mental illness and in a manic state” at the time of the police interrogation.
The motion to dismiss — the subject of yesterday’s hearing — is based on a claim that prison officials have interfered with Mr. Druce’s right to a fair trial through “a pattern of misconduct and coercion.” Mr. Druce’s claims include allegations that unreasonable restrictions have been placed on his communications with his lawyer and that legal materials have been removed from his cell and not returned. He has also alleged that he was subjected to harassment for rejecting the advice of a prison official that he plead guilty to the murder of Mr. Geoghan and seek a transfer to an out-of-state prison, “get out of Dodge,” as he put it.
Mr. Druce told Judge Timothy S. Hillman yesterday that he was denied face-to-face meetings with Mr. LaChance during his stay at the Souza -Baranowski Correctional Center, which is located on the Lancaster-Shirley line. He said he was reluctant to discuss defense strategy with Mr. LaChance via telephone in the prison’s “no-contact” visiting area for fear that the attorney-client conversations were being monitored.
The hearing was scheduled to resume today.
HOUSTON (TX)
Click 2 Houston
POSTED: 5:46 pm CDT April 26, 2005
UPDATED: 6:13 pm CDT April 26, 2005
HOUSTON -- Three Houston-area men used a letter written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was a cardinal as the basis for a lawsuit against the Catholic Church, Local 2 reported in an exclusive story Tuesday.
The men claim that they are victims of the church's sex scandal and that a letter written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is proof that he conspired to keep claims of sex abuse secret.
In a Houston federal courtroom, the men's attorneys told Judge Lee Rosenthal Tuesday that the now-pope tried to cover up sex crimes against children in the Catholic Church.
"We believe, actually, that the current pope, when he was head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, actually was actively involved in that conspiracy," plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Shea said.
The plaintiffs said when they were 11, 12 and 13 years old, they were molested at St. Francis de Sales in southwest Houston in 1995.
WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Herald
By Associated Press
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Updated: 04:08 PM EST
WORCESTER, Mass. - The convicted murderer accused in the jailhouse killing of John Geoghan said Tuesday that he was beaten by prison guards after he was pulled from the former priest's cell.
Joseph Druce, who is already serving a life sentence for another murder, is asking a judge to dismiss the charges that he killed Geoghan, a convicted pedophile, in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
He testified during a hearing in Worcester Superior Court that he has been abused and harassed by officials at the maximum-security prison in Shirley and barred from meeting privately with his lawyers.
Druce said guards handcuffed and shackled him after he was taken from Geoghan's cell following the Aug. 23, 2003 killing. ``They walked me out and around the corner,'' he said, ``and that's when my head was pummeled.''
He said the beating resulted in a cracked or broken rib.
JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
KansasCity.com
HEATHER J. CARLSON
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The state Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the sexual misconduct charges of a former priest and elementary school counselor, ruling the state law under which he was charged was unconstitutionally broad.
On a 4-3 decision, the court ruled there is insufficient evidence that James Beine, a counselor at St. Louis' Patrick Henry Elementary School in 2000 and 2001, committed sexual misconduct when he urinated in a school bathroom in front of three male students.
Beine had worked as a counselor in the city schools for more than a decade before resigning at the time of his arrest. He was dismissed from the priesthood in 1977 over allegations of sexual abuse.
To commit sexual misconduct by indecent exposure, state law requires that the exposure be done "in a manner that would cause a reasonable adult to believe that the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to a child less than 14 years old."
BROCKTON (MA)
Brockton Enterprise
enterprise wire and staff report
BROCKTON — A suspended priest was to be arraigned today in a Brockton court on charges he raped a boy in Plymouth in 1991, authorities said.
The Rev. Anthony J. Laurano, 80, was indicted earlier this month on two counts of child rape, according to Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
Laurano, who retired from St. Mary's Church in Plymouth in 1995 and has been living in Hull, was placed on administrative leave in 2002 after abuse allegations surfaced.
Middleton wouldn't provide any additional information about the allegations. Laurano's attorney, Santina Gerber, didn't immediately return a phone call.
Laurano has been free pending his arraignment today in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton.
According to Enterprise files, Laurano was ordained a priest in May 1950 and was assigned to St. Mary's parish in north Plymouth at that time. He left the Plymouth parish in February 1956 to serve at St. Catherine of Genoa Church in Somerville. His assignments between the Somerville parish and his return to St. Mary's in Plymouth at a later date could not be immediately determined.
BROCKTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Associated Press
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Updated: 04:06 PM EST
BROCKTON, Mass. - An 80-year-old Roman Catholic priest pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges he raped a boy 14 years ago at a parish in Plymouth.
The Rev. Anthony Laurano, of Hull, was arraigned in Brockton Superior Court on two counts of rape of a child and released on his own recognizance.
The charges stem from a 1991 incident when Laurano was pastor of St. Mary's Church in Plymouth, prosecutors said. The alleged victim was an 8-year-old boy who was allegedly raped by Laurano twice during the week before his first communion.
Laurano was suspended from the priesthood two years ago when the allegations surfaced.
As condition of his release he was ordered to have no contact with children and is due back in court next month.
NEW YORK
Capital News 9
4/25/2005 10:16 PM
By: Capital News 9 web staff
He's known for his crusade for alleged victims of clergy sex abuse. But one man who doesn't like what attorney John Aretakis stands for went a little bit too far.
Daniel Borden, 48, turned himself in to North Greenbush police Monday night after admitting to leaving a rather threatening message on Aretakis' answering machine.
Borden, a former supervisor in North Greenbush, is being charged with second-degree aggravated harassment. He got into an argument Sunday in Troy with Aretakis at an anti-Bishop Hubbard rally.
NORTH GREENBUSH (NY)
Troy Record
By: Robert Cristo, The Record 04/26/2005
NORTH GREENBUSH - Former town Supervisor Daniel Borden was arrested Monday for allegedly threatening attorney John Aretakis, who represents numerous alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.
Borden, of Troy, was expected to turn himself in to North Greenbush Police Monday night on aggravated harassment charges for making statements to Aretakis that police characterized as "threatening."
Aretakis is a North Greenbush resident.
The often outspoken attorney says he was awakened by the phone around 3:25 a.m. Monday and heard the threatening message left on his answering machine.
North Greenbush Police confirmed the voice on the message was Borden's.
"He threatened my life. ... When someone calls you in the middle of the night, it shows that they don't care about anything, so I'm pretty concerned and frightened for me, my wife and kids," said Aretakis.
Borden, who was the North Greenbush town supervisor in the late 1980s, was allegedly caught on tape saying he would settle his dispute with Aretakis "in a different manner" when television cameras were not around.
Borden allegedly blasts Aretakis on tape for making nasty comments to him outside a church-related event on Sunday, but Aretakis claims Borden was actually arguing with someone else and that he never spoke with him.
"I'm sick and tired of you bashing the (expletive) out the Catholic church. ... If you ever say to me what you said, John, you are going to be spending some time in (a) medical facility," Borden was heard saying on the answering machine provided by Aretakis.
SPRINGFIELD (MO)
News-Leader
By Linda Leicht
News-Leader
Lawyers for Methodist conference ask whether plaintiff's mental health was hurt by his behavior.
For the second time in a week, attorneys for the West Missouri Conference of the Methodist Church raised questions about marital infidelity in the case of a woman who is suing the church over an alleged rape by a local pastor.
Sid Norris testified Friday afternoon about the mental health of his wife, Teresa Norris, since the alleged rape seven years ago. He was asked under cross examination if his own infidelity could have affected his wife's mental health. No mention of an affair had been raised during direct examination.
The husband admitted that he had a brief affair with another woman in 2002, which he says was, in part, due to his wife's inability to be intimate following the alleged attack by the Rev. David Finestead.
WORCESTER (MA)
MetroWest Daily News
By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
WORCESTER -- The Rev. Paul Desilets made his long-awaited court appearance via video conference yesterday as Worcester District Attorney John Conte announced his office is working on a plea deal that likely will include time behind bars.
"We're going to be asking for jail time," Conte told reporters outside the Worcester Superior courtroom where the ailing 81-year-old Catholic priest was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail.
After three years of fighting extradition in Canada, the retired priest returned to the United States Friday to face charges he allegedly abused 18 former altar boys at the now-closed Our Lady of Assumption parish in Bellingham during the 1970s and '80s.
Desilets had been scheduled to attend his arraignment in person, but Conte and Worcester County sheriff officials said court officials kept him at the Worcester House of Correction due to safety concerns.
Joseph Druce, the inmate charged with killing defrocked priest John Geoghan at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in 2003, was in court yesterday for motion hearings.
WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Herald
By Thomas Caywood
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Updated: 03:12 AM EST
Worcester District Attorney John Conte said yesterday his office will try to negotiate a plea agreement with an elderly priest extradited from Canada after a three-year court battle.
``Most of the victims are in agreement with what we are about to do,'' the DA said, later adding, ``They feel there is a certain amount of closure in bringing Rev. Desilets back.''
Conte wouldn't elaborate on the kind of deal he's contemplating other than to say he will seek jail time for the Rev. Paul Desilets, who was arraigned yesterday via closed-circuit television from the Worcester County House of Correction.
Desilets pleaded innocent through his lawyer to nearly three dozen counts of molesting 18 altar boys at a Bellingham church in the 1970s and early 1980s. The 82-year-old retired Catholic clergyman looked frail and bewildered on the courtroom television screen with his mouth agape and his eyes wandering.
The elderly priest was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail. One of his lawyers told the judge Desilets couldn't make bail.
The statute of limitation on his alleged crimes didn't run out as was the case with other accused priests because Desilets left the country to retire in his native Canada. He fought extradition for three years in the Canadian courts before unexpectedly giving up and agreeing to return last week.
BELLINGHAM (MA)
Woonsocket Call
JOSEPH B. NADEAU, Staff Writer 04/26/2005
BELLINGHAM -- A retired priest who served at Assumption Parish in the mid-1970s and ’80s pleaded innocent Monday to charges of sexually assaulting former altar boys of the church and began talks with Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte’s office on a possible plea settlement of the case.
The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, 81, was arraigned in Worcester County Superior Court on 32 indictments handed up by a Worcester County grand jury in April 2002 and pleaded innocent to all the charges, according to Conte. His next appearance in the court will be on May 13 for a pretrial conference.
Desilets was arrested by Canadian authorities on the charges in October 2002 while living with the Clerics of St. Viator religious order in Quebec.
The charges cover 18 of the 22 victims who came forward with allegations against Desilets during an investigation conducted in 2002 by Bellingham police detectives Richard Perry and Christopher Ferreira, and Conte’s investigator, state trooper Thomas Ryan.
The former Assumption associate pastor remained in Canada until last Friday, when he gave up a lengthy series of appeals to Canadian courts.
CANADA
Edmonton Sun
WINNIPEG -- A disgraced Ontario pastor pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually assaulting the 17-year-old son of a Winnipeg colleague while visiting the man's home last year. Rev. Andrew Paulsen, 56, received a two-year suspended sentence under a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers. He must abstain from alcohol and not have unsupervised contact with children under 14.
Paulsen stepped down from his church duties in Cambridge, Ont., when news of his arrest surfaced in the community last fall.
A subdued Paulsen read from a handwritten letter and apologized for his actions, which he blamed on chronic alcohol abuse for which he's now receiving professional help.
Paulsen came to Winnipeg in February 2004 for a business trip and was picked up at the airport by the victim's father, who is a Lutheran pastor.
CROATIA
Ananova
A Croatian church congregation is refusing to attend mass until their priest, sacked for ringing a phone sex line, is reinstated.
Villagers are backing Father Ljubomir Simunovic who insists he was tricked into calling a sex line operator who asked him for guidance.
He rang up a £16,000 bill after spending hours on the phone at peak times with the woman helping her to pray for deliverance.
Father Simunovic said: "I had no idea she was working on a sex hotline, I didn't even know such a thing existed.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Brian Ballou
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Updated: 08:07 AM EST
With parishioners angered by the clergy sexual-abuse scandal, donations to the Archdiocese of Boston's annual fund-raiser had been diminishing, but churchgoers are once again warming up to the church and giving freely.
``We are very grateful to the many donors who have returned to the appeal, and we are delighted to welcome the new donors who joined us in 2004,'' said Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley yesterday during the kickoff of the 2005 Catholic Appeal campaign. Church collections will begin this weekend and run throughout the year.
According to the archdiocese, 20 percent of parishioners who did not donate to the appeal in 2003 returned in 2004. Last year's$11 million tally exceeded the previous year by almost $700,000. Of the 54,000 parishioners who made donations in 2004, 12 percent were new contributors. And this year, the church is looking to take in $12 million.
ILLINOIS
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
April 25, 2005
In February of this year, the Chicago Tribune ran a front page story on Father Ryan St. Anne Scott, a shady "priest" currently residing in Galesburg, Ill. Ryan is independent of any diocese, and he claims to have been a victim of sexual assault at the hands of a group of priests in 1976, which no one has been able to verify.
For a time, I was inclined to believe him. But, the more I found out about his background, the more I realized that Ryan is nothing more than a fraud.
Bobbie Fleming is the daughter of one of Ryan's followers, Roseanna Gevelinger, who resides with Scott at his "abbey." Fleming has created www.holyrosaryabbey.org, a website dedicated to exposing Ryan. (Ryan's own website is www.holyrosaryabbey.com.)
WorldNetDaily
Posted: April 26, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Mychal Massie
In the print version of my column "MSNBC, NBC, and NPR scorn man of God," I wrote: "It is important to note that God Almighty is Master of the Catholic Church, not Karol Wojtyla [i.e., Pope John Paul II] nor some banausic news jockey anchored in New York." This despite the fact that a few homosexual pedophiles viewed the Church's altar boys as an exclusive self replenishing dating service for those predisposed to such barbaric debauchery notwithstanding.
Prior to the selection of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, the liberal media openly berated the legacy and character of Pope John Paul II as he lay in state. By their actions, they denounced the Holy Spirit of the true God in the selection process of the new pontiff, expressing what they alone knew to be proper for the Catholic Church.
A black pope, an African pope or a Hispanic pontiff was needed. Someone who would realize the need to be contemporary to the day and times in which "we" live, they clambered. This writer is personally surprised they didn't call for a black, lesbian, pro-abortion woman to lead the church. As long as she wasn't a Republican, they no doubt would still be dancing in the streets. But I digress.
To the dismay of these "gods" (small "g") their near worst nightmare was realized. A Bible-believing adherent to Catholicism was selected to lead the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict was dubbed "God's Rottweiler, the Enforcer and Cardinal No by the "goddians from the "godhead" of the liberal media.
ARLINGTON (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
09:51 PM CDT on Monday, April 25, 2005
By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON – Pacing next to a kitchen table-size lectern in his $3 million church, Terry Hornbuckle often warned his congregation about demons.
Daily life was a fight against the basest human urges, he would explain to hundreds gathered at Agape Christian Fellowship in southeast Arlington. In one of his self-published books, Mr. Hornbuckle called it "Psychological Warfare."
It was a battle the sharply dressed, charismatic preacher told the growing crowds that he could help them win – as long as they followed his advice and Scripture.
Now, former church members fear that Mr. Hornbuckle, who is free on bail on sexual assault and drug charges, has fallen prey to the demons he so eloquently preached against. He has denied the criminal charges.
"He's not a man of God," said Kevin Thornton, a former church member who became disenchanted with Mr. Hornbuckle in part, he said, because of the church's emphasis on money. "It really upsets me when people abuse their power."
If the criminal charges are valid, the pastor's story is a familiar one, said Ole Anthony, head of the Trinity Foundation, a Christian watchdog group based in Dallas. It's not unusual for huge nondenominational churches that preach the gospel of prosperity – in which followers are asked to donate to their church or pastor expecting God to provide financial success in return – to disintegrate as a result of accusations of their leader's indiscretions, he said.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 26, 2005; 12:00 AM
An overwhelming majority of American Catholics approve of the selection of Pope Benedict XVI and predict that he will defend the traditional policies and beliefs of a church that many members say is out of touch with their views, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found that more than eight in 10 Roman Catholics broadly supported the selection of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to replace Pope John Paul II.
Nearly as many, 73 percent, said they were "enthusiastic" about the new pontiff, though only one in four said they were strongly enthusiastic about the choice. ...
American Catholics say the new pope's top priority should be to deal with sexual abuse by priests, followed closely by the need to encourage human rights. These priorities were shared by a majority of more active and less active Catholics.
Four in 10 also said the pontiff should follow in his predecessor's footsteps by paying special attention to the needs of younger churchgoers. Only three in 10 said Benedict's highest priority should be making it attractive for men to serve as priests.
UTAH
Salt Lake Tribune
The Utah Supreme Court will review the case of two brothers who allege they were sexually abused by a priest in Salt Lake City after the Catholic Church did nothing to stop a known pedophile.
The Utah Court of Appeals ruled Ralph and Charles Colosimo waited too long to file their lawsuit over alleged abuse by former priest and Judge Memorial Catholic High School teacher James F. Rapp in the 1970s.
State laws give victims a limited amount of time after turning 18 or discovering the abuse to file. The brothers - now in their 40s - had argued they did not discover Rapp's history of molestation until it was publicized in a May 2002 article in The Washington Post.
MARSHFIELD (WI)
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
By Jonathan Gneiser
For the Daily Tribune
MARSHFIELD - The Marshfield Care Center has been cited by the state's Department of Health and Family Services Bureau of Quality Assurance for three violations of federal regulations stemming from an alleged incident of sexual misconduct.
According to state surveyors' interviews with two certified nursing assistants who witnessed the alleged incident on Feb. 8, a 79-year-old female resident who has dementia was being kissed on the lips by a male visitor while her arms and legs were "flailing."
The facility has claimed the witnesses can't confirm any incident of sexual misconduct occurred through an informal dispute resolution process, according to bureau statements of deficiency.
Cris Ros-Dukler, director of the Bureau of Quality Assurance, said the man who was "allegedly molesting" the resident was a relative of another resident.
Although the bureau's report doesn't directly name the visitor, it appears to describe Raymond H. Bornbach of Marshfield. The statement of deficiency includes references to incidents involving Bornbach, and refers to a news story about Bornbach published in the Marshfield News-Herald on Aug. 27, 2004.
Bornbach is a former priest who is no longer allowed to perform sacraments or wear a collar due to previous allegations of sexual abuse in the community. In August, the Diocese of La Crosse confirmed that Bornbach of Marshfield had repeatedly molested a girl in 1971 and barred him from performing any priestly duties.
"That certainly sounds like the same person, that would be Bornbach," said Marshfield Police Chief Joe Stroik. "No one has notified us of this."
Bornbach declined to comment Monday.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
Sexual-abuse plaintiffs and others who have claims against the Archdiocese of Portland have until 5 p.m. Friday to file claims paperwork or forever lose their opportunity.
The filing deadline is the next step in the archdiocese's nearly 10-month-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Mandatory mediation of abuse claims will begin Aug. 8.
The bankruptcy was triggered last summer, as sex-abuse lawsuits totaling $434 million in damages piled up against the archdiocese. The largest lawsuit, which asked for $135 million for abuse allegedly perpetrated by the late Rev. Maurice Grammond, was set for jury trial July 6, the day the church filed for protection from creditors.
Houston Chronicle
By JASON BERRY
Although his papacy is only a week old, Benedict XVI is already assured a prominent place in the culture wars. Admirers and critics alike will pay close attention not only to his pronouncements on issues like bioethics and birth control, but also to his response to the crisis of sexually abusive priests.
Historians will debate why the politically visionary Pope John Paul II, who was well briefed by many bishops on the sex abuse scandals that erupted in 1993, stood passive, offering minimal leadership as criminal and civil actions mounted. And they may yet be surprised by Pope Benedict XVI: If he stays true to his moral absolutism, the Vatican could take a stronger stance against priests who have molested children.
The notorious case of the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, a powerful Mexican priest who founded his own order and lives in its seminary in Rome, suggests that the pope's approach to this issue may be evolving. While the case is yet to be decided and all legal proceedings are secret, it may offer some hope to victims of abuse looking for a change in Vatican policy under Pope Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
In 1998, when Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a legal tribunal of the congregation accepted a case by nine seminarians who accused Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, of sexual assault. The allegations, stretching back to the '60s, have been presented to the Vatican on several occasions.
The response has always been silence. Initially, Ratzinger as well failed to respond; in 1999 he shelved the case, later telling a Mexican bishop that it was not "prudent" to proceed against a man who had helped the church by attracting young men to the priesthood.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER— A prison official yesterday denied telling Joseph L. Druce, the inmate accused of murdering defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan, that he should plead guilty in the killing and get transferred to a penal institution outside Massachusetts.
Mr. Druce is awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on a charge of first-degree murder in the Aug. 23, 2003, slaying of Mr. Geoghan in a special housing unit at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center on the Lancaster-Shirley line.
In a motion to dismiss the charge against him, Mr. Druce alleges he was subjected to “misconduct and coercion” by the state Department of Correction after he rejected a prison captain’s suggestion that he plead guilty and avoid a trial that could produce evidence “contrary to the interests” of the department.
Mr. Druce’s appointed lawyer, John H. LaChance, alleges that correction department officials have interfered with his client’s right to a fair trial and created an “attorney-client rift” in the case, warranting dismissal of the murder charge.
At a hearing yesterday, Capt. William J. Grossi of the Inner Perimeter Security team at the state prison in Walpole, where Mr. Druce now is being held, denied telling Mr. Druce he should seek a plea bargain in the case. Under questioning by Mr. LaChance, Capt. Grossi also denied cautioning Mr. Druce against raising the issue of “sensory deprivation.”
In an affidavit accompanying his motion, Mr. Druce said that in spring 2004, he and his lawyer began investigating conditions at the Departmental Disciplinary Unit at the Walpole prison, where Mr. Druce was held before being transferred to Souza-Baranowski, to determine if those conditions constituted sensory deprivation “and, if so, whether those conditions made my mental condition worse.”
Mr. LaChance has indicated he plans to raise a psychiatric defense on Mr. Druce’s behalf.
At the time of the killing, Mr. Druce was serving a life sentence for the 1998 murder of a man he believed was gay. Mr. Geoghan, 68, a key figure in the clergy sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Boston Archdiocese, was doing time for fondling a 10-year-old boy.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Melanie Mangum TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— The Rev. Paul M. Desilets was arraigned yesterday in Worcester Superior Court on 32 counts of abuse involving 18 boys in Bellingham in the 1970s and 1980s.
Rev. Desilets appeared via a video feed from the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston, where he is being held after his extradition from Canada last week. Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said there are security concerns in navigating the 81-year-old Rev. Desilets in a wheelchair through a crowded lockup, prompting the video feed. Rev. Desilets is said to be in poor health, suffering from diabetes and the effects of childhood polio.
Seated in front of one of his lawyers, Dennis J. Kelly, Rev. Desilets listened with his mouth open as Mr. Kelly told Judge Timothy S. Hillman his client was not prepared to enter a plea and requested the court enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
Rev. Desilets was arraigned on 16 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, 10 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14, and six counts of assault and battery.
Bail was set at $100,000 with conditions after a request by Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey T. Travers. Should Mr. Desilets post bail, he would be required to surrender his passport, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet under house arrest and waive rendition. Bail was set without prejudice, which means Mr. Desilets can request a reduced bail at a hearing scheduled for May 13. Lawyer Paul R. Mastrocola said his client is unlikely to make bail.
After the arraignment, one of Rev. Desilets’ alleged victims was asked to comment.
“He’s guilty. That’s the only comment I’ll make,” the man said.
At a press conference inside the courthouse, Mr. Conte said his office would try to negotiate a plea agreement with Rev. Desilets’ lawyers that includes jail time. His office has consulted with nine of the accusers and most are in agreement to proceed with such a negotiation.
“They feel there is a certain amount of closure in bringing Rev. Desilets back,” Mr. Conte said.
Rev. Desilets is accused of abusing 18 boys in Bellingham during his time as a priest at Our Lady of the Assumption. Mr. Conte said Rev. Desilets was assigned to the Bellingham parish from 1974 to 1984. He left for Canada in 1984, and was living in a retirement home in Joliet, Quebec, when Canadian police arrested him at the request of American officials in connection with the Worcester County indictments.
After his indictment by a Worcester grand jury in 2002, Rev. Desilets has fought his extradition in the courts, appealing to the Canadian Supreme Court to stop his extradition. He abandoned the appeal April 7, and was brought to Worcester Friday.
Mr. Conte said if Rev. Desilets had remained in the United States until the allegations were reported, his office would not have been able to prosecute successfully, because the alleged abuses were reported after the statute of limitations had expired. But when Rev. Desilets left the country in 1984, the statute of limitations time period was “tolled,” or suspended, until he returned to the United States.
“Once an individual leaves here, the statute actually stops running,” Mr. Conte said.
Bellingham Police Detective Richard Perry, who has handled the investigation since the first two victims reported the alleged abuse in January 2002, was asked to comment after Mr. Desilet’s arraignment yesterday.
“I’m happy, but I won’t be satisfied until this is completed,” Mr. Perry said.
Staff reporter Gary V. Murray contributed to this report.
WORCESTER (MA)
News Channel 10
POSTED: 3:49 pm EDT April 25, 2005
UPDATED: 4:04 pm EDT April 25, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. -- A judge in Worcester is hearing a bid from the accused killer of pedophile priest John Geoghan to have the charges dismissed.
Joseph Druce claims prison officials retaliated against him by denying him access to his lawyer and removing legal documents from his cell. Druce says that made it impossible for him to participate in his own defense.
An official at the Sousa-Baranowski Correctional Center told the judge Monday that there was no retaliation against Druce and that prison policies were what prevented him from having a private visit with his attorney.
Druce -- already a convicted murderer -- is accused of beating and strangling Geoghan at the prison in August 2003. The defrocked priest was serving a nine- to 10-year sentence for fondling a boy.
BROCKTON (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
The Associated Press
BROCKTON, Mass.— A suspended priest from Hull is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on charges he raped a boy in Plymouth in 1991, authorities said.
The Rev. Anthony Laurano, 80, was indicted earlier this month on two counts of child rape, according to Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
Laurano, who retired from St. Mary's Church in Plymouth in 1995, was placed on administrative leave in 2002 after abuse allegations surfaced.
Middleton wouldn't provide any additional information about the allegations. Laurano's attorney, Santina Gerber, didn't immediately return a telephone call.
WORCESTER (MA)
Boston.com
By Adam Gorlick, Associated Press Writer | April 25, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. -- A retired priest extradited from Canada to face sex abuse charges pleaded innocent Monday to molesting altar boys at a Bellingham parish in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, 81, was returned to Massachusetts last week after he dropped an appeal of his extradition before Canada's highest court.
Desilets, who is diabetic and suffers from an illness caused by childhood polio, participated in the arraignment by videoconference from the Worcester County Jail.
He did not speak and his lawyer entered innocent pleas to 16 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, 10 counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and six counts of assault and battery.
The judge ordered him held on $100,000 bail and scheduled a court appearance for May 13.
District Attorney John Conte said he was trying to work out a plea deal that would include jail time and that he has discussed it with some of Desilets' alleged victims.
"We have talked to nine victims," he said. "Most are in agreement with what we are about to do."
WORCESTER (MA)
WCSH
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- The Reverend Paul Desilets was arraigned Monday in Worcester Superior Court. He appeared by videoconference from the county jail.
The 81-year-old Desilets appeared frail and said nothing during the brief proceeding. His lawyer entered not guilty pleas to a 32-count indictment.
District Attorney John Conte says at least nine of the men who were victimized between 1978 and 1984 are agreeable to a possible plea deal that would include some prison time for Desilets. Conte says the alleged victims are feeling some closure now that the retired priest is back in the country.
WORCESTER (MA)
CBC News
WORCESTER, MASS. - A retired Roman Catholic priest extradited to the United States from Canada to face sex abuse charges pleaded not guilty on Monday to molesting altar boys at a parish in Massachusetts.
The Rev. Paul Desilets returned to Massachusetts last week after he dropped a three-year fight against his extradition before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Desilets, 81, took part in Monday's arraignment via video link from jail.
He didn't say a word. He let his lawyer enter pleas of not guilty to more than two dozen counts of indecent assault and battery, including on a child under 14 and a person over 14 years of age.
The judge ordered him held on $100,000 US bail. Desilets's next scheduled court appearance is on May 13.
PORTLAND (ME)
Editor & Publisher
Published: April 25, 2005 11:55 AM ET
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) The Maine supreme court on Friday ruled that the state must make public investigative records about 18 now-deceased Roman Catholic priests who were accused of sexual abuse of minors.
In a split decision, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the attorney general must release the files to Blethen Maine Newspapers, owner of the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal, and the Morning Sentinel.
However, the names and identifying information of family members, friends, and others associated with the cases must be removed from the records when they are released.
Justices struggled with balancing the public interest in the priest sexual abuse scandal with privacy concerns for witnesses, family members, and sexual abuse victims through the decades.
"On balance, the identified public interest exceeds the privacy interests associated with the records once they are redacted," Justice Jon Levy wrote for himself, Howard Dana, and Susan Calkins. Chief Justice Leigh Saufley concurred in a separate opinion.
Jonathan Piper, a Portland attorney who represents Blethen, said the ruling is a clear victory for the newspapers. He expects both sides to go back to Superior Court to determine how and by whom the records will be handled to remove the information that identifies people other than the deceased priests accused of sexual abuse.
WEBCommentary
If the new pope, Benedict XVI, has as much influence on the Catholic Church as John Paul II did, his papacy will shape the future of the church in many important ways. There are five vital issues that the church must address in the coming decade. John Paul II effectively defended the Biblical position on three of them. He ignored one. And he failed miserably in his attempts to deal with the last. Let us hope that Benedict XVI will follow the lead of his predecessor on the issues where he was effective, while addressing the issues that John Paul II did not deal with. ...
Perhaps the fact that the priest child abuse scandals came to the world's attention when the John Paul II was ill and aging had something to do with his failure to deal with it. Perhaps he got bad counsel from his cardinals. Whatever the reason, when all the cardinals went to Rome to take action on the issue, they ended up taking no action. If John Paul II had used forceful leadership, the result would have been quite different. Instead, children are still at risk of being sexually abused by the one person they should be able to trust: their parish priest.
It would not be possible to completely eliminate the possibility of priest sexual abuse, but there are two steps the pope could have (and should have) taken that I pray Benedict XVI will take. First, defrock all homosexual priests. The Bible is very clear that homosexuality is sin, and that no homosexuals will enter Heaven. So why do the Catholic Church and many liberal Protestant denominations allow homosexuals in pulpits?
UNITED STATES
MSNBC
By Steve Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 9:47 a.m. ET April 25, 2005
While the 80 million American Catholics make up only 6 percent of their church's membership worldwide, their financial contributions — as much as a third of the Vatican's annual fund-raising for the pontiff's charities — has long given them a special place at the Vatican.
But a combination of changing demographics, sex abuse scandals and disputes with Rome over issues such as married clergy, female priests and homosexuality could threaten that status.
Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made his reputation as the Vatican's enforcer of church doctrine, and early indications are that he intends to emphasize strict adherence to those church teachings. If he does, many liberal American Catholics may fight back with the strongest weapon they have — their pocketbooks.
The demographic squeeze has been building for decades — each year, there are fewer and fewer nuns and priests available to provide low-wage labor to run church institutions. In 1965, there were 180,000 Catholic nuns in the United States. Today there are fewer than 80,000, with an average age of about 69. The number of parishes without priests has increased five-fold in the same period.
Now those workers must be replaced with lay workers, at more expensive lay salaries, putting the squeeze on church finances.
But the clergy sex abuse scandal is an even more immediate threat. According to BishopAccountability.org, which tracks abuse cases in each diocese nationwide, the scandal has cost the church more than $700 million, although it is unclear how much of that was covered by insurance.
CANADA
Wawatay News
Adrienne Fox-Keesic
Government needs new approach to compensation The words are beguiling. “Please call the Help Desk … if you or someone you know is triggered while reading the content on this website.” The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada website is filled with flowery phrases that have the same effect as patting a child’s head, while cooing “I understand.” Understand what? The destruction of cultures and languages. The murders of children who are buried in unmarked graves. The walking wounded who drink too much alcohol and beat their loved ones because a supervisor, minister or priest decided a five-year-old was a consenting adult.
The Christian Century
After a grand funeral attracting world leaders to the Vatican and crowds urging a speedy sainthood for the late Pope John Paul II, the assigning of a former U.S. cardinal to celebrate one of the masses in St. Peter’s Basilica during the mourning period reminded Americans of the scars still present in the U.S. church.
Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who resigned for mishandling the clergy sex-abuse scandal, presided over the mass April 11 while news media covered a small protest from victim advocates who said that Law didn’t deserve the honor.
Two leaders of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) flew to Rome to complain that allowing Law such a prominent pulpit poured “salt into an already open wound.” Barbara Blaine, president of the Chicago-based SNAP, was escorted by Italian police from St. Peter’s Square and kept behind traffic barriers when she attempted to distribute fliers to pilgrims and tourists in the square.
Law presided at one of the daily memorial masses during the nine-day mourning period for John Paul II, who died April 2. Last year, John Paul named Law to the largely ceremonial post of archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
UNITED STATES
SJ-R.com
By DAVE BAKKE
STAFF WRITER
Three years ago, a convergence of events began that ended with Teresa Kettelkamp of Springfield becoming a central figure in the Catholic Church's enforcement of its new policy on sexual abuse of minors by priests.
The trail has its beginning in June 2002, when the U.S. bishops approved the Dallas Charter. The charter was drafted in response to public outrage over priest sex abuse scandals. The bishops made it mandatory for the 178 dioceses in the country to conform to church policies designed to protect children from abuse by clergy.
The charter also created the Office for Child and Youth Protection. That office assists dioceses and Eastern Rite eparchies across the country to adhere to the requirements of the charter.
A year following the bishops' Dallas meeting, Kettelkamp retired from the Illinois State Police after a 29-year career. The link between the two seemingly unrelated events - Kettelkamp's retirement and the Dallas Charter - was Kathleen McChesney.
McChesney is a former FBI agent who was the first executive director of the Office for Child and Youth Protection.
"I had met Kathleen," says Kettelkamp, "when I headed the forensics division for the state police. She headed the Chicago FBI office, and our biggest lab was in Chicago.”
Sydney Morning Herald
April 25, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI faces claims he obstructed justice after a London newspaper obtained an order issued in his name ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.
The order was made in a confidential letter sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, reported The Observer, which has a copy of the letter.
Lawyers acting for abuse victims told The Observer the order was designed to prevent the allegations from becoming public knowledge or being investigated by the police. They accused then-Cardinal Ratzinger of committing a "clear obstruction of justice".
The letter, "concerning very grave sins", was sent from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that once presided over the Inquisition and that was overseen by Cardinal Ratzinger.
BRITAIN
Yorkshire Post Today
Michael Brown
Religious Affairs Correspondent
Allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women and excessive drinking will be made against suspended Dean of Ripon Cathedral John Methuen at a rarely-held ecclesiastical court trial due to open in Leeds today.
The 57-year-old married dean will be accused on 21 counts of "conduct unbecoming the office and work of a clerk in holy orders" and one count of "serious, persistent or continuous neglect of duty".
Of the 21, at least one alleges the dean behaved inappropriately towards women and others are connected with his drinking habits.
The charges, to be heard by the Consistory Court of Bishop of Ripon and Leeds John Packer, are brought under the 42-year-old ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure, church law which deals with clergy discipline.
Three weeks have been set aside for the trial, presided over at the Leeds Combined Courts centre by Judge Rupert Bursell.
ROME
Belfast Telegraph
By Peter Popham in Rome
25 April 2005
At a grand mass in St Peter's Square yesterday morning, during which he was formally installed in office, Pope Benedict XVI pressed ahead with the message of meekness and openness that has marked his first days as pontiff.
And while meeting foreign dignitaries who had attended the ceremony, the Pope told Irish President Mary McAleese: "I will pray for the people of Ireland and I hope that they will pray for me."
The Pontiff also said he had been a visitor to the national seminary in Maynooth and that it was "a wonderful university". ...
But it has not taken long for one of the darkest legacies of John Paul II's reign to come back to haunt the new pope. As reported in The Independent on Friday, a Mexican professor who along with eight other men has alleged that a priest who was a close friend of the late pope, Fr Marcial Maciel, sexually abused him when he was a child, claimed that Cardinal Ratzinger had failed for seven years to investigate the charges. Professor Jose Barba believes that when Cardinal Ratzinger finally opened an inquiry, last December, it was in order to remove possible controversy from his attempt to become Pope.
Fr Maciel retired in January as leader of the ultraconservative order he founded, the Legionaries of Christ. But yesterday an authority on the paedophilia scandal in the United States, Jason Berry, saw a glimmer of hope in Cardinal Ratzinger's belated decision to act. "As a theologian of fundamentalist convictions," Berry wrote in The New York Times, "[Cardinal Ratzinger] may have felt he had to confront a crisis tearing at the central nervous system of the church." Berry cited a sermon the cardinal gave on Good Friday, eight days before John Paul II's death, in which he said: "How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [God]."
WORCESTER (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 6:15 am EDT April 25, 2005
UPDATED: 6:18 am EDT April 25, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. -- A retired priest accused of sexually abusing altar boys in Massachusetts is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Worcester Superior Court.
The Rev. Paul Desilets was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury in April 2002 on charges of molesting 18 altar boys between 1978 and 1984 at Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Bellingham, Mass.
He was arrested in Canada, where he has lived in a clergy retirement home since 1984, but his extradition was delayed by Canadian courts until Desilets abandoned his appeals earlier this month.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | April 25, 2005
They were infirm and able-bodied, old and young. Some came in somber, dark coats and others in fluffy miniskirts and flip-flops.
Dozens of worshipers waited patiently in line for the blessing of the sick yesterday, during a Mass of hope and healing at Cathedral of the Holy Cross, where many asked for spiritual guidance and help with life-threatening illnesses. Outside, a small group of protesters dismayed at the church's handling of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal had converged on the sidewalk, where they said they were doing their own healing.
On the same day Benedict XVI was formally installed as pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley called on worshipers not to fear age and illness but show the ''grace and courage" that the late Pope John Paul II tried to teach in his final days.
During the Mass, O'Malley also praised the election of Benedict XVI and called on the 200 to 250 people in the cavernous church in Boston's South End to accept their new leader as the successor to Peter, the first pope.
UNITED STATES
Contra Costa Times
MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press
CHICAGO - A place of sorrow after Pope John Paul II died became a place of celebration as Roman Catholic faithful gathered in downtown Chicago to mark the installation of new Pope Benedict XVI.
About 1,000 people gathered at Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday to take part in a special Mass for the German-born pontiff, who was formally installed earlier in the day at the Vatican. ...
In Boston, meanwhile, Archbishop Sean O'Malley urged parishioners to put aside any preferences they had for the office and focus on the importance of the pope as a healer and leader.
As O'Malley celebrated Mass, about 20 protesters gathered outside Cathedral of the Holy Cross to call attention to clergy sexual abuse.
Lynne Pollino, an organizer for the lay group Voice of the Faithful, said she's disappointed Benedict "doesn't give more rights to women, that he doesn't support gays."
However, she's hopeful that the new pope is serious about stopping clergy sexual abuse and about reaching out to victims. "I'm hoping that he will speak and meet with survivors," said Pollino, 60. "In that respect, I hear that he's a listener."
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
Robert Z. Nemeth
Reading media reports and commentaries last week could have given the impression that, instead of choosing one of their own, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected the clerical equivalent of someone like Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay.
Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has been described as a “right-wing ideologue,” “evangelizer on the right,” “authoritarian,” “rigid,” “neoconservative,” “a polarizing influence,” “watchdog,” “enforcer of church orthodoxy” and a “doctrinal hardliner.”
We were told he lacks charisma, has not been very popular in his native Bavaria and was a member of the Hitler Youth as a teen-ager. He was said to be intolerant toward other religions and insensitive to charges of sexual abuse by priests. We were told the Church has lost a unique opportunity to redeem itself by failing to choose a pope from Africa, Latin America or Asia. We heard “experts” say the conclave had picked a “divider” rather than a “unifier.” As a silver lining, it was suggested he is “transitional,” meaning he was too old to live long.
As reporters fanned out to collect negative reaction, rather startling comments emerged. Here is one quote from a Telegram & Gazette article last Wednesday: “The new pope is a disaster. It is a throwback to the Middle Ages.” Here is another: “I’m very sad about the situation with child molestation and how it was treated by the Vatican. There is a generation of children that have been lost because of these priests.” One T&G reporter even contacted a representative of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, who happened to be in Rome. ...
I was fortunate to spend eight formative years of my upbringing at a St. Benedict prep school in Budapest. That experience has shaped my life permanently, and for that I am grateful. I would like to add that during those eight years of being with Catholic priests, I have never been subjected to sexual abuse and did not know anybody who was.
ROME
National
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
Two days before the opening of the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago had a conversation with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, about the American sex abuse norms, arguing that the norms should be maintained more or less as is.
George asked if Ratzinger, whose office is charged with processing sex abuse cases, had any questions. Ratzinger, according to George on April 20, showed “a good grasp of the situation.”
Forty-eight hours later, Ratzinger was the pope. As George kissed his hand, Pope Benedict XVI told him in English that he remembered the conversation the two men had, and would attend to it.
The story is a telling example for those seeking to discern the subtleties that could mark potential contrasts between the pontificate of John Paul II and that of Benedict XVI, who was the late pope’s most loyal lieutenant and yet still very much his own man.
KEWANEE (IL)
Quad-City Times
KEWANEE, Ill. — A Kewanee man and former Peoria Catholic Diocese priest who allegedly molested a former altar boy has pleaded guilty in Wisconsin to two counts of second-degree sexual assault.
Francis Engels, 69, could receive up to 20 years in prison at a sentencing hearing June 3 in Milwaukee.
His alleged victim, 37-year-old Dan Koenigs of Cisco, Ill., said he will not comment on the case until after Engels is sentenced. His attorney, Joseph Klest of Schaumburg, Ill., said Koenigs reported to Milwaukee authorities last year that Engels sexually abused him during overnight trips to the city in 1981 and 1982. At that time, Engels was serving as the priest of St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Cambridge, Ill., and Koenigs was a member of the parish.
Koenigs alleges that Engels also abused him in Illinois, but criminal charges cannot be brought there because the statute of limitations has expired.The clock effectively stopped on the Wisconsin allegations when the priest left that state, Klest said.
PORTSMOUTH (NH)
Portsmouth Herald
By Kathleen D. Bailey
kbailey@seacoastonline.com
Vibrant artwork decorated the walls of the offices of South Church in Portsmouth. Music from a pipe organ drifted down from the sanctuary, while outside, on the sidewalk, Portsmouth residents basked in the first spring day. But as Sandra Greenfield, South Church director of religious education, settled in at a conference table, her words about childhood sexual abuse belied the idyllic setting.
It’s not your father’s Sunday school or your mother’s CCD.
Volunteer teachers in today’s religious education programs face challenges their own educators never imagined. Their students are growing up in a world of crime and grime, and in the wake of sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic and other churches.
But local congregations have taken steps to ensure children entrusted to them will not have that trust broken.
Safe, not sorry
Greenfield administers the Safe Congregation program for her Unitarian Universalist church. The church created and implemented its program in May 2000, she said. It includes formal training, background checks, references, and a policy for restoring offenders to fellowship.
International Herald Tribune
Jason Berry The New York Times
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005
Historians will debate why the politically visionary Pope John Paul II, who was well briefed by many bishops on the sex abuse scandals that erupted in 1993, stood passive, offering minimal leadership as criminal and civil actions mounted around the world. And they may yet be surprised by Pope Benedict XVI: If he stays true to his moral absolutism, the Vatican could take a stronger stance against priests who have molested children.
The notorious case of the Reverend Marcial Maciel Degollado, a powerful Mexican priest who founded his own order and lives in its seminary in Rome, suggests that the pope's approach to this issue may be evolving. While the case is yet to be decided and all legal proceedings are secret, it may offer some hope to victims of abuse looking for a change in Vatican policy under Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
In 1998, when Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a legal tribunal of the congregation accepted a case by nine seminarians who accused Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, of sexual assault. The allegations, which stretch back to the 1960s, have been presented to the Vatican on several occasions. The response has always been silence. Initially, Ratzinger as well failed to respond; in 1999 he shelved the case, later telling a Mexican bishop that it was not "prudent" to proceed against a man who had helped the church by attracting young men to the priesthood.
Late last year, however, even as John Paul praised Maciel, Ratzinger quietly reopened the case, dispatching Monsignor Charles Scicluna, a canon lawyer on his staff, to investigate the charges. Scicluna is not allowed to speak publicly about his work. The men who charged Maciel, who have spoken to reporters in the past, also agreed not to speak about his investigation.
How long will the world have to wait for a verdict in the Maciel case? In the meantime, it may be useful to ask another question: Why did Ratzinger reopen the case?
The Observer
Jamie Doward, religious affairs correspondent
Sunday April 24, 2005
The Observer
Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had 'obstructed justice' after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.
The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. ...
The letter is referred to in documents relating to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against a church in Texas and Ratzinger on behalf of two alleged abuse victims. By sending the letter, lawyers acting for the alleged victims claim the cardinal conspired to obstruct justice.
Daniel Shea, the lawyer for the two alleged victims who discovered the letter, said: 'It speaks for itself. You have to ask: why do you not start the clock ticking until the kid turns 18? It's an obstruction of justice.'
Father John Beal, professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America, gave an oral deposition under oath on 8 April last year in which he admitted to Shea that the letter extended the church's jurisdiction and control over sexual assault crimes.
The Ratzinger letter was co-signed by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone who gave an interview two years ago in which he hinted at the church's opposition to allowing outside agencies to investigate abuse claims.
'In my opinion, the demand that a bishop be obligated to contact the police in order to denounce a priest who has admitted the offence of paedophilia is unfounded,' Bertone said.
Mail & Guardian
Pope Benedict XVI faced claims on Saturday night that he had "obstructed justice" after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex-abuse claims be carried out in secret.
The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001.
It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II's successor last week. ...
The letter is referred to in documents relating to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against a church in Texas and Ratzinger on behalf of two alleged abuse victims. By sending the letter, lawyers acting for the alleged victims claim the cardinal conspired to obstruct justice.
Daniel Shea, the lawyer for the two alleged victims who discovered the letter, said: "It speaks for itself. You have to ask: Why do you not start the clock ticking until the kid turns 18? It's an obstruction of justice."
Father John Beal, professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America, gave an oral deposition under oath on April 8 last year in which he admitted to Shea that the letter extended the church's jurisdiction and control over sexual assault crimes.
Los Angeles Times
Diane Haithman
A performance troupe doesn't name itself Culture Clash without some awareness that its material — which often skewers racial, ethnic, religious and gender stereotypes — might occasionally result in just such a clash with its audience.
But Culture Clash — Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza, three guys from L.A. — reports that the group has met with no resistance to a hot-button theater piece about a religious institution in its current show, "Culture Clash in AmeriCCa."
The piece is based on the true story of a Bostonian who tracked down and confronted the priest who abused him when he was a child — and then forgave him as the priest lay dying. The troupe has performed the show in Los Angeles, Chicago and Syracuse, N.Y., to mixed but mostly favorable reviews.
But now, the trio is telling the "Catholic Survivor" story in the wake of the death of Pope John Paul II and in the city where the scandal occurred.
CALIFORNIA
The Argus
By Linh Tat, STAFF WRITER
NEWARK — A former Newark priest is being sued by a former altar boy who said he was molested at St. Edward Catholic Church in the 1980s, bringing the number of Tri-City area priests to be accused of such acts to seven.
According to the lawsuit, the former alter boy accuses Rev. Gary Luiz, who was assigned to St. Edward at the time, of molesting him from about 1980 to 1986.
Luiz, now serving at a Berkeley monastery, refused to comment and hung up on an Argus reporter Friday.
The plaintiff attended the church's school from 1976 to 1982 and worked at the rectory at the time of the alleged incidents, according to the suit, filed by Katherine K. Freberg, an attorney at the Irvine-based law firm representing the man who is now 35.
Luiz fondled the student's genitals and buttocks, rubbed or massaged his body, engaged in masturbation, mentioned pornography, gave the boy gifts and took him on trips, according to the lawsuit.
BOSTON (MA)
Los Angeles Times
By Josh Getlin, Times Staff Writer
Three years ago, Father Walter Cuenin and his parishioners at Our Lady Help of Christians participated in the Catholic equivalent of the Boston Tea Party — helping launch a revolt against church authority.
As they protested Cardinal Bernard Law's failure to act against priests accused of sexual abuse, the parishioners ignored warnings from church officials and refused to join in a $300-million archdiocese fundraising drive, saying that to do so would violate their conscience.
At one point, Cuenin and 57 other priests signed a letter calling publicly for Law's resignation. Their efforts contributed to his decision to step down.
As the worldwide church celebrates the election of Pope Benedict XVI, many here are declining to take part.
"What happened in Rome was a story on television," said Rosa Buffone, a psychotherapist who helps direct the church's Gay-Lesbian Faith Sharing Group. "It certainly won't be affecting my life here in this parish."
Many of the 10,000 parishioners at Our Lady respect the church's authority but dissent on issues such as abortion and birth control, homosexuality, the role of the laity, the place of women in the modern church, celibacy for priests and how to handle lingering issues from the sexual abuse scandal.
MASSACHUSETTS
MetroWest Daily News
By Jennifer Kavanaugh / Daily News Staff
Sunday, April 24, 2005
When the white smoke blew from the chimney and the bells chimed Tuesday in Vatican City, Catholics around the world waited for a name, and a vision.
From St. Peter to the recently departed Pope John Paul II, 264 pontiffs have come and gone, and still the Catholic Church has endured for two millennia, through wars, the Protestant Reformation and massive social changes. ...
The lay group Voice of the Faithful, which started locally in 2002 in response to the abuse scandal but now counts 30,000 people as its members, was also critical about Law's recent role. But group leaders seem willing to give the new pope a chance.
"I would characterize it as, optimistic, but realistic," said Suzanne Morse, Voice of the Faithful's spokesperson.
Morse said the group has taken comfort in his decision to reopen the investigation into Rev. Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ, who was accused of molesting nine young men. In an open letter to the new pope posted on its Web site, the group urges him to meet with an international delegation of abuse survivors as soon as possible.
"Our feeling is the church needs to create systems, not only to prevent the abuse, but to prevent the kinds of cover-ups that have taken place," Morse said. "The church is not going to change unless the entire church -- the hierarchy, the clergy and the laity -- work together."
NEW YORK
Press & Sun-Bulletin
BY NANCY DOOLING
Press & Sun-Bulletin
Attorney John Aretakis, a self-described "flaming liberal" who represents victims of priest sex abuse in New York, sees the selection of arch-conservative John Ratzinger as pope as good news for his 160 clients.
And he isn't alone. Victims, too, hope the man who in 2002 dismissed America's priest sex abuse scandal as overblown by the news media will clean house in the nation's diocesan leadership, including Albany, Syracuse and Rochester.
"Call me an optimist," said Aretakis, "but I am absolutely ecstatic." Aretakis said he hopes Benedict XVI will go after the American bishops the Albany attorney blames for decades of victimization of children by priests.
"The liberal bishops in this country have allowed a sexual culture to go on under the cloak of darkness," said Aretakis, whose clients include several from the Southern Tier. "And they've let the pedophiles creep in."
Diocesan leaders have done the best they could in hindsight, said a local priest who also is the region's vicar for the Syracuse Diocese. Parishes have instituted mandatory training in detecting sexual abuse for employees and volunteers, said the Rev. Thomas Ryan, pastor of St. James Catholic Church in Johnson City. They've also tried to recognize the terrible hurt caused to victims and have participated in the healing process.
But many Catholics are questioning whether bishops have looked at their own actions or inaction, and whether corrective actions have been taken among the ranks, Ryan said.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Last Updated: April 23, 2005
Patrick McIlheran
First, new rules from the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee came out. Then, last week, the archbishop put them on hold.
Meanwhile, of course, everyone's attention is focused on whether they'll be serving better bratwurst at the Vatican lunchroom.
Still, something important is happening here in Milwaukee, important throughout the church and to anyone else revolted by the sexual abuse of children by clergy. It merits attention and certainly more than a reflexive rejection.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan's rules were presented as part of an effort to salvage troubled vocations. The rules would place heavy restrictions - such as unannounced home inspections, travel with chaperons, so on - on priests and deacons suspected of misconduct. The rules seemed to strike many priests as oppressive, however, and priests appeared surprised by the rules rather than consulted about them. Uproar ensued.
More surprising, however, was reaction from some groups that have most sternly denounced the church's handling of the abuse crisis. "The Patriot Act of the Milwaukee archdiocese," said an activist with Voice of the Faithful.
The Observer
Sunday April 24, 2005
The Observer
Of all the matters lurking in the overflowing in-tray of the new Pope Benedict XVI, the long-running and emotive issue of paedophile priests is the most damaging - not just to the church, but to his own personal standing.
The new pontiff has been accused of failing to investigate a series of abuse claims made against one of his predecessor's closest supporters - a failure which has come to be seen as typical of the Catholic Church's determination to keep a lid on the scandal of priests who breach their position of trust.
The story goes back to the Nineties when the new Pope - then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for investigating abuse claims.
One of the most high-profile of such claims was made by Professor José Barba Martin, a 68-year-old professor of humanities at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. He is one of nine former members of the Rome-based Legion of Christ who allege they were abused by the religious order's powerful founder, Marcial Maciel.
Maciel, 84, set up the ultra-conservative order in 1941. Today it has around 500 priests and 2,500 seminarians in 20 countries. It may be small, but its influence is significant. Maciel, who stood down as the order's head in January because of his age, was a confidant of Pope John Paul II, who praised him as an 'efficacious guide to youth'. For decades, Barba Martin kept silent about the abuse claims which are strenuously denied by Maciel and the Legion of Christ. It says the accusers are 'attempting to tar the Vatican... with the stain of these false allegations.'
WYOMING
Star-Tribune
Sunday, April 24, 2005
CHEYENNE (AP) -- A Platte County man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, a church in Guernsey and the town's former priest, who the plaintiff claims sexually abused him as a teen.
Theodore Carr filed suit in state District Court of Laramie County last month. He claims the abuse occurred between 1980 and 1988 when he was a teenage parishioner at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Guernsey, where Anthony Jablonowski -- who is now in prison -- was priest.
The diocese, which hasn't yet filed an answer to the complaint, has hired Cheyenne attorney Paul Hickey to represent its interests. Father Michael Carr, of Casper, who isn't related to the plaintiff, said the church is willing to listen to the man's story.
"In terms of Ted's concerns, and helping him with his life and what happened, we have concerns for him," Carr said Thursday, "but I guess it's in the hands of lawyers."
Theodore Carr has asked for a jury trial, but the complaint doesn't address compensation.
OKLAHOMA
KOTV
Leaders of a church at the heart of a sex abuse scandal want to make sure what happened to them doesn't happen again.
Broken Arrow's Grace Fellowship hosted a seminar Friday called "An Ounce of Prevention". Leaders from churches, private schools and daycare centers attended workshops aimed at preventing sexual abuse.
A teacher at Grace Christian School was charged three years ago with sexually abusing children.
Grace Fellowship's pastor says the incident taught everyone a valuable lesson. Pastor Bob Yandian: "You can't just isolate and say its a certain type of person, we would have thought a child molester might have looked a certain way, acted a certain way, but to actually have someone in our own ranks that grew up here in the church was very surprising to us, but we find out that's common."
TUCSON (AZ)
KVOA
A judge in the Tucson Catholic Diocese's bankruptcy proceedings has approved the hiring of consultants to assist lawyers representing people who may file future claims that they were sexually abused by priests.
Judge James Marlar approved the request Wednesday, a day after attorneys Charles Arnold and A. Bates Butler III urged the judge at a hearing to allow the hiring of child sexual abuse experts Michael Bayless and Robert Emerick of Phoenix to help them evaluate the number of potential claims.
The attorneys said Emerick and Bayless, with extensive experience in profiling sex offenders, had the "experience, expertise and resources" to enable Arnold and Butler to estimate the number of victims in those categories likely to come forward to press claims.
The court has set deadlines for estimating the claims as part of the process toward determining how many total claims are and will be pending against the diocese, and they said Emerick and Bayless would need to begin analyzing and reviewing quickly to meet the deadlines.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald
By David Weber
Saturday, April 23, 2005 - Updated: 08:14 AM EST
Appearing frail and depressed, a Catholic priest who once served in a Bellingham church was returned to Massachusetts from Canada yesterday and taken into custody to be arraigned for allegedly molesting 18 boys.
The Rev. Paul Desilets, 81, fought extradition for three years before surrendering to authorities for his arraignment Monday on 32 criminal counts in Worcester Superior Court.
``International extradition presents problems whenever you engage in it,'' Worcester District Attorney John Conte told the Milford Daily News. ``Problems did occur here, and thanks to tremendous cooperation here by our Department of Justice, we were able to weather some major obstacles.''
Desilets carried a cane as state police and Worcester deputy sheriffs led him through Logan International Airport. He eventually was placed in a wheelchair. Desilets maintained complete silence and did not acknowledge news cameras and reporters' questions in the airport terminal.
Desilets was a priest at Assumption Church in Bellingham for 10 years. He is charged with molesting 18 boys, many of them former altar boys, in the decade before 1984, when he returned to his native Canada.
UTAH
Deseret Morning News
By Linda Thomson
Deseret Morning News
The Utah Supreme Court has agreed to review a portion of a lawsuit brought by two brothers against the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake and a former priest that the brothers allege molested them when they were boys.
The civil lawsuit brought in 2003 by Charles Matthew Colosimo and Ralph Louis Colosimo, now adults, was dismissed by a district court and the Utah Court of Appeals because the statute of limitations had run out.
However, the Utah Supreme Court this week granted a petition for a writ of certiorari, essentially stating it would review the case. Legal briefs for both sides will be filed this summer and, after that, the high court might schedule a hearing for oral arguments.
But the high court will review only a narrow issue: "Whether plaintiffs' awareness of sexual abuse entailed a reasonable knowledge of, or a duty to inquire about, the facts necessary to support claims that defendants knew of the abuse and failed to adequately supervise the perpetrator or to prevent the abuse."
PORTLAND (ME)
Foster's Daily Democrat
By CLARKE CANFIELD
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine supreme court on Friday ruled that the state must make public investigative records about 18 now-deceased Roman Catholic priests who were accused of sexual abuse of minors.
In a split decision, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the attorney general must release the files to Blethen Maine Newspapers, owner of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel newspapers.
However, the names and identifying information of family members, friends and others associated with the cases must be removed from the records when they are released.
Justices struggled with balancing the public interest in the priest sexual abuse scandal with privacy concerns for witnesses, family members and sexual abuse victims through the decades.
“On balance, the identified public interest exceeds the privacy interests associated with the records once they are redacted,” Justice Jon Levy wrote for himself, Howard Dana and Susan Calkins. Chief Justice Leigh Saufley concurred in a separate opinion.
CHEYENNE (WO)
Billings Gazette
Associated Press
CHEYENNE - A Platte County man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, a church in Guernsey and the town's former priest, whom the plaintiff claims sexually abused him as a teen.
Theodore Carr filed suit in state District Court of Laramie County last month. He claims the abuse occurred between 1980 and 1988 when he was a teenage parishioner at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Guernsey, where Anthony Jablonowski - who is now in prison - was priest.
The diocese, which hasn't yet filed an answer to the complaint, has hired Cheyenne attorney Paul Hickey to represent its interests. Father Michael Carr, of Casper, who isn't related to the plaintiff, said the church is willing to listen to the man's story.
"In terms of Ted's concerns, and helping him with his life and what happened, we have concerns for him," Carr said Thursday, "but I guess it's in the hands of lawyers."
Theodore Carr has asked for a jury trial, but the complaint doesn't address compensation.
The suit names the diocese and the Guernsey church because the plaintiff believes church leaders knew or should have known Jablonowski was a threat to children, according to the complaint.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Caitlin Liu, Times Staff Writer
In an emotional hearing that at times sounded more like a church revival, a Los Angeles judge Friday sentenced a former Catholic priest to six years and eight months in prison for molesting three boys.
Fernando Lopez "took advantage of his position of trust to commit the crimes," said Superior Court Judge Ruth Ann Kwan as the former priest's supporters tearfully clasped their hands in prayer in the packed courtroom. "The defendant robbed the victims of their innocence and scarred them for life."
A jury found the onetime priest at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Koreatown guilty last month of sexually abusing three teenage boys in his parish from 2001 until last year. On Friday, two of them returned to court to speak out against him.
"This man has destroyed my life, my heart. Worst of all, he killed my faith," said one who is now 23. "I will never be the same."
ROME
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | April 23, 2005
ROME -- On Sunday morning, Bill Gately of Plymouth stood in the rain in front of an uncharacteristically bland-looking Catholic church on a narrow, cobblestone street here, handing out leaflets to exiting worshipers.
Inside the church, Gately believed, a group of priests might be sheltering an American cleric who is accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing minors. Gately, along with other advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse, wants the religious order to send the priest back to the United States to face his accusers.
Two days earlier, just after stepping off the plane, Gately and two other victim advocates knocked on the doors of two religious orders thought to be home to priests accused of abuse in the United States, then stood at St. Peter's Square and called for a Vatican investigation into another accused cleric. He and two other victim advocates also held a news conference to announce a list of prelates they believed should not become pope because of their remarks about or behavior in the abuse crisis, and they sent a letter to US cardinals complaining about the participation of Boston's former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, in a memorial Mass for Pope John Paul II.
But the church's only response, Gately said, was to hustle two victim advocates out of St. Peter's Square; otherwise, they were met with silence, their letters to the cardinals unanswered.
OAKLAND (CA)
Oakland Tribune
FROM STAFF REPORTS
OAKLAND — A Placer County woman will receive $3.3 million from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa under the terms of a settlement announced Friday in a priest sex abuse case.
Attorneys for the woman, Roberta Saum, said the settlement is the largest yet for a female abuse victim. The case was one of about 160 priest sex abuse cases in Northern California — called Clergy III — that are being overseen by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw.
Saum, 44, of Gold Run, said she was a troubled youngster who turned to the Catholic Church for guidance at age 15 and instead found herself victimized by a priest for the next six years.
While the sexual relationship with Don Kimball, then a priest at Resurrection Church, ended when Saum was 21, she said emotional manipulation continued for 20 years. Kimball is no longer a priest.
"This settlement gives me closure and vindication of what happened to me," said Saum, flanked by her husband and attorney at a news conference announcing the settlement on the steps of Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland.
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Lawyers suing the Catholic Church in Northern California for molestations by priests over more than three decades say the latest jury verdicts -- nearly $6 million for four people abused by a San Jose clergyman -- should encourage church officials to reach settlements that would avoid the 140 remaining trials.
Both sides have said publicly that they prefer settlements, which would save time, money and the emotional toll exacted by trials. One substantial settlement was announced Friday, $3.315 million to a Placer County woman who sued the Santa Rosa Diocese for six years of sexual abuse by a priest who was later jailed.
But one obstacle to large-scale settlements has emerged: a disagreement between the church and its insurance carriers over the extent of coverage.
The San Francisco Archdiocese, hit with a $5.95 million jury verdict in Superior Court on Wednesday in a suit by four victims of the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard, hinted at the insurance conflict in a statement Thursday.
"The archdiocese wishes to facilitate a fair and just settlement of the cases, and is committed to making significant and appropriate financial and personnel resources available to make that happen,'' the statement said. "The archdiocese and its insurers dispute the extent to which insurance covers these claims.''
OAKLAND (CA)
Orange County Register
The Associated Press
OAKLAND – The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa has agreed to pay more than $3.3 million to a woman who said she was sexually abused by a priest more than 20 years ago, the victim's attorney said on Friday.
Former Santa Rosa resident Roberta Saum, 44, will receive $3,315,000, the largest settlement for a female victim of sexual abuse by a priest in this country and the third-largest for any California victim, according to her attorney, Jeff Anderson.
The lawsuit, one of 10 filed against the Santa Rosa Diocese, was settled before the case could reach trial, which had been scheduled to begin next month.
Diocese attorneys did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.
Saum, a software engineer who now lives in the Sierra foothills, said she was abused and exploited by Don Kimball, now defrocked, between 1976 and 1982 when she was a student at Resurrection Parish in Santa Rosa.
VATICAN CITY
Orange County Register
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
The New York Times
VATICAN CITY – For the past four years, the man who is now pope had more responsibility than any other cardinal for deciding whether and how to discipline priests accused of sexually abusing children and teenagers.
On Friday mornings, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger would sit at his desk at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, poring over allegations of abuse sent in by bishops from around the world, two top officials in the office said. He found the cases so disturbing he called the work "our Friday penance."
In 2002, though, then-Cardinal Ratzinger was among officials whose comments appeared to minimize the problem.
"In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1 percent of priests are guilty of acts of this type," he said in November 2002. "Therefore, one comes to the conclusion that it is intentional, manipulated, that there is a desire to discredit the church."
But as the cases began to flood in, he learned that the problem was both broader and deeper, according to co-workers, U.S. church officials and the head of an American delegation that visited him to discuss the crisis.
OAKLAND (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Kiley Russell
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
OAKLAND - A woman who said she endured six years of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest announced a $3.3 million settlement Friday with the Santa Rosa Diocese.
Roberta Saum, 44, sued the diocese in 2002 for negligence, claiming it helped conceal the alleged abuse by Donald Kimball.
"When I was a 15-year-old troubled teen, I went to the Catholic Church for help and instead of getting the help I needed, I was abused," Saum said.
The settlement is the largest for a female plaintiff in a priest abuse case and is a huge victory in the ongoing legal struggle to force the church to atone for its role in protecting sexually violent priests, Saum's lawyer Jeff Anderson said.
During the time Kimball was allegedly abusing Saum, he was also in therapy for abusing other girls, Anderson said.
ROME
The Independent
By Peter Popham in Rome
23 April 2005
Pope Benedict XVI has been accused of ignoring for seven years charges that Fr Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, had sexually abused nine teenagers in his organisation - because Fr Maciel was a close friend of Pope John Paul II.
In 1997 the then Cardinal Ratzinger was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican body which has the power to excommunicate priests guilty of sexual abuse, when Bishop John R McCann of New York forwarded him detailed charges of sexual abuse made by Fr Juan Vaca, a priest in Bishop McCann's diocese. The charges were in the form of a 12-page letter to Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, who founded the Legionaries of Christ, a conservative Catholic evangelical order, in Mexico in 1941.
"Everything you did contradicts the beliefs of the Church and the order," Fr Vaca wrote in his open letter. "How many innumerable times did you wake me in the middle of the night and had me with you, abusing my innocence. Nights of fear, so many nights of absolute fear: so many nights of lost sleep, that on more than one occasion placed my own psychological health in jeopardy."
LOS ANGELES (CA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
RYAN PEARSON
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Saying a former Roman Catholic priest had a "dark side" that supportive parishioners hadn't seen, a judge on Friday sentenced him to more than six years in prison for molesting three boys.
The judge said Fernando Lopez, 40, used his position of power to abuse the boys during a three-year period that began shortly after his temporary transfer to Los Angeles from Rome in 2001.
"The defendant robbed the victims of innocence and scarred them for life," Superior Court Judge Ruth Kwan said. "He preyed upon their strong beliefs in the church. ... He destroyed their faith."
During a lengthy hearing Friday, two of Lopez's victims told of their lasting pain from the abuse, nearly two dozen parishioners praised their former priest, and Lopez defiantly lashed out at his accusers and proclaimed his innocence.
The slight, suit-clad priest, his scraggly black hair falling below his shoulders, held his hands out to the teen and young man in the courtroom. "I would like to offer my forgiveness to those who betrayed my trust and friendship," he said.
IOWA
Radio Iowa
by Stella Shaffer
Another sex-abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Dubuque Catholic Archdiocese. An Indiana woman says she attended St. John's school in Waterloo in the early 1960s and this week she filed a civil complaint in federal court in Cedar Rapids outlining details of her abuse by a priest there. Steve Theisen is a co-founder of the local chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests. When one survivor comes forward, he says it gives strength to the next one who might be considering it, and in this case Theisen says it'll help women, since "not just young boys were abused, but also young girls." The complaint says the woman told a nun at the school what was happening, and her parents went to police. She charges that church officials visited them at home and threatened to excommunicate the girl and her family if they told anyone of the abuse.
IOWA
KWWL
Another lawsuit claiming sexual abuse by a priest has been filed against the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The lawsuit names Patrick McElliott, who retired in the late 1970s and died in 1987.
The lawsuit was filed this week by Deborah Gindhart of Indiana who alleges that she was abused by McElliott in 1963 while she a student at St. John's school in Waterloo.
CONNECTICUT
Greenwich Citizen
By Christopher Falvo HYPERLINK mailto:cfalvo@bcnnew.com cfalvo@bcnnew.com
It has been three years since the scandal broke in Boston, exposing the Roman Catholic Church and its decades of sexual abuse. The media scrutiny focused mainly on the acts of priests abusing children and the bishops who knowingly harbored sexual predators. What was not discussed was the ever-growing culture of sexual abuse within the ranks of the clergy and Catholic orders such as the Irish Christian Brothers.
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"I am a survivor of sexual abuse and cultural abuse and so are you. We are all victims," said the Rev. Robert M. Hoatson, a victim of sexual abuse as a member of the Irish Christian Brothers, an educational vocation. "Unless we acknowledge, comprehend and do something about the abuse sexual and otherwise that is rooted in the culture of our church, nothing substantial will change." Hoatson, the chaplin of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., spoke of his experiences with sexual abuse at the monthly Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) meeting, held at Christ Church Tuesday night.
VOTF, a worldwide organization with more than 30,000 members, was formed in response to the sexual abuse scandal. Tom Malarkey formed the Greenwich affiliate, which has a floating membership of about 50, in October 2002. Hoatson, 53, joined the Irish Christian Brothers after high school in September 1970. Trying his best to follow the teachings of his superior, Hoatson was told throughout his first year of studying that he was "too cold and needed warming up."
PORTLAND (ME)
MaineToday.com
By CLARKE CANFIELD
PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine supreme court on Friday ruled that the state must make public investigative records about 18 now-deceased Roman Catholic priests who were accused of sexual abuse of minors.
In a split decision, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the attorney general must release the files to Blethen Maine Newspapers, owner of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel newspapers.
However, the names and identifying information of family members, friends and others associated with the cases must be removed from the records when they are released.
Justices struggled with balancing the public interest in the priest sexual abuse scandal with privacy concerns for witnesses, family members and sexual abuse victims through the decades.
OAKLAND (CA)
FoxReno.com
POSTED: 4:09 pm PDT April 22, 2005
OAKLAND -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa and a Sacramento-area woman announced a $3.3 million settlement Friday of a civil suit that alleged defrocked priest Donald Kimball sexually abused the woman for six years starting when she was 15.
"He messed me up for the rest of my life. I hope by telling my story I can help other people," said 44-year-old Roberta Saum on the steps of the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse by Lake Merritt in Oakland.
Attorneys said nine sexual abuse cases against the Santa Rosa diocese were still pending, four of them involving Kimball.
"This case against Mr. Kimball was arguably the worst of the cases now facing the diocese. With the resolution of this claim, we are now hopeful that we can expedite settlement of the nine cases that remain," diocese attorney Dan Galvin said.
Saum's case was scheduled to go to trial May 11 after two years of settlement talks. Settlement talks on the remaining cases were scheduled for May 12, Galvin said.
IRELAND
One in Four
Marie O'Halloran - Irish Times
The commission investigating child abuse at State-run residential institutions will no longer have to carry out full hearings on every allegation of abuse, under legislation introduced in the Dáil yesterday.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said witnesses would be called to give evidence of the abuse they suffered, to the extent that the investigation committee deemed necessary. However, people who are not called to give evidence can opt to go to the commission's confidential committee.
Ms Hanafin also informed the House that to date some €229 million has been paid out by the Redress Board to more than 3,000 victims with an average award of €78,000. More than 5,900 applications have been made to the Redress Board. The Minister also said that the commission intends to make its report before its May 2008 deadline.
CLIFTON (NJ)
PRWeb
Clifton, NJ (PRWEB) April 22, 2005 -- More than three years has elapsed since a survivor of clergy sex abuse disclosed being victimized to former Bishop Frank J. Rodimer and the Diocese of Paterson. However, the survivor feels he is no closer to resolution, healing, and restorative justice.
Steven M. Rabi, age 57, a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was abused as a child by former priest Joseph W. Molloy over a period of time starting when Rabi was an altar boy and student at St. Nicholas R. C. School in Passaic, New Jersey. Molloy subsequently left the priesthood, married, and raised a number of adopted children. Molloy was a child abuse investigator for the State of Florida and died in 2000.
Rabi was also abused by a second priest at the same parish. That priest, Francis X. Dennehy, remained a priest with the Diocese of Paterson and died in the 1980s.
Rabi is represented by in a lawsuit filed against the Diocese in New Jersey Superior Court by Phillipsburg NJ attorney Gregory G. Gianforcaro. Gianforcaro represented twenty-six plaintiffs in a clergy sex abuse action against several Paterson diocesan priests. The lawsuit settled earlier this year for more than $5 Million dollars.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
07:57 PM CDT on Thursday, April 21, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
A Dallas legislator is questioning the motives of people who are pushing a bill that would eliminate Texas' time limit on prosecuting child molestation cases.
The activism of clergy abuse victims, for instance, "brought down the Catholic Church, pretty much," state Rep. Terri Hodge said this week. "And it was more about lawsuits than it was protecting our precious little children."
Ms. Hodge is on a House committee that has left in limbo the proposed legislation, which has bipartisan support. An identical bill is stalled in a Senate committee. Supporters say they could win passage on the floor of both chambers.
The legislation applies only to the criminal statute of limitations, not to deadlines for filing civil cases. But Ms. Hodge suggested that the matters were related.
"It all gets back to lawsuits," she said at a late-night subcommittee hearing she chaired Monday, a recording of the event shows.
CALDWELL (NJ)
The Recorder
RITA ANNAN-BRADY 04/21/2005
CALDWELL The name of the Rev. Gerald Ruane is one that is well known, not only locally but also on a national and international scale.
The former Catholic priest, once director of the Sacred Heart Institute of Healing on Roseland Avenue, and a former professor at Caldwell College, was a renowned member of the charismatic healing movement for decades. He has written numerous books and produced audiotapes, videos and speeches on the practice of spiritual healing.
But, according to the Archdiocese of Newark, Ruane has been out of the ministry since 2002 following an allegation of sexual misconduct 25 years ago that the Archdiocesan Review Board found to be credible.
So when it was learned that the former priest concelebrated Mass at the Shrine of St. Joseph in the Stirling section of Long Hill Township on Holy Thursday, March 24 this year, Michael Iatesta, the alleged victim of Ruane, was moved to speak out.
Through his pastoral counselor, the Rev. Robert Hoatson, Iatesta complained to the Newark Archdiocese about Ruane’s role in performing the Mass.
This was followed up by a press conference hosted by SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) in Secaucus on Friday, April 15, at which Iatesta laid out his complaints about Father Ruane’s actions in concelebrating the Mass and about the alleged abuse that led up to his being defrocked.
COLUMBUS (OH)
Toledo Blade
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
COLUMBUS - A pair of Catholic bishops held a rare private meeting with the speaker of the Ohio House this week to voice concerns over proposed legislation creating a brief opportunity for lawsuits to be filed in decades-old child sexual abuse cases.
Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo and Bishop Frederick Campbell of Columbus had requested the Wednesday meeting with Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering), a rare instance of bishops personally involving themselves in Ohio's legislative process.
Sally Oberski, spokesman for the Toledo Diocese, confirmed the meeting took place and that the abuse bill was the subject. She declined to further discuss the meeting. Bishop Campbell's office said he was unavailable for comment.
"They expressed serious concerns about provisions of the bill ... ," said Scott Borgemenke, Mr. Husted's chief of staff.
"I would consider bishops to be much like CEOs. They do not get involved in the day-to-day process of lobbying, but occasionally CEOs and bishops show up for things that are important," he said.
BELLINGHAM (MA)
Milford Daily News
By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff
Friday, April 22, 2005
BELLINGHAM -- After three years of battling extradition from Canada on charges of molesting altar boys, the Rev. Paul Desilets has abandoned his fight and is expected to step back on American soil today.
Desilets, 81, is scheduled to arrive at Logan Airport in Boston this afternoon and will face arraignment Monday in Worcester Superior Court on the 32 criminal charges he had sought to avoid, said Bellingham Police Detective Sgt. Richard Perry.
Desilets, a former priest at Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Bellingham, launched his final appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada last month. Then, just days later, he changed course and filed notice he was abandoning his appeal, Worcester District Attorney John Conte said.
Although pleased, Conte said his office kept the development quiet because he was skeptical the fight was really over.
WISCONSIN
Green Bay Press-Gazette
Brown County Circuit Court Judge J.D. McKay Thursday turned down a bid to release a priest accused of sexual assault on a signature bond, essentially a promise to come back to court.
Donald Buzanowski, 62, faces two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly fondling a 10-year-old boy in 1988 while serving as a counselor at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay.
The alleged victim made allegations in 1990, but the case was not prosecuted because of a lack of evidence. Another man came forward last year with allegations from about the same time period and prosecutors were able to develop other information, prompting the charges to be filed in October 2004.
PENNSYLVANIA
Daily and Sunday Review
By Aaron Cahall and Pat Abdalla 04/22/2005
A Milan pastor already accused of sex-abuse charges involving an underage parishioner in Bradford County remains under investigation for similar charges in New York state. A pre-trial conference concerning the Pennsylvania charges is set for today.
Wesley A. Nichols, 44, of Milan is charged with sexual abuse in the third degree and endangering the welfare of a child, according to investigator Mike Meyers, of the New York State Police in Owego, N.Y.
Nichols is the pastor of the Church on the Hill in Ulster Township, and took a leave of absence from his duties in October.
A preliminary arraignment for Nichols was held April 7, according to Town of Barton Justice Clarence Van Horn, who said the date for the next hearing in the case has not been set as the case is still under investigation.
DELAWARE
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER / The News Journal
04/22/2005Ed Burke, of Avondale, Pa., chose not to sue the Catholic Church over the sexual abuse he suffered as a young boy from a priest in Iowa in the 1940s. Instead, he has worked to support other victims to help the church understand the continuing effects of the clergy abuse scandal that emerged publicly in the United States in 2002.
Thursday night Burke, 68, was among about 30 people who attended a meeting in Milltown of a new Delaware affiliate of the national group known as Voice of the Faithful. The national group, which claims members in all 50 states and more than 30 countries, started in 2002 with three objectives: to support victims of clergy sexual abuse, to support priests of integrity and to work for structural change in the church.
About 60 members meet regularly with the 2-year-old Coastal Delmarva chapter in Bethany Beach, said chairman John Sullivan. They have heard from victims of abuse and have tried to encourage priests who serve faithfully. This past Easter, Sullivan said, the group mailed about 250 cards to priests in the Diocese of Wilmington, thanking them for their service.
Members of both Delaware chapters said they are approaching the election of Pope Benedict XVI with a "wait and see" sort of optimism. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the new pope, helped steer the Vatican's response to the sex abuse allegations.
WORCESTER (MA)
Woonsocket Call
JOHN LARRABEE, Staff Writer 04/22/2005
WORCESTER -- An 81-year-old Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing Bellingham altar boys two decades ago will face arraignment Monday in Worcester Superior Court.
The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, who worked at Bellingham’s Our Lady of Assumption Parish from 1974 to 1984, faces 26 sexual assault charges, according to a statement from the Worcester County district attorney’s office.
His arraignment could mean an eventual resolution to the charges, which first came to light more than three years ago when sexual abuse charges were rocking the Roman Catholic Church, and especially the Archdiocese of Boston.
Desilets was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury in May 2002, but for a time he avoided prosecution because he was living in Canada. Authorities in Quebec arrested him, but he resisted extradition to the United States, citing his old age and health problems.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John Grogan
Inquirer Columnist
Dear Cardinal Rigali:
Me again. I don't mean to be a pest, but I thought you would want to know what Catholics across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are saying about your decision to concelebrate a requiem Mass in Rome last week with the disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law.
As I wrote to you Tuesday, you were the only one of the 11 American cardinals to attend the Mass, even knowing what you know - that in 2002 Law was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston after it was revealed he had repeatedly shuffled known sexual predators of children among parishes in secret where they were again put in contact with unsuspecting children.
I have heard from a lot of Catholics since then. Some were of the fallen-away variety, some of the cafeteria variety, others bitter and estranged. But mostly I heard from devout, practicing Catholics who have not given up on their church, even as many voiced deep discouragement and anger at the men leading it.
Anger at the late Pope John Paul II for not banishing Law to a remote monastery but rather handing him a plum Vatican post; at the Vatican for allowing this symbol of everything nefarious in the church's handling of the child-abuse scandal the honor of saying a high-profile Mass; and, not least, at you for standing beside him.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— Unless there is a last-minute hitch, the Rev. Paul M. Desilets will be extradited from Canada to Massachusetts today to face multiple charges alleging he sexually abused boys and young men when he was assigned to Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Bellingham.
Sgt. Richard Perry of the Bellingham Police Department, who has handled the investigation since two men came to see him on Jan. 18, 2002, said he has been told that Rev. Desilets is expected to fly into Logan International Airport in Boston this afternoon. He will be met by officers from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department.
“I have been told he is going directly to the Worcester County House of Correction,” Sgt. Perry said yesterday. “I won’t relax until he is here.”
District Attorney John J. Conte said yesterday that he was told by the U.S. State Department that Rev. Desilets, who previously appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court to stop his extradition, abandoned the appeal April 7 and will be returned to Massachusetts.
He will be arraigned Monday in Worcester Superior Court on 32 indictments, Mr. Conte said.
“It was a long road,” he said yesterday of his office’s work to get the priest returned to Massachusetts from Canada.
Rev. Desilets, who is 81 and said to be in poor health, fought the extradition through the courts. Mr. Conte gave credit to William Butler and Jeffrey Travers, assistant district attorneys, for their work in bringing the extradition to completion. Mr. Butler had worked on the extradition several years ago of the Rev. Joseph A. Fredette, who fled Worcester for Canada after Worcester police filed criminal charges alleging he sexually abused boys in his care at the Come Alive program during the 1970s, Sgt. Perry said.
Rev. Desilets was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury in 2002 on 16 charges of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14, 10 charges of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, and six charges of assault and battery. The charges are based on allegations made to police and the district attorney’s office by 18 men from the Bellingham area. Sgt. Perry was joined in the investigation by Christopher Ferreira, also a detective for Bellingham police, and Trooper Thomas Ryan, formerly of the Massachusetts State Police detective unit assigned to Mr. Conte’s office.
Rev. Desilets, a member of the Order of St. Viateur, was priest at Our Lady of the Assumption until he left for Canada in 1984. He was under the jurisdiction of the Boston archdiocese, but the criminal charges were handled by Mr. Conte’s office because Bellingham is within his jurisdiction.
The priest was found living in a retirement home in Joliet, Quebec, when Canadian police arrested him in October 2002 at the request of American officials in connection with the Worcester County indictments. Sgt. Perry said the first two victims reported the alleged abuse in 2002 and as the information was reported by media, other victims contacted Bellingham police. “This was my baby,” Sgt. Perry said.
Mr. Conte said Rev. Desilets served in Bellingham from 1974 to 1984. He thanked the Department of Justice for helping in what he called a “complicated matter.” He began the extradition process on Aug. 22, 2002, by making a formal request to the Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs.
WATERLOO (IA)
Courier
By PAT KINNEY, Assistant City Editor
WATERLOO --- A second lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque alleging sexual abuse by a deceased Waterloo priest who served as a pastor here in the 1950s and early '60s.
Deborah A. Gindhart of Indiana filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids this week, alleging the Rev. Patrick McElliott abused her during the 1962-63 school year, when she was 13 years old and in the eighth grade at St. John's School.
It is the 11th sexual abuse lawsuit filed against the archdiocese within the past year. It is the second involving McElliott, pastor at St. John's parish from 1954 to 1963, who died in Waterloo in 1987.
All but one of the suits have been filed by Waterloo lawyers Chad Swanson and Tom Staack of the Dutton law firm. They also are representing Gindhart. The alleged incidents in all the suits occured from the early 1950s through the early 1980s. All the accused priests are either deceased or no longer functioning as priests within the archdiocese.
PORTLAND (OR)
Catholic Sentinel
04/21/2005 Ed Langlois and Jon Reddy
Meeting in Portland last week, an alliance of more than 200 U.S. Catholic priest leaders eyed the future in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal and the election of a new pope.
One of the nation’s top religion journalists urged members of theAbuse Tracker Federation of Priests Councils not to “retreat into a defensive crouch” as a result of controversy.
If priests close down emotionally, many non-Catholics who yearn for the faith may not be able to make contact with it, said David Gibson, whose new book is The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism.
“It is vital that you remain open and human and vulnerable, true Christs to us all,” Gibson said, thanking priests for their service to the church.
UTAH
KSL
Apr. 21, 2005
The Utah Supreme Court, has unexpectedly revived a lawsuit ... that accuses a Catholic priest, of sexual abuse ... more than 30- years ago.
Father James Rapp ... was a teacher, at Judge Memorial High School ... in the early 1970's.
He's currently in prison ... for other sex crimes, in Oklahoma.
Utah brothers Charles and Ralph Colosimo, say ... Father Rapp abused them.
At the time ... they were 10- and 17- years old. The older brother ... was a student at Judge Memorial.
Lower courts, threw the case out ... because, the statute of limitations had expired.
The Supreme Court ... has now agreed to review the lower court dismissal.
IRELAND
One in Four
by Mary Raftery - Opinion - Irish Times
Five years ago, American nuns were mad as hell and weren't going to take it any more. TheirAbuse Tracker Coalition wrote an open letter to Pope John Paul II: "In your encyclical, That All May Be One (1995), you asked, 'What changes need to be made in the exercise of papal authority that could make the papal office a source of unity rather than division among Christians?' We would like you to consider silencing Cardinal Ratzinger."
The good cardinal had just issued his extraordinary denunciation of all other religious faiths as "gravely deficient". His notorious Dominus Iesus document was produced by the Catholic Church's latter-day Inquisition, better known in polite circles as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. ...
Ratzinger's dismissal of the uproar caused by revelations of clerical child sexual abuse and cover-up as "a planned campaign" was deeply duplicitous - of all the cardinals in Rome, he had a uniquely accurate picture of the enormous scale of the problem, as he had instructed that all reports of clerical abuse were to be sent directly to his office.
IRELAND
One in Four
By Shane Phelan – The Star
Pope Benedict XVI was a key advisor to Cardinal Connell during his much criticised handling of clerical child sex abuse cases.
The former Archbishop of Dublin yesterday told The Star that his handling of the affair was greatly influenced by the advice of the new Pope.
The revelation comes as the new Pope is rocked by claims that he deliberately shelved a probe into a former trainee priest’s abuse claims for six years. Jose Babra says his allegations were hushed up.
In one case, it emerged the Archbishop’s office was informed of abuse allegations against Fr Noel Reynolds five years before action was taken. In the interim Fr Reynolds was appointed a hospital chaplain while hospital chiefs were unaware of the allegations. Fr Reynolds who has since died had admitted abusing over 100 children in Dublin parishes.
NEW YORK
ABC News
NEW YORK, April 21, 2005 -- An investigation into the sexual abuse allegations against a high-ranking priest of the Roman Catholic Church has been reopened, seven years after the formal complaint was first filed with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, according to people familiar with the case.
Ratzinger's office ordered the case against the Rev. Marcial Maciel reopened in December, around the time there was growing speculation Ratzinger was a leading candidate to be the next pope. In fact, a Vatican investigator began taking sworn statements from the alleged victims just two weeks ago in New York, the day Pope John Paul II died, according to sources close to the case.
The men who brought the allegations against Maciel had thought their case was dead, having heard nothing but silence in the seven years since they brought the allegations to the attention of Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.
"They knelt and kissed his ring, filing these charges in his tribunal, and after that it was simply stuffed, it was shelved," said Jason Berry, co-author with Gerald Renner of a book on the case, "Vows of Silence."
"This pope is at a crossroads. He has to resolve the Maciel case or it will stalk him like a shadow in the sun."
BRITAIN
Journal
nlnews@inuk.co.uk
21 April 2005
A SEX offender has been banned from serving at a Catholic church in Crouch End after complaints from furious parents.
Parents at St Peter In Chains, Womersly Road, called a meeting with Bishop George Stack after it emerged that Brian Parnell had assisted as an altar server.
Mr Parnell, 67, of Chestnut Road, Crouch End - a world-class pianist - was released from prison in December 2004.
He had been found guilty in June 2004 of attempting to incite a male under 16 to commit a serious sexual act and of trying to incite a male under 16 to commit an act of gross indecency. He was jailed for two years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
WAUKESHA (WI)
GM Today
By DENNIS A. SHOOK - GM Today Staff
April 21, 2005
WAUKESHA - Milwaukee Catholics should be feeling some natural gemŸtlichkeit for Pope Benedict XVI, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Tuesday in comments at St. Francis Seminary.
Relating to Milwaukee’s rich German tradition, Dolan said the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, from Germany, was a naturally popular and friendly man anyway.
"He is an engaging personality and a towering intellect," Dolan said. ...
The archbishop also pointed out that as a cardinal, Ratzinger had been the lead Vatican official dealing with cases of reported sexual abuse by priests.
Peter Isely, head of the Milwaukee chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he was getting mixed signals from the man who is the new pope.
The cardinal helped close a Vatican probe into allegations that the prominent founder of the Legion of Christ, the Rev. Marciel Macial, a Mexican priest, sexually abused at least nine boys. But Ratzinger recently ordered the investigation to be reopened.
"They might be at the point where they want to get rid of this" sexual abuse stigma, Isely said after hearing the news Tuesday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Morning Times
By WARREN HOWELER--Times Reporter
OWEGO -- The pastor of the Church on the Hill in Milan is now facing charges in New York state that he had inappropriate contact with a then 14-year-old girl, according to Investigator Mike Meyers from the New York State Police barracks in Owego.
Wesley Allen Nichols, 44, was charged two weeks ago by New York State Police with third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of the child, which are both misdemeanor charges, Meyers said.
The charges against Nichols were filed as a result of allegations that he had inappropriate contact with the girl over the past two years within the Town of Barton, Meyers said.
Nichols was issued an appearance ticket to appear in Town of Barton Court. He appeared in Barton Town Court on April 7 and that appearance was continued to a later date, Meyers said.
Nichols was charged last year by Pennsylvania State Police with three counts of corruption of minors -- which are first-degree misdemeanors -- and three counts of indecent assault -- which are second-degree misdemeanors -- after he allegedly fondled and kissed an underage female on three separate occasions over a three-year period between 2001 and 2004.
TUCSON (AZ)
KOLD
TUCSON, Ariz. Another Pima County prosecutor has resigned, but not out of dissatisfaction with her job.
Susan Eazer has worked at the county Attorney's Office for about 20 years.
She'll join attorneys Lynne M. Cadigan and Kim E. Williamson in the next month.
The two attorneys are well-known locally for representing victims of sexual abuse and assault, including cases involving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.
CALIFORNIA
Mercury News
By Brandon Bailey and Robin Evans
Mercury News
In a decision that could raise the cost of settling hundreds of cases still pending against the Roman Catholic Church in California, a jury awarded nearly $6 million Wednesday to three men and a woman who were molested as children by a San Jose priest.
The final award was greater than Bay Area juries have awarded in two other recent trials involving clergy sexual abuse. San Jose attorney Robert L. Mezzetti II, who represents several clergy abuse victims, predicted it would ``clarify the standard'' for negotiating settlements in other cases.
Plaintiffs and jurors exchanged hugs and wept tears of relief after the award was announced in a San Francisco courtroom, where victims of the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard spent the previous two weeks testifying about the aftermath of depression, drug abuse, sexual problems and thoughts of suicide that haunted them into their adult lives.
``This is something so horrible that happened to these people,'' said Katie Atkinson, a 25-year-old juror who spoke after the verdict was announced. ``Just hearing the victims' testimony, what the abuse did to them, it just broke my heart.''
CEDAR RAPIDS (IA)
KWQC
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Another lawsuit claiming sexual abuse by a priest has been filed against the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The lawsuit names Patrick McElliott, who retired in the late 1970s and died in 1987.
The lawsuit was filed this week in U-S District Court in Cedar Rapids by a woman who alleges that she was abused by McElliott in 1963 while she a student at St. John's school in Waterloo.
Her lawsuit claims the church knew or should have known about McElliott and failed to take action.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By MARK REITER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A Toledo Roman Catholic diocesan priest charged in the 1980 slaying of a nun was accused yesterday in a civil lawsuit of repeatedly torturing and raping a young girl in ritual abuse ceremonies at a north-side church.
An unidentified woman claims she was the victim of bizarre demonizing ceremonies conducted by the Rev. Gerald Robinson and other clergy nearly 40 years ago in the basement of St. Adalbert Parish on Warsaw Street.
The woman and her husband, who are listed as Survivor Doe and Spouse Doe, respectively, filed the lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Father Robinson, who is scheduled to go on trial in October for the aggravated murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl; Gerald Mazuchowski, a former lay minister; the diocese; St. Adalbert Parish; the Oblates of St. Francis De Sales, Inc., and fifteen "John Does" were named as defendants.
Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was strangled, then stabbed up to 32 times April 5, 1980, in what has been described as a ritualistic slaying in the sacristy of a chapel in the former Mercy Hospital. Father Robinson is free on a $400,000 property bond.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
The second day of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI did not go well for Phil Saviano, a former East Douglas resident.
Vatican security guards confiscated his sign that identified him as a clergy abuse victim from Boston yesterday and asked him not to display it inside St. Peter’s Square, he said.
Mr. Saviano, a founder of the New England chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is in Rome this week speaking on behalf of clergy sexual abuse victims. He was conducting media interviews on Vatican property when the problems began, he said.
“They were polite. In fact, they said ‘Please don’t show that sign here,’ ” Mr. Saviano said. He came away from the experience feeling that “the Vatican remains a very dark and repressive place, at least on this issue.”
Mr. Saviano, who plans to return to Massachusetts tomorrow night, said he left his hotel for St. Peter’s Square about 12:30 p.m. Rome time yesterday to see if he could speak to European news media about the clergy sexual abuse issue.
He wore around his neck a 5-inch-by-7-inch grammar school photo of himself at the age he said he was sexually abused by the Rev. David A. Holley at St. Denis parish, East Douglas. Rev. Holley, still a priest of the Worcester Diocese, is serving a 275-year prison term in New Mexico after pleading guilty to sexual abusing several boys in that state.
Under the photo, he wrote SNAP and followed it with “Our greatest strength is the light of truth.” Another sheet of green poster paper said “Boston Clergy Abuse Survivor” and he included a copy of an Italian newspaper story written about him in Corriere della Sera, Milan, in 2002.
“I thought that this would help me connect with the Italian media who might be there, and also give me a bit of credibility since I had already been given a feature story in an Italian paper,” he said.
Mr. Saviano said he stood outside the barrier separating St. Peter’s Square from a public street, but on the same side where television cameras were set up on Via del Sant’ Uffizio.
The problems started when a man from Switzerland walked over to speak to him.
“He was from some sort of human rights group,” Mr. Saviano said. The man attempted to give him a sheet of paper with his message and Web address.
“Two security guards came over and told him he could not pass out any fliers there,” Mr. Saviano said. “Very quickly, two other guards came up in a golf cart type of vehicle and he was asked to move to the outside of the fence, where I was,” Mr. Saviano said. The guards were from the Vatican and not Rome police, he said.
Mr. Saviano said he spoke with reporters from CNN, Australian television, Panama TV and an ABC TV affiliate from Houston, as well as with a woman from Vatican Radio. “She and I had had a cordial conversation, even though she was effusive about the new pope. I told her that he needed to be a lot tougher on the enabling bishops than the last pope. She said he would be, and that if I gave him a chance that I’d be pleased with his performance,” he said.
“Shortly after that, three guards came over to me and asked who was the kid in the picture,” he said. They told him he could not hold up the Boston victim sign, and he could not show people the Italian newspaper story, he said.
“Then they said that if I wanted to hold a sign, I would have to go to the police station and get a permit for it,” he said. The guards were polite but firm, he said.
He took the photo from around his neck and put the photo, sign and newspaper story in his bag.
“As I was leaving, I gave two of the officers a copy of the newspaper story so they would have a better idea of who it was they were going to silence,” he said. A television news reporter from the NBC affiliate in Chicago witnessed the interactions and pulled him aside for an interview, he said.
“On camera, I did not talk about the problem with the security guard. Her cameraman was reluctant to even film me at that point, probably because he was afraid the guards would start harassing him,” Mr. Saviano said. He focused his on-camera comments on the abuse issue and the new pope, he said.
After this interview, he was heading back to the subway stop and began walking diagonally across St. Peter’s Square. He stopped to take a photo of the fountain. “At that point, two more guards descended upon me and demanded that I let them search my bags,” he said.
Mr. Saviano had with him a briefcase on a shoulder strap and a small canvas gym bag with his camera. “They were searching for the green ‘Boston Clergy Abuse Victim’ sign and when they found it they confiscated it,” he said.
FARMINGTON (UT)
Deseret Morning News
By Linda Thomson
Deseret Morning News
FARMINGTON — The case against a former law enforcement officer charged with molesting young girls might be heading to the Utah Supreme Court to appeal a district judge's refusal to allow a change of venue.
That means a district court trial set for next week will not take place as scheduled.
Aaron Marcos Montoya, 33, was charged with 10 counts of aggravated child sexual abuse after Syracuse police investigated reports that Montoya allegedly molested nine girls in his home, during outings or in his Primary class at church.
The girls range in age from 3 to 11. Soon after the charges were filed, Montoya was fired from his job with the Salt Lake County sheriff's office.
Second District Judge Thomas Kay on Wednesday denied a motion by Montoya's lawyer, Ed Brass, to move the trial to another venue. Brass said he plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. If the high court accepts the case, nothing will happen on a district court level until the Supreme Court makes a ruling.
VATICAN CITY
Chicago Sun-Times
April 21, 2005
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter
VATICAN CITY -- When Cardinal Francis George stepped forward to greet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time, the newly elected pontiff's first words to Chicago's Roman Catholic archbishop were about the clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American church.
"I went up to him after he was elected, we kiss his hand, and I started speaking in my kind of halting German about promising obedience and love and asking for his prayers in return," George said Wednesday. "And he immediately responded in English -- much better English than I speak German -- that he remembered our conversation and that he would attend to that. So immediately he zeroed in on our last conversation, which was about the sexual abuse scandal."
Not long before the 115 cardinals entered the conclave to elect a new pope on Monday, George said he had had a conversation with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger about the sexual abuse scandal, the new laws that were instated several years ago governing the handling of such cases by the church in the United States, and, as he put it, "the need to maintain the canonical structures that we have used to address the scandal."
The new church laws, which require, among other things, that any Catholic clergyman with even one legitimate accusation of sexual abuse against him be removed from ministry, have to be renewed on a yearly basis.
NEW YORK
New York Newsday
BY DARYL KHAN
STAFF WRITER
April 20, 2005, 8:51 PM EDT
In the wake of allegations that a storefront minister had raped an underage member of his congregation, two more underage boys came forward Wednesday accusing Ronald Jean of sexual abuse, police officials said.
"I don't want to get into the specifics of it," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "Of course this is a sensitive area for the department and also for the victims involved. But in essence two more individuals claim to have been victimized have come forward."
Jean, the pastor of the Soul Restoration of City Light on Flatbush Avenue, was charged yesterday in the rape of a 13-year old boy and allegedly threatening him that God would cripple him if he told anyone about what happened.
Jean is scheduled to appear before a grand jury tomorrow morning, where the Brooklyn district attorney can add the charges for the new victims who came forward.
NEW YORK
New York Post
April 21, 2005 -- Two teenage boys came forward yesterday to claim they were sexually assaulted by a Brooklyn pastor who is already charged with sodomizing a 13-year-old boy, police said yesterday.
The latest alleged victims, ages 13 and 14, went to authorities after learning of the arrest of the Rev. Donald Jean, 35, pastor of the Soul Restoration City of Light church on Flatbush Avenue.
The two boys told investigators they had attended Jean's storefront church and that he had sodomized them, law-enforcement sources said.
Sources also revealed that in 2001, Jean was brought up on charges that he roused his then-21-year-old male roommate from sleep and sexually assaulted him inside their Brooklyn home.
By Bernadette Brooten
Thursday, April 21, 2005 - Updated: 03:27 AM EST
I met the who would become Pope Benedict XVI in 1972. I was a young, nervous Catholic theology student attending a seminar in Germany on papal infallibility. The teacher, Hans Kung, argued that the pope is not infallible, while Joseph Ratzinger, a guest in the seminar, argued that he is. I critiqued Ratzinger's position - to his face - on theological grounds. Papal infallibility severely limits the pope from undoing past mistakes, I insisted. ...
U.S. Catholics, still shaken by the clergy sexual abuse crisis, will wonder how Pope Benedict XVI will respond to its implications. In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, meeting in Dallas, passed a series of rules to address allegations of sexual abuse by priests, but later that year a commission composed of four Vatican and four U.S. bishops weakened these reforms. The revisions included a narrowed definition of sexual abuse, defined diocesan review boards of lay people as purely consultative and limited the requirement that bishops report allegations of the sexual abuse of minors to the civil authorities.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
By Chris Parker
Of The Morning Call
A Schuylkill County Catholic priest charged with having hundreds of child pornography photos, books, magazines, videotapes and DVDs at his home and a rental storage unit and with embezzling church money has agreed to plead guilty.
The Rev. Ronald J. Yarrosh, 57, who was an assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven and on the advisory board of the parish grade school when charged in April 2004, will enter the plea Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court, a plea agreement says.
He is to plead guilty to theft, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility and sexual abuse of children.
The plea agreement says Yarrosh will face three to 23 months in prison, followed by 20 months of parole and 10 years of probation, and must pay $6,617 in restitution to St. Ambrose Church and $17,012 to the Catholic Mutual Group, a self-insurance fund of the Catholic Church.
Yarrosh will undergo a sexual offender evaluation before being sentenced, Assistant District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon said.
Baltimore Sun
By Robert Little
SunAbuse Tracker Staff
Originally published April 21, 2005
With his papacy just minutes old and the faithful in St. Peter's Square still unaware of his selection, Pope Benedict XVI greeted Chicago Cardinal Francis George in English and told him he was focused on the issue that has engrossed the church's American leadership for three years - sexual abuse by priests.
The exchange was brief, George said yesterday, and the substance of the new pope's message - that he favors re-approval of a church policy on abuse set to expire this year - was modest.
But abuse victims, and groups that have advocated church reform since the abuse scandals became public three years ago, said they were encouraged yesterday. By addressing quickly and directly an issue of foremost interest to the American arm of the church, the new pope seems to have shown a sharper interest in the matter than he had when he was still known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, they said.
"I'd like to tell you I'm optimistic, but let's say I'm happy that he seems to have given an indication that he understands the gravity of the problem," said Linda Pieczynski, spokeswoman for Call To Action, an American organization that advocates reform of the Catholic church.
CALIFORNIA
CBS News
SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2005
(AP) A jury Wednesday awarded nearly $5.8 million in damages to three men and a woman who were childhood victims of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest.
The archdiocese acknowledged at the start of the trial that although church officials knew in the 1970s that the Rev. Joseph Pritchard had been accused of molesting young parishioners in San Jose, the church did not investigate the allegations and took no steps to protect the children.
As a result, the only question put to jurors in the two and a half week long trial was how much the plaintiffs should be compensated. The plaintiffs had sought $20 million; the archdiocese suggested $1 million.
"The church was forced to admit that molestation had been occurring and they should have known what was occurring," said Larry Drivon, an attorney representing one of the victims.
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
April 20, 2005
I received the following e-mail from Joe Stong, a former seminarian with the Legionaries of Christ and current member of Regnum Christi, regarding the assertions of authors Jason Berry and Gerald Renner in their 2004 book Vows of Silence:
I met [Jason Berry and Gerald Renner] in Dallas in June, 2002 at a reunion of former Legionary seminarians. They claimed they'd been invited, whereas the anti-LC, former LC priest who ran the show claimed they 'just showed up.'
So someone wasn't telling the truth.
I discussed the Legion and Fr. Maciel with them at length — as an eyewitness — during which they repeated many charges which even on face value they had no proof for, other than the accuser's word for it. No circumstantial, physical, or character logical proof of Fr. Maciel being bad. No reference was ever made to his actual words, works, or achievements. It became evident that they had no independent understanding of what a religious congregation of Pontifical rite is supposed to be, much less what the Legion is per se, but were basing everything on what the accusers claimed was so. ...
Jason Berry responded to Stong's e-mail as follows:
Three Legionaries of Christ people arrived uninvited at the first Regain conference and were thrown out because the hosts considered them spies. Renner and I interviewed the three about 45 minutes before they left; they were transparent apologists for Maciel and his movement. That they tried to sneak in says something, does it not?
The Legionaries specialize in disinformation — about Maciel, the internal dynamics of the order, and the enemies they must create in order to continue raising money when honest people question or expose things about the man and his movement. I stand by what I have written on these matters and speak for my colleague Gerald Renner in saying so. 'Vows of Silence' is the product of many years' careful research. No one of repute in history or journalism has disproved what we have written. The Legionaries' attack on us is one prong in their disinformation campaign which informs us on what kind of people they are.
WASHINGTON (DC)
The Tidings
By Agostino Bono
The U.S. bishops have hired the second female law enforcement officer to head their office that is responsible for helping them apply their child sex abuse prevention policies.
She is Teresa Kettelkamp, who helped conduct the annual audits in 2003 and 2004 of U.S. dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies to monitor compliance with the bishops' abuse policies.
The announcement of her appointment as executive director of the U.S. bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection was made April 15 in a statement by Msgr. William Fay, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Kettelkamp retired in 2003 as deputy director of the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services after 29 years with the Illinois police force. She was the first woman to attain the rank of colonel in the Illinois State Police.
Kettelkamp began her new post at USCCB headquarters in Washington April 13. She replaced Kathleen McChesney, who resigned in February after heading the office since its inception in December 2002. McChesney was the highest ranking female official in the FBI before taking the USCCB post.
CALIFORNIA
The Mercury News
Jurors decided today that three men and a women who were molested in the 1970s by a popular pastor at St. Martin of Tours church in San Jose should receive $6 million in damages.
The amount fell short of the $15 million sought by the victims, who presented testimony and medical evidence that they suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress and other emotional difficulties as a result of being sexually abused by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard when they were children.
But the $6 million was larger than previous settlements received by those abused by Pritchard -- and could set the standard for the multitude of other Bay Area priest abuse cases yet to come. The amount also far surpassed what attorneys for the Roman Catholic church had suggested: that each defendent was owed damages ranging from $80,000 to $420,000.
Sydney Morning Herald
By Alistair Bell
April 21, 2005
A former trainee priest who has accused the founder of an influential Catholic order of committing sexual abuse said that the new Pope deliberately shelved an investigation into his claims for six years.
Jose Barba is one of eight ex-members of the Rome-based Legion of Christ, most of whom are Mexican, who accuse the order's founder, Marcial Maciel, of sexually abusing them from the 1940s to the 1960s.
The allegations are too old to be investigated under criminal law but the nine brought a suit against Maciel, 85, under the Vatican's canonical law in 1998.
The case was filed at the Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope.
VATICAN CITY
The News Observer
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP RELIGION WRITER
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Chicago Cardinal Francis George said Wednesday that new Pope Benedict XVI indicated he would preserve a new U.S. church law that gives bishops broader power to discipline sexually abusive priests.
The policy, adopted nearly three years ago at the height of the clergy molestation crisis, was under Vatican review when Pope John Paul II died. Advocates for victims worried it would be weakened.
But George said he had spoken about the policy with the former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger a few days before the conclave, where Ratzinger was elected pontiff Tuesday.
George said he stressed the need to maintain those new powers, which allow church leaders to bar guilty priests from any church work without going through the lengthy Vatican process of removing the cleric from the priesthood.
NEW YORK
New York Daily News
BY KERRY BURKE and ROBERT F. MOORE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
A Brooklyn minister allegedly shook a 13-year-old boy from his sleep and raped him as the teen cried for help, authorities said yesterday.
The Rev. Donald Jean, 35, was arrested Monday night - two days after his Flatbush parishioners alerted cops to the alleged abuse, authorities said.
The boy was examined at Brookdale University Hospital before the minister was charged, and cops were investigating whether more boys from Jean's parish may have been molested, police said.
A law enforcement source said the boy was sexually assaulted six times between April 1 and 13 at Jean's Carnarsie home.
CBS News
On sex abuse scandals:
"In the Church, priests also are sinners. But I am personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign, as the percentage of these offenses among priests is not higher than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower.
"In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1 percent of priests are guilty of acts of this type. The constant presence of these news items does not correspond to the objectivity of the information nor to the statistical objectivity of the facts."
—from "Cardinal Ratzinger Sees a Media Campaign Against Church," Zenit.org, December 3, 2002
LEBANON (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Jennifer Edwards
Enquirer staff writer
LEBANON - The longtime minister of a Baptist church and former Maineville council member was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for molesting seven children in his care.
Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge James Flannery also labeled Claude Steven Harmon, 48, a sexual predator.
That means Harmon must register his address with the sheriff's office where he lives upon release from prison and every 30 days for the rest of his life.
Harmon's sentencing came after he pleaded guilty earlier Tuesday to 10 counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual imposition for molesting the children over the 12 years he served as pastor at Maineville Baptist Church, prosecutors said.
NEW YORK
7Online.com
(New York-AP, April 20, 2005) — A Brooklyn minister is in police custody on charges of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy who attended his church.
Police say 35-year-old Donald Jean was arrested and charged with first degree sexual abuse after members of Soul Revelation City of Light Church alerted authorities.
The boy is said to have been molested six times between April 1st and 13th at Jean's Canarsie home. Authorities believe the minister may have abused other children who stayed at his house.
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The introductions were swift Tuesday morning -- white smoke rose, and Pope Benedict XVI appeared on television saying he would entrust himself to the prayers of the faithful.
Many North Texans said they were joyful to be a part of history unfolding, even from afar. Some believe they already know what kind of pope Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger will be -- conservative, strong, a leader. Others say they feel uncertainty and misgivings about the election of Benedict XVI. ...
Leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said they hope that Benedict XVI will discipline bishops who were complicit in the U.S. sex abuse scandal. Since 1950, about 4 percent of priests have been accused of abuse, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Kristopher Galland, director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of SNAP, said he had wanted a pope who would put in place a less arrogant leadership in the U.S. church. He said he doubts that will happen under Benedict XVI.
"I'm not very hopeful that anything is going to change in this papacy," Galland said.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
How many altar boys have served in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson the past 40 years?
To estimate how many young people may have been sexually abused by priests here, lawyers for the diocese yesterday were told to determine how many young people may have come into contact with diocese priests.
"We want to know how many altar boys there were, how many youths who met at parishes through Boy Scouts and other youth groups," said A. Bates Butler III, whose job in the diocese's bankruptcy case is to estimate the number of sex abuse claims that could be filed.
"We are concerned there are more people out there that have not come forward," he said.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Marlar said he wants lawyers to come up with an estimated number of claimants - a key to a settlement - in two to three weeks.
INDIANA
The Journal Gazette
By Rebecca S. Green
The Journal Gazette
With evident pleasure, Bishop John M. D’Arcy said the College of Cardinals elected the right man in picking Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as successor to John Paul II as the 265th pope and bishop of Rome.
D’Arcy, the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, spent 45 minutes last May with the man who is now Pope Benedict XVI and said he found him to be a brilliant, but humble, man.
Inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday afternoon, D’Arcy praised the conclave for its selection, saying it was the best choice. ...
Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne Burke, the past head of theAbuse Tracker Lay Review Board tasked with examining the scope of abuse by clergy within the Catholic Church in the U.S., spoke highly of a meeting with Ratzinger about the crisis.
“He reached out … when we asked if we could discuss the issue,” she said. “Very positive things happened as a result of our meeting.”
Burke said she could not say enough about Ratzinger’s reaction to what they told him.
“He met with us, listened to us, and acted on it,” she said. “Can we ask anything more? I don’t think so.”
MAINE
Portland Press Herald
By TESS NACELEWICZ, Portland Press Herald Writer
Maragarita Heward of Gorham has long admired Joseph Ratzinger. She heard him preach in the 1970s in her native Bavaria and shook his hand once after church.
Maragarita Heward is overjoyed that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday.
It's not just that he's from her native Bavaria and she once shook his hand; she had long admired Ratzinger and his stance on issues in the Roman Catholic Church.
"I think, and have always thought, so highly of the man," said Heward, 56, of Gorham. "I don't think I've been this happy since the birth of my last child."
But Paul Kendrick of Cumberland is unhappy about the choice of Ratzinger, who is known as a doctrinal hard-liner.
"I wish I felt more optimism. It was really a disappointment today," said Kendrick, a member of Voice of the Faithful, a group of lay Catholics that seeks church reform and advocates for victims of sexual abuse by priests.
"The major disappointment to me is that the issues that need to be discussed (in the church) won't be discussed," he said.
Boston Herald
By Franci Richardson
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - Updated: 03:17 AM EST
The newly appointed pope has been known as the late Holy Father's ``enforcer'' and God's Rottweiler because of his conservative stance, but survivors of clergy sexual abuse hope he'll make room in his heart for them.
``We've seen left-wing and right-wing bishops shun victims, minimize the abuse and play legal hardball,'' national spokesman David Clohessy of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said. ``The fact that he's conservative in and of itself doesn't necessarily trouble us.''
What was troubling, Clohessy said, was when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - in December 2002 called the sex-abuse scandal an ``intentional, manipulated . . . desire to discredit the church by the media.''
But the German cardinal redeemed himself in the eyes of survivors last year when he reopened a Vatican probe into the Rev. Marcial Maciel, a priest accused of abuse who remains in good standing with the church.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Peoria Journal Star
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
MILWAUKEE - A former Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage altar boy during trips to Milwaukee in the early 1980s has pleaded guilty and faces sentencing June 3.
Francis Engels, 69, of Kewanee pleaded guilty Friday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Engels, who in 1993 was removed from his ministry within the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, faces up to 10 years in prison.
Engels admitted assaulting the boy, who is now 37, but doesn't recall the incidents alleged to have happened during trips to Milwaukee in 1982 and 1983.
Engels served as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Annawan before stepping down in 1993 amid allegations of sexual molestation from several former parishioners. He also had responsibility for St. Mary's Mission in Hooppole.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Chicago Sun-Times
April 20, 2005
MILWAUKEE -- The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has backed off a policy for now that would have allowed church officials to search the homes or computers of priests accused of sexual misconduct.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Tuesday he would not put the policy into effect without ''vigorous consultation'' with priests.
Dolan had approved the policy in December, and priests were told about it last month. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it knew of no other such policy.
The Rev. Curt Frederick, vicar for clergy in the archdiocese, said he recommended the archbishop put the policy on hold because it had caused a ''firestorm.''
FLORIDA
Miami Herald
BY ELIZABETH BAIER, DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE AND DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@herald.com
When word of a new pope flashed from televisions and radios, computers screens and cellphones, Omar Mejis drove to the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, rosary in hand, to pray among otherwise empty pews.
''I was so excited I got goose bumps,'' Mejis said.
A few miles away in Coconut Grove, Roberto Jimenez strolled at La Ermita de la Caridad Catholic Church -- not to pray, but to show his fiancée the shimmering view of Biscayne Bay. ...
And Pat Desbiens, a South Miami-Dade Catholic still seething over the church's handling of the U.S. priest sexual abuse scandal: ``You know, who cares?''
CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Southtown
"(Benedict) doesn't like open conflict," Schreiter said.
As one story goes, when the cardinals went to Rome at the height of the sexual abuse crisis, a reporter approached then-Cardinal Ratzinger in St. Peter's Square to ask him a question.
"He literally swatted the microphone out of the man's hand," Schreiter said.Simply put, Pope Benedict XVI is shy, and he's going to have to work to open himself up to the faithful in his church.
The Desert Sun
The Associated Press
April 20, 2005
In his own words
ON THE CHURCH'S SEX ABUSE SCANDALS: "I think the essential point is a weakness of faith." - from an interview with EWTN news director Raymond Arroyo in August 2003 as reported by Zenit.org, Aug. 24, 2003
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua Telegraph
By ALBERT McKEON, Telegraph Staff
mckeona@telegraph-nh.com
Published: Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2005
The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the Roman Catholic Church’s 265th pope surprised some of the faithful in this state.
Some were caught off guard by the very fact that the College of Cardinals reached a consensus only one day after starting the voting conclave to appoint a successor to Pope John Paul II. ...
“He was a reformer at Vatican II, but he certainly changed his outlook,” Merrimack resident Carolyn Disco said of Ratzinger’s participation in the church’s ecumenical council that called for change.
Disco disapproves of Benedict’s view of the abuse crisis. She cited Ratzinger’s 1999 dismissal of a canon law petition against an alleged abusive priest, filed by eight former members of the Legion of Christ religious order.
“The hierarchy has become more irrelevant to my faith,” she said. “I have to find it elsewhere. I have to create my own niches, my own spiritual life.”
Disco’s discomfort with Benedict differed from the welcome forwarded to the new pope by Bishop John McCormack, leader of the state’s Catholic Church.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By M. Elizabeth Roman TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— Catholic reactions to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany being elected pope yesterday were split between relief and concern about the conservative message advocated by the newly named Pope Benedict XVI.
Daisy Parrilla, who spoke in Spanish at the dimly lighted entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral yesterday, said she was convinced that the choice was well-made.
“I have faith that this pope will be as good as the last one,” Ms. Parrilla said. She described herself as returning to the church after several years.
Some felt, however, that the hard-line nature of the new pope will translate into continued inaction regarding the clergy child molestation cases.
“I am happy there is a new pope because there was a void for a few days without word,” said Elijah Johnson, who described himself as a nonpracticing Catholic. “But I think the issue with the U.S. priests molesting the children should be dealt with. I think he should come down here to deal with the American dioceses.”
Margaret Adekunle, originally from Nigeria, said she also was very pleased that the church selected a new pope. “But I do hope he addresses the church sex scandal,” she said.
Eric Tucker of Charlton said he believes the Catholic Church has a lot of work ahead of it.
“They have a lot of Catholics to win back,” he said.
Bill Peters of Northboro, who was raised a Catholic but stopped practicing because of concerns with church policies, said he was concerned about what the new pope would mean to the direction of the church.
“The new pope is a disaster. It is a throwback to the Middle Ages. It is very disheartening,” he said.
Mr. Peters also believes that most Catholics don’t know the history of the church and its connection to Mussolini’s Italy, Nazi Germany and other unsavory ties.
“I wish the church could listen to the people who can face the truth and also be Catholic. Catholicism says they are about keeping the truth, but they are the last ones that want to face the truth.”
The church has to start talking about women in the clergy, birth control and condoms because their current view is too restrictive and is forcing moderates to leave, Mr. Peters added.
“I am depressed about the whole thing. My moral background was established in the church, so it hurts me to say these things. I want to believe, but these issues have become like pulling a thread on a sweater: It starts to unravel and can’t be put together again.”
Lee Buckley also expressed concern about the new pope. The Boston resident, visiting Worcester with a friend, attended Boston College and says the nuns of the Catholic Church were very influential in her life when she was young. Ms. Buckley said that although church policies can change over time, she is very concerned about how the sexual abuse scandal was handled by the Vatican.
“I am very sad about the America situation with child molestation and how it was treated by the Vatican,” she said. “There is a generation of children that have been lost because of these priests. It throws the whole church into question. The new pope is not going to relate to serious issues.”
Jamie Mandella of Worcester said he became intimately acquainted with the church while at Catholic school.
“The church has to come up to the times. They can only put things off for so long. The Catholic church has got to grow,” Mr. Mandella said.
“I hope he will do like the last one, who was a man of peace and faith,” said Ali Khalaf of Worcester. However, Mr. Khalaf wants the new pope to make an effort to go to Third World countries advocating an end to war. “I think this will be good for everyone and also the economy.”
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— Bishop Robert J. McManus yesterday said he was pleased that the cardinals chose to quickly elect a new pope, and he called on area Catholics to respond with love and support for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now called Benedict XVI, as he begins his pontificate.
Reaction to the election of Cardinal Ratzinger, who has a reputation as a doctrinal hard-liner, varied in Central Massachusetts yesterday, but people interviewed generally indicated they want to give him a fair chance.
“Many of us have learned a great deal from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith,” said Bishop McManus, head of the Worcester Diocese. “I have had the distinct privilege of meeting him and learning from his writings and his leadership, as I pursued my studies in moral theology in Rome.”
Phil Saviano, formerly of Douglas, was in Rome yesterday as a representative of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. He said in a telephone interview that he had just gotten into his hotel room when word came there was a new pope.
“Rather than run out into the streets and down into St. Peter’s Square, I just watched it on television,” he said.
Mr. Saviano said that since the new pope has a reputation as a conservative, he hopes that he will take a “conservative” approach in ending the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church by ridding it of abusive priests and disciplining bishops that cover up for the abuse.
SNAP is taking a hopeful stance toward Benedict XVI. Cardinal Ratzinger did not appear on their list of who should not be elected pope.
“Cardinal Ratzinger did reopen the church investigation of Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, and that gives us some hope,” he said. Rev. Maciel has been accused by a number of men of sexually abusing them when they were youngsters. The priest retained the support of Pope John Paul II.
Mr. Saviano, who alleges he was sexually abused by the Rev. David A. Holley when he was at St. Denis Parish, East Douglas, said SNAP held a news conference in Italy yesterday to discuss its call for further investigation of Rev. Maciel but attendance was sparse.
“All attention was on the smokestack at that point,” he said.
Brian O’Connell, member of the Worcester School Committee and an active Catholic layman, urged caution in pre-judging the new pope. As a student at the College of the Holy Cross, Mr. O’Connell did a study of Cardinal Ratzinger. The cardinal was active in the Second Vatican Council and at the time was quite progressive in his views. There is always a chance the new pope will moderate some of his conservative views now that he is pope, he said. As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his job was to “enforce orthodoxy” but he has a different role now, Mr. O’Connell said.
William Shea, who heads the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross, said he was surprised at the quick election. He described the new pope as the smartest of the cardinals, especially when it comes to theology. “He’s a first-rate theologian, and I don’t always agree with him but he is first-rate,” he said.
“If people thought Pope John Paul II was conservative, the new pope is even more conservative,” Mr. Shea said. He expects the new pope to enforce his doctrinal standards in the Catholic colleges and universities. He predecessor mandated that all theology professors in Catholic institutions receive a “mandatum” or approval from the local bishop indicating they teach Catholic doctrine. Many schools and professors have ignored the directive and refused to comply.
The Rev. Diane C. Kessler, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, said the council offers its prayers and support to the new pope. “One of the insights Christians and their churches have gained through the ecumenical movement is that actions within any church have ripple effects for all churches,” she said.
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who ran afoul of the church hierarchy over his support of abortion rights when he was a presidential candidate, offered his support. “Like all Catholics, Teresa and I pray for the Holy Father, extend our hopes for the church, and hope that Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate will touch the world in the same way Pope John Paul II did, reaching out to all people everywhere to find common ground, and guiding the faithful in a time of challenge and change across the globe.”
The new pope goes into his pontificate with some legal issues. Daniel J. Shea of Houston, who recently received a $1.4 million settlement from the Worcester and Fort Worth dioceses in connection with alleged abuse of his client by the Rev. Thomas H. Teczar, has named Cardinal Ratzinger personally in a lawsuit involving alleged sexual abuse of three boys by a priest in the Houston diocese.
A judge ordered all parties in the suit, which Mr. Shea said would include the new pope, to attend a conference on Tuesday but the judge yesterday amended the order to make attendance non-mandatory. Now that the former cardinal is head of a sovereign state, Mr. Shea said he believes he will use diplomatic or sovereign immunity to avoid being involved in the suit.
Cardinal Ratzinger was named because of a 2002 memo he wrote indicating that all cases of clergy sexual abuse needed to be sent to Rome and not handled at the diocesan level.
MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON— Massachusetts Catholics, still dealing with the clergy abuse crisis that shook the Archdiocese of Boston, are regarding the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the next pope with cautious optimism - hopeful he understands the hurt caused by sexual abuse of children by priests, but worried that his conservative stance will alienate reform-minded Catholics.
James Post, president of the lay reform group Voice of the Faithful, said he hopes Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, understands the dimensions of the crisis.
"He understood quite clearly that the moral credibility of the church was compromised by having perpetrators of abuse in the church and the cover-up that the bishops were involved in so I think there is at least the hope that he will take some action in these areas," Post said.
The Rev. David Convertino, a priest at St. Anthony's Shrine in downtown Boston, said Ratzinger must continuously address the Boston Archdiocese's sex abuse crisis.
"How a pope does that I'm not quite sure - how he intervenes at a local level like this without interfering, while at the same time supporting the victims of the abuse in the whole diocese," Convertino said. "I'm sure he'll be supportive."
NEW YORK
Newsday
BY DEBORAH MORRIS AND ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
STAFF WRITERS
April 19, 2005, 6:19 PM EDT
A Brooklyn pastor has been charged with sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy who regularly stayed over his house, telling him that God would cripple him for life if he told authorities, police sources said.
Donald Jean, 35, said nothing Monday night as he surrendered to authorities and was arrested and charged with sexual abuse, criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
His alleged victim told detectives that Jean abused him during an overnight stay on Tuesday at Jean's Canarsie home on East 95th Street. The alleged victim reported the abuse on Saturday, and was examined at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.
It was the sixth time, a police source said, in which Jean allegedly attacked the teen, who knows the pastor because his family attends services at his storefront church, Soul Restoration of City Light, on Flatbush Avenue.
LEBANON (OH)
Dayton Daily News
By Lawrence Budd
Dayton Daily News
LEBANON | The Rev. Claude Steve Harmon avoided life in prison but was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years and designated a sexual predator for fondling 9- and 10-year-old boys at the Maineville Baptist Church or living quarters next to the church.
Judge James Flannery sentenced Harmon, 48, according to an agreement in which Harmon pleaded guilty to 11 charges of gross sexual imposition or sexual imposition. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a rape charge which carries a sentence of life in prison because the victim was 9 years old.
Flannery also ordered Harmon to pay for counseling for the victims — all but one molested from June to September 2004 at the church or pastor's residence. One charge dated to 2001.
Harmon agreed to plead guilty on March 1, but defense lawyer Jeff Kirby said they were ready to go to trial, rather than plead guilty to the rape charge.
Harmon, abused by a neighborhood man when he was 7, needs psychological help, not prison, Kirby said. However, Flannery questioned why Harmon, a trained counselor with a doctorate, never sought counseling himself.
SPRINGFIELD (IL)
News-Leader
By Linda Leicht
News-Leader staff
A woman who is accusing her former church pastor of attacking her has put the United Methodist Church on trial.
Teresa Norris of Springfield sued the West Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2002 for not responding to numerous complaints about the Rev. David Finestead, former pastor of Campbell United Methodist Church in south Springfield, leaving her in danger. Norris, who served as the church's choir director, alleges she was raped by Finestead on March 25, 1998.
Finestead, who does not have a listed number in Missouri, has not been criminally charged. He was not in court Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Finestead, whose credentials as a minister have since been suspended by the church, came to Campbell in 1995, transferred by Bishop Ann Sherer from Central United Methodist Church in Kansas City.
NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
BY MARGARET McHUGH
Star-Ledger Staff
A Roman Catholic priest under investigation for allegedly embezzling money from his Randolph parish claims a man with whom he had sex more than 25 years ago has been extorting money from him ever since, his attorney said yesterday.
The Morris County Prosecutor's Office last month tracked drifter Harold Reid, 46, to Los Angeles, where he collected recyclable bottles and cans for a living, and charged him with attempted extortion of the Rev. William Naughton.
Peter Gilbreth, Naughton's attorney, confirmed that the priest had sex with Reid in the late 1970s, and said Reid demanded money in exchange for his silence.
"One indiscretion has got him into a tough situation," Gilbreth said.
"It got very, very threatening and scary at the end," prompting Naughton to report the threats to authorities March 4, Gilbreth said.
Naughton, 61, provided investigators with recordings of 21 messages Reid left on Naughton's cell phone between Feb. 12 and March 4 of this year, saying he needed $215 to buy a bicycle, according to the arrest affidavit.
In five of the messages, Reid threatened to return to New Jersey and harm or kill Naughton, the affidavit said. The prosecutor's office only charged Reid with attempted extortion and making terroristic threats for the bicycle money demand, and not for those that Gilbreth said Reid has made over the years.
COVINGTON (KY)
Cincinnati Post
By Paul A. Long
Post staff reporter
A hearing planned for today on a class-action lawsuit claiming the Diocese of Covington covered up decades of sexual abuse by priests has been delayed as both sides continue negotiations to achieve an out-of-court settlement.
After a hearing last month, Special Judge John Potter ordered both sides back to the bargaining table, and indicated that he may take a more active role in settlement talks unless both parties moved toward an agreement.
He told them to return to court today to update him on the status of the talks.
But on Monday, Potter signed an order delaying that hearing until May 20.
CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register
Mary Grant has been active in Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests since before she settled a $25,000 lawsuit with the Diocese of Orange in 1991 over an alleged sexual relationship she had with the Rev. John Lenihan beginning in 1978. Lenihan had served at St. Norbert Church in Orange and St. Edward’s in Dana Point before leaving the church. Here is a statement by Grant, who lives in Long Beach, and other leaders of SNAP on the election today of Pope Benedict XVI:
Pope Benedict XVI is a polarizing figure to many, who seems to prefer combativeness to compromise and compassion.
Still, we wish him well.
TUCSON (AZ)
KOLD
TUCSON, Ariz. Lawyers representing potential future claimants of priestly sexual abuse may have swayed the judge in the Tucson Catholic Diocese's bankruptcy proceedings.
Lawyers asked bankruptcy Judge James Marlar to let them hire consultants to estimate the number of potential abuse victims.
The judge says he'll rule in the next day or so whether to allow attorneys representing abused unknown future claimants and unknown minors to hire two child sexual abuse experts from Phoenix.
They would estimate how many of those victims likely would come forward.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By MARY ZAHN
mzahn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 19, 2005
Archbishop Timothy Dolan has temporarily backed off of a policy that could have required priests to consent to unannounced searches of their homes at any time of the day or night if church officials suspected or knew they had been involved in sexual conduct, alcohol or drug abuse or other behavior deemed inappropriate by the archdiocese.
Calling the reaction to the policy a "firestorm," Father Curt Frederick, vicar for clergy, sent an e-mail to diocesan priests Monday that stated the policy would be placed on hold.
"Given the current firestorm I have suggested to the Archbishop that the documents be held in abeyance for the time being and he has agreed with that suggestion," Frederick wrote. "I am terribly sorry for any and all of the upset and consternation that the untimely release of these materials causes. It is a mess and it reopens wounds, that all of us want healed. I admit it. It wasn't intended to be so."
Sources said the archdiocese has received numerous phone calls and e-mails from parishioners and priests upset about the new policy after the Journal Sentinel published a report about the situation Friday.
National
The flap over Cardinal Bernard Law’s appearance as celebrant of one of the nine Masses at St. Peter’s Basilica during the period of mourning for the late Pope John Paul II may seem a minor dustup in the long trajectory of the clergy sex abuse scandals.
After all, only two people showed up to protest, the Mass went on as scheduled, the controversy was not expected to have an effect on the conclave, and the headlines faded quickly.
What will not fade, however, is the power of symbol to evoke deeper truths and to raise unsettling questions. Law’s presence in the limelight once more -- not before the media answering long-standing questions about the diocese he left in disarray, but as a representative of the church in a high-profile setting, a place of honor -- was an unbelievably inept and insensitive move.
Offensive as that was to victims of sexual abuse, even more damaging to the wider church is Law’s continuing membership on some of the most powerful congregations and councils in Rome. Someone who has caused such great damage to a major diocese through mismanagement and ultimately the cover-up of child sex abuse should not be allowed near the levers of power in the church.
Christian Science Monitor
By Tom Regan
It didn't happen all at once.
It wasn't a sudden flash of anger, a hot moment when I decided that it was time for me to move away from my Roman Catholic roots. It happened over a much longer period of time, starting when I was in my early 20s, and climaxing in my mid-30s.
In my youth, I had been about as Catholic as you could be. I had been both an altar boy for several years and a lay reader at mass, sung in numerous church choirs, attended religious summer camps and 'separate schools' (as we called the Catholic -run schools them in those days), and taught the Catholic equivalent of Sunday school. For a short period, I had thought seriously about becoming a priest.
And then, one day a few years ago, attending a mass in Cambridge with my mother who was visiting from Nova Scotia, I knew I wasn't a Catholic any more. Sitting in that church pew, listening to the priest recite the liturgy, I felt ... nothing. I was a stranger in a setting where I had always felt at home. For me, that empty feeling was the final push out the door.
Finally deciding to leave the Catholic Church wasn't easy. It wasn't like walking away from a club that you didn't want to belong to any more. It was like tearing off a layer of skin - painful, confusing, scary.
There were numerous issues that led to this decision, but for the sake of brevity, I will only mention two: the church's attitudes towards women, and the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the church in Canada and the US over the last 17 years.
BOSTON (MA)
Reuters
By Greg Frost
BOSTON (Reuters) - Liberal U.S. Catholics on Tuesday expressed dismay at the choice of a conservative new pope and doubted he will heal an institution racked by disillusionment and tarnished by a sex abuse scandal among the clergy.
The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI rankled those who advocate married priests, a bigger role for women within the church and softening its policy on homosexuality, birth control, euthanasia and abortion.
Since taking over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the Roman Catholic Church's chief ideologue, Ratzinger has denounced homosexuality and even branded other Christian churches as deficient.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Times-Leader
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has backed off a policy for now that would have allowed church officials to search the homes or computers of priests accused of sexual misconduct.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Tuesday he would not put the policy into effect without "vigorous consultation" with priests. The archdiocese's advisory priest council will review the policy April 28 before Dolan makes a final decision.
Dolan had approved the policy in December, and priests were told about it last month. Church officials meant to discuss the policy with the council before sending the guidelines to priests, archdiocesan spokeswoman Kathleen Hohl said.
"The intent of it is to be helpful to them," she said.
But Marquette University theology professor Daniel Maguire said the policy had the opposite effect, calling it "an insult to all the priests in the diocese."
BAKERSFIELD (CA)
KGET
Posted 04/19/05
BAKERSFIELD - Even as the Catholic Church maintains a conservative course, there is a new movement within the church in the United States to address the sex abuse scandals that shocked people in recent years.
Under the leadership of Pope John Paul II, the church was criticized for the long list of priests accused of molestation. But recently by orders from the Vatican, the church is facing the issue and other sexual matters.
Children and adults are being trained in what has been a taboo topic for centuries.
Johanna Cisneros, a Catholic and prevention specialist from the Alliance Against Family Violence has been visiting several Catholic churches this year, teaching children and teenagers how to avoid becoming victims of sex crimes and abuse.
MEXICO
Reuters
By Alistair Bell
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A former trainee priest who has accused the founder of an influential Catholic order of sexual abuse said on Tuesday that new Pope Benedict XVI deliberately shelved a probe into his claims for six years.
Jose Barba is one of eight ex-members of the Rome-based Legion of Christ, most of them Mexicans, who accuse the order's founder, Marcial Maciel, of sexually abusing them from the 1940s through the 1960s.
The allegations are too old to be investigated under criminal law but the nine brought a suit against Maciel, 84, under the Vatican's canonical law in 1998.
The case was filed at the Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who was elected Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday.
Barba, spokesman for the accusers, says the claims were hushed up because Maciel and his ultra-conservative order were close to Pope John Paul II.
"The question is: Was Cardinal Ratzinger totally and solely responsible? I think that to a great extent he was because it was his department," said Barba, now 68 and a professor of Latin American studies at Mexico City's ITAM university.
BOSTON (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON— At the epicenter of the clergy sex abuse scandal that brought unprecedented changes and multimillion-dollar settlements to the Roman Catholic church, Massachusetts Catholics were hoping - but not hopeful - that the next pope would help to reform a church some believe is out of step.
The selection of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the next pope was greeted Tuesday as a gain for the status quo and a setback for critics who see the clergy sex abuse crisis as an outgrowth of an unaccountable, topdown hierarchy.
"He tends to regard the abuse crisis as a result of the decadence of American society seeping into the seminaries and into the clergy, with the understanding that the American press exaggerates it because it's interested in sensationalism and titillation," said Stephen Pope, chairman of the theology department at Jesuit-run Boston College.
He said Ratzinger's recent sermons and his service since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have earned him a reputation as a fierce critic of efforts to reform church hierarchy.
"I don't think he considers the crisis to be one of power, and a reflection of the need for real changes in the way church decisions are made," Pope said.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John Grogan
Inquirer Columnist
Dear Cardinal Rigali,
How can I put this delicately?
Last week, you blew it.
As the highly visible head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, you had the opportunity to stand tall in support of the thousands of children who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests. You had the chance to silently protest the actions of a church hierarchy that for too long protected abusers.
Before the world, you could have boycotted your colleague who epitomizes everything the Catholic Church did so terribly wrong in handling the long-running molestation tragedy.
And what did you do? Nothing.
Your chance to make a powerful statement came April 11 when Cardinal Bernard Law, a central figure in the American sex-abuse scandal, was chosen to say a Mass in memory of Pope John Paul II. A disgraced Law was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after it was revealed that he had secretly shuffled pedophile priests among parishes.
CHINO (CA)
Daily Bulletin
By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer
CHINO - A lawsuit filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court accuses a local church of negligence that led to child molestation.
In the suit, a Chino family says officials at Inland Community Church "failed to take appropriate and reasonable steps" to prevent the molestation of two sisters by counselors at the church.
Both children have since suffered "severe emotional distress" as a result of the incidents, which occurred several years apart, the lawsuit states.
The two men accused of molesting the girls each have been convicted on one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18.
The family did not return repeated phone calls for comment. Their attorney, Stephen Moran, returned one call and left a message, but he did not speak to a reporter.
OHIO
Toledo Blade
By ROBIN ERB
blade staff writer
In January, allegations of sexual misconduct in the 1980s came back to haunt Adrian College's music director. Now Thomas Hodgman is fighting back.
Mr. Hodgman, a former choir master at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., is one of more than a half-dozen people opposing the release of documents relating to accusations of sexual misconduct by priests, nuns, and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California.
A hearing on the possible release of the documents has been scheduled for May 17 so Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman may consider objections from Mr. Hodgman and the others.
In January, the diocese announced details of a $100 million settlement of cases brought by 90 alleged victims of sexual misconduct, and said it would not oppose the release of documents pertaining to the cases.
Mr. Hodgman was accused of carrying out a relationship, impregnating, and passing on a venereal disease to a student while he was at Mater Dei, which is part of the diocese.
SPOKANE (WA)
KGW
04/19/2005
Associated Press
Donations to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane's Annual Catholic Appeal are down this year, even as the diocese struggles with the cost of bankruptcy proceedings caused by the sexual abuse crisis.
The diocese is behind in its effort to raise $2 million from nearly 25,000 households, said the Rev. Steve Dublinski, the diocese's vicar general.
So far, about $1.3 million has been pledged by just 6,400 donors, he said. ...
"Part of the ministry of the bishop also involves the bankruptcy," Dublinski said, as the church must pay attorney fees each month.
Connie Hutchinson, who belongs to Assumption Parish in north Spokane, sent the diocese a check, but the amount was half of what she has given in the past. Most of her contributions will go straight to her parish, Catholic Relief Services and other charities, she said.
"I have strong feelings about how the diocese has handled the sex abuse crisis and this bankruptcy," she said.
FREMONT (CA)
Oakland Tribune
By Grace Rauh, STAFF WRITER
FREMONT — The last time Dan McNevin stood in Corpus Christi Catholic Church, he was a 13-year-old altar boy.
On Monday night he returned, 33 years later, to hear the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland apologize for the sexual abuses he and others have alleged they suffered under the Rev. James Clark, who served at the church from 1965 to 1984. Clark died in 1989.
"I am trying to move toward forgiveness," McNevin said after the service. "Forgiveness of Father Clark, and a greater understanding of how this happened in this parish and in this diocese."
The emotional service drew about 150 parishioners, who sat in silence as Bishop Allen Vigneron of the Oakland Diocese delivered his apology.
"I beg pardon from all who have been hurt by these acts of abuse," he said. "I apologize for the failure to act on the part of many of the leaders of the Catholic Church."
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
ssutner@telegram.com
From a window at the MSNBC television studio in Rome, Paul Wilkes watched yesterday as the first day of the first papal conclave of the new millennium ended with black smoke wafting from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney about 8 p.m. Rome time.
The signal meant the cardinals had failed to reach the required two-thirds majority in their first vote for a leader to replace Pope John Paul II.
Mr. Wilkes, a Catholic author, journalist and former Hardwick selectman who is covering the proceedings for the Beliefnet.com Web site, said he’d be surprised if a new pope is voted in before tomorrow.
“We’re going to have a pope by Wednesday or Thursday,” Mr. Wilkes, who now lives in South Carolina, said by telephone from Rome.
While speculation about the next pope has centered around conservatives such as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, Mr. Wilkes thinks the cardinals will pick more of a moderate to succeed John Paul, who died April 2 after 26 years as pope.
With church attendance dropping off steeply in Europe and Catholicism catching on rapidly in Latin America and Asia, the church needs a pope who can unify the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics. “The cardinals are trying to figure out who’s got the reach, who can bring the fragmented parts together,” Mr. Wilkes said.
In recent days, all manner of Catholic faithful have flocked to Rome and Vatican City to witness the succession.
The visitors have included a vocal contingent of American anti-clergy abuse activists who have come to spread word of the American clergy abuse crisis to Catholics from parts of the world that have not been as affected by the scandal.
They include Douglas native Philip J. Saviano, who says he was molested in the 1960s at St. Denis Parish in East Douglas by the Rev. David A. Holley, who is serving a 275-year prison sentence in New Mexico for child rape.
Mr. Saviano and other leaders of the national group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests have been holding daily press conferences and protesting the high-profile Vatican role of former Boston Archbishop Bernard F. Law, who has admitted that he did not discipline priests accused of abusing youths in Boston-area parishes.
Mr. Saviano, 52, who now lives in Boston, said in a telephone interview from Rome that he hopes the next pope will be more open about the problem of pedophile priests, and will also allow discussion of changes supported by some Catholics, such as opening the priesthood to women and allowing clergy to marry.
“It would be nice if we had someone who could let a little bit of life in and listen to alternative views,” Mr. Saviano said. “But I’m not optimistic. Maybe it will have to wait until the next pope after that.”
Despite the ripple of news coverage that Mr. Saviano and his colleagues have been able to stir up, some observers say clergy abuse is not likely to be a major issue in the conclave.
That is because the problem has mostly been an American phenomenon, owing largely to the in-depth coverage devoted to it by newspapers such as the Boston Globe, Mr. Wilkes said.
“I don’t think it’s on the front burner,” said Mr. Wilkes, who wrote a 1993 article in the New Yorker magazine about the Rev. Ronald D. Provost, a former priest at a Barre church who was convicted of taking nude photographs of a 10-year-old boy.
Many of the Worcester Diocese’s 350,000 Catholics have been “waiting and praying” as the process to choose a new pope proceeds, said diocesan spokesman Raymond L. Delisle.
“There’s certainly anticipation. It’s been such a long time with Pope John Paul, a lot of us have never experienced this before or were very young when it happened,” he said. The top priority for John Paul II’s successor is going to be to promote “whatever supports the dignity of the individual.”
MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
By Scott Trobec St. Paul
A recent story in the St. Cloud Times ("Bail set for man accused of sex abuse," April 6) said a Stearns County man was charged in the sexual abuse of three young girls more than 20 years ago. While readers may have been struck by the fact that these victims would wait 20 years to report their crime, their case is not unusual.
Because of the effects of guilt, shame and responsibility, child victims of sex abuse often suffer years of trauma, which will frequently cause them not to report the abuse until much later in life, or in some cases, never.
It should be our hope that this case will finally bring justice and peace of mind to these courageous victims, as well as awareness to the difficult issue of reporting child sex abuse.
In an effort to hold offenders who have never been criminally prosecuted accountable, and to deter them from further abuse, Survivors Network Minnesota, a volunteer self-help organization of sexual abuse victims and their supporters, is advocating a clarification of the Minnesota law that would allow child sex abuse victims (as many other states do) to bring civil actions beyond the current six-year statute of limitations.
This change would affirm that post traumatic stress can cause a child victim of sex abuse to delay reporting, and recognizes that it is never too late to report a sex offender and prevent further victimization.
PEORIA (IL)
WEEK
Posted April 18, 2005 3:52pm
A defrocked priest from the Peoria Catholic Diocese has pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse of a minor.
69-year old Francis Engels was in Milwaukee County Court on Friday.
According to court records, Engels took a boy from Central Illinois to a hotel room in Milwaukee in 1983 and abused him.
The victim is now 37 and settled a lawsuit against the Peoria Diocese earlier this month.
CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly
by GUSTAVO ARELLANO
On April 12, eight former Diocese of Orange priests or workers accused of child molestation asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to block the release of their personnel files. The move again delayed the release of about 30 boxes of documents that priestly sex abuse victims and their lawyers claim will prove Catholic Church leaders knowingly protected pedophilic employees.
One of the objecting priests was Richard T. Coughlin. For years, he headed the Costa Mesa-based All-American Boys Choir, a group that has travelled the globe and performed before dignitaries. But, in 1993, Coughlin resigned after former choir boys approached the Orange diocese with claims that the priest had molested them repeatedly.
Coughlin—who still lives in Orange County—has always maintained his innocence even though then-Orange Bishop Norman McFarland found the 1993 allegations credible enough to defrock him. But, as the following documents show, 1993 wasn't the first time someone came forth with a Coughlin boy-fiddling tale.
Stephen Bates and John Hooper in Rome
Monday April 18, 2005
The Guardian
Weeks of feverish speculation and intrigue in Rome will enter their final phase tomorrow when 115 cardinals begin to elect a new pope in the most exclusive and secret ballot in the world.
With no obvious successor, the bookmaker William Hill yesterday put Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian-born enforcer of doctrinal orthodoxy under the old pope, known as God's rottweiler, in front at 7-2.
During the nine days since John Paul II's funeral, the cardinals have been meeting formally and informally to discuss the sort of candidate they would like as the next pontiff. Later today, they will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin their formal deliberations.
Yesterday, in an indication of the febrile atmosphere surrounding the election, a spokesman for one candidate, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, denounced claims by a lawyer in Buenos Aires that he had been involved in a plot to kidnap two Jesuit priests during the country's military dictatorship in the 1970s. "This is old slander. This is the week of slander," the spokesman told Associated Press. ...
Cardinal Ratzinger has been ordered to appear in a court in Texas over a sex abuse scandal. He was named in a suit brought on behalf of three men now in their 20s who claim they were sexually abused as children. The cardinal is accused of obstruction of justice in relation to a Vatican document that emerged in 2003 instructing Catholic bishops to deal with cases of sexual abuse "in the most secretive way".
CANADA
Canada NewsWire Group
CORNER BROOK, NL, April 18 /CNW/ - The Roman Catholic Episcopal
Corporation of St. George's Diocese today requested and received a further
extension of time to file a proposal under the Notice of Intention filed on
March 8, 2005 pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which effected a
"stay of proceedings" in civil actions against the Corporation including those
launched since 1991 on behalf of victims of sexual abuse. The Corporation now
has until May 6, 2005 to file its proposal to creditors.
Since March 8 the Corporation has been assessing the value of its assets
to determine its financial capacity to make a just and fair proposal to its
creditors and has been actively negotiating with representatives of the
victims of sexual abuse.
"Our discussions so far have been positive," said the Most Rev. Douglas
Crosby, Bishop of St. George's Diocese. "I am hopeful that with this
additional time we will be able to prepare a viable and acceptable proposal.
We have a legal, moral and pastoral obligation to see this through to the
end."
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News
By WILLIAM BUNCH
bunchw@phillynews.com
WHEN PHILADELPHIA lawyer Patricia Dugan was a child, her parents took her to the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, where she saw Michelangelo's Pieta in the Vatican Pavilion.
While Dugan was impressed by the famous Renaissance work of art as well as her first-time experience of air conditioning, she was most struck by the uniformed Swiss Guards, and the other rituals and customs that dated back centuries.
"I was just hooked on the 'smells and bells' - all the rituals," recalled Dugan. She still is. ...
But other women, such as Philadelphia attorney Dugan, would like to see more specific changes in traditions and procedures that would strengthen the role of women. Dugan is one of a just a handful of women in history who has practiced canon law. She spent most of the 1980s studying in the Vatican at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome – the same university from which Pope John Paul II gained his degree. Three years ago, she became the first lay person to chair the canonists' annual convention.
"I'm a canon lawyer, but I can never be a judge, because only priests can become a judge," Dugan said. And in some cases she has handled, such as defending a priest whom she says was falsely accused of sexual abuse, she has had to wait for a special dispensation to act as canon lawyer. She said: "You're a lawyer and you can't be a judge because you're a girl? That's wrong."
CANADA
CBC News
WebPosted Apr 18 2005 01:28 PM NDT
CBC News
ST. JOHN'S — A deal to compensate sexual abuse victims of Father Kevin Bennett may be close at hand.
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland granted another extension Monday to allow lawyers more time to negotiate a compensation package.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of St. George's has been in bankruptcy protection since March.
The diocese had until Monday to have the matter settled.
Lawyer Greg Stack, who represents 35 of the 36 victims involved in the case, says circumstances have changed since the diocese's last application for an extension.
"This time, all I can say is there has been progress," Stack said.
"There's nothing final, but we can see a resolution at this stage."
BRITAIN
Yorkshire Post Today
Jane Charnley
National support group Phoenix Survivors has asked the Attorney General to review the sentence handed to Neil Gallanagh, 75, who was spared jail after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting two pupils of St John's Catholic School for the Deaf, in Boston Spa, between 1975 and 1980, when he was resident chaplain. He was given a six-month sentence suspended at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
Recorder of Leeds Norman Jones QC said that although the regime at the time would have put the sex offender behind bars, his guilty plea, age, recent ill health and good character for the last 30 years meant jail was inappropriate. He was put on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years, banned from having unsupervised contact with any under-16s and ordered to pay £1,500 costs.
It was agreed that a further 12 charges against Gallanagh of indecent assault dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, involving five other under-16 boys – including an 11-year-old – would be "left on the file".
Phoenix Survivors said it wanted the sentence to be increased on the grounds that it was "unduly lenient". It said the Yorkshire Post's coverage of the case had prompted 40 people to contact the group to voice their outrage. Founder Shy Keenan said: "They go on about age as if that's some kind of excuse. Seventy-five is not necessarily old in today's terms. It's another 10 years of molesting children.
SAN BERNARDINO (CA)
Daily Bulletin
By Stacia Glenn
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO - Hundreds of voices echoed throughout Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral on Sunday, pledging to safeguard their children from the sexual abuse that has rocked the Catholic Church.
April is Sexual Abuse Awareness month, and a memory of the clergy-abuse scandal is still imprinted on many minds. A 2004 report by the U.S. Catholic Church said 10,667 individuals have accused 4,392 priests of sexual abuse. At least 15 accused priests have been part of the Diocese of San Bernardino.
"Abuse gets in the way of that abundant life God wants us to lead. We recognize our need to confront abuse ... and especially the way it affects our children," said the Rev. Paul C. Granillo, a diocese spokesman.
Since the abuse came to light three years ago, the local diocese, which serves 1 million Roman Catholics in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, has worked to restore trust. The diocese now fingerprints all priests, employees and volunteers. For the past two years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has found the diocese in compliance with the American Church's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
But the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests continues to chastise the diocese for not doing enough.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Cliff Radel
Enquirer staff writer
The people have spoken about the successor to the people's pope.
Most American Catholics want the next pope to act like John Paul II, but think like them.
A clear majority of those surveyed in local and national polls want the next leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics to be like the late, beloved, charismatic, photogenic, media savvy, globe-trotting Pope John Paul II. ...
Dan Frondorf, a Price Hill construction estimator, called John Paul II "a good man. But he came up short in dealing with the priests involved in the sex-abuse scandal."
A victim of that scandal, Frondorf said the next pope must be "more proactive with the sex abuse problem, treating victims with dignity, instead of like they're the enemy."
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
By Clare Weir
18 April 2005
Priests in Londonderry have spoken of the need to heal "fractured relationships" in the wake of a recent sex scandal in the diocese.
Clergymen have expressed "relief" at the end of a marathon round of meetings sparked by the case of Father Andrew McCloskey.
It emerged earlier this year that the Dungiven-based curate paid a £19,000 out of court settlement to a man who claims he made a sexual advance on him when he was 18.
The man had gone to Fr McCloskey for help with his own history of sexual abuse.
Fr McCloskey had been allowed to become a sex abuse counsellor despite two serious sexual allegations against him. It then emerged that since November 2004 around three percent of parish income - about £200,000 - was being contributed into what was described as "the Stewardship Trust".
The fund was set up in 1996 to cover compensation, counselling and legal costs of clerical child sex abuse cases and the costs of the Irish Bishop's Conference Child Protection Office.
CONNECTICUT
The Advocate
By Sabrina Banes
Staff Correspondent
April 18, 2005
As the College of Cardinals gathers in Rome's Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope, Catholics will be watching for the white smoke that signifies a leader has been chosen.
Clergy, theologians and laity in Fairfield County agree that the new pontiff must be spiritual, wise and moral. But their ideas vary on the issues he will face, including doctrine, eligibility for the priesthood and church governance. ...
Malloy said church leaders are aware they made mistakes during the sexual abuse scandal and are working to make changes.
"For instance, Bishop (William) Lori (of the Bridgeport Diocese) is very much into protecting the children to the best of his ability," Malloy said.
But some bishops have not been on top of the problem and a solution may be for laypeople to vote in the selection of bishops, Lakeland said.
CONNECTICUT
The Day
By KENTON ROBINSON
Day Staff Columnist, Enterprise Reporter/Columnist
Published on 4/18/2005
Hell, I have been told, is the absence of God.
When a priest rapes a child, he teaches his victim this lesson: Hell is here, now, on this planet. God was, is, and forever will be absent from your life.
Or so I have been told.
I have interviewed more than a dozen victims who say they were taught that lesson. Most were afraid to let me use their names. Only a few, like John Waddington of Groton and Donna Rolfe Walker of New London, had the courage to do so.
But they all had certain things in common. They were intimates of emptiness, of a world without God. True, some would come to find solace later in life in another church, but not before many of them had tried to end that emptiness with drink, drugs, even suicide.
Last week, the tens of thousands of victims of sexual abuse by priests could turn on their TVs and watch the world mourn a pope who had seemed indifferent to their plight; a pope who, apprised of the crisis at least as early as 1985, did nothing then to address it; a pope who rewarded one of the most heinous figures in the whole sordid affair with a sumptuous sinecure in Rome.
CALIFORNIA
Alameda Star-Times
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
It's not exactly clear who the winner was last week when an Alameda County jury awarded $1.93 million to two brothers molested by an Antioch priest 25 years ago.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland could end up paying Bob and Tom Thatcher more than
$1.5 million of that amount, but that's far less than the $27 million the brothers' attorney had asked for. In fact, the compensatory damages awarded to Tom Thatcher amount to less than even the diocese's attorney had suggested.
The brothers say they weren't in it for the money, but to create a legal record of the diocese's negligence in shuffling pedophile priests from parish to parish rather than preventing them from preying again. They also note that the $875,000 in punitive damages awarded to Bob Thatcher constitutes an almost unprecedented instance of an entire California diocese being punished as institutionally responsible for sexual abuse.
But it's hard to say how the trial and verdict will affect negotiations for a mass settlement of dozens of other similar civil lawsuits against the Oakland Diocese. Perhaps it will give other plaintiffs courage to hold out for more, knowing the diocese already has been held to account once. Or, with a record already established and relatively modest monetary returns in this trial, other plaintiffs might decide it's not worth the investment of time and emotion to go to trials of their own.
BRITAIN
The Times
By Frances Gibb
THE family of Mr A are devout Roman Catholics. He is the second youngest of seven children. The family attended Christ the King Church, Coundon, in Coventry, where there was a large Irish Roman Catholic community.
The family took part in social activities at the church and in the social club affiliated to it. The church was very much part of their lives.
Father Clonan was greatly respected in the community. He was a regular visitor at Mr A’s home and officiated at family weddings and christenings. He was trusted implicitly, Mr A looked upon him as a father figure and relied heavily on him.
When he was 8, in 1978, Mr A became involved with activities arranged by the church, such as Cub Scouts, and began doing odd jobs for pocket money from Father Clonan. He began spending increasing amounts of time with the priest and went on trips with him to London and Ireland.
Father Clonan started to assault Mr A sexually. The assaults took place between one and three times a week over ten years. On each occasion, Mr A would be given money.
NEW YORK
Union-Tribune
By Anne Marie Welsh
UNION-TRIBUNE THEATER CRITIC
April 17, 2005
NEW YORK – As John Patrick Shanley's drama "Doubt: a Parable" rounds to a close, starchy old Sister Aloysius tells the eager young Sister James, "In the pursuit of wrongdoing, one steps away from God." Then balefully, the broken nun adds: "Of course, there is a price."
For her, the cost is huge. This nun's conviction that a priest has molested an altar boy at her school, yet been rewarded with a promotion to a new parish, shakes her faith in the morality of the church and her belief in God, the foundations of her life.
Sister Aloysius may or may not be right about the priest's crime in "Doubt," but her relentless drive, like the truth-seeking of Oedipus, has unintended consequences. She now sees through the culture of clericalism that has isolated her and made her powerless; in the process, she has lost her bearings.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
Robert Nemeth
Commentary
It was the death of Pope John Paul II and a recent news report in the Boston Globe that prompted me to revisit a topic I had written about two years ago in this space: the crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America caused by an ugly sexual abuse scandal.
The passing of the Polish pope, who had contributed to the disintegration of the Soviet empire, filled me with sorrow. The newspaper story made me wonder if there is a limit to the relentless media pursuit of that overblown scandal. It is my hope a new era ushered in by the next pope will bring an end to this sad saga.
The Globe, which broke the abuse story in early 2002 and has been running with it ever since, traced the activities of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, as head of one of Rome’s largest basilicas. The story focused on the preposterous premise of whether the cardinal, who had resigned in December 2002 to defuse the crisis, should be permitted to join the conclave of cardinals that selects a new pope.
The report states: “Many Boston Catholics say it is difficult to see Law in this leadership role at the heart of the Catholic Church.” It quotes a representative of Voice of the Faithful, a self-appointed protest group presuming to speak for Catholics, that the cardinal’s visibility in Rome is a “painful reminder that we’re still dealing with the after-effects of his tenure as archbishop, and we’re not out of the woods yet in terms of healing from the wounds of the last three years.”
It goes on: “Here (in Rome) Law is out of the glaring spotlight of the American media and its culture of accountability. Here he has been welcomed back into the fold of the Curia, which never seemed to grasp the intensity of the sense of betrayal felt by American Catholics over the scandal and the hierarchy’s handling of it.” (The sentence fills me with nostalgia for the days when reporting the news and editorial comment were handled in different parts of a responsible newspaper.)
There have been other stories last week about protest by “abuse survivors” and the “anger” supposedly shared by Catholics over Cardinal Law celebrating a memorial Mass. Hollywood is taking its shot with a soon to be released cable movie, starring Christopher Plummer as the cardinal. There are several books in the pipeline, not to mention endless talk shows featuring “victims.”
Let there be no misunderstanding: Sexual abuse of children is an ugly crime that must be punished severely. It is especially disturbing when the abuser is a priest because men of the cloth are in a position of trust. Any attempt by church leaders to cover up wrongdoing or shield the abusers — either because of misplaced compassion or fear of scandal — is wrong.
But it is not unreasonable to ask: How long should the recrimination go on?
What started out as a legitimate effort to redress the sins of an errant few appears to have grown into a venomous and relentless attack on the church itself, uniting Catholic-haters, religion-bashers, attention-seekers and fortune hunters. It is entirely overlooked that less than 1 percent of all priests has ever been implicated in sexual abuse, and no new incidents have been reported in years. Yet bishops and cardinals are treated with the kind of contempt usually reserved for criminals, and priests are viewed with suspicion.
Until the 1960s and 1970s, when women’s groups and child advocates began to call attention to sexual abuse, society was pretty much in denial about such crimes. The realization of the problem triggered reaction with a vengeance.
Suddenly, there was “aggressive counseling,” “hypnotic repression” and “recovered memory,” along with survivors’ networks, victim advocates and, inevitably, false accusations. In the 1980s, the nation was shocked by reports of horrible child abuse at day care centers across the country. Most of the ensuing convictions were thrown out in subsequent years.
Today, sexual abuse litigation is a lucrative industry, spawning law firms that specialize in compensation and analysts digging into forgotten memories. It’s worth noting that large chunks of the settlement awards end up in the pockets of wealthy lawyers who often orchestrate media events to drum up more business.
People alleging abuse that occurred in the past began to come forward. Perhaps they still felt the pain and wanted their tormentors to be punished. Some may have tried to justify personal failures and seek vindication. Perhaps others were motivated by the prospect of financial rewards.
While true victims of sexual abuse deserve support, I find it difficult to feel sympathy for able-bodied adults in their 30s and 40s parading in front of the cameras, demanding “justice” for abuses that are supposed to have occurred decades ago. Some had collected six-figure settlements in exchange for confidentiality, only to return later to get more.
The church has been an easy target. Rather than letting the courts deal with each accusation, church leaders opted to pay huge settlements — a questionable strategy at best. Settling out of court tends to imply guilt or, at times, protect the guilty. We will never know how many of the hundreds of abuse claims settled by the Boston Archdiocese were justified and how many were bogus. But we do know the financial strain caused by paying out more than $85 million in awards led to the closing of dozens of churches.
The Forth Worth, Texas, Diocese recently settled for $2.75 million in an alleged abuse case involving the Rev. Thomas H. Teczar of Dudley and two unidentified men in order to avoid the “uncertainty of litigation and the related cost.” (The Worcester Diocese, which was part of the lawsuit, evidently did not contribute to the settlement.)
As long as the church continues to shell out huge sums, the claims are likely to continue. It would have been better to apply the presumed-innocent-until-found-guilty principle to all clerical sexual abuse cases.
There has been endless speculation about the kind of pope the cardinals will choose to be the Holy Father of more than a billion Catholics around the world. Hopefully, he will be a wise, compassionate but strong leader, upholding the lasting traditions and values of the institution, reaching out to all mankind, while protecting the church from detractors and self-styled reformers.
The sexual abuse crisis has caused the Catholic Church in America immense harm — in depleting its prestige, credibility and financial resources. But the greatest damage has been the erosion of trust in the tens of thousands of good priests who have served with selfless dedication.
As I said two years ago, if a priest no longer can hug a child to comfort, to wipe away tears or whisper encouragement, how can that young person learn about love and affection? If we see a child molester in every priest, how long can we bear the burden of our own cynicism?
Robert Z. Nemeth’s column appears regularly in the Sunday Telegram.
CALIFORNIA
The Daily Review
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
It's not exactly clear who the winner was last week when an Alameda County jury awarded $1.93 million to two brothers molested by an Antioch priest 25 years ago.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland could end up paying Bob and Tom Thatcher more than $1.5 million of that amount, but that's far less than the $27 million the brothers' attorney had requested. In fact, the compensatory damages awarded to Tom Thatcher amount to less than even the diocese's attorney had suggested.
The brothers say they weren't in it for the money but to create a legal record of the diocese's negligence in shuffling pedophile priests from parish to parish rather than preventing them from preying again.
They also note that the $875,000 in punitive damages awarded to Bob Thatcher constitutes an almost unprecedented instance of an entire California diocese being punished as institutionally responsible for sexual abuse.
But it's hard to say how thetrial and verdict will affect negotiations for a mass settlement of dozens of other similar civil lawsuits against the Oakland Diocese.
NorthJersey.com
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Sometime this week, a new pope should be elected. On Monday, 115 cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and begin the election process. The conclave is expected to last a few days. When a pope has been chosen, white smoke will emerge from the chimney atop the building, bells will toll and the world will wait to see who steps out on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. Expectations are high.
That may account for the strong reaction to Cardinal Bernard Law's high-profile role in a Mass last week. Law was the celebrant at one of the official Masses of mourning for Pope John Paul II held in St. Peter's Basilica.
The former archbishop of Boston resigned in 2002 after he became a galvanizing figure in the priest sex abuse scandal that rocked the U.S. Catholic Church.
The Boston archdiocese during Law's tenure knowingly reassigned pedophile priests, doing nothing to protect parishioners from predators. Boston was but the tip of the iceberg as diocese after diocese was revealed to have similar problems. Yet no one church figure was viewed as responsible for the scandal as was Law. His resignation was widely cheered. His later appointment as archpriest of one of Rome's four basilicas was not.
Law ended up with a very cushy church position in Rome. As archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Law was entitled to the honor of saying one of the official Masses of mourning for the pope. But as the disgraced archbishop of Boston, he should have refused the honor. His presence only brought pain to the victims of sexual abuse, many of whom live in New Jersey.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
Dianne Williamson
dwilliamson@telegram.com
T&G STAFF
Kiss-offs come in many forms but they’re still kiss-offs, even if they’re unstintingly polite and bear the seal of the Worcester district attorney.
A well-meaning nonprofit group recently received a royal kiss-off as it tried to open channels of communication between victims of abuse and law enforcement authorities. And if we require another reminder that District Attorney John J. Conte has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, we need look no further than his cool reception to VictimPower.
VictimPower.org is a novel approach to aiding victims of sexual abuse. Aware that victims are often hesitant or fearful to come forward, at least initially, the Web site offers them a safe place to make an anonymous report, while at the same time providing police or district attorneys with information that could aid them in investigations. Unlike anonymous phone tips, it also enables victims to communicate back and forth with law enforcement while remaining anonymous as long as they wish — or until they become comfortable enough to identify themselves.
The Web site went online in January and organizers held a conference last week at theAbuse Tracker Press Club in Washington, D.C., to announce results for the first quarter. They were positive overall, with a 73 percent response rate from law enforcement agencies to 95 complaints transmitted through VictimPower. Singled out for exceptional cooperation were agencies from several states, including New Hampshire, where the attorney general’s office responded to nine communications within 24 hours.
“Anonymous complaints can solve crimes,” said N. William Delker, senior assistant attorney general for New Hampshire, who said he once prosecuted a priest for a “slew” of sex crimes based on an initial anonymous tip. “And VictimPower isn’t anonymous in the traditional sense. It enables us to have a dialogue with the victim and it gives the victim the confidence to come forward, which is the goal.”
In January, VictimPower sent a complaint of sexual abuse at an area church to District Attorney John J. Conte. Mr. Conte has since claimed that he never told VictimPower that he wouldn’t accept anonymous reports. But perhaps we should let the letter from his office to VictimPower speak for itself:
“While this office appreciates your trying to assist us in prosecuting such cases, you should be aware that anonymous reports are of little if any help,” wrote Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Hodgens on Feb. 7. “Courts do not allow us to prosecute cases with anonymous victims … Your support of victims is admirable. The District Attorney’s Office urges you to encourage all victims to speak directly with law enforcement agencies.”
In others words: Get lost. Thanks, but no thanks. When it comes to new and novel approaches to fight crime that threaten his sacred turf, our district attorney takes a pass.
After VictimPower singled Mr. Conte out last week as being particularly uncooperative with its efforts, the secretive septuagenarian told a reporter that the complaint from VictimPower involved a 1954 case and a priest who has since died. But, if that’s so, why not share that information with VictimPower to put the alleged victim at ease? Why the brush-off and the clear indication that VictimPower’s help isn’t needed in Worcester County?
Stephen H. Galebach of Andover, who helped develop the Web site, is a former legal policy adviser and senior special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the Reagan White House. Last week, he said VictimPower sent Mr. Conte’s office a request that he reconsider his stance. The office never responded, Mr. Galebach said.
“I’d say the district attorney’s office is behind the times,” he said. “There’s a clear, modern movement in law enforcement toward accepting anonymous complaints. But we expect it will take some time for some agencies to catch on.”
Wendy J. Murphy, a law professor and victims’ rights advocate, was harsher in her assessment.
“It’s almost embarrassing for someone in law enforcement to say they find no value in anonymous sources,” she said. “The worst criminals are often the best at intimidation and coercion, which is why reports have to be anonymous. The district attorney should know that. Law enforcement accepts anonymous tips all the time in homicides and violent crimes, but I guess sexual violence and crimes against women and children aren’t important enough to him.”
Our district attorney is very big on statistics, especially misleading ones about conviction rates that make him look good but neglect to highlight the many cases he plea bargains, rejects outright or fails to solve. So it’s welcome news that VictimPower is keeping track of law enforcement’s response rates to its complaints, and plans to make a report that should lead to open, public discussion about accountability.
“Our obligation in law enforcement is to be responsible and responsive to the public,” said Mr. Delker. “It’s puzzling to me that someone would refuse this type of help. Frankly, I just don’t see the justification.”
Dianne Williamson can be reached via e-mail at dwilliamson@telegram.com.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Nancy Phillips
Inquirer Staff Writer
The District Attorney's Office has quietly acknowledged that it let two sisters' sex-abuse allegations against a Philadelphia priest languish since 2002, and has invited the women to testify before a grand jury.
Pat McMenamin of Atlantic Beach, Fla., says a top prosecutor told her the allegations she had made against Msgr. Philip J. Dowling had been "buried" in a box - and that her sister's account had been lost altogether.
McMenamin said Assistant District Attorney Charles Gallagher had explained to her that because of the statute of limitations, prosecutors had chosen to focus on abuse reports from 1967 or later. McMenamin, 53, and her sister, 54, say they were abused starting in the early 1960s.
She said Gallagher had called and said he was "very, very sorry," and asked McMenamin and her sister to appear before the grand jury that has been secretly hearing testimony in the long-running investigation into alleged sex abuse by clergy.
Gallagher and his boss, District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, declined to comment, citing rules of grand-jury secrecy and a court-imposed gag order.
ROME
Union-Tribune
By Sandi Dolbee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 17, 2005
ROME – Long conference tables and wooden chairs inside the Sistine Chapel are set up, the chimney pipe from which white smoke will signal a successful election is in place, and the red drapes over the balcony where a new pope will emerge are hung.
Housekeepers, cooks and other support staff have taken their vow of secrecy, the sites have been swept for eavesdropping devices and the official nine days of mourning Masses for Pope John Paul II are concluded.
All systems are go for tomorrow's start of the first papal conclave in nearly 27 years, and the mounting gossip and intrigue could rival that surrounding "The Da Vinci Code." ...
Besides the throngs of tourists and journalists, special-interest groups have descended on Rome and the Vatican to get the word out about their causes. Whether they've succeeded is another matter because cardinals are sticking by their decision last week not to talk to the media.
Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a U.S. victims' rights group with some 5,500 members, said she was turned away by Swiss guards when she tried to deliver a letter to the Vatican. Repeated phone calls also were unsuccessful.
DELAWARE
The News Journal
By GARY SOULSMAN / The News Journal
04/17/2005Cari DeSantis of St. Anthony of Padua parish in Wilmington hopes the conclave of cardinals, who begin meeting Monday, will elect a pope who will be as revered as John Paul II.
But she has no illusions about their electing a man whose teachings will appeal to all 66 million American Catholics, even if he can speak eloquently to the world.
"It's the nature of Americans to think for themselves and question church teachings," said DeSantis, of Hockessin.
Bishop Michael Saltarelli, leader of the 220,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Wilmington, has told parishioners to expect the next pope to promote the same core values. Yet many Catholics, like those in the local diocese, say they want the next pope to take different positions on important issues. ...
It's an authoritarianism that's failed to protect young people from sexual abuse, said Gary Belkot of Georgetown, a member of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
"As a survivor, I think the church needs a pope who will reconcile itself to the laity and foster more democracy," he said. "Church authorities did not do a good job of policing themselves until outside complaints were raised. So our responsibility is to look out for the most vulnerable among us."
PITTSFIELD (MA)
Berkshire Eagle
By D.R. Bahlman
Berkshire Eagle Staff
PITTSFIELD -- The international spotlight that has focused on the late Pope John Paul II's legacy of "reaching out and reminding us that we are one family under God" will help draw attention to the importance of the Annual Catholic Appeal, according to Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell of Springfield.
McDonnell, who kicked off the 2005 appeal at a chapel in downtown Springfield on Thursday, said in a telephone interview that the beneficiaries of the appeal, which last year included 42 ministries, agencies and programs, are as much in need as they have ever been.
This year's goal for the Springfield diocese, said McDonnell, is $2.9 million. That is roughly the amount raised last year, when the goal was $3.1 million.
McDonnell described as "phenomenal" the generosity exhibited in 2004 as the church faced waves of controversy associated with claims of sexual abuse made against former Bishop Thomas L. Dupre.
IRELAND
Los Angeles Times
By John Daniszewski, Times Staff Writer
MAYNOOTH, Ireland — The black-and-white class portraits arrayed along the nearly deserted corridor of the seminary at St. Patrick's College here tell the tale.
Year by year, the group of graduating seminary students gets smaller. Slowly, the number of young men willing to replenish the priesthood of the once-mighty Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is shrinking. In the future, the priests celebrating Mass in the Emerald Isle's churches may well be from South America or Africa, not Cork or Kerry.
Overwhelmed by a tide of secularism and economic prosperity, challenged by a new mood of independence in the population and devastated by a decade of scandals involving serial child abuse by clerics, the Catholic Church in Ireland finds itself demoralized, almost in shock.
"Irish Catholicism as we knew it in Ireland is gone," said Patsy McGarry, religious affairs writer for the Irish Times.
WORCESTER (MA)
The Crusader
By Steve Hansen
Published: Friday, April 15, 2005
The archpriest of Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica recently led the celebratory mass on Sunday, part of nine days of official mourning for Pope John Paul II. Normally, this would not be a problem, given the tremendous stature of the famous Vatican Basilica, and the important role of its archpriest. But it is a problem for many Catholics given the name of this archpriest - Cardinal Bernard Law.
Yes, the same Cardinal Bernard Law who resigned his position from the archdiocese of Boston after accusations of covering up the activities of pedophile priests two years ago. Soon after his resignation, Cardinal Law, for inexplicable reasons, was given a promotion and a prestigious role in Rome. Now, thrust back into the limelight following the passing of the pontiff, Law's important role in the mourning ceremonies has offended some.
"We think it is entirely inappropriate that Cardinal Law should conduct this mass," said Barbara Blaine. "It's a slap in the face for all the many child abuse victims of the church to see this man chosen for such an honour." Blaine and Barbara Doris joined together outside the Vatican in protest of Law's place of honor in the ceremony. Both are members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), who traveled to Rome when they learned of Law's prominent role.
DALLAS (TX)
WFAA
11:37 AM CDT on Saturday, April 16, 2005
By JENNIFER EMILY and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
A minister is facing charges of indecency with a child after being accused of molesting two relatives, police said.
Tom David Brown, 67, of Dallas was arrested Thursday by Dallas police on charges of indecency with a child by exposure and indecency with a child by contact.
Mr. Brown could not be reached for comment.
Police said the incidents began in 1998 and occurred as recently as March. Authorities say the victims, preteen girls, gave accounts to police.
The incidents occurred in a northeast Dallas residence, police said.
Mr. Brown was a minister at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano.
TUCSON (AZ)
KOLD
TUCSON, Ariz. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson reportedly has reached a seven (m) million dollar settlement with a major insurer to pay for sexual-abuse claims.
The "Arizona Daily Star" reports that Hartford Fire Insurance Company and an affiliated insurer will pay the diocese to buy out seven insurance policies the companies issued to the diocese or that otherwise covered the diocese with liability protection between 1964 and 1981.
The settlement proceeds will be used to pay sex-abuse claims and the insurers will be released from any further liability under the policies.
The settlement would bring to at least ten (m) million dollars the amount the diocese expects to raise to pay claims, including expected proceeds from the planned sale of diocese real-estate assets.
The diocese has asked U-S Bankruptcy Court Judge James Marlar to approve the settlement and to approve an injunction channeling any future claims against Hartford through the diocese bankruptcy case.
TYLER (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Associated Press
TYLER, Texas - A former East Texas principal was convicted of sexually assaulting seven girls and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
A jury on Thursday sentenced Russell Thomas Hirner, 43, after deliberating for about four hours. He was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child earlier in the day.
"I accept responsibility," Hirner, the former principal of the Longview Baptist Christian Academy, testified. "I couldn't bring myself to tell and I vowed to God that after it came out I'd make a disclosure."
Prosecutors had pushed for life in prison.
"You are not doing this to Russell Hirner; Russell Hirner did this to himself and his family," Rusk County District Attorney Michael Jimerson told jurors in closing arguments.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
The Associated Press
Nearly 90 claims of clergy sexual abuse were on record shortly before yesterday's court-imposed deadline for filing nearly all such claims in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson's bankruptcy proceedings.
The abuse claims comprised more than one-third of some 230 total creditor claims - collectively seeking more than $21.5 million - that were filed before 4 p.m., the cutoff time set by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge six months ago.
Susan Boswell, principal bankruptcy lawyer for the diocese, said she did not have a final number of claims filed because there were some duplicate claims, but that she would be give a status report to Judge James Marlar on Tuesday.
Thirty of the sex abuse claims were filed on behalf of clients represented by Tucson attorneys Lynne Cadigan and Kim Williamson, who have sued the diocese over allegations that their clients were molested by priests or other clergy.
NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News
Catholic priests in the Derry diocese have agreed proposals to consult with parishes on raising money for the controversial Stewardship Trust.
Last February, Bishop Seamus Hegarty revealed 3% of parishioners' money went into the compensation fund for victims of clerical sex abuse.
This was done without parishes' knowledge and it was later agreed that the levy should be dropped.
The proposals will now go to the bishop's office.
Monsignor Joe Donnelly said the details would not be revealed until parishes had given their approval.
VATICAN CITY
Monterey Herald
RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY - Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse pressed a religious order in Rome on Friday to send one of its priests back to the United States to face child molestation charges.
Three leaders of the U.S.-based group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests walked from their hotel to the Salvatorian headquarters, just yards from St. Peter's Square, to deliver a letter saying the order should expel the Rev. Joseph Henn, who is wanted in Arizona on child molestation charges.
"The victims are not asking for anything more than their day in court," said Barbara Blaine, the group's founder, who has spent the past week in Rome to highlight the problem of abuse ahead of the papal election. The conclave is set to begin Monday.
A man who identified himself as a Salvatorian priest met Blaine at the door of the order's office. When he protested that news cameras were filming their conversation, she offered to speak with him privately, but he laughed and said no. He promised to give the network's letter to the head of the religious order, then went back inside. "I'm not authorized to do anything," he said.
No one answered the phone at the religious order later Friday.
The Daily Telegraph
From correspondents in Los Angeles
April 16, 2005
A GROUP of US victims of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic priests have named five potential papal candidates they say are "morally unacceptable" to be the next Pope.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (Snap) released the list today, three days ahead of the keenly-anticipated start of the conclave at which a successor to the late Pope John Paul II will be chosen.
The cardinals targeted are Italian Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state; Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, of Honduras; Norberta Rivera Carrera, of Mexico; Dario Castrillon-Hoyos, who is the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, of Colombia; and Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, cardinal of the Chilean capital of Santiago.
The group claims the five possible papal candidates "have indicated, in essence, that they will protect pedophile priests and do not understand or will not take the sexual abuse crisis seriously", the group said.
"We likely may have a very small impact, if any, but we know every time we come forward and speak out, victims are finding more truth and (are) able to find the courage to come forward and report their abuse," said Mary Grant, a group member who lives near Los Angeles.
ROME
Catholic News Service
By Benedicta Cipolla
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- Five cardinals are "morally unacceptable as papal candidates" because they do not understand the gravity of priestly sex abuse of minors, said a U.S. advocacy and support group for abuse survivors.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, released the names at an April 15 press conference in Rome, urging other electors to exclude the five cardinals from consideration. They are:
-- Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
-- Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City.
-- Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state under Pope John Paul II.
-- Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy under the late pope.
-- Cardinal Francisco Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago, Chile.
The Age
April 16, 2005 - 10:22AM
A group of US victims of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic priests have named five potential papal candidates they say are "morally unacceptable" to be the next Pope.
The group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests released the list today, three days ahead of the keenly-anticipated start of the conclave at which a successor to the late Pope John Paul II will be chosen.
The cardinals targeted are Italian Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Norberta Rivera Carrera of Mexico, Dario Castrillon-Hoyos, who is the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, of Colombia; and Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, cardinal of the Chilean capital of Santiago.
The group claims the five possible papal candidates "have indicated, in essence, that they will protect paedophile priests and do not understand or will not take the sexual abuse crisis seriously," the group said.
"We likely may have a very small impact, if any, but we know every time we come forward and speak out, victims are finding more truth and (are) able to find the courage to come forward and report their abuse," said Mary Grant, a group member who lives near Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer
An alleged victim of clergy sexual abuse, the Rev. Robert H. Greene took his story public last Saturday from an unlikely spot: behind the pulpit at a Los Angeles church.
In a liturgy designed for fellow molestation survivors, the Anglican cleric told his story of alleged abuse as a teenager by a Roman Catholic priest, let others share their experiences, and offered communion to those who wanted it.
About 30 people who attended the service heard original music and poems by victims of sexual abuse.
At the end of the service, the church bell at the Church of Our Savior on Wilshire Boulevard rang 170 times, once for each victim of clergy sexual abuse who has committed suicide in the U.S., according to statistics gathered by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
"We almost broke the bell," said Greene, a part-time cleric for the Anglican Province of Christ the King. The denomination was formed in 1977 by traditionalists unhappy with changes within the Episcopal Church in America.
ROME
The Seattle Times
By Larry B. Stammer
Los Angeles Times
ROME — Sexual-abuse survivors knocked on the door of a religious order near St. Peter's Square yesterday seeking a priest who is wanted in the United States in connection with allegations that he molested minors.
But leaders of the U.S.-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests were told politely that the priest was not home. Barbara Blaine, president of the group, then handed the greeter a letter urging the priest's superiors to send him back to the United States to face charges.
The group was looking for Father Joseph Henn of the Salvatorian fathers, who is wanted in Phoenix.
Standing at the door of the Salvatorian fathers' residence, across the street from the Vatican press office, Blaine told a woman and two guards that the religious order should choose the moral course and send Henn back to the United States.
Henn was indicted in 2003 on 13 molestation charges involving alleged assaults on three Phoenix boys. Prosecutors sought extradition after he refused to return voluntarily.
MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
Phil Saviano, a former East Douglas resident who was instrumental in forming the New England Chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is heading to Rome today to talk to people in Italy and Europe about how the clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic church affects victims.
The cardinals of the Catholic church will enter a secret conclave at the Vatican Monday to elect a new pope. Mr. Saviano said his organization intends to keep up its presence in Rome during the conclave. Mr. Saviano said he is leaving today for London and will take another flight into Rome, arriving tomorrow afternoon.
He expects to join BillGately of Plymouth, current co-leader of the regional SNAP organization, and other activists for the duration of the conclave. Mr. Saviano, who lives in the Boston area, is Web master for the organization’s Web site at www.snapnetwork.org.
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, who founded the national SNAP organization, and Barbara Dorris, the national outreach coordinator for SNAP, were in Rome during the past week to publicize their objection to the church hierarchy allowing Cardinal Bernard F. Law to say one of the nine Masses for the late Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Law left the Boston Archdiocese for a post in Rome after acknowledging that he had transferred abusive priests from parish to parish.
Being of Italian heritage might help him establish rapport with the Italian media, Mr. Saviano said, so that he can explain the group’s positions on clergy sexual abuse.
While the scandal has been open in the United States and some other countries, very little has been done to expose the problem in much of Europe, he said.
VATICAN CITY
Boston Globe
By Rachel Zoll, Associated Press | April 16, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse pressed a religious order in Rome yesterday to send one of its priests back to the United States to face child molestation charges.
Three leaders of the US-based group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests went to the Salvatorian headquarters, just yards from St. Peter's Square, to deliver a letter saying the order should expel the Rev. Joseph Henn, who is wanted in Arizona on child molestation charges.
''The victims are not asking for anything more than their day in court," said Barbara Blaine, the group's founder, who is in Rome to highlight the problem of abuse ahead of the papal election.
Henn, who had worked in the Diocese of Phoenix, was indicted on child molestation charges in 2003. Soon after, County Attorney Rick Romley sent a letter to the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, asking that church officials order Henn to surrender. Romley said the letter was returned with a note saying the addressee refused the package.
Last year, Salvatorian officials said they had told Henn to return, but he would not.
Sofia News Agency
Politics: 16 April 2005, Saturday.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group for abuse survivors, announced the names of five cardinals who are "morally unacceptable as papal candidates".
SNAP has blacklisted Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City, Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state under Pope John Paul II, Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy under the late pope, and Cardinal Francisco Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago, Chile.
The five papal candidates do not understand the gravity of priestly sex abuse of minors, according to SNAP, which has based its list on statements it said the cardinals have made in the media.
As the crisis of sex abuse by priests will grow to other countries beyond the United States, we believe that it should be a factor in choosing the next pope, said Barbara Blaine, founder and president of SNAP, as cited by the Catholic News Service.
NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com
Saturday, April 16, 2005
By MAKEBA SCOTT HUNTER
HERALD NEWS
As an employee of the Centers for Disease Control, Mike Iatesta sets up HIV/AIDS prevention programs worldwide. On Friday afternoon, the 42-year-old Westfield resident sought to thwart what he claimed was another evil.
During a press conference at the Prime Suites Hotel in Secaucus, Iatesta aired allegations that the Rev. Gerald Ruane, of the now-defunct Sacred Heart Institute of Healing at Caldwell College, had sexually abused him as a teenager and young adult.
"Gerald Ruane, a recently retired priest of the Archdiocese of Newark - parish priest, college professor, campus minister, chaplain, director of the Sacred Heart Institute of Healing and a national charismatic healer - is also a sex offender," Iatesta alleged from a podium, surrounded by pictures of himself as a child. "I was one of his victims."
Iatesta is the latest in a series of accusers to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse by area priests.
In February, the Diocese of Paterson settled a $5 million civil lawsuit with 26 alleged victims of priest sex abuse. Within the last two-and-a-half years, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen also have settled clergy-abuse lawsuits for a combined total of close to $2 million. Together, the cases involved nearly two dozen accusers. The church did not admit guilt or wrongdoing in any of those settlements.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Duluth News Tribune
BY RYAN NAKASHIMA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE - Priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee accused of sexual misconduct can be subject to unannounced searches of their homes or computers, day or night, under a monitoring policy considered a first for the Catholic Church.
The archdiocese mailed the guidelines in late March to some 400 priests and 150 deacons in an annual update of its clergy manual.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan said in an e-mail sent to deacons and parish directors Thursday that the policy was a work in progress and that questions would be addressed at a closed meeting Thursday.
"Some of you may have raised an eyebrow of concern... and wondered about the infringement on the individual rights of priests," Dolan said.
"I have an obligation as your archbishop to do everything in my power to support clergy who have struggled or faltered in their lives, especially when behavior results in a violation of moral or civil law," said Dolan, who became archbishop in 2002 after his predecessor Rembert Weakland resigned for using church money to pay off a man who accused him of abuse.
The monitoring policies were developed late last year and approved Dec. 6 by Dolan after the archdiocese had already monitored some offenders -- who have voluntarily submitted to certain requirements -- for some time, said archdiocese spokeswoman Kathleen Hohl.
The archdiocese is still grappling with several lawsuits over clergy abuse after reaching monetary settlements in many others. As of December it had settled 47 of 112 sexual abuse claims through a mediator.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
By STEVE THEISEN
April 16, 2005
I remember well my grandmother's happiness when it was announced that John Paul II became pope. I remember well this small woman who raised a large Catholic family of my aunts and uncles through the Depression and war years.
I remember well her walking hills to attend daily Mass at her favorite church. She would seldom accept a ride back, because walking gave her time to say the rosary. I remember well that I couldn't call Grandma on a certain night as she watched and listened to Bishop Sheen.
I remember well when Grandma, knowing my wife's Polish heritage, made the innocent, giddy announcement to my wife and me that a Polish cardinal had become pope.
I also remember well the hope that sprung within me when John Paul II summoned U.S. cardinals to Rome in April 2002, telling them "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young." He said sexual abuse, committed by the religious, was "rightly considered a crime by society" as well as "an appalling sin in the eyes of God."
Finally, we had a pope who would reach out to victims of religious sexual abuse, a pope who championed human dignity, a charismatic pope who traveled the world to reach out to the universal flock of the Catholic Church and beyond. We could now begin our journeys, in which the misplaced shame and guilt of our abuse would no longer consume our inner souls.
John Paul apologized to Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Italians and even to scientists for the persecution of Galileo. But John Paul never apologized to victims of religious sexual abuse.
ALASKA
Anchorage Daily News
By PETER PORCO
Anchorage Daily News
Published: April 16th, 2005
Last Modified: April 16th, 2005 at 03:47 AM
Two Western Alaska women have sued the Russian Orthodox Church, claiming they were sexually abused as children more than 25 years ago by priests.
The women, identified in a suit filed recently in Superior Court in Bethel as Janet Doe numbers 1 and 2, are now in their late 30s. One of the priests has been dead for 14 years, the other for 24 years, according to Bishop Nikolai, head of the statewide church.
The suit claims the women still suffer "severe and permanent emotional distress, resulting in physical manifestations, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and psychological injuries" and other deprivations. It seeks $100,000 in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and attorney fees.
The suit alleges that Janet Doe 1 was abused by the Rev. Wassillie Epchook several times in the village of Kalskag in 1979 and 1980 when the girl was 11 and 12. The abuse took the form of Epchook "touching her over her clothing," according to the complaint.
Janet Doe 2 was abused by the Rev. Zachary Guest in Bethel in 1974 when she was 7 and 8, according to the lawsuit. Guest "attempted to solicit sexual favors ... and touched her in a sexually abusive and harassing manner to 'demonstrate' the meaning of the questions he was asking her in the course of confession," the suit alleges.
IRELAND
One in Four
A SERIOUSLY ill ex-Christian Brother, who is charged with indecently assaulting two young boys at a Galway industrial school over 30 years ago, is unlikely to now stand trial.
Galway District Court was previously told that the 66-year-old accused is suffering from congestive heart failure. Judge Mary Fahy yesterday adjourned the matter indefinitely because of the medical condition of the accused.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Sacramento Union
By Gilian Flaccus, The Associated Press
Published: April 15, 2005
LOS ANGELES—While money has dominated public discussion of Roman Catholic molestation cases in California, recent legal struggles over the release of confidential clergy files highlight another tension: the privacy rights of accused priests versus victims’ need to shame the church.
The day before a Northern California jury awarded two brothers nearly $2 million for alleged sexual molestation by a priest, the state Supreme Court quietly blocked the release of documents detailing the sexual histories of dozens of Los Angeles priests. Also Tuesday, accused priests in Orange County announced they would fight their diocese’s agreement to allow the public release of their private files.
Both developments were a blow for plaintiffs, who fought for the release of their alleged abusers’ personnel files, saying the exposure would validate their stories, help bring closure and prevent future abuse.
Attorneys for the priests say the disclosure would throw open the kinds of documents widely accepted as private: medical and psychological records, attorney-client communications and employment records.
“What we’re talking about are pretty fundamental privacy rights,” said Donald Steier, attorney for 26 of the 117 Los Angeles priests.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Duluth News Tribune
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - Priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee can be required to consent to unannounced searches of their homes in some situations under a new policy distributed to them, a newspaper reported Friday.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the policy affecting more than 400 priests and 150 deacons could be used if church officials suspect or know they have been involved in sexual conduct, alcohol or drug abuse, or other behavior deemed inappropriate by Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
The newspaper said it had obtained copies of the policy documents, which it said was mailed to clergy members starting last week and also included other restrictions.
It said the clerics will have to sign a form agreeing to the searches at any time of day or night as the archdiocese deems necessary, under the policy.
"Failure to comply with the restrictions could cause a reduction in salary and/or benefits provided to the member by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee," the documents state.
Newsday
BY SUSAN JACOBY
Susan Jacoby is the author of "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism."
April 15, 2005
The death of Pope John Paul II was unquestionably a news story of major importance, but the reverential tone of U.S. media coverage - especially on almighty television - tells us more about the obligatory religiosity of American public life today than about the pope or the Roman Catholic Church.
In no instance was this more evident than in the approving chorus greeting the image of three presidents - George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton - kneeling before John Paul's body. The media cited the presence of the younger Bush, the first sitting American president to attend a pope's funeral, as evidence of how far we have come from a bigoted past when a great many non-Catholics were suspicious of "popery."
The talking heads never hinted that there might be reasons other than anti-Catholic bigotry for the head of a government founded on the separation of church and state to keep a respectful distance from a church that still regards other denominations as "deficient" - the word used in a statement issued in 2000, not in 1600, by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (officially called the Inquisition in less ecumenical times). Many Americans, including the Bushes and Clinton, profess those "deficient" faiths.
But who would wish to say such things to his neighbor? The general TV tone was personified by NBC's Katie Couric, who pronounced herself "deeply moved" by the funeral homily delivered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. During the funeral coverage, few alluded to Ratzinger's authorship of the Vatican document reaffirming the inferiority of non-Catholic religions or to his efforts - at the behest of the pope - to suppress theological dissent within the church.
Television also buried the unseemly news (covered by major newspapers) that Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston after his coverup of sexual abuse by priests, had been chosen by the Vatican to celebrate a special Mass for the pope. The Boston Globe elicited a priceless Panglossian quote from Washington's Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who, asked about Law, replied, "We look at the light, rather than at the darkness. So, if everybody appears to us in the light, as they should ...there should be no darkness in the way we look at anything."
BRITAIN
Times & Star
Published on 15/04/2005
FORMER Workington priest Father Piers Grant Ferris will face crown court trial on 16 charges of indecent assault.
He appeared before magistrates in Scarborough last Friday and was sent to York Crown Court.
He will appear there on May 16. The charges relate to a period when he was a teacher at a private school for boys aged seven to 13 near York more than 30 years ago.
Fr Grant Ferris, 71, served at Workington’s Our Lady and St Michael’s Church between 1978 and 1989. He is now a monk at Ampleforth Abbey.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
The co-founder of VictimPower.org, a Web site created to ease the process for victims of sexual abuse to report the crimes, yesterday accused Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte of not cooperating with the effort.
Stephen H. Galebach, an Andover lawyer who spoke yesterday at theAbuse Tracker Press Club in Washington, said the Web site allows victims to have a dialog with police and prosecutors to report incidents of abuse. Victims can report abuse anonymously, but criminal charges cannot be filed until the victim divulges his or her identity.
Mr. Conte said the allegation his office isn’t cooperating is absurd. He said his office received one communication from VictimPower.org in January, the month the Web site went into operation, and that it concerned a 1954 case and involved a priest who is dead.
There was no way to proceed with such a case, the district attorney said, adding that the person who made the anonymous report is free to contact his office to talk further. He added that he has never told VictimPower representatives that he would not accept anonymous reports.
Mr. Galebach, a former legal adviser in the Reagan White House and former special assistant to U.S. Attorney Edwin Meese, said in an interview that his criticism was based on information he has received that the Worcester district attorney’s office flatly refuses to take reports on abuse cases from victims who do identify themselves.
The Worcester Police Department, Mr. Galebach added, has cooperated with the VictimPower effort.
“The problem is that police departments and the Department of Social Services can cooperate and collect information, but it’s no good when he gets to the prosecutorial level and they will not cooperate,” he said.
Mr. Galebach and Mr. Conte both provided copies of a Feb. 7 letter written to VictimPower by Assistant Worcester District Attorney Christopher P. Hodgens, which states that “anonymous reports are of little if any help.” He pointed out that courts do not allow cases involving anonymous victims to be prosecuted.
Mr. Galebach said VictimPower sees this as a refusal by Mr. Conte’s office to accept such communications. He stressed that the goal of establishing the Web site is to help victims feel more comfortable with and trust investigators and prosecutors.
Mr. Hodgens said “numerous victims” have spoken with law enforcement officers in Central Massachusetts and that state police attached to Mr. Conte’s office have interviewed more than 100 victims without revealing their identity to the public. “While not all cases can be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations, the courage of these victims in coming to us has enabled this office to bring a number of offenders to justice,” Mr. Hodgens said.
N. William Delker, senior assistant attorney general for New Hampshire, said at theAbuse Tracker Press Club session that anonymous tips “can help solve crime by putting the police on alert of illegal activity. What’s more, VictimPower.org enables victims of sexual abuse to realize that they are not alone.
“Hopefully by developing a confidential dialogue with law enforcement, victims can ultimately gain sufficient confidence in the system to come forward publicly and pursue cases against their perpetrators,” he said.
Peter Pollard, a Springfield-area resident who is an alleged sexual abuse victim and is active with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, commended law enforcement for the widespread cooperation. “Sexual predators shame their victims into silence. The single most important strategy for stopping sexual abuse is to provide a safe way for victims to speak out,” he said.
Mr. Galebach and his wife, Diane, who are Catholic and are active in their parish, said the site grew out of the clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic Church; but Mr. Galebach said he wanted the site to be used for victims to report sexual abuse by anyone.
In the first three months of operation, Mrs. Galebach said the Web site received 95 communications from anonymous sources, including 43 new cases and 52 follow-ups. Forty-one of the 43 new cases involved allegations of sexual abuse, 37 of them involving minors. Twenty-three of the communications involved allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests or nuns. Most incidents were more than 10 years old, but six alleged incidents were ongoing or happened in the last five years, the staff said.
VictimPower had high praise for law enforcement agencies in Texas and New Hampshire for their cooperation.
“Under the leadership of Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire has pioneered the best practices for serving the needs of abuse survivors,” Mrs. Galebach said.
GRAND RAPIDS (MI)
WZZM
Gita Pullapilly
Grand Rapids - The Grand Rapids Diocese is offering a training program called, Protecting God's Children to help prevent sex abuse in the church and the community.
The program is designed to spot sexual predators. Even some former victims have taken part in the program to help educate adults.
"If somebody is not behaving to that standard, a red flag is raised," said Larry Mulligan, one of the trainers.
So far, 11,000 Diocesan members have attended the training program. "This program is to have all of our adults form a net. On one side, people who may harm our children and on the other side is our children," said Mulligan.
In the training sessions, they teach you what to look for as adults interact with children. "You probably wouldn't be able to tell the individual unless you had some training," said Mulligan.
TUCSON (AZ)
KOLD
By J.D. Wallace, KOLD News 13 Reporter
posted 4/14/05
A series of open houses by Tucson Realty and Accelerated Marketing Group is giving potential bidders a chance to do their homework on Diocese property that is going to auction next month.
Tucson Realty will auction 85 properties for the Diocese of Tucson on May 21st. Other than two properties, they are all vacant land. Pima County has 29 of the properties. The Diocese of Tucson needs to raise $3.2 million to pay sexual abuse claims; however, bidders will determine if the diocese makes that much at the auction.
“I decided I’d look into vacant land, because we had vacant land and did well on it. I’m just looking as an investor,” said Ken Cousin.
“I’d really have to go look at them. I mean, it’s pretty widespread, being statewide, and obviously we don’t have time to cover the whole state, so, just pick out something that catches your eye and go with it and maybe you want to put the leg work into hunting around for it,” said Tom Hastings.
FLORIDA
Herald-Tribune
Florida should create -- and require adherence to -- a better system for investigating and tracking complaints of sexual abuse and misconduct involving educators and students.
Current safeguards are inadequate and inconsistently applied. State officials should intervene and oversee an overhaul.
The latest evidence of the system's shortcomings is the story of Sean Ford, a teacher and volleyball coach who worked or had contact with students for more than a decade at schools in Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties -- despite a troubling pattern of behavior that eventually led him to surrender his teaching certificate.
As Herald-Tribune reporter Tiffany Lankes detailed in an article Sunday, multiple breakdowns in communication -- involving school leaders, school districts, state officials and law enforcement -- enabled Ford to move from school to school.
Information about Ford's past, including a finding by state investigators of evidence that he'd violated ethical standards by having sexual relationships with two students, wasn't relayed to school or law-enforcement officials.
The lack of communication became abundantly clear in 2003, when parents at Lakewood Ranch High School in Manatee began questioning Ford's role in assisting the coach of the volleyball team. After learning more about his past, the school district banned him from its campuses.
Ford's record resurfaced earlier this year following news reports that a longtime Manatee educator, Joseph Gilpin, was part of a settlement reached by the Archdiocese of Boston with numerous individuals who reported being sexually abused by priests. Gilpin had been accused of molesting two boys while studying to become a priest in the Northeast in the 1960s.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By MARY ZAHN
mzahn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 14, 2005
Priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee can be required to consent to unannounced searches of their homes at any time of the day or night if church officials suspect or know they have been involved in sexual conduct, alcohol or drug abuse, or other behavior deemed inappropriate by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, according to a policy change announced to clergy last week.
The new policy, which was mailed to clergy members starting last week, appears to be the only one of its kind in the country. The policy covers more than 400 priests and 150 deacons.
As the archdiocese deems necessary, clerics will have to sign a form agreeing to the searches and other restrictions, according to the policy documents.
"Failure to comply with the restrictions could cause a reduction in salary and/or benefits provided to the member by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee," the documents state.
"We have not heard about these unannounced visits in other dioceses," said William Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who was given copies of the new policy by a reporter this week. Dolan is chairman of that group's Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal
BY BRYAN ROURKE
Journal Staff Writer
Holy Water-Gate: Abuse Cover-Up in the Catholic Church, a documentary film about sexual abuse by priests, will get its first general-audience screening in Rhode Island next week at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence.
The 56-minute movie by Mary Healey-Conlon of Warren, a lecturer in communications and film at the University of Rhode Island, will be shown April 18-24 at the South Main Street theater,
The independent film, five years in the making, premiered earlier this year in Brookline, Mass. Healey-Conlon went $180,000 in debt to make the movie, which won her the CINE Golden Eagle Award. Previous recipients include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Ken Burns.
Holy Water-Gate presents interviews with victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse, as well as church officials..
One of the first images in the film is of Healey-Conlon's grandfather, Jim Healey, one of the first ordained lay deacons in Rhode Island. He was a communicant of St. Matthews Church in Cranston, where the Rev. James Silva was once pastor. In 1995, Father Silva was convicted of sexual abuse.
SAN ANTONIO (TX)
Express-News
J. Michael Parker
Express-News Religion Writer
A support group for clergy sexual abuse survivors is demanding that Archbishop José Gomez publicly name all San Antonio priests with sexual abuse allegations against them.
Barbara Garcia Boehland and two fellow members of the San Antonio Chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests demonstrated quietly Wednesday morning in front of the Catholic Chancery with a sign picturing her son, Eduardo Ramon, and two victims from other states. All had committed suicide after being molested by priests.
Garcia Boehland complained that Gomez has refused to meet with survivors.
A spokesman said Gomez has indicated no plans to name accused priests who are elderly or dead but invited two SNAP members to meet with him, without success.
"We want (Gomez) to meet with all of us. It's not just about me; it's about everybody in this community who wants answers," Garcia Boehland said. "They're still reassigning abusive priests. They're not obeying the Dallas charter, which says they'll clean up past cases."
The U.S. Catholic bishops approved a national Charter for Protection of Children and Young People in Dallas in June 2002. Archdiocese leaders later said they received 12 new credible allegations against area priests. Six were dead and six retired from ministry.
MichNews.com
By Matt C. Abbott
MichNews.com
Apr 15, 2005
Recent press reports indicating the late Father Ryan Erickson, 31, was likely involved in a double homicide have not been confirmed or denied by the Hudson, Wis. police chief. The priest committed suicide in December 2004, just days after being questioned by investigators about the shooting deaths of Dan O’Connell and James Ellison, which occurred in February 2002.
Although Erickson had denied any involvement in the murders, “substantial evidence” points to his guilt, according to a March 31, 2005 story in the Ironwood Daily Globe (www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0331murd.htm). The investigation appears to be coming to a close. ...
Priest-author and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Andrew Greeley has been reporting from Rome for the past several days. In his April 14 column, he once again criticizes the Church hierarchy for its handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis. Greeley ends the column with these words: “At least spare us the hypocrisy of voting for a pope who will appeal to young people unless you are willing to elect a pope who will protect young people.”
If that isn’t a case of the pot calling the kettle black, then I don’t know what is. I’m referring, of course, to the fact that Greeley is strangely silent when it comes to the information he claims to have in safekeeping about a clergy pedophile ring known as The Boys’ Club; and its possible connection to the 1984 unsolved murder of Greeley’s 47-year-old acquaintance, Francis Pellegrini.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.com
Bill Gately, a Plymouth resident and New England coordinator of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, plans to fly to Rome today to serve as a visual reminder of clergy abuse and join the campaign against Cardinal Bernard Law, who said a Mass after the pope's funeral. Gately said he hopes his presence in Rome serves as evidence that the problem is not resolved. Gately said he was disappointed that Law was allowed to say Mass, even though the cardinal resigned from his position as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002 amid reports of his failure to remove abusive priests. ''They are canonizing, or trying to canonize, a man who presided over the largest child sex ring on the planet," Gately said.
ZNet
by Tom Turnipseed April 13, 2005
"He is like a poster child for the sex abuse scandal" said Barbara Blaine in describing Cardinal Bernard Law who gave a memorial mass for Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome this week. Ms. Blaine is a U. S. Catholic who was in Rome as a representative of the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests to protest. Ms. Blaine says she was sexually abused as a child by her parish priest from 1969 to 1974. Cardinal Law is the former archbishop of Boston who was forced to resign in 2002 because he purposefully moved priests from parish to parish when he knew they were sexually abusing minors in their parish. Cardinal Law appeared to be an enabler of priests involved in criminal activity as well as complicit in a criminal conspiracy.
The sex scandal in the Boston diocese implicated dozens of priests who were sexually abusive to their young parishioners and resulted in Cardinal Law being named in over 500 lawsuits. The disturbing stories of sex among the sacred and cover-ups by higher-ups across the U.S. exploded in the media. Cardinal Law went on "retreat" and then quietly became chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy of Alma in Clinton, Maryland. In a startling rebuke to elemental principles of justice Pope John Paul II named Cardinal Law as the archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in the holy city of Rome on May 27, 2004. Living in a classical Roman apartment on a $12,000 monthly stipend, Cardinal Law was selected for the honor of celebrating mass on one of the nine days of mourning for Pope John Paul II and will now join the other Cardinals in choosing the next Pope.
Throughout human history, religious dogma has distorted the beauty and reality of human sexuality into a doctrine of guilt and repression. The unreal, unrelenting and misguided view of human sexuality of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy is mind-boggling. Their stridently pedantic pedagogy on priesthood celibacy, divorce, birth control, sex out-of-wedlock and masturbation is in desperate need of a real-world update. While John Paul II was a Pope of peace, outreach and understanding among the religions and nations of the world he was certainly a traditionalist on human sexuality.
ROME
Chicago Sun-Times
April 14, 2005
BY ANDREW GREELEY
"Sex abuse, as terrible as it is," an American priest said here the other day, "ought not to be part of the media coverage of the conclave. It's an American issue and only a small part of the problems of the universal church."
I figured my ears must be playing tricks again. Sexual abuse of one sort or another is, alas, a universal problem. It has existed always and everywhere. Sexual abuse of children by priests happens wherever there are priests and children. It has become a public problem in the United States (and other countries like Britain and Ireland where common law prevails) only because the American media and the American legal system have forced the church to stop hiding it. For which I say thank God.
The crisis in the United States has revealed dangerous weaknesses in the structure and culture of the Catholic Church which exist everywhere and to which the next pope must pay serious attention (not that I expect that he will). How can the cardinal electors speak about finding a pope who will appeal to young people if the pope is unwilling to impose those reforms that will protect young people from abuse?
The current structures of Catholicism do not provide a system of responsibility and accountability for bishops -- save for the ad hoc system existing now in the United States. Only the hapless Cardinal Bernard Law has been forced out of office (and is viewed here as a victim of the American media and activist laity) for reassigning abusive priests. The existing clerical culture insists on the need to protect priests, almost at all costs. If the founder of the Legionaries of Christ were an American priest he would have been removed from active duty, given the strength of the allegations against him. Here he was a personal friend of the late pope and immune from serious investigation.
AlterNet
By Arianna Huffington, AlterNet. Posted April 12, 2005.
The media have outed themselves as the ultimate necrophiliacs. I expect CNN and Forest Lawn to announce a sponsorship agreement any day now.
Paint the last month black. It's been an orgy of mourning; a cornucopia of death. We've had Terri Schiavo, Pope John Paul, Prince Rainier, and Charles and Camilla's wedding--which felt as grim as any funeral. All brought to us in no-longer-living color. If nothing else, the media have outed themselves as the ultimate necrophiliacs. I expect CNN and Forest Lawn to announce a sponsorship agreement any day now.
The pope's interminable interment was the magenta-colored cherry on the death sundae. The TV coverage was so over-the-top and utterly uncritical, it was as if John Paul had been, well, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Or, at least, Jim Caviezel.
Now, I'm certainly not suggesting that the last week should have been spent trashing the late pontiff. His many achievements--taking on communism, embracing the Third World, speaking out for the poor, and standing up against war--surely deserved recognition and praise. But you'd think the wall-to-wall coverage would have included some serious discussion of the two tragic failures of his reign: his woeful mishandling of the church's child molestation scandal, and how his archaic position on condoms contributed to the deaths of millions of people, especially in Africa.
The molestation outrage is a black mark that can't be whitewashed.
Over 11,000 children were sexually abused and close to $1 billion in settlement money has been paid out, but the pope did not go much beyond decrying "the sins of some of our brothers." He never met with any victims, he never offered practical solutions to dealing with the problem, he never addressed the decades-long cover-up of the abuse. He even rejected a "zero tolerance" policy calling for the immediate removal of molester-priests, concerned that it was too harsh.
HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle
By CHARLES WARD
Houston Chronicle
A Houston choir that sang for Monday's mourning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica first debated whether to participate after learning the celebrant would be Cardinal Bernard Law.
"It was a tremendously moving ceremony for the choir no matter who the celebrant was," St. Anne Catholic Community choir director Jim Ross said after the Mass. "The church is bigger than any one person, saint or sinner."
As part of a long-planned trip, the St. Anne choir had been scheduled to sing the Vigil Mass on Saturday at St. Peter's, but Vatican officials canceled that after the death of Pope John Paul II. They agreed to let the ensemble sing Monday.
The news that the former cardinal of the Boston Archdiocese would be the celebrant prompted intense concern among choir members, Ross said Monday by phone from Rome.
But after discussions Saturday evening and Sunday morning, choir members reached a consensus decision to accept the unique opportunity.
"We are on a pilgrimage to witness through our music. We felt privileged to be part of ... church history," Ross said of their decision.
GREECE
North County Times
By: Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece -- A senior Greek Orthodox bishop who is being investigated by church and state authorities has been ordered to stand trial on money laundering charges, court officials said Wednesday.
Metropolitan Bishop Panteleimon of Attica was charged with laundering money and embezzling about $376,500 from a monastery near Athens between 1996 and 1997. No trial date has been set.
If convicted on both charges, he faces more than 10 years in prison.
The indictments come nearly three months after the church began investigating allegations of sex and corruption scandals in its ranks.
ROME
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Ken Dilanian
Inquirer Staff Writer
ROME - A pair of American victims of clerical sex abuse yesterday called on church officials to stop "sheltering" accused priests who have been living near the Vatican.
At a news conference a block from St. Peter's Square, Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, cited a newspaper investigation that located, here in Catholicism's world capital, six priests accused or convicted of sex abuse in the United States.
Blaine urged church leaders to use their moral authority to persuade the men to return to face justice.
"The place where these men should be is almost anywhere except Rome," she said. "It's important that no more children be abused."
One of the clerics, the Rev. Joseph Hennes, has been indicted on child sex charges in Phoenix. In September, Hennes was found living steps from St. Peter's Square at the headquarters of the Salvatorian religious order, according to the Dallas Morning News, which has been tracking dozens of accused priests living abroad.
The Maricopa County prosecutor's office is seeking to extradite Hennes, a process that could take years. A letter sent to the Vatican's secretary of state in 2003 was sent back marked "refused by the rightful addressee," Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant county prosecutor, said yesterday.
TEXAS
KGBT
April 14, 2005 - A former priest accused of sexually abusing a boy in the Brownsville diocese has resigned as rector of a catholic university in Mexico.
The Dallas Morning News says the reverend Ivan Rovira and two other men accused of abusing children while serving as priests in the United States have left their jobs abroad.
The moves follow earlier reports of their abuse allegations.
The reverend Jose Luis Urbina had been working until recently in Mexico.
HAYWARD (CA)
The Argus
By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD — A jury awarded $1.93 million in damages on Wednesday to two brothers who were abused by an East Bay priest more than 20 years ago.
The jury of 10 women and two men unanimously found that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland acted with "malice" by allowing a pedophile priest, the Rev. Robert Ponciroli, to molest the former Antioch altar boys.
But the dollar amount jurors awarded Bob Thatcher and Tom Thatcher was significantly lower than the $27 million their lawyer asked for during the trial's closing arguments Tuesday.
The brothers and their lawyers downplayed the significance of the money awards and called the verdict a clear victory for victims of clergy abuse.
"We weren't here for money," said Bob Thatcher, 34, speaking outside a courtroom in the Hayward Hall of Justice with his 33-year-old brother and several lawyers in tow.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
10:46 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 13, 2005
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
Unless the Rev. Larry Joe Crocker resigns or charges of molesting a boy in his Dallas congregation are dropped, a regional church committee is likely to decide his future in the ministry.
But the committee representing the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Southwest includes a voting member who has admitted to sexual misconduct with a youth, The Dallas Morning News has learned.
Some clergy, parishioners and victims of clergy abuse say the Rev. Dan Carroll's membership on the committee indicates that some Protestant church leaders in Texas are not dealing aggressively with sexual misconduct in their ranks.
Lakeview Christian Church in Dallas could decide to retain Mr. Crocker, the 56-year-old pastor from Garland who was charged last month with two counts of indecency with a child by contact, regardless of police or regional church findings.
But the Southwest region's committee on ministry could revoke his good standing with the denomination, making it harder for him to find a job elsewhere.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
01:08 AM CDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
When a Dallas pastor was arrested last month on suspicion of molesting a boy in his congregation, some insisted the charge was a lie. Others who knew the minister praised God that he had "finally been stopped."
Larry Joe Crocker The Rev. Larry Joe Crocker, the 56-year-old pastor of Lakeview Christian Church in Dallas, was arrested March 16 at his Garland home and charged with two counts of indecency with a child by contact. He denies the charges.
Almost 20 years ago, Mr. Crocker, a Disciples of Christ pastor, was asked to resign from another Texas church after a boy said the pastor had persuaded him to swim naked together in the church baptistery, said an elder and a deacon in the church, who are the boy's mother and father.
The Rockdale boy, who is now 30 and a professional at a prominent Texas company, also said Mr. Crocker took him on an overnight fishing trip and let him drive a pickup through a pasture while the minister rode beside him in the nude.
Mr. Crocker said he had been "cleared of any wrongdoing." He and his attorney declined to provide details of who might have investigated the case; the accuser and his family say it was never referred to police.
As the police investigation into the recent charges continues, those who believe Mr. Crocker has been wrongly accused say his ordeal reveals the danger of false reports in an era of deep mistrust of religious figures.
HAYWARD (CA)
KPIX
04/13/05 8:05 PDT
HAYWARD (BCN)
An Alameda County Superior Court jury ruled today that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland was negligent in allowing two former Antioch altar boys to be molested by their parish priest.
After only a day of deliberations, the 10-woman, two-man panel awarded Robert and Tom Thatcher a total of $1.93 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Their attorney Rick Simons had asked for a total of $27 million in damages, but he said today that the verdict was a victory for the Thatcher brothers nonetheless because, "We established for history's sake that the Bishop of Oakland had a policy of hiding known child molesters."
Although many Catholic priests have stood trial on sex abuse allegations, Simons said he believes the Thatchers' case is the first trial in the U.S. in which the policies of a diocese have been put on trial.
BOSTON (MA)
Providence Journal
BOSTON
HISTORY CAN TURN with world-famous events or with all but unnoticed events, whose significance may not be appreciated until many years later. I think the tide of a terrible period of recent history -- the discovery of widespread priestly sexual abuse in the Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese -- may have finally turned a notch, at least, with both types of events.
The world-famous event was the death of Pope John Paul II. The life story of one who saw some of his childhood friends killed in World War II or exterminated in the Holocaust, and who, from ages 25 to 69, spent his adult life sustaining a Christian church whose right of existence was denied by a central tenet of communism, reminds us that history is dynamic, not static.
Fascism and communism were abuses of power on a worldwide scale, but they were not inevitable. Against the ethically superior idea of human liberty they were indefensible intellectually and, eventually, defenseless politically. The same is certain to be true of the abuse of power that has perverted part of the Catholic priesthood.
John Paul's passing served to remind the concert of sexual-abuse victims, their families, fellow parishioners and innocent priests of one exemplary priestly life: of a man who repented the historic sins of Catholicism in synagogues and Orthodox churches, and who embraced his own would-be assassin as a human brother.
John Paul's example begs all of us to understand that there can be good life after trauma. The completion of his life after long, cheerfully borne, duty-filled suffering invites the concert of victims, families, parishioners and innocent priests to help end their own suffering by forgiving the Church.
CALIFORNIA
Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California jury on Wednesday awarded two brothers nearly $2 million (1.06 million pounds) for sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of a Catholic priest a quarter century ago.
The judgment against the Catholic Diocese of Oakland is the second in recent weeks in the San Francisco area that resulted from a California measure that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for priest abuse claims.
The latest case involved Robert Thatcher, 34, and his brother Tom, 33, They said Robert Ponciroli abused them when they were altar boys in Antioch east of San Francisco.
The brothers' lawyers said the church knew that Ponciroli abused children but did nothing.
The jury awarded Robert Thatcher $875,000 in compensatory damages and $875,000 in punitive damages after finding the diocese was 60 percent responsible for the abuse, a court official said. The jury awarded $180,000 to Tom Thatcher in compensatory damages.
Los Angeles Times
Margaret Carlson
It was great to feel Catholic again last week as the pope was buried with all the church's ancient splendor: the flowing robes, the stately miters, the Gregorian chants.
I was taken back to High Mass at Good Shepherd in Camp Hill, Pa. It was our place of worship — and with its music, costumes and liturgy, our concert hall and our theater as well.
Add the Knights of Columbus, bingo and Mother Marita Joseph running the grade school, and that was Catholic parish life in the '60s.
It was a wonderful way to grow up.
But I was jolted out of my nostalgia when I saw Cardinal Bernard Law among the red-robed princes of the church. How did it happen that Law landed such an exalted and cushy job as archpriest of the patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome?
For the evil he covered up as archbishop of Boston, Law should have been banished to the nave of a cold, dark chapel, on his knees, doing penance, for the rest of his days. Isn't that the way of the church?
HAYWARD (CA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
KIM CURTIS
Associated Press
HAYWARD, Calif. - Despite receiving far less money than they sought for the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of a priest more than two decades ago, brothers Bob and Tom Thatcher were pleased with the jury's verdict.
The Thatchers were awarded nearly $2 million in damages by a jury Wednesday in a case that was closely watched because it was the first in a series of sex-abuse lawsuits to seek punitive damages.
"We exposed a lot of wrongdoing," Tom Thatcher said. "The church was called despicable on the record. They say they have changed their ways and I hope they have."
Bob Thatcher, 34, was awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages and $875,000 in punitive damages. Tom, 33, was awarded $180,000 in compensatory damages and no punitive damages were sought in his case.
While the total award of $1.93 million was far less than the $27 million plaintiffs attorney Rick Simons asked for in closing arguments, he said he was pleased the jury ruled that the Oakland Diocese acted with malice and awarded punitive damages.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat and Chronicle
Mark Hare
(April 14, 2005) — Three years ago, when the American Catholic bishops, in response to a widening clergy abuse scandal, adopted a policy that was quickly labeled "zero tolerance," many people (myself included) feared it would raise false expectations.
This is not to say that the church should tolerate a little abuse, but that there are problems that do not readily lend themselves to administrative remedy.
Take the case of Father Michael Volino, the Greece priest now facing federal charges of transporting and possessing child pornography on his computer.
Why didn't the Catholic diocese know of his alleged addiction to child porn? If he did download images, and if he did — as the FBI says Volino has told agents — seek counseling for his interest in child porn, why wasn't something done?
Because zero tolerance doesn't get you inside the head of a person who has never been charged with a sexual crime or been named in a single complaint.
Let's be clear. The diocese made a serious error in Volino's case. Authorities, including the bishop, admitted as much within days of his arrest last month.
ROME
The Arizona Republic
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 14, 2005 12:00 AM
ROME - From the Vatican's perspective, America's priest sex-abuse scandal has diminished, and all that remains is to regain the trust of the faithful and clear a backlog of cases that still await official review.
The scandal is not likely to play a big role when it comes to choosing Pope John Paul II's successor, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Vatican expert and editor of the Catholic weekly magazine America.
"The abuse problem needs to be solved at home," he said. "It will not be solved at the Vatican. The Vatican did not move priests from parish to parish."
Vatican officials would not say how many cases, including some from the Phoenix Diocese, still need to be reviewed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican agency responsible for clergy discipline. Nor would they release how many already had been reviewed.
"The congregation is trying to help American bishops to resolve this issue, diocese by diocese, so that they can say that they have no other abusers in the ministry," said the Rev. Augustine Di Noia, undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and one of the higher-ranking Americans in the Vatican who is not a cardinal.
HAYWARD (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, April 14, 2005
An Alameda County jury awarded nearly $2 million in damages Wednesday to two brothers who were molested by a Roman Catholic priest when they were altar boys at an Antioch church two decades ago.
The Hayward jury's award was far less than the $27 million Bob and Tom Thatcher sought, and it was unclear how the closely watched case might affect more than 150 other clergy-abuse civil lawsuits pending in Northern California.
But the brothers said they were pleased. Tom Thatcher of Longwood, Fla., said the lawsuit against the Oakland Diocese was about "exposing and trying to change some things in the way the church does business."
The award, the brothers said, punishes the diocese for transferring the now-defrocked Rev. Robert Ponciroli to their church in Antioch despite knowing he was a pedophile.
"They did find that the diocese acted despicably," said Bob Thatcher of Chandler, Ariz. "Justice was served today."
CALIFORNIA
EarthTimes.org
In a radical judgment that tries to make amends with past mistakes, a California court today awarded $2 million in damages to two brothers who were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest.
About 20 years ago Robert Thatcher now 34, and his brother Tom now 33, had accused Robert Ponciroli of abusing them when they were altar boys for the Catholic Diocese of Oakland in Antioch east of San Francisco. They had also accused the diocese of deliberately concealing the fact that Rev. Robert Ponciroli was a pedophile. He had tickled or molested the brothers in a makeshift rectory at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch during late 1970s to early 1980s. Robert Ponciroli now lives in Florida. He was defrocked but never faced any charges.
Though the jury did not award $27 million as claimed by the brothers, it did suitably compensate them. Bob Thatcher was awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages and $875,000 in punitive damages, while his brother, Tom Thatcher of Longwood; Fla got $180,000 in compensatory damages. Tom had not sought punitive damages.
SICILY
The New Zealand Herald
12.04.05 5.20pm
PALERMO - One of Italy's most famous anti-Mafia priests will stand trial on charges of child molestation, a Sicilian magistrate ruled today.
Father Paolo Turturro, who ran a parish in one of Palermo's toughest neighbourhoods near the city's main Mafia prison and often led demonstrations of children against organised crime, is accused of sexually abusing two minors.
Turturro has always proclaimed his innocence.
"I am serene. I trust my soul to God but I have faith in justice," he said on leaving the courtroom, according to one of his lawyers.
The trial will start on May 19 in the Sicilian capital of Palermo, where Turturro lived until magistrates told him in 2003 that he had to leave the city while the charges were investigated.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat and Chronicle
Gary Craig
Staff writer
(April 12, 2005) — A lawyer for the Rev. Michael Volino and federal prosecutors are discussing a possible plea agreement to charges that Volino possessed child pornography.
A federal magistrate judge today agreed to postpone a hearing for Volino, a Catholic priest, while plea negotiations continue. Plea negotiations are common in federal court cases.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Phoenix
THE PROMINENT role that the Vatican has bestowed upon Bernard Cardinal Law following the death of Pope John Paul II goes far beyond the merely inappropriate. It is repulsive and offensive, and it makes you wonder whether the Catholic Church has learned anything following the pedophile-priest scandals of the past four years.
Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in late 2002, following revelations that he had covered up the crimes of his Roman-collared rapists, and had reassigned many of them to new parishes where, inevitably, they raped again. His departure came nearly two long years after the first of a series of groundbreaking reports in the Boston Phoenix on Law’s culpability in the sexual-abuse crisis. (An archive of the Phoenix’s coverage is online at www.bostonphoenix.com/pages/cardinal.asp.) The Boston Globe won the Pulitzer Prize for public service by exposing the extent of Law’s culpability. Yet there Law was this past Monday, saying a mass of mourning for the pope at St. Peter’s Basilica, a clear signal that he remains a respected member of the Catholic hierarchy.
John Paul’s life has justifiably been celebrated for his many accomplishments: his courageous opposition to communism, his unprecedented outreach to the Jewish community, his opposition to unjust wars (including the war in Iraq), and his advocacy of such social-justice causes as abolition of the death penalty. Within the Church, though, his record was a bitter disappointment to progressives. His persecution of gay and lesbian Catholics, his refusal to ordain women and married men, and his continued opposition to birth control — even to the point of condemning the use of condoms to prevent AIDS — all speak to another, less attractive side of his papacy.
Nowhere, though, was the pope more in the wrong than in his passive approach to sexual abuse. John Paul made an example out of Cardinal Law, but it was precisely the wrong kind of example. Law was rewarded with a cushy sinecure in Rome and placed in a position where he could re-emerge, as he now has. The next pope has to get it right when it comes to pedophile priests. He could start by making a very different kind of example of Law, a preening, arrogant man whose willful negligence destroyed so many lives — and who virtually bankrupted the archdiocese for which he was morally, spiritually, and financially responsible.
HAYWARD (CA)
KGO
Apr. 13 (AP) — Two brothers molested by a priest more than two decades ago were awarded nearly $2 million in damages by a jury Wednesday.
The case involving the abuse of Bob and Tom Thatcher was closely watched because it is the first in a series of sex-abuse lawsuits to seek punitive damages.
Bob Thatcher, 34, was awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages and $875,000 in punitive damages. His brother Tom, 33, was awarded $180,000 in compensatory damages and no punitive damages were sought in his case.
While the total award of $1.93 million was far less than the $27 million plaintiffs attorney Rick Simons asked for in closing arguments, he said he was pleased the jury ruled that the Oakland Diocese acted with malice and awarded punitive damages.
ROME
Contra Costa Times
By KEN DILANIAN
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ROME - The decision by Vatican officials to have Cardinal Bernard Law preside over a high-profile mourning Mass for the late pope is the latest example of the chasm that separates how senior Vatican officials view the priest sex-abuse scandal and the way many American Catholics see it.
While Pope John Paul II and other senior Vatican officials repeatedly condemned child sex abuse by priests and endorsed American bishops' efforts to combat it, church officials in Rome never saw the revelations as the kind of confidence-shattering, life-changing event that many Americans did.
Some senior church officials - including Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez, who's considered a strong papal candidate - continually suggested that the scandal was a creation of the American news media.
"We all know that Ted Turner is openly anti-Catholic, and he is the owner not just of CNN but of Time Warner," Rodriguez said inaccurately in May 2002, in a broadside accusing the former CNN chairman and U.S. news outlets of "persecuting" the church. He suggested it was because of the Vatican's pro-Palestinian outlook. Rodriguez continues to stand by his remarks.
HAYWARD (CA)
KXTV
A Hayward jury has awarded $1.93 million in compensatory and punitive damages to two brothers who were molested as alter boys by an Antioch priest.
The jury decided the Oakland Diocese was responsible for 60 percent of the award and Rev. Robert Ponciroli for 40 percent.
The jury determined the diocese acted with malice in deciding the punitive damages.
Earlier this month the jury found Ponciroli guilty of molesting the Hayward brothers when he served at St. Ignatious Catholic Church in Antioch. The boys were about nine and 10 years old when the sexual abuse occurred, about 25 years ago.
IRELAND
ObviousNews.com
Patrick Donnelly thought he might like to be a teacher, or maybe a chef. Then the Roman Catholic priesthood captured his imagination — an increasingly rare event in this former bastion of the faith.
In much of Europe and North America, there aren‘t enough Patrick Donnellys anymore. The winds of social change and sex abuse scandals have made the priesthood — with its lifetime commitment and mandatory celibacy — an unpopular career.
While the number of Catholics jumped to more than 1 billion around the globe during John Paul II‘s 26-year papacy, the number of new priests didn‘t keep pace. Reversing the decline among American and European men will be a major challenge for the next pope.
The Dallas Morning News
07:28 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 13, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON and BRENDAN M. CASE / The Dallas Morning News
Three high-profile Catholics have left their jobs abroad since The Dallas Morning News reported recently that they had sexually abused children while serving as priests in the United States.
The three, who could not be located for comment, are:
•Monsignor Ivan Rovira, who officials say has resigned as rector of a Catholic university in Matamoros, Mexico, and quit celebrating Mass at the cathedral there. In 2002, he had left the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, just across the Rio Grande, after being accused of rape and admitting to church superiors that he had abused a boy.
•Former priest Ron Voss, who was running a charity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that helps poor young people there and U.S. Catholic missionaries. He had left Lafayette, Ind., in the 1980s after being accused of abuse and later was removed from the priesthood after telling the Vatican that he had molested many boys.
•The Rev. José Luis Urbina, a pastor in the northwestern Mexico city of Navojoa. He had fled Sacramento, Calif., in 1989 after pleading guilty to abusing a boy but before he could be sentenced.
There was no word Wednesday on whether Mr. Voss and Father Urbina might return to their jobs at some point.
A woman who answered the phone recently at Mr. Voss' Port-au-Prince charity said she was now running it but declined to identify herself or comment further. Father Urbina's Mexican bishop could not be reached for comment.
VATICAN CITY
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 12:34 pm EDT April 13, 2005
UPDATED: 1:59 pm EDT April 13, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- American victims of clergy sex abuse urged church officials Wednesday to help extradite accused priests who fled to their religious orders in Rome or to foreign countries to escape punishment.
Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said religious leaders have a moral obligation to help prosecutors in these cases, so children are not at risk.
"The place where these men should be is almost anywhere except Rome," said Blaine, speaking at a news conference in a hotel near St. Peter's Square. "This is not about punishment. This is merely about prevention."
The Dallas Morning News reported last year that some religious orders were sheltering accused priests in Rome. They include clergymen who had been criminally charged in the United States or who had admitted molesting young people years before and now face additional claims.
The newspaper also found evidence of several priests accused of abuse in one country who then moved to another, where they were working in Roman Catholic churches or ministries.
ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, April 13, 2005
ALBANY -- Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and a counseling program for victims of clergy sexual abuse were named in a lawsuit that accused Spitzer of ignoring victims' calls to investigate alleged misconduct and conspiracy by Catholic leaders.
Attorney John Aretakis filed the suit April 7 in U.S. District Court on behalf of three victims: Randall Sweringen, a 39-year-old former monk who was sexually abused by a priest while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; David Wilson; and a man identified as John Doe.
The lawsuit also names the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, which set up a mediation service for people who were abused by current or former priests of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese. The diocese asked the association to create the program.
On Tuesday, Aretakis criticized Spitzer, saying, "The requests of clergy abuse victims have fallen on deaf ears."
ROME
Daily Record
By Abbott Koloff, Daily Record
Barbara Blaine was sitting in the massive St. Peter's Basilica, close enough to see Cardinal Bernard Law at the altar but too far away to see his face. She had been standing outside in the rain before the Mass, handing out leaflets, telling people from all over the world about Law's role in the American church scandal.
She told them how Law, when he was in charge of the Boston Archdiocese, sent abusive priests from one parish to another, essentially allowing them to sexually abuse more and more children until there were hundreds of victims. She said a lot of people in St. Peter's Square had never heard of Law. They knew only a little about the abuse scandal in the American Church. Some members of the Italian press asked Blaine why victims just didn't forgive Law, since he has apologized, and move on with their lives.
She told them her protest was not about forgiveness.
"It's about preventing more pain," Blaine, the founder of the national group Survivors of Those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, said in a telephone interview from Rome on Tuesday.
HAYWARD (CA)
Sacramento Union
By Kim Curtis, The Associated Press
Published: April 13, 2005
HAYWARD, Calif.—Two brothers molested by a priest more than two decades ago should be awarded $27 million in damages, their lawyer argued in a case that has been closely watched because it is the first in a series of sex-abuse lawsuits to seek punitive damages.
Legal observers have suggested that a significant award for the plaintiffs could force the Roman Catholic Church to settle dozens of lawsuits filed against Northern California dioceses.
In closing arguments Tuesday, plaintiffs attorney Rick Simons said the church knew the Rev. Robert Ponciroli was sexually abusing children but failed to stop him.
“Now, many years later, the day of judgment is at hand,” he told jurors. “You are the representatives of the community. You’ve joined together as the conscience of a community where a conscience is needed.”
The case was brought by Bob and Tom Thatcher, who sat next to each other in the front row of the packed gallery.
MSNBC
JOE SCARBOROUGH, HOST: Tonight, cardinals jam into pre-conclave conferences while charges of a sex scandal cover-up reverberate through the Vatican.
Welcome to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY, no passport required and only common sense allowed.
As millions of pilgrims stream out of the Eternal City this weekend, cardinals get down to the business of preparing to pick the next pope. Meanwhile, protesters shout cover-up outside a Vatican mass held in honor of Pope John Paul II. Inside, Boston‘s disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law is inside leading the service. Is the Vatican rubbing salt in the wounds of sex victims, as protesters claim?
Plus, are the pope and Cardinal Law merely the latest victims of anti-Christian bias? And are conservative Christians unfairly targeted by the mainstream press, like the pope this past weekend? That debate tonight.
HAYWARD (CA)
KRON
Posted: April 12, 2005 at 7:28 p.m.
HAYWARD (BCN) -- In what may be the first trial of its kind in the U.S., the attorney for two former Antioch altar boys asked jurors for up to $27 million in damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland for allowing a priest to molest them.
In his closing argument in a case brought by brothers Robert and Tom Thatcher in Alameda County Superior Court, their attorney, Rick Simons, said the diocese "bears full responsibility" for the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of the Rev. Robert Ponciroli about 25 years ago.
Simons said the diocese assigned Ponciroli to St. Ignatius Church in Antioch in 1979 even though they knew he had a long history as a child molester.
Instead of sending a model priest to the new parish, by assigning Ponciroli the diocese "sent a man with the language and temperament of a sailor and the hands of a child molester," Simons said.
FOND DU LAC (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By GINA BARTON
gbarton@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 12, 2005
Fond du Lac - The state Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that could make it easier for people abused by priests to sue the church.
The suit arose out of the alleged abuse of at least 10 children in the 1960s and 1970s by Father George Nuedling, who died in 1994. In 2002, the 10 sued the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.
In July 2003, the state Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the suit could not move forward because the statute of limitations had expired. The plaintiffs, who attended Milwaukee-area churches where Nuedling pastored some 40 years ago, claimed they were abused between the ages of 9 and 14. State law at the time required them to take legal action within a year of turning 21.
The statute of limitations and a new state law that gives child sexual abuse survivors more time to take legal action were topics of discussion Tuesday. The case was heard in Fond du Lac as part of a "traveling court" program designed to make the Supreme Court more accessible to citizens.
The suit was filed in 2002 because that is when the plaintiffs discovered evidence that the Archdiocese had known about Nuedling's pedophilia for at least 20 years, according to Pennsylvania attorney Marci Hamilton, who argued for the plaintiff.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Todd Ruger
The vicar general, who holds one of the top administrative positions in the Catholic Diocese of Davenport, has settled a 2003 lawsuit filed against him by a man alleging sexual abuse more than 30 years ago, attorneys for the two sides confirmed Tuesday.
A trial in the Lee County, Iowa, lawsuit filed against Monsignor Drake Shafer was scheduled to begin Monday, but the county court administrator’s office said Tuesday it has been notified that the case was settled last week.
The settlement has not been filed in district court, but the plaintiff’s attorney, Craig Levien, and Shafer’s attorney, Peter Fieweger, confirmed that it has been reached.
“Drake Shafer agreed to pay the cost of past mental health counseling (for the plaintiff),” Levien said. “I’m not going to release the amount.”
LOS ANGELES (CA)
News 24
13/04/2005 07:48 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The California Supreme Court temporarily blocked the release of summaries of personnel files of 117 priests accused of molestation.
The move on Tuesday came just minutes before the documents were to become public on the Los Angeles Archdiocese website, publicly identifying for the first time some accused priests.
The files also had been expected to provide an unprecedented look at how the archdiocese handled suspected child molesters - when the church was told of alleged misconduct, who made the report and what action was taken.
The state Supreme Court intervened less than 15 minutes before the files were to be released by sending the case back to the appeals court that had cleared the way for the material to be made public, said Donald Steier, an attorney who represents 26 of the priests.
ROME
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Ken Dilanian
Inquirer Staff Writer
ROME - The Vatican's decision to have Cardinal Bernard Law preside at a high-profile mourning Mass for Pope John Paul II on Monday is the latest example of the disconnect between senior church officials and many U.S. Catholics on the priest-abuse scandal.
While the Pope and other senior Vatican officials repeatedly condemned child sex abuse by priests and endorsed efforts by American bishops to combat it, they never saw the revelations of recent years as the enormous, confidence-shattering event that many Americans did, Vatican-watchers say.
"For Americans..., it takes a very small thing to kind of reopen a wound," said the Rev. Thomas Williams, the American dean of the school of theology at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome. "Here in Rome, it's considered basically over and done with."
Of 11 American cardinals, only Philadelphia's Justin Rigali, who spent 33 years working in the Vatican, attended the Monday Mass. Rigali's spokeswoman said she was unable to reach him in Rome for comment last night.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
The California Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles from releasing summaries of the confidential personnel files of more than 100 priests accused of molesting children.
A lawyer for several priests asked the court to stop the planned disclosure of the documents, which would have identified when church officials became aware of individual abuse allegations, and what, if any, action was taken.
He argued that release of the documents, known as proffers, would violate the priests' privacy rights as well as laws that protect confidential communications between attorneys and psychotherapists and their clients.
The summaries were prepared by lawyers for the archdiocese as part of their efforts to resolve 544 claims against the church for failing to protect children from sexually predatory priests.
The Morning Call
When a primary figure in the priest sexual-abuse scandal in America was chosen to lead one of nine public masses to memorialize Pope John Paul II in Rome, the decision stunned some U.S. cardinals and upset the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. To their credit, however, three of the seven cardinals snubbed the Mass led Monday by Boston's disgraced former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law. The message was clear: It is hurtful to survivors of sexual abuse by priests to give Cardinal Law the honor of leading such an important Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
All of the cardinals have agreed not to talk to the media in the week leading up to the conclave to choose the next pope. However, U.S. Catholic sources told the Los Angeles Times for a story Tuesday that three cardinals avoided the Mass because of Cardinal Law's notoriety: Edward M. Egan of New York, Francis E. George of Chicago and Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles. Aides for three others said they had scheduling conflicts or didn't attend because it wasn't mandatory. Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia was the only U.S. cardinal to attend.
The pope accepted Cardinal Law's resignation as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after disclosures that pedophile priests had been transferred from parish to parish in his jurisdiction, where they then abused more children. Cardinal Law was transferred last year to the Vatican, where the pope gave him the honorary job of archpriest of one of Rome's four basilicas, St. Mary Major.
FOND DU LAC (WI)
Pioneer Press
BY JR ROSS
Associated Press
FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A man who says he was abused by a Catholic priest in the 1960s should be allowed to pursue his lawsuit against the Milwaukee Archdiocese because it covered up for decades that it was complicit in the abuse, an attorney for the man told the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday.
The statute of limitations in place at the time of the alleged abuse cut off the man's ability to sue in 1969, when he reached the age of 21.
But Marci Hamilton, a New York law professor representing him, said the man did not learn until 2002 that the archdiocese knew about abuse allegations against the Rev. George Nuedling and moved him between parishes despite the allegations.
Attorney John Rothstein, representing the archdiocese, countered it would be unfair to force the archdiocese to defend itself against allegations about a priest who died 11 years ago.
FOND DU LAC (WI)
The Reporter
By Sharon Roznik
the reporter sroznik@fdlreporter.com
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy are hopeful that justice will some day prevail after the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the case of “John Doe 67” and his lawsuit against the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
The Supreme Court, in a “Justice on Wheels” appearance in Fond du Lac, heard arguments in a packed courtroom over legal rulings made in the mid-1990s that barred Wisconsin victims of clergy from using the courts to expose and remove predators.
Members of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) said Wisconsin is alone in the nation in presenting such legal obstacles to victims. They gathered along with supporters and their families to state their case during a press conference held in the lobby of the City County Government Center.
Peter Isely, Midwest coordinator for SNAP, spoke of his abuse from ages 13 to 15 at the hands of a Capuchin priest while he was attending St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary.
Women's News
(WOMENSENEWS)--Not since medieval times has the transition of power in Rome commanded such attention from those in power as well as from common people.
We watched Act I, death of a holy man, followed by Act II, the world's great and humble paying tribute to Pope John Paul II, whose contributions earned international respect. Now we await Act III, election of a new pope. ...
And it's likely that the immense, unavoidable news coverage of the Vatican this month will make male control of ecclesial power ever more visible and obviously out of step with the world.
U.S. Catholics, in particular, may have a strong reaction to the spectacle of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, forced to resign as head of the Boston archdiocese in the sexual abuse scandal, given the honor of leading a memorial Mass for the pope from the altar of St. Peter's Basilica.
HAYWARD (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Randy Myers
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
HAYWARD - A jury on Tuesday began pondering how much the Diocese of Oakland should pay in damages to two brothers who were molested in an Antioch church - $27 million, as their attorney asked, or up to $400,000 as a church lawyer argued.
The closely watched trial sped closer to a verdict Tuesday as the lawyers forcefully delivered closing arguments and assessed how much the diocese should pay Robert and Tom Thatcher.
Before going to trial, the diocese conceded it had been negligent in regard to former priest Robert Ponciroli who was defrocked in 1995 and now lives in Florida.
The jury of 10 women and two men, five of whom identify as Catholic, will resume their deliberations this morning in the landmark civil trial, one of the more than 150 clergy sex abuse cases involving Northern California dioceses.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Ledger
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES
Only minutes before the personnel files of 117 priests accused of molestation were to be released to the public on the Internet, the state Supreme Court stepped in to halt the process without explaining why.
The files from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles had been expected to provide an unprecedented look at how the archdiocese handled suspected child molesters by revealing when the church learned of alleged misconduct, who made the report and what action was taken, as well as the identity of some accused priests whose names have not been disclosed.
But the state Supreme Court intervened less than 15 minutes before the information was to be made public Tuesday afternoon, sending the case back to the appeals court that had cleared the way for the release.
The court did not immediately release details of its decision.
CALIFORNIA
Orange County Register
By CHRIS KNAP
The Orange County Register
The dioceses of Orange and Los Angeles are now agreeing to release details from the files of Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse while some of the priests themselves are hiring lawyers to keep the documents secret.
Earlier this year, the Diocese of Orange paid $100 million to settle abuse claims by 94 plaintiffs, and Bishop Tod Brown agreed that the church would not oppose the release of their personnel files. That was a linchpin of the settlement agreement.
But in the past weeks, eight people accused of sexual abuse in Orange County have asked a judge to block the release of documents.
The eight include the Rev. Richard Delahunty, the only priest accused of abuse who is still in active ministry in Orange County; former priest Michael Harris, a popular high school principal accused of abuse by a dozen former students; and Thomas Hodgman, a music teacher accused of impregnating a student.
The diocese has apologized and paid money to all the victims. But the settlement was not a legal adjudication of guilt. Lawyers for the diocese have said they believed some cases were not well-founded.
The News-Sentinel
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
(KRT) - The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, April 12:
With the somber chants, pomp and public sorrow surrounding the death of Pope John Paul II still hanging over St. Peter's Square, American Catholics were confronted Monday by someone they may have thought had faded into the deepest recesses of the Vatican - Boston's disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law.
Law surfaced at the Vatican to lead one of nine consecutive, and very public, Masses - the novemdiales - memorializing the late pope. That is a distinction reserved for the most influential members of the church hierarchy.
How could Law qualify for such an honor?
In 2002 he resigned from his leadership post in Boston because of his central role in the pedophilia scandal there, which left the archdiocese in a shambles, both spiritually and financially. Settlements with abuse victims cost more than $85 million. As the scandal reverberated nationwide, the cost of an avalanche of legal judgments and settlements over the sexual abuse of children reached a staggering $840 million, according to one estimate.
ROCHESTER (NY)
WHEC
The priest accused of downloading child pornography on his church computer has actually been living here in Rochester and not at a monastery in Elmira. He was originally directed to stay at the monastery as a part of his bail.
Father Michael volino was back in federal court in Rochester Tuesday. In court, Volino's lawyer, John Parrinello said the monastery did not have the technology to operate Volino's electronic monitoring system. Volino is staying with the local family he was first released to.
Parrinello says he is reviewing a plea deal from the U.S Attorney's office and he has hired an expert on the Catholic Church's Canon Law, in case Volino takes the plea. “Father Volino has tremendous support verbally and in writing that he continue in his ministry 35 but of course that is up to Rome.”
VATICAN CITY
KTRE
VATICAN CITY Six American-based cardinals were absent from a Mass for Pope John Paul celebrated by controversial U-S Cardinal Bernard Law.
But aides to three of those cardinals denied their absence at yesterday's service of mourning was a snub.
Law's handling of the clergy sex abuse scandal forced his resignation as archbishop of Boston. Some American victims of sexual abuse by clergy members had traveled to the Vatican to protest his high-profile role in the papal mourning ceremony.
ROME
National
By John L. Allen Jr.
Rome
If ever one needed a classic illustration of the “clash of cultures” between the United States and the Vatican, the fact that Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11 in honor of the deceased pope, one of the nine Masses prescribed for the novemdiales, or nine days of mourning, makes the case.
Law’s appearance generated considerable controversy in the American press, though in the event it seemed almost anti-climactic. Only a handful of protestors materialized, and Law’s homily was deliberately spiritual and meditative, without so much as a trace of reference to the scandals that plagued his tenure in Boston.
He did have one fine moment during the Mass, recognizing that April 11 is the liturgical observance of the Polish St. Stanislaw, using that as an occasion to thank Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope’s private secretary and close collaborator, for his four decades of loyal service. The reference drew strong applause from the assembly in St. Peter’s Basilica.
So what was Law doing there in the first place?
Straight away, the point should be made that no one in the Vatican chose to give Law this platform. Instead, the Mass for the deceased pope on Monday is celebrated on behalf of the patriarchal basilicas in Rome, and custom dictates that it is the archpriest of St. Mary Major who celebrates that particular Mass. Since John Paul II appointed Law to that position on May 27, 2004, it was custom and precedent, rather than a specific Vatican decision, that put Law in this position.
VATICAN CITY
National
By Stacy Meichtry
Vatican City
If the continuing calls for Pope John Paul II’s sainthood have provided a testament of his enduring charisma, a memorial Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica Monday served as a harbinger of the challenges facing his successor.
Former Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated one of nine memorial masses for Pope John Paul II, drawing members of an American advocacy group representing victims of clergy abuse to the basilica to protest his role.
Leaders of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) arrived under the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square bearing informational pamphlets and photos of their abusers and were greeted by a throng of rowdy paparazzi. The ensuing scrum prompted police to relocate the delegation across the street from the square, before escorting them into the basilica where they attended a portion of the Mass.
“This isn’t about punishing Cardinal Law,” said Barbara Blaine, founder of the 5,000-member group. “It’s just that his presence in such a position brings about more pain and suffering.”
VATICAN CITY
Chicago Sun-Times
April 12, 2005
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI RELIGION WRITER
VATICAN CITY -- As Barbara Blaine stepped out of the driving rain and over the border from Rome into Vatican City on Monday to seek shelter under the Bernini columns of St. Peter's Square, she was greeted by a horde of journalists recklessly wielding cameras and a clap of thunder of biblical proportions.
Then, as they say, all hell broke loose. A scrum of more than 50 reporters -- most Italians or other Europeans -- surrounded Blaine, founder of the support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who had come to the Vatican to protest former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law's celebration of a requiem mass honoring Pope John Paul II on Monday evening.
As the crowd surged, and Blaine, a petite Chicago attorney who says she was sexually abused by a parish priest in Ohio when she was in middle school, disappeared beneath menacing camera lenses, Italian police swept in and formed a human chain around her.
Shouting and pushing at the crowd of reporters to get back, at least a half-dozen uniformed police officers shuffled Blaine to the curb on the street just outside St. Peter's Square and deposited her back over the border into Rome.
"I don't know where that came from," Blaine said a few hours later as she sat having dinner, still soggy from the rain and a little shaken from the experience. "We're afraid to go back. But we're going to do something. We just don't know what."
AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury
Tuesday, 12 April 2005
A Hunter Valley Catholic priest has been jailed for 10 years for sex offences against a teenage boy in a case that was a "gross and inexcusable breach of trust", according to a Sydney judge.
Fr James Patrick Fletcher "ingratiated" himself with the victim's family and the victim to place himself in a position to take advantage of a vulnerable teenager for his own sexual gratification, Judge Graham Armitage told Sydney District Court yesterday.
Judge Armitage delivered a cumulative 10-year jail term with a seven-and-a-half year non parole period to Fr Fletcher, 64, who was found guilty of nine offences including eight counts of having homosexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 18 and one count of committing an aggravated act of indecency on a child when he appeared in East Maitland District Court on December 7, 2004.
The offences happened during a three-year period in the early 1990s when the victim was aged 13 to 15 in various locations in the Hunter Valley.
AUSTRALIA
ABC
The family of an altar boy who was sexually assaulted by a priest in the Maitland district has thanked a Hunter Valley detective for his diligence and compassion in pursuing the case.
Fr James Fletcher repeatedly abused one of his altar boys while a parish priest in the area between 1989 and 1991.
He was yesterday sentenced to a maximum 10 years in jail, with a non-parole period of seven and-a-half years.
The victim's mother said that for her family the sentence was "lifelong" and no amount of time in prison could restore the joy in faith that they had lost.
She thanked Detective Sergeant Peter Fox for his investigation and said she hoped her son's actions would make it easier for other victims to speak out.
BRITAIN
Yorkshire Post Today
A RETIRED Roman Catholic school priest who indecently assaulted two young deaf boys more than 25 years ago was yesterday given a suspended six-month jail sentence.
Neil Gallanagh, 75, altered his plea to admit patting the naked bottom of a teenager at a swimming baths and to stroking the bottom of a clothed teenager, aged between 12 and 16, in a vestry between 1975 and 1980.
Both victims were pupils of St John's Catholic School for the Deaf, Boston Spa, where Gallanagh was resident chaplain.
The sex offender, who later became parish priest of St Mary's, Horsforth, had denied both charges at a 2003 hearing and also a number of similar charges of assault on four other youngsters, which were yesterday left on file.
Judge Norman Jones QC, sitting at Leeds Crown Court, ordered Gallanagh to be put on the Sex Offender Register for seven years, barred him from unsupervised contact with under-16s and instructed him to pay £1,500 costs.
CALIFORNIA
Mercury News
By Brandon Bailey
Mercury News
Nearly five years after he told church officials about a popular priest who molested kids -- and three years after he first told his story in public -- John Salberg got his chance Monday to tell a jury how the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard took advantage of Salberg and his closest friends.
``A priest was everything -- the closest thing to God you could think of,'' testified Salberg, 40, a lifelong San Jose resident who said he was taught by teachers and parents to revere the pastor at St. Martin of Tours parish.
``If he said `Come over here,' I'd come over. There was no saying no to him,'' Salberg explained to jurors in San Francisco Superior Court, who are hearing testimony in a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco.
RIVERHEAD (NY)
1010 WINS
Apr 12, 2005 7:25 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) RIVERHEAD, Long Island A court hearing is being held to determine if former Long Island priest Michael Hands should be labeled as a Level Three sex offender. Hands pleaded guilty in 2003 to sodomy and attempted sodomy with a 13-year-old boy he befriended while a parish priest in Northport. He also agreed to cooperate in a grand jury investigation into sex offending priests in the Rockville Diocese.
He served 15 months in prison ad was released a year ago. His attorney - Peter Rubin - says Hands been rehabilitated and should be taken off the sex offender list.
Prosecutors say even though Hands was convicted of just one offense, there are other victims. According to prosecutors, labeling Hands a Level Three sex offender is the safest and legal thing that should be done. Advocates for Megans Law also believe Hands should be a Level Three offender because he used his position of trust to target kids.
Hands is already listed as a Level Two offender in Nassau County. If Hands is assessed as a Level Three offender, his address and place of employment will be available to the public.
SPOKANE (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Many of the parish churches under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane should be included as assets available to pay alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests, attorneys for victims contend.
Attorneys for 58 alleged victims of abuse last week asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams to rule that Bishop William Skylstad effectively controls the parishes in his diocese, and that some of those churches should be available to settle cases.
Skylstad and his attorneys have argued that the bishop's office only owns a handful of assets, including the diocese headquarters and the bishop's house.
"Since this bankruptcy began, the bishop has been playing a shell game with the bulk of the real property in the diocese," attorney James Stang of Los Angeles wrote in the motion for summary judgment. He represents the 58 people who filed sexual abuse lawsuits against the diocese.
"Seemingly, any ownership would be better than using the properties to pay the victims of the sexual abuse perpetrated by his priests, employees and others in his diocese," Stang wrote.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday
BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO
STAFF WRITER
April 12, 2005
While cooperating with investigators regarding allegations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, defrocked Catholic priest Michael Hands ended up cooperating more than he should have, and let police in on some of his own wrongdoings, his attorney said yesterday.
Hands, 38, returned to a Riverhead courtroom yesterday for the continuation of a hearing to determine his risk level as a registered sex offender. Prosecutors are asking for the highest level, 3, which would put Hands on a state registry for 10 years and would allow law enforcement to notify Hands' neighbors and publish his address. Hands' defense attorney is asking for a lesser level, saying he is rehabilitated and no longer a threat.
Hands pleaded guilty in 2003 to charges of sodomy and attempted sodomy of a young teen whose family he befriended while he was a parish priest. In exchange for cooperating in a grand jury probe into charges of sex abuse in the Rockville diocese, he served 15 months in prison and was released a year ago.
Much of yesterday's hearing was taken up by wrangling between attorneys and Suffolk County Court Judge Stephen Braslow on the admissibility of several damning pieces of evidence Suffolk prosecutors discovered after striking their deal with Hands.
UNITED STATES
The American Spectator
By George Neumayr
Published 4/12/2005 12:15:28 AM
The same media outlets that report with outrage Cardinal Bernard Law's presence in Vatican City approach the equally disgraceful Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony with hushed attention. Among other staggering details of the abuse scandal under him is that Cardinal Mahony housed a pedophile priest in his own rectory, a move Law never even tried. Yet the mainstream media over the last few weeks have been treating Mahony as an unimpeachable source, using him as ecclesiastical cover for their now-rote liberal solutions to problems in the Church that he helped create.
Recall that Mahony, dipping into the faithful's pockets, hired Sitrick and Company (a public relations firm Enron used) to help him spin his complicity in the scandal. Not fooled, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, who investigated the scandal until Mahony and other bishops blackballed him into resigning, likened Mahony's conduct to "La Cosa Nostra."
The con job goes on. Indeed, Mahony looked downright excited at the chance to reappear on the scene as a voice for "change." Before the Pope had even died, Mahony rushed over to Rome on a first-class flight (it came out), so eager was he to wedge his finger into the Conclave pie as quickly as possible. Once in Vatican City, he immediately turned up on numerous talk shows to mourn a pope he never paid the slightest attention to on doctrinal matters. (Pope John Paul II would from time to time look over at Mahony and say "Hollywood," not exactly a compliment, though Mahony tells the story as if it were.) At one televised mass last week I noticed Mahony checking his watch: Where did he have to go? What, had Hardball called?
What's the difference between the fate of Cardinal Law and Cardinal Mahony? The Boston Globe. Mahony has Los Angeles Times religion reporter Larry Stammer in his pocket, as was revealed in 2002 by a leaked e-mail from the Los Angeles chancery in which Mahony promised a colleague that "Larry Stammer" would whip up a positive story for them ("he stands ready to help if we have a story we want to get out," the e-mail said). Unlike Law who had serious reporters on his heels, Mahony has long benefited from the somnolent coverage of West Coast media liberals willing to excuse his protection of pedophiles in gratitude for his political and doctrinal liberalism.
ARKANSAS
Democrat Gazette
BY DAVE HUGHES
Posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2005
FORT SMITH — The lawyer for a Texas man claimed Monday that an Arkansas law passed in 1993 extends the statute of limitations back to the 1970s, allowing her client to bring a sexual abuse lawsuit against a priest.
Lori Watson of Dallas filed the arguments in U.S. District Court in a response to a motion by Subiaco Academy and the Rev. Nicholas Fuhrmann to dismiss her client’s lawsuit against them because the statute of limitations on his claims had expired.
Joffre Miller, 43, alleges that Fuhrmann sexually abused him from 1976 to 1979 while he was a student at the Logan County academy. The suit also claims the academy committed fraud by concealing Fuhrmann’s alleged sexual conduct.
The academy’s attorney filed a motion last month to dismiss the suit, saying state law until 1993 provided for a three-year statute of limitation from the time the minor turned 18 and became an adult. The statute barred Miller from filing a claim after 1983, the attorney claimed.
Watson replied in her filing Monday that the Arkansas law passed in 1993 allows for civil suits to be filed in cases of sexual abuse beyond the statute of limitations. "The legislature was trying to give rights to the victims and correct a wrong by permitting them to file suits based on the new statute," Watson wrote.
VATICAN CITY
Globe and Mail
By DOUG SAUNDERS
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Page A17
VATICAN CITY -- The two quiet, middle-aged American women walked unnoticed into the expanse of St. Peter's Square yesterday, handed a few pieces of paper to passersby and were promptly escorted out by security guards.
With that, a deep fissure cutting the Roman Catholic Church in two, and splitting most North American Catholics from the rest of the flock, made its first appearance during the long and otherwise peaceful interregnum between popes.
The subject of the women's mild but heavily televised protest, Cardinal Bernard Law of Massachusetts, was inside St. Peter's Basilica delivering a requiem mass for Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2 at age 84.
Cardinal Law is one of only nine cardinals permitted to deliver such a service. His brief homily, delivered in Italian beneath the expansive dome, was devoted entirely to John Paul's memory and did not mention the scandal that has come to define Cardinal Law's career.
TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News
10:47 PM CDT on Monday, April 11, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
Stephanie Burt and son Tommy Burt, who was abused as a boy, are working with Sen. Rodney Ellis to get legislation passed that eliminates the statute of limitations in child abuse cases. Kenneth Eugene Ward is a pedophile, by his own admission, and he is fast becoming a poster child for people who want to eliminate Texas' deadline for prosecuting child sexual abuse. That deadline – a criminal case must commence by the accuser's 28th birthday – may be the only reason he is free in Dallas today.
The former East Texas schoolteacher and Baptist preacher has admitted fondling or sexually assaulting dozens of boys, crimes that could have brought him a life sentence. Instead, he served four years for a single indecency conviction; all the other cases were too old to prosecute.
Now a grass-roots lobbying campaign in Austin, led by one of those victims and his mother, is pushing legislation that would eliminate the abuse statute of limitations. Several prominent lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans alike, have endorsed the bill and say it will pass this year – but only if they can get it before the full House and Senate for votes.
"The Ward case is such an appalling injustice," said Senate sponsor Rodney Ellis, a Houston Democrat who is more often associated with checking prosecutorial power and ensuring defendants' rights. Top backers in the House include Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, who's considered that chamber's family-law expert.
But the proposal may be stalled in key committees. One is the House criminal jurisprudence panel led by Terry Keel, R-Austin. Mr. Keel, a former sheriff and prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney, would not comment.
VATICAN CITY
The New York Times
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: April 12, 2005
VATICAN CITY, April 11 - Less than two and a half years after he resigned as archbishop of Boston under pressure over his failure to remove pedophile priests from the ministry, Cardinal Bernard F. Law led thousands of worshipers in a memorial Mass for Pope John Paul II on Monday from the altar of the majestic St. Peter's Basilica.
The cardinal, who had been deeply reviled in his own diocese, read a homily praising John Paul, who had been greatly revered in his home diocese of Rome. "In these past few days, we experienced the touching love of the city of Rome for their pastor, a love that the pope returned," Cardinal Law said, in fluent Italian.
But the outrage that drove Cardinal Law from Boston followed him to Rome on Monday. Two representatives of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests held a news conference in St. Peter's Square to call attention to his record.
"He is the poster child of the sexual abuse scandal in America," said Barbara Blaine, a Chicago lawyer who helped found the Survivors Network. "We don't believe it's appropriate for him to be in any position of power or trust in the church."
Television news crews, largely idled since the cardinals decided Saturday to stop granting media interviews, mobbed Ms. Blaine on the square despite a downpour. The police escorted the group to a spot just outside the square's boundaries.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
KTUU
Monday, April 11, 2005 - by Megan Baldino
Anchorage, Alaska - There have been more allegations of sexual abuse by a former priest of the Archdiocese of Anchorage. The abuse allegedly took place for years beginning sometime in the mid-1970s.
The name of that priest is Father Dominic de Domenico, a Dominican priest who shows up in the archdiocese directory from 1976 to 1981. That was the same time the abuse is alleged to have started with a 15-year-old girl.
He first came to serve Holy Family Cathedral in 1975.
“Tall, quiet, extremely bright,” is Father Don Bramble’s memory of de Domenico. Bramble, now vicar general, came to the Archdiocese of Anchorage in 1978 but says he had no idea what de Domenico was up to, allegedly kissing and fondling a teenage girl, not just once, but according to his province, for the entire time he served in Anchorage.
NEW YORK
Utica Observer-Dispatch
SHAWN ANDERSON
Observer-Dispatch
Three years after the sex-abuse scandal forced Cardinal Bernard Law out of his position as archbishop of Boston, Law celebrated a Mass of mourning Monday for Pope John Paul II.
Leading the Mass is an honor bestowed on few people. During the mourning period, nine such services will take place at the Vatican.
To some local people, the selection of Law was a sign the Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II stand for forgiveness. For others, it was proof the church doesn't understand the pain it caused thousands of abuse victims.
"Who are we to condemn?" said Mike Nolan of Deerfield. "If the church authorities felt that this is acceptable, then we certainly concur."
VATICAN CITY
Tribune-Review
By Betsy Hiel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- U.S. Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated the third mourning Mass for the late Pope John Paul II on Monday, as two women who said they represent 5,000 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests protested outside St. Peter's Square.
Cardinal Law, as Boston's archbishop, was accused of covering up sex abuse scandals in his diocese and subsequently resigned as archbishop in 2002.
Barbara Blaine and Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests demanded that Law be barred from holding one of nine special Masses for John Paul. Blaine, SNAP's president, called his prominent role an affront to the victims of sexual abuse.
"Cardinal Law is like a poster child for the sex abuse scandal in America," she said, standing in a chilly rain. "When his image is out there as a leader, it just causes pain -- it is like a dagger going into the hearts of the victims and family members."
Boston Herald
By Boston Herald editorial staff
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
In the end, the protest in St. Peter's Square by those who objected to Cardinal Bernard Law's special role during these days of mourning for Pope John Paul II was quickly and peacefully ended.
But for the faithful to have done nothing, to have said nothing might have been interpreted as a kind of acceptance of the role Law played in covering up the sexual abuse scandal in the church for so many years. And so those who made their way to Rome even at the last minute to make their feelings known and their voices heard spoke for many more who were offended at the prominent role given Law by Vatican officials.
Law celebrated a special Mass of mourning yesterday at St. Peter's Basilica and delivered a homily. He was one of nine prelates selected for such an honor - an honor that did not sit well with many here.
MASSACHUSETTS
Standard-Times
By JACK SPILLANE, Standard-Times staff writer
Cardinal Bernard Law may be gone from Boston, but he is definitely not forgotten by the local victims of child abuse.
Some of the victims expressed outrage yesterday at the former archbishop's high profile role in the mourning period for Pope John Paul II.
Barbara Blaine, founder of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was removed by police from St. Peter's Square in Rome yesterday after she attempted to hand out fliers protesting Cardinal Law's participation.
The former Boston prelate, now the archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, said Mass in honor of the late pope yesterday; it was one of the key Masses that takes place on each of the nine days between the pope's burial and the start of the conclave to pick his successor.
VATICAN CITY
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
VATICAN CITY -- The sermon that Cardinal Bernard Law preached in St. Peter's Basilica was not political but theological, self-effacing and appropriate for a funeral. That did nothing to calm the outrage from victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests, who said that the man who was forced to resign from the Archdiocese of Boston for protecting such priests should not offer one of the nine official Masses for Pope John Paul II.
"The Catholic cardinals from America have stood by and allowed this to continue," said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, founder of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, who arrived in Rome yesterday morning.
"It is not about punishing Cardinal Law; it's just that his presence in such a position brings about pain and suffering" to those who remember that he kept known sex offenders in ministry, Blaine said.
"We are concerned that the cardinals are sending a message that there won't be an emphasis on the sexual abuse scandal in the next papacy."
According to John-Peter Pham, a former papal diplomat and an expert on papal transition, Vatican protocol dictated that Law celebrate yesterday's Mass.
VATICAN CITY
Star-Ledger
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
BY KEVIN ECKSTROM
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY -- Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who resigned for mishandling the clergy sex abuse scandal, celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica yesterday despite a small protest by advocates of abuse victims, who contended Law didn't deserve the honor.
Two leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests flew to Rome to complain that allowing Law such a prominent pulpit was like adding salt to a wound.
Law presided at one of the daily memorial Masses during the no vemdiales, the official nine-day mourning period for Pope John Paul II, who died April 2. Last year, John Paul named Law to the ceremonial post of archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
Barbara Blaine, president of the Chicago-based SNAP, was escorted by Italian police from St. Peter's Square and behind some traffic barriers when she attempted to distribute fliers to pilgrims and tourists in the square.
The small protest attracted mainly attention from the media and curiosity from tourists, but it showed the American branch of the Catholic Church continues to be haunted by the issue of abusive priests.
Blaine accused the Vatican -- and Law's 10 fellow U.S. cardinals who will participate in the election of the next pope -- of being insensitive to victims of clergy sexual abuse and of overlooking Law's admitted mistakes.
VATICAN CITY
Los Angeles Times
By Larry B. Stammer and Richard Boudreaux, Times Staff Writers
VATICAN CITY — The scandal over sex abuse by American priests intruded on the mourning for Pope John Paul II here Monday as all but one U.S.-based cardinal avoided a Mass led by Boston's disgraced former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law.
Three of the seven cardinals — Edward M. Egan of New York, Francis George of Chicago and Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles — snubbed the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica out of concern over Law's notoriety, three American church sources said.
"There was a general feeling it was best not to be there," said a source familiar with one cardinal's thinking. He said there had been an understanding among at least some of the cardinals to stay away.
Another source said the absence of most U.S. cardinals sent a message of protest. "You'd have to be blind not to see that," he said. "The fact is, they voted with their feet." A third source said the no-shows were part of a "pattern."
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity two days after the Vatican announced a gag order on the 115 cardinals who are to meet Monday to elect John Paul's successor. None of the American cardinals would comment.
VATICAN CITY
Kansas City Star
VATICAN CITY — The outcry over clergy sex abuse intruded on the mourning for Pope John Paul II on Monday. All but one U.S.-based cardinal avoided a Mass led by Boston's former archbishop.
Cardinal Bernard Law's role in the Mass infuriated sexual-abuse victims in the United States and prompted two of them to stage a brief protest Monday in St. Peter's Square.
Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was the only U.S. resident cardinal present at the Mass with Law.
Most cardinals from other countries also skipped the Mass on a rainy afternoon, but their motives were unknown.
VATICAN CITY
Baltimore Sun
By Robert Little
Sun Foreign Staff
Originally published April 12, 2005
VATICAN CITY - The man from Minnesota stood off to the side of St. Peter's Square and scrolled through the pictures on his digital camera with pride. He'd captured the dome of the basilica, the papal apartments, maybe the chimney of the Sistine Chapel - all the gems that a Vatican-watching tourist requires.
Then he arrived at a true prize.
"Here's the swarm," he said, swinging the camera around to reveal an image that seemed to show three dozen journalists all but stabbing a red-haired woman with cameras and microphones. "Tell me again," he asked, "who was that woman?"
The woman was Barbara Blaine, an American who says she was abused by a Catholic priest in Toledo, when she was a child. Cardinal Bernard Law, accused of covering up sexual abuse when he was the archbishop of Boston, was celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Basilica yesterday, and she had come to protest.
Macon Telegraph
Throughout all of the pomp and circumstance and ancient rituals surrounding Pope John Paul II's death and funeral, the Roman Catholic Church hardly hit a sour note - until Monday when the former archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, led one of the "mourning" masses for John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica. Cardinal Law was forced to resign his position in Boston after being at the epicenter of the sexual abuse scandal that is still rocking the American Catholic Church. The Boston diocese is said to have paid out at least $90 million in settlements to more than 500 victims of abuse.
Law was accused of moving priests guilty of abuse from parish to parish rather than punishing them, allowing their abusive ways to continue, sometimes for decades. Boston wasn't the only U.S. diocese rocked by the scandal. Across the country various dioceses paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle abuse claims. Last January, the diocese in Orange County, Ca., paid $100 million to settle abuse claims to 90 victims.
While Law is now archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica, an administrative position, he left behind a diocese in Boston in obvious disarray and crippled by financial concerns. Last year, according to the Los Angeles Times, 82 parishes were closed or merged. Many American Catholics were outraged when Law was announced as one of the priests, the only American, given the honor of conducting a mourning mass. In each of the masses clues are sought from the homilies to see what the conclave of cardinals seeks in a new pope.
While Law's participation will probably have little effect abroad, it could have a devastating effect in the U.S. Rev. Keith Pecklers, a professor at the Georgian, a pontifical university in Rome, said in The New York Times, "It is yet another example of the gap between how the Vatican sees things and how the U.S. church sees things. This kind of thing can open wounds for people just when the healing was beginning."
VATICAN CITY
Seattle Times
By Steve Kloehn
Chicago Tribune
VATICAN CITY — The image must have been jarring for many American Catholics: Cardinal Bernard Law, the embattled former archbishop of Boston, on a throne atop the tomb of St. Peter, where Pope John Paul II so often sat.
Yesterday, Law celebrated one of the nine special Masses at St. Peter's Basilica mourning the late pope, and few of the worshippers in the vast basilica seemed to have any idea who he was.
Vatican officials downplayed his presence, saying that as an archpriest of one of the papal basilicas in Rome — a largely ceremonial role he received after resigning the Boston post — he automatically was slated to preside over the Mass.
But for some Americans, who have come to regard Law as a symbol of the wrenching priest-sexual-abuse scandal, his presence at the center of one of the church's most-solemn moments, more than two years after leaving Boston in disgrace, provoked strong reactions.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Jennifer Rosinski
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - Updated: 07:50 AM EST
Local clergy sexual-abuse victims say they are insulted Bernard Cardinal Law was bestowed the honor of celebrating a Mass for the late Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica yesterday - and are also enraged a protester was barred from the Vatican.
``It's absolutely outrageous that he's over there in this plush position at the Vatican after what he did here in Boston. Now he's one of the chosen ones to say one of nine Masses,'' said Kathy Dwyer, a clergy abuse survivor from Braintree. ``I think it's a slap in the face to all people of faith.''
Law celebrated the Mass without disruption, saying the nearly 3 million mourners who flooded Rome for the pontiff's funeral last week were an inspiration.
``In these incredible days, the pope continues to teach us what it means . . . to be a follower of Christ,'' Law said in Italian. ``Our faith has been reinforced.''
After the service, several worshipers from Europe said they had never heard of Law. American parishioners said they recognized him but questioned whether the protest was appropriate right after the pope died.
VATICAN CITY
Pioneer Press
BY PATRICIA MONTEMURRI
Knight Ridder Foreign Service
VATICAN CITY — Two American women who say they were molested as children by Roman Catholic priests protested Monday at the Vatican, drawing worldwide attention to the clergy sex-abuse scandal and disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law as he led a Mass to mourn the death of Pope John Paul II.
Barbara Blaine and Barbara Dorris, two leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, tried to pass out leaflets to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square before Law addressed several hundred people during the Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.
A crush of reporters from around the world converged on the two women, preventing them from delivering many leaflets.
With cardinals no longer talking to the media and there being few other news developments, the reporters ensured that the women's cause got global attention.
Blaine and Dorris said they entered St. Peter's Basilica as Law led the Mass, but didn't linger. There were no incidents during the Mass.
VATICAN CITY
Albany Times Union
By RACHEL ZOLL, Associated Press
Last updated: 11:36 p.m., Monday, April 11, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- Cardinal Bernard Law, whose failures to stop sexually abusive priests sparked the worst crisis in American church history, led a Mass for thousands mourning Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica on Monday after police whisked away a victim protesting outside.
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Law celebrated the Mass without disruption, saying in his homily that Italian, Polish and other pilgrims were inspiring in their huge tribute to John Paul. Nearly 3 million mourners flooded Rome for the pontiff's funeral last week.
"In these incredible days, the pope continues to teach us what it means ... to be a follower of Christ," Law said, reading slowly in Italian. "Our faith has been reinforced."
After the service, several worshippers from Europe said they had never heard of Law. American parishioners said they recognized him, but questioned whether the protest was appropriate right after the pope died.
"It's not the time or the place," said Mary Beth Bauer, who lives in Maine and had followed the abuse crisis and Law's resignation.
MASSACHUSETTS
Daily News Transcript
By Peter Reuell / Daily News Staff
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
When he resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in late 2002, many Catholics like Darrell Simpson were glad to see Cardinal Bernard Law go.
For many, Law had become a divisive symbol of the clergy sex abuse crisis, and the efforts of church officials to keep the scandal under wraps.
That is why Simpson and other advocates were upset yesterday to see Law again move to the forefront of the church with the celebration of one of a handful of mourning Masses for Pope John Paul II.
"It's a painful reminder," Simpson said yesterday. "Here's a guy who was protecting a lot of priests...passing them from parish to parish without even letting pastors know about it, and now it seems like Rome is doing the same thing to him."
AUSTRALIA
ABC
The World Today - Tuesday, 12 April , 2005 12:22:00
Reporter: John Shovelan
ELEANOR HALL: In the United States, child abuse is also in the headlines with many American Catholics incensed that the disgraced former Archbishop of Boston is leading a memorial mass for the Pope in Rome.
Cardinal Bernard Law was forced to resign as Archbishop of Boston because he permitted priests known to have sexually abused minors to be moved from parish to parish instead of being charged or disciplined.
His critics say he was interested only in protecting the Church from scandal and not in protecting children. And they're now accusing the Vatican of turning its back on the victims as well.
This report from our North America Correspondent John Shovelan.
(Sounds of choir)
JOHN SHOVELAN: Former Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated mass in mourning for Pope John Paul in St Peter's Basilica. It was one of nine memorial masses for the Pope and it left many American Catholics, and in particular victims of sexual abuse by priests, feeling that the Vatican was once again ignoring their suffering and protest.
ROME
The Arizona Republic
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 12, 2005 12:00 AM
ROME - American Catholics hope the world's cardinals will keep them in their thoughts as they begin next week to choose Pope John Paul II's successor.
The American Catholic Church faces a priest shortage and continues to struggle with the ongoing sex abuse scandal. Its congregations are increasingly polarized by issues such as celibacy, the possibility of female clergy, and societal standards regarding divorce, birth control and abortion.
But these concerns don't necessarily mirror the Vatican's priorities for the worldwide church. advertisement
"The way things are seen and interpreted in the United States are not necessarily seen and interpreted the same way internationally," said the Rev. Bob Rossi, a member of the Crosier religious order who worked in Phoenix in the late 1970s. "The church takes in very diverse views from very diverse cultures. What we may see as inappropriate may not be seen that way in the Vatican or elsewhere."
ROME
Union-Tribune
By Sandi Dolbee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 12, 2005
ROME – The clouds are weeping this week. There are bursts of tears streaming from skies as gray as the massive columns framing St. Peter's Square.
The Vatican is in mourning. But there also is a sense of anticipation, as cardinals prepare to begin casting ballots next week for who will replace Pope John Paul II, who was buried Friday beneath St. Peter's Basilica. ...
The conclave begins Monday. And while the cardinal electors have embraced a vow of silence as far as media interviews are concerned, there are plenty of visitors more than willing to give their opinions about who might be the next pope.
Meanwhile, the mourning and the anticipation were interrupted by controversy yesterday as a U.S. group representing priest sexual-abuse victims protested a decision to have Cardinal Bernard Law preside over yesterday's Mass honoring the pope.
"We believe Cardinal Law's presence in leading the liturgy presents an image that only rubs salt in the wounds of American Catholics," said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Law resigned in disgrace from the Boston archdiocese in 2002 because of his handling of priests who sexually abused minors – including quietly transferring many from parish to parish despite their actions. After his resignation, Law was called to the Vatican to serve as archpriest of St. Mary Major, one of the basilicas in Rome.
Blaine, accompanied by another SNAP member, stood in the rain with blue fliers yesterday afternoon calling for Law to step aside "and allow Catholics to grieve the loss of the Holy Father without the embarrassing, painful sight of Cardinal Law, the 'poster child' of complicit bishops."
A Vatican spokesman cautioned not to read too much into Law's role. Nine daily Masses are being held at St. Peter's to honor the pope, and yesterday's service was supposed to feature the major basilicas here, according to Archbishop John Foley. Since the two other archpriests of those basilicas already had roles in pope-related events, "the only archpriest left was Cardinal Law," Foley said.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
April 12, 2005
FOR MANY Catholics in the Boston area, Cardinal Bernard Law's return to public prominence was a regrettable aspect of the enormous publicity that surrounded Pope John Paul II's funeral. Even more upsetting is that Law will be among the 115 cardinals who will choose the next pontiff. But Law's presence will have some value if it reminds the conclave, which begins next Monday, that the new pope needs to ensure that Catholic bishops throughout the world do not make the same mistakes that destroyed Law's leadership of the Boston archdiocese.
In 1985, Law, who was then the archbishop of Boston, was warned of the dangers that the sexual abuse scandal posed to the church throughout the United States. Yet he acquiesced in an unspoken policy of silence and denial that discouraged action on complaints about pedophile priests. Only when the scandal broke with full force in 2002 did he appoint independent lay people to create policies that gave top priority to the protection of children.
Law lost enormous power when he resigned as archbishop late that year. Yet the pope rewarded him with a pleasant retirement sinecure: appointment as chief priest of the St. Mary Major Basilica, one of the greatest churches in Rome. Many American Catholics thought it would have been more appropriate to send Law to a remote missionary post. Pope John Paul, though he denounced sexual abuse by priests, never grasped the gravity of the scandal in the United States.
ROME
The Journal News
By GARY STERN
gstern@thejournalnews.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: April 12, 2005)
ROME — Cardinal Bernard Law may have been run out of Boston in December 2002 for protecting predator priests, but he was back in this city's most prestigious spotlight last night.
The disgraced former archbishop of Boston — his formal title is archbishop emeritus — celebrated the fourth of nine daily Masses that are the centerpiece of the official mourning period for Pope John Paul II.
Law, wearing long red vestments, walked slowly at the end of a long procession through St. Peter's Basilica as two advocates for victims of sexual abuse protested his role outside in St. Peter's Square.
"We do not think this is the appropriate time to try to rehabilitate the image of Cardinal Law," said Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the largest group in the U.S. that represents victims of abuse.
HAYWARD (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Randy Myers
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
HAYWARD - The bishop and the chancellor of the Oakland Diocese told jurors Monday that a new approach to handling clergy sex-abuse claims ensures that past mistakes won't be repeated.
"We are trying to make amends for the past and make sure wrongs aren't done again," said Bishop Allen Vigneron in court.
He and Sister Barbara Flannery, the diocese's chancellor, detailed for a jury of 10 women and two men the diocese programs available to survivors.
The aid, coupled with the diocese's policy of putting accused clerics on leave pending a review board investigation, helps create a swifter and safer environment, they said.
The diocesan leaders testified in the church's defense against a civil lawsuit brought by two former Antioch altar boys who say now-defrocked priest Robert Ponciroli abused them.
The Thatchers said they were sexually molested while serving at St. Ignatius Church from 1979 to 1981.
VATICAN CITY
Chicago Tribune
By Steve Kloehn, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporters Manya A. Brachear in Rome and Margaret Ramirez in Chicago contributed to this report
Published April 12, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- The image must have been jarring for many American Catholics: Cardinal Bernard Law, the embattled former archbishop of Boston, on a throne atop the tomb of St. Peter, where Pope John Paul II so often sat.
On Monday, Law celebrated one of the nine special masses at St. Peter's Basilica mourning the late pope, and few of the worshipers in the vast basilica seemed to have any idea who he was.
Vatican officials downplayed his presence, saying that as an archpriest of one of the papal basilicas in Rome--a largely ceremonial role he received after resigning the Boston post--he automatically was slated to preside over the mass.
But for some Americans, who have come to regard Law as a symbol of the wrenching priest sexual-abuse scandal, his presence at the center of one of the church's most solemn moments, more than two years after leaving Boston in disgrace, provoked strong reactions.
Two activists with a Chicago-based group for victims of priest sexual abuse traveled to Rome to protest Law's role. They intended to hand out leaflets, and they attracted many reporters but few passersby before Vatican security escorted one of the women from St. Peter's Square.
ROME
San Francisco Chronicle
Don Lattin, Angela Frucci, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Rome -- Echoes of the child sexual-abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church reached Vatican City on Monday when two molestation victims appeared outside a key worship service led by Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who resigned in disgrace in December of 2002 amid a scandal over his role in covering up the crimes of priests.
Before they could distribute leaflets calling Law the "poster child of complicit bishops" in the child sex abuse scandal, a dozen Italian police officers moved in, ordered them off Vatican City property and pushed them and the media about 8 feet, placing them outside Vatican territory and back into Italy.
Barbara Blaine, president of the 5,000-member Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, arrived in Rome with Barbara Dorris, another Survivors Network leader, just hours before Law was to begin the Mass.
She felt compelled to travel to the Vatican from her home in Chicago, she said, because of an "outpouring of outrage in the United States" after the announcement last week that Law would be the only American cardinal to lead one of nine special Masses for the late pope at St. Peter's Basilica.
"We believe that Cardinal Law leading the liturgy only rubs salt in the wounds of American Catholics who at this moment don't need embarrassing and painful sex-abuse scandal material coming into the limelight," she said outside the basilica.
VATICAN CITY
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post
VATICAN CITY – Cardinal Bernard Law presided over a Mass in mourning for Pope John Paul II on Monday, a few hours after Italian police broke up a peaceful demonstration by two American victims of sex abuse who were protesting the Vatican’s choice of Law for the honor.
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of the 5,000-member Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said she flew to Rome because of an “outpouring of outrage in the United States” after the announcement last week that Law would be the only American cardinal to lead one of nine special Masses for the late pope at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after a judge unsealed court records showing that he and his subordinates had shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish without telling civil authorities or parishioners.
Vatican officials have said Law was chosen automatically for the Mass because he is head priest of a major church in Rome, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
By Natasha Wallace
April 12, 2005
Two former Sydney-based members of St John of God should not be extradited to New Zealand to face serious child sex abuse charges because they would not get a fair trial, their barrister told a court yesterday.
The Catholic Church has fought for more than a year to stop Raymond John Garchow, 57, and Rodger Maloney, 69, being sent to New Zealand to face charges in relation to alleged systemic abuse of boys by several members of the religious order at a Christchurch school for orphans and intellectually disabled children, Marylands, between 1955 and 1980.
In ordering the men's extradition in February, Magistrate Hugh Dillon likened the New Zealand case to a "war crimes' proceeding", saying the doubt lay not in proving the abuse had happened at the Marylands school, but who was involved and to what extent.
Maloney, a former brother at the school, and Garchow, a former priest, had argued that they were too old and sick to be surrendered.
Maloney faces 28 charges, including sodomy, of allegedly assaulting 12 boys as young as eight between 1971 and 1977 at Marylands.
Garchow faces four charges of an indecent act on two pupils, aged between eight and 11, between 1971 and 1980.
WISCONSIN
The Capital Times
By Pat Schneider
April 11, 2005
It is the consummate irony, says Peter Isely, Midwest coordinator for SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Documents from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, purportedly detailing church officials' efforts to shield a convicted pedophile priest accused of re-offending while on court-ordered probation, were divulged in a lawsuit brought in California.
That's where church officials transferred Siegfried Widera after trying to "keep a lid on" the new assault "so no police record would be made."
"The archdiocese had to produce those documents in California, but Wisconsin victims of this man cannot go to court," Isely said.
The documents in fact were filed in court in February in a lawsuit against the archdiocese. But as Wisconsin law now stands, the plaintiff is unlikely to get his day in court.
VATICAN CITY
Swissinfo.org
By Philip Pullella and Claudia Parsons
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The disgraced former archbishop of Boston has said a memorial mass for PopeJohn Paul at the Vatican as a few protesters outside remind the world of the sexual abuse scandal thathas rocked the Church.
Cardinal Bernard Law, who said the mass in his capacity as archpriest of a Rome basilica, praised the Popeas a teacher who managed to influence people's lives when he was young and strong but no less so when he wasold and frail.
Law celebrated the Mass on Monday as Catholic Cardinals started their last week of preparations beforemany of them will seal themselves off from the world in a secret conclave entrusted with the task of choosing anew pope.
"In these (recent) days we lived, almost touched, the love of the city of Rome for their pastor, a love that thePope returned a hundred fold," Law said, speaking in Italian and referring to the millions who turned out to seethe pope's body.
Outside the basilica, two leaders of a group representing victims of child clerical abuse protested, saying theChurch was "rubbing salt in an open wound" by having allowed Law to say the memorial mass.
VATICAN CITY
AGI
(AGI) - Vatican City, April 11 - "It is unacceptable that cardinal Francis Law has an important role in this important period for the Catholic church. He has even been chosen as preacher during the Novendial celebrations. It is absurd". That is what Barbara Blaine president of Snap (Survivors Network of those abused by priests) said with regard to the Vatican's decision to entrust the novendials to US cardinal Law, former archbishop of Boston and current archpriest of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome. The cardinal is accused of having somehow "covered up" sexual abuse carried out by certain priest of his diocese. In 2002 the Pope accept his resignation but then "compensated him" with a cushy job at the S. Maria Maggiore. Ms. Blaine told journalists that she wants to be the spokesperson of a common interest and she announced that over the next few days she will be joined by hundreds of other Americans to boost their protest.
WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald-Republic
By JANE GARGAS
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Suppose you're the CEO of a substance-abuse counseling agency. One day, in a routine cleaning of company lockers, a half-full bottle of whiskey is found hidden in an employee's backpack. The owner of the backpack, a model employee, is presumed to be a teetotaler; drinking is verboten, whether at work or not. You know of no complaints against this person, who has a high-profile position in the agency, nor is there any evidence that he drank the whiskey. It's possible that someone else had access to the backpack. Could the existence of this bottle compromise his position working with teens and children in any way? If you fire the employee, he may never be able to work in a substance-abuse facility again. If you transfer the employee, the problem, if there is one, may not be resolved. If you talk to the other employees and clients about finding the whiskey, the man's name may be tarnished forever, whether he's guilty or not. What do you do?
That, in a highly simplified version, is similar to the situation Bishop Carlos Sevilla of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima recently faced. In fact, the bishop has been grappling with a much more nuanced and complex problem. Not just that — it's turning into a roiling controversy.
"It's a can of worms," said Cathy Ball, a West Valley teacher, mother of four and a 30-year parishioner at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
ROME
NPR
by Sylvia Poggioli
All Things Considered, April 11, 2005 · Cardinal Bernard Law celebrates a mass of mourning for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, despite protests over of his handling of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal while he was archbishop of Boston.
VATICAN CITY
Dateline Alabama
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer
April 11, 2005
Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated Mass in mourning for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica on Monday, ignoring protests from victims that his handling of the sex abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church should disqualify him from the honor.
Police broke up a small but symbolic protest staged by two victims of sex abuse at the hands of American clergy, escorting one of them off St. Peter's Square as she was preparing to distribute fliers.
Several uniformed officers walked Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, behind barricades set up at the entrance to the square. The officers did not explain why they escorted Blaine off the piazza, and she had no immediate comment.
VATICAN CITY
Telegram & Gazette
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer
VATICAN CITY— Victims of sex abuse by American clergy brought their campaign for reform to the center of Roman Catholicism on Monday, demanding that Vatican officials bar Cardinal Bernard Law from celebrating an important Mass mourning Pope John Paul II.
Two leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who arrived in Rome just hours before the service at St. Peter's Basilica, condemned what they called the Vatican's "hurtful decision" to choose Law for the honor.
Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after unsealed court records revealed he had moved predatory clergy among parishes without alerting parents that their children were at risk. More than 550 people have filed abuse claims in Boston in recent years and the archdiocese has paid more than $85 million in settlements.
The network's leaders planned to distribute fliers in English and Italian around St. Peter's Square later Monday.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops declined to comment. Law has also declined to comment through an aide at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, where the pope appointed him archpriest last year. Law has apologized for his failures.
FOND DU LAC (WI)
The Reporter
the reporter staff
A group of survivors of sexual abuse by clergy will be in Fond du Lac Tuesday for one of the Wisconsin Supreme Court hearings being held at the City County Government Center, 160 S. Macy St.
Members of Survivors Network Abused by Priests will attend the hearing and victims in the case will speak when the hearing is over.
The case involves allegations of child molestation against a now-deceased Catholic priest. The questions before the Supreme Court are whether the actions of the Milwaukee Archdiocese in this case are open to review by the courts or whether such a review would result in excessive government entanglement in religion, contrary to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court also will decide if the statute of limitations should be extended in cases involving alleged abuse by clergy.
The court will decide if the remaining plaintiff may proceed with his lawsuit against the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
April 11, 2005 - 7:05PM
A former Catholic priest who committed an "inexcusable" breach of trust by convincing a teenaged altar boy to have sex with him has been jailed for at least 7½ years by a Sydney court.
James Fletcher, 64, from Branxton, was found guilty of nine charges relating to the sexual abuse of the teenager between 1989 and 1991.
Fletcher was convicted in December last year of the offences which occurred at his NSW Hunter Valley parish.
Reading the victim's evidence recorded during the trial, NSW District Court judge Graham Armitage today said Fletcher had tried to "ingratiate" himself to the victim and his family and manipulate the boy into keeping quiet.
"He ingratiated himself with the offender and his family for the specific purpose of taking advantage of him," Judge Armitage said.
The court was told Fletcher had on a number of occasions driven the victim to a waterworks near the parish where the two had oral sex.
FREMONT (CA)
The Argus
By Rob Dennis, STAFF WRITER
FREMONT — A meeting about priest sexual abuse Sunday night began with a prayer and ended with a message: Shine a light on it.
"Child abuse thrives in secrecy," said Diane Swirsky, a clinical psychologist and trauma specialist. "Open the door, turn the light on, listen to your kids, talk to your kids, make sure kids have some place to go where they'll be believed."
More than 50 community members gathered for the meeting in the Corpus Christi Parish Center to discuss the priest abuse crisis that has swept the country and touched their community.
Even the center itself is a reminder of the issue. It was dedicated to the Rev. James Clark until his name was removed last year after three former altar boys accused the former pastor of molesting them.
Swirsky said the trauma of sexual abuse can be exacerbated when the perpetrator is a trusted figure, such as a parish priest.
OAKLAND (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Randy Myers
Oakland Diocese lawyer Allen Ruby appeared to slip into a legal hibernation of sorts shortly after his opening remarks in a landmark clergy sex-abuse trial under way in Hayward.
For the most part, Ruby refrained from cross examining a flurry of witnesses that lead plaintiff attorney Rick Simons had testify in a negligence suit brought against the diocese by two former Antioch altar boys.
This legal maneuver might seem strange to the casual courtroom observer. But a civil attorney and former prosecutor specializing in child abuse cases views it as a potentially smart move in the civil trial.
Since the diocese has already conceded it acted negligently in dealing with the Rev. Robert Ponciroli, who sexually abused Diocese altar boys, this silent approach might prove crucial when it comes time to award damages.
"If the church is admitting liability, there is not a whole lot of sense in cross-examining," said Laurence E. Hardoon. "All you're going to do is inflame the jury."
AUSTRALIA
The Hindu
Sydney, April. 11 (AP): A disgraced former Catholic priest was imprisoned on Monday for 10 years for sexually abusing a teenage altar boy.
James Fletcher, 64, was convicted last December on nine charges of abusing the child between 1989 and 1991 in his parish in the Hunter Valley wine growing region north of Sydney.
Describing the abuse as a ``gross and inexcusable'' breach of trust, New South Wales District Court Judge Graham Armitage, sentenced Fletcher to a maximum of 10 years and ruled he must serve at least seven and a half years.
In earlier testimony, the victim said ``he had never felt pain like it in his life'' when he first had sex with Fletcher and had looked at a Saint Christopher medal in the priest's car during the ordeal, Armitage said.
Fletcher then warned the boy ``no one would believe him (if he told) because priests never lied,'' Armitage said.
AMHERST
The Daily Collegian
By Nina Lowy
April 11, 2005
Last week on April 5, Phil Saviano, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, spoke at the University of Massachusetts. Saviano's story is an unprecedented one being the first Massachusetts victim who was able to settle a clergy-abuse lawsuit without signing a confidentiality agreement.
Saviano recalls most of the abuse occurred when he was twelve years old, and living in a small town outside of Worcester. He described the abuse as a "grooming process."
In the beginning, Saviano and his friend, who was also molested by Father David Holley, were asked to do simple chores around the church, such as moving boxes, in exchange for 50 cents for an ice cream. This eventually turned into the priest showing the young boys sexually explicit playing cards with pictures of men and women on them, and discussion about sex. The abuse began when the priest repeatedly asked for oral sex from Saviano in the basement of the church. Saviano remembers the priest's grip around his wrist when he tried to pry it off.
"It was a huge conflict for me. I wanted the groundskeeper to look in and see [through the window], and I didn't want him to see," Saviano said.
ROME
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, April 11, 2005
By Daniel Williams and Alan Cooperman, The Washington Post
ROME -- American victims of sexual abuse by priests said yesterday that the Vatican was "rubbing salt into our wounds" by honoring Cardinal Bernard Law, who was designated to celebrate a special Mass of mourning for Pope John Paul II today.
Leaders of a U.S. victims' group flew from Chicago to Rome yesterday to protest the high-profile role given to Law, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after court records showed he had knowingly transferred sexual abusers from parish to parish without informing civil authorities or the public.
"It feels like Cardinal Law is exploiting the pope's death for his own self-aggrandizing rehabilitation," said David Clohessy, executive director of the 5,000-member Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It is just rubbing salt into our wounds and the wounds of caring Catholics."
The protesters have set up a clash of two worlds: the American planet of open demonstrations, sharp words and publicity seeking and the Vatican sphere of discretion, indirection and, this week at least, enforced silence of its top leadership.
Naples Daily News
By BILL O'REILLY, Creators Syndicate
April 11, 2005
It's too bad the cable TV news coverage of the Pope's death has desensitized some Americans. The wall-to-wall commentary quickly became tiresome to many, and millions tuned out. That's a shame, because Pope John Paul's life is very much worth examining.
Here is a man who was undeniably saintly, a person who lived on this earth but operated in a spiritual zone few of us could ever contemplate. He considered worldly matters only in the context of what God "expected." Practical problem solving was not the Pope's priority. He was truly a faith-based man.
In the summer of 2003, I traveled to Rome to find out why the Pope had been so publicly detached from the American priest scandal. As a loyal Catholic, I was angry that the Pontiff had not been more proactive in punishing people like Cardinal Law, who obviously had stonewalled the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy members. My public criticism of the Pope led the Catholic League to bitterly criticize me, so I wanted to be absolutely sure that my opinion of the Pope's conduct in that terrible matter was based on facts.
While in Rome, I learned a lot about the Pope from people who worked with him daily. They were fearful of speaking on the record because the Pope's advisors did not brook dissent. Any open criticism of John Paul was not tolerated by the Holy See.
Off the record, I found out that the Pope was deeply hurt by the sexual abuse situation, but was convinced by his advisors that it was an "American" problem. Thus, when he visited Canada in 2002, he declined a meeting with some sexual abuse victims. Apparently, the Pope's advisors felt the meeting would be too stressful for the ailing Pontiff.
The New York Times
By JACQUES STEINBERG
Published: April 11, 2005
Alan Horne and his family had just finished Easter dinner at his home in a suburb outside of Boston when his 82-year-old mother made a request: she wanted to watch the DVD sitting atop his television, titled "Our Fathers."
Neither was a disinterested viewer.
The movie, which will have its premiere on Showtime next month, represents the first attempt by Hollywood to use real names and events to dramatize the sexual abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese. And among the stories it tells is that of Mr. Horne, now 45, who as a boy was repeatedly molested by a parish priest, the Rev. Joseph Birmingham, who has since died.
Mr. Horne had confided the abuse to his mother for the first time several years ago, but as she watched an advance copy of the two-hour movie, she began to boil as never before. This was particularly true as Cardinal Bernard F. Law (played by Christopher Plummer) was shown struggling during a withering legal deposition. Under questioning by a lawyer (Ted Danson) representing many victims, the cardinal acknowledged that he and his deputies had shuttled priests like Father Birmingham from one parish to another while suppressing accusations of abuse made against them.
"It lit her up like a Christmas tree," Mr. Horne said of his mother's reaction to the film. "She sat there and she started to ask me questions, questions she had never asked me before.
VATICAN CITY
The Washington Times
By John Phillips
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
VATICAN CITY -- An American advocacy group said it would protest today outside a church where the former archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, was to preside over a Mass in honor of the late Pope John Paul II.
The support group for victims of sexual abuse planned to distribute fliers decrying the public role of Cardinal Law, who stepped down in Boston under fire for shielding priests accused of molesting children.
Members of the group are "terribly upset about Law's high visibility and his apparent willingness to exploit the pope's death for his own selfish rehabilitation purposes," leader David Clohessy told the Agence France-Presse wire service.
MASSACHUSETTS
Tufts Daily
The Vatican's choice to have Cardinal Bernard Law perform one of nine memorial Masses for the late Pope John Paul II once again illustrates the Church's continued position of ignoring the sex-abuse scandal that has torn apart the Roman Catholic church in the United States. Cardinal Law is among the highest ranked clergy in the Church, but there are better candidates that could have performed these prestigious Masses instead of the cardinal most associated with the sex-abuse scandal.
Vatican officials point out that Law is in charge of St. Mary Major in Rome, one of four parishes under direct Vatican control. The Vatican could have acknowledged that Law symbolizes the frustration and disgust of the scandal to many American Catholics. In 2002, Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston after it was revealed that he allowed priests guilty of sexually abusing children to remain in the archdiocese, moving them to different parishes without notifying the public of their crimes. Law was not charged with any criminal offenses and was not forced to resign his position as cardinal. Instead, the Vatican called him to Rome and placed him in charge of St. Mary Major.
Law's appointment to the memorial Mass pours salt in the still-open wounds of American Catholics who are reeling from the sex abuse scandal. These nine memorial Masses will garner much attention from the media, who will obsess over the homilies, trying to determine how the cardinal will vote. The last thing American Catholics want to see on their television screens is the man who they consider to have hidden the sexual abuses of priests.
JACKSON (MS)
The Sun Herald
TIMOTHY R. BROWN
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - A Mississippi woman abused by a priest more than 30 years ago has appealed a judge's decision to dismiss her lawsuit against a Catholic diocese.
However, new abuse allegations that surfaced in February cannot be argued in her appeal.
Angie Phillips, 44, claimed in her lawsuit that she was sexually abused by Priest Thomas Boyce and another priest in the 1970s. In 2003, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson acknowledged the abuse by Boyce, who died in 2002, and Phillips sued the diocese.
Her lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice last year by Hinds County Circuit Judge W. Swan Yerger, who said Phillips' statute of limitations had run out.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Phillips later claimed that she was being sexually abused during the same period that she allegedly watched her father shoot 16-year-old Randy Lee Hart on June 29, 1974 at Piney Woods Country Life School in Rankin County.
ROME
Duluth News Tribune
By MATTHEW SCHOFIELD and PATRICIA MONTEMURRI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ROME - Three years ago, Cardinal Bernard Law was at the center of the church sexual abuse scandal in Boston. Monday, he'll take center stage in the Catholic world.
Law will celebrate Monday's Mass of mourning for the late pope at the renowned St. Peter's Basilica - one of just nine such services being conduct at the Vatican. Being selected is an honor bestowed only on the most influential members of the church's hierarchy.
But to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests - some of the accused worked under Cardinal Law when he ran the Archdiocese of Boston before he resigned over the scandal in 2002 - it's a sign that the church has not come to grips with a very dark period in its recent history.
"It's beyond a slap in the face, it's rubbing salt into some very raw wounds," said David Clohessy, national director of a group representing about 5,000 church-sexual abuse victims. "He's the symbol of the scandal. This is a clear sign that the church is not taking its history of sexual abuse seriously, and that it is not at all in touch with the pain in the American church."
Law, 73, will lead one of the special Masses for John Paul II in what is called the novemdiales - the nine-day mourning period. He was picked because of his position as archpriest of the St. Mary Major Basilica. Law received his current post after being recalled to Rome following his resignation as leader of the Boston Diocese.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
April 10, 2005
Many Iowa Catholics hope the next pope will be more receptive to such controversial issues as optional celibacy, ordination of women and birth control, but theologians and experts say John Paul II's successor is unlikely to be swayed by those American concerns.
The issues of poverty and AIDS facing Third World countries where Catholicism is growing most rapidly are expected to be more important to the next pope, who will be selected this month by the College of Cardinals.
"The Third World is where the Roman Catholic Church's center of gravity really is," said Mark Achtemeier, associate professor of systemic theology at the University of Dubuque Seminary. "Which means we in North America may play a lesser role in the life of the global church. U.S. Catholics may not be totally marginalized, but they may not be the center of the universe we've assumed ourselves to be." ...
Although John Paul II reached out to Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians, it took him a long time to do the same to victims of child sexual abuse by clergy.
"To say John Paul was uncaring would be in error," said Steve Theisen of Hudson, co-founder of North East Iowa Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
"For whatever reasons, the pope was ineffectual in reaching out to survivors and demanding accountability of bishops who covered up the sexual abuse scandal," Theisen said. "The challenge of the next pope is to tear down the walls of an arrogant, out-of-touch church hierarchy."
CHICAGO (IL)
CNN
Sunday, April 10, 2005 Posted: 1537 GMT (2337 HKT)
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Several members of an advocacy group for victims of priest sexual abuse were flying to Rome Sunday to protest Cardinal Bernard Law's celebration of a Mass honoring the late Pope John Paul II, the organization's founder said Saturday night.
Law, former archbishop of Boston, is to say Mass Monday at St. Peter's Basilica.
Law is archpriest of Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, where he presided on Sunday. Pope John Paul II appointed him to that post after Law was implicated in the sexual abuse scandal in Boston in 2002.
But The Associated Press reported that he did not give the homily -- an apparent indication of how seriously cardinals preparing to elect a new pope were taking an unanimous decision for secrecy.
Court documents showed Law knowingly moved priests accused of abuse from parish to parish without disclosing allegations against them. He resigned in 2003 amid intense public outrage.
VATICAN CITY
CBS News
VATICAN CITY, April 10, 2005
(AP) Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who stepped down amid a sex abuse scandal, presided at Mass Sunday in Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, the church where John Paul appointed him archpriest.
On Monday, Law will lead one of the nine daily Masses for the pope at St. Peter's Basilica.
Leaders of the advocacy group the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said they were flying to Rome to protest, calling Law's presence painful to clergy sexual abuse victims and embarrassing to Catholics. Survivors Network representatives plan to distribute fliers on how Law mishandled abuse cases.
Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after unsealed court records revealed he had allowed priests guilty of abusing children to move among parish assignments and had not notified the public.
"We certainly do not want to cause any additional pain or suffering to anyone attending the memorial service for the Holy Father," Barbara Blaine, the group's founder, said in a phone interview from the United States. "Our concern is that many Catholics going there don't know the history with Cardinal Law and that's why we want to inform them."
OAKLAND (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Kim Curtis
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OAKLAND - Since the sex abuse scandal first rocked the Roman Catholic church, more than 4,300 priests have been accused of abuse, and many have left the ministry, re-entering society without getting the treatment that can make them less likely to offend again.
Priests who work in a diocese generally get forced out under the zero-tolerance policy created by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops three years ago in response to public outrage and fear of expensive civil suits.
Dominicans, Jesuits and other religious orders, representing 16,000 of the nation's 45,000 priests, chose another path: giving abusive priests supervised treatment for as long as they stay within their communities.
Both approaches could claim support from Pope John Paul II. He called abuse criminal and said there was no place in the priesthood for abusers of minors, yet also suggested that some priests could "turn away from sin and back to God" if given a second chance.
The religious orders say the logical place for such priests is behind church walls. But victims tend to be less forgiving and can sometimes stoke anger and fear in the surrounding community. That's what happened in Oakland, where St. Albert's -- a small Dominican priory in Rockridge -- houses six aging priests accused of sex abuse ranging from molestation to "inappropriate touching." All are older than 65, and the statute of limitations has passed on their offenses. No criminal charges were filed against the men, but police were notified in several cases, the priory said Thursday.
OAKLAND (CA)
Dateline Alabama
The Associated Press
April 10, 2005
The Rev. Edward Krasevac, who handles sex abuse-related issues for the Western Dominican Province, described the priests accused of sex abuse who have been living at the St. Albert's Priory. He said none are allowed any contact with young people.
The Rev. Mark O'Leary: Over 65 years old, he committed multiple offenses against high school boys as a teacher. His last offense was in 1980. In 2001, therapists gave him a "clean bill of health." He remains prohibited from public ministry, but faces no additional restrictions.
The Rev. Dominic De Domenico: Over 65 years old, he fell in love with a 15-year-old girl nearly 30 years ago. He was in his 40s and the relationship continued into the woman's adulthood. There was kissing and fondling, but no allegations of intercourse. It was "clearly inappropriate" - "they got too close," said Krasevac. Employed on-site and undergoing therapy, he's prohibited from public ministry but faces no further restrictions.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Richard Gonzales
Special to the Star-Telegram
Since the death of John Paul II, the Roman Catholic Church is in search of a new fisherman.
Like Christ, the new pope must personify the blessed blending of spirit and flesh, holiness and frailty, intellect and heart. The pope must speak several languages, transcend class and race differences and hold a truly catholic view of the world. ...
He should express the church's sincerest apology for all the sexual abuse of children committed by priests. He should issue a papal decree that any priest found guilty for such acts should be barred from the priesthood.
Let the church have compassion for children first.
As members of the College of Cardinals gather in their conclave, may the Holy Spirit guide them. The world awaits white smoke and a new fisherman.
BALTIMORE
Baltimore Sun
Dan Rodricks
I ATTENDED Easter Sunday Mass in a small-town Roman Catholic church. The celebrant was an elderly, jolly priest who had come out of retirement to fill in for the elderly, sickly priest who usually serves the parish. The weekly bulletin reported a "serious priest shortage" and mentioned that a "Tanzanian connection for extra priestly help" had been established.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
It just struck me as quaint, odd and ironic that, all these years after Anglican and Catholic missionaries went to Tanganyika and Zanzibar to bring Christendom to the Swahili-speaking natives, here was an American church in a white-picket-fence town looking to an evangelized Africa for ... a missionary! ...
If the American Catholic voice registered at all in the Vatican, Bernard Law would not be celebrating one of the mourning Masses for the Pope this week.
Law was one of the men who protected abusive clergy in the Archdiocese of Boston. He was forced to resign in disgrace two years ago, amid criticism that he had failed to remove abusive priests from ministry and even commended some while knowing they had been accused of molesting children.
Law left Boston and lived for a year at the Sisters of Mercy of Alma convent in Maryland. Then he got a position at the Vatican. He has been given the honor of presiding over a Mass for John Paul during the nine-day mourning period for the pope. Law also will have a say in the selection of the next pontiff.
So will the leader of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga.
He's had a brush with clergy sexual abuse, too. According to a 2004 report in The Dallas Morning News, the Honduran cardinal sheltered a Costa Rican priest who had admitted molesting a 10-year-old altar boy and who was a fugitive from his native country for a few years. Maradiaga gave the priest assignments in two Honduran villages in 2003, the News reported. The priest fled the country in early 2004.
OAKLAND (CA)
Fresno Bee
By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press Writer
(Updated Sunday, April 10, 2005, 12:05 AM)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Since the sex abuse scandal first rocked the Roman Catholic church, more than 4,300 priests have been accused of abuse, and many have left the ministry, re-entering society without getting the treatment that can make them less likely to reoffend.
Priests who work in a diocese generally get forced out under the zero-tolerance policy created by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops three years ago in response to public outrage and fear of expensive civil suits.
Dominicans, Jesuits and other religious orders, representing 16,000 of the nation's 45,000 priests, chose another path: giving abusive priests supervised treatment for as long as they stay within their communities.
Both approaches could claim support from Pope John Paul II. He called abuse criminal and said there was no place in the priesthood for abusers of minors, yet also suggested that some priests could "turn away from sin and back to God" if given a second chance.
ROME
Los Angeles Times
By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff Writer
ROME — Only a few miles from the throngs that pressed into St. Peter's Square to bid farewell to Pope John Paul II, a soaring Baroque-style basilica echoed with emptiness.
Inside, 20 of the faithful were sequestered in a side chapel for the noon Mass, while Father Virgilio Missori, 84, sat alone near a confessional booth awaiting penitents who did not come.
In many ways, the quiet scene day in and day out at the 17th century Basilica of Sts. Ambrose and Charles on the Corso is far more representative of the state of the Roman Catholic Church today than the one in St. Peter's Square, where an estimated 2 million pilgrims paid homage to John Paul in what was arguably the world's largest funeral. ...
Church leaders readily acknowledge that they cannot blame all their problems on the media. The credibility of U.S. bishops still has not fully recovered from the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church beginning in 2002, when it was disclosed that some bishops had looked the other way or participated in cover-ups to protect molesting priests. Victims said the abuse had robbed them of not only their human dignity but their faith.
ROME
RTE News
10 April 2005 08:19
A US-based support group for sexual abuse victims has condemned a decision by the Vatican to choose Cardinal Bernard Law to lead a mass for Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston in 2002 after accusations that he covered up sexual abuse of children by priests.
Members of the support group are flying to Rome to protest at tomorrow's service.
ASHLAND (MT)
Billings Gazette
By MIKE STARK
Of The Gazette Staff
ASHLAND - The mailroom buzzes at a frenetic pace at St. Labre Indian School.
Barely out of earshot of the hundreds of kids at recess, the warehouse-size room is alive with the precision sounds of mail being sorted, stuffed, bagged and boxed.
Last year, more than 17 million pieces of mail went out to potential donors who might be willing to write a check to the 121-year-old St. Labre school and mission.
About half of the mail is stuffed into envelopes on the school's campus here on the eastern edge of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The rest is processed in Texas and Connecticut.
The direct-mail campaign, which began in the 1950s, is so large that it has its own ZIP code in this remote town of 450 people. ...
For some tribal members, though, the memories aren't all rosy.
The 12-page lawsuit filed by the tribe last month said many members of the tribe experienced physical and sexual abuse at St. Labre and had their culture "derided, ridiculed and dismissed as unimportant."
And while St. Labre has flourished, the Northern Cheyenne reservation has continued to struggle with poverty and unemployment.
VATICAN CITY
The Union Leader
By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — Leaders of an advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual abuse said yesterday they were flying to Rome to protest the Vatican’s choice of Cardinal Bernard Law to celebrate an important Mass mourning Pope John Paul II.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said Law’s presence was painful to victims and embarrassing to Catholics. Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after unsealed court records revealed he had allowed priests guilty of abusing children to move among parish assignments and had not notified the public.
Tomorrow, he will lead one of the nine daily Masses for the pope at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica, the church where John Paul appointed him archpriest. Survivors Network representatives plan to be there to distribute fliers on how Law mishandled abuse cases.
ROME
BBC News
A support group for sexual abuse victims has condemned a decision by the Vatican to choose Cardinal Bernard Law to lead a Mass for Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston in 2002 following accusations that he covered up sexual abuse of children by priests.
Members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests are flying to Rome to protest at Monday's service.
Cardinal Law is scheduled to lead one of nine memorial Masses in Rome.
David Clohessy, national director of the survivors' network, said: "It's an unbelievably insensitive move that simply rubs salt into the very deep wounds of thousands of abuse victims and American Catholics."
The protesters plan to hand out pamphlets at the St Mary Major Basilica church where Cardinal Law will lead the Mass.
OREGON
KGW
04/09/2005
By NIKI SULLIVAN / Associated Press
Linda Dove and Judy Ringle, both devout Roman Catholics, started holding weekly meetings at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis at the beginning of the year when their faith-sharing group became too large to hold in private homes.
As a guide for discussion, the group read "In Search of Belief," a book by Benedictine sister Joan Chittister that advocates the ordination of women priests and challenges other church traditions as well.
Some members of the parish thought the book's message encouraged dissent, and said Ringle and Dove weren't interested in discussing the merits of Chittister's ideas.
"They would call us the dissenters, I would call them the dissenters," the 66-year-old Ringle said in a telephone interview from Corvallis. ...
Another issue in Oregon is the priest sexual abuse scandal. Last year, the Archdiocese of Portland became the first in the nation to file for bankruptcy in the face of mounting sex abuse claims. The archdiocese has already settled about 130 lawsuits dating from 1950 through 2003 for about $53 million.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
By BARBARA SCHLICHTMAN
bschlichtman@theadvocate.com
Advocate religion and youth editor
A Vatican announcement that Cardinal Bernard Law will preside over a funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II was insensitive and a move that would re-traumatize victims of sexual abuse, victims' advocates said.
Law was forced to resign in 2002 as the archbishop of Boston amid accusations that he covered up priests' sexual abuse of children. He will celebrate a Mass on Monday, one of eight that begin today honoring the pope.
After Law's resignation, he received an honorary post in Rome as archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
"The concelebration will be presided by Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, archbishop emeritus of Boston and archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major," the statement says.
The announcement caused victims additional pain, said Michael Kuczynski, spokesman for the Louisiana chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
WETUMPKA (AL)
Montgomery Advertiser
By Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser
WETUMPKA -- A 16-count indictment delivered Friday against a former Wetumpka Baptist church minister detailed two more cases of alleged sex abuse, bringing the total number of victims to four.
Garett Albert Dykes, 38, of 909 Oak Crest Court in Wetumpka has remained in the Elmore County Jail under bonds totaling $1.5 million since his arrest Jan. 10.
"This is an especially disturbing case, because Dykes' victims were all young girls," said District Attorney Randall Houston. "He used his position of trust in the community to prey on these victims. There are certain people who you hold to a higher standard, and ministers are held to that higher standard."
The Elmore County grand jury wrapped up deliberations about noon Friday, and Sheriff Bill Franklin delivered the indictments shortly thereafter.
CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen
Dave Rogers
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, April 09, 2005
A former high-ranking official in Ottawa's Roman Catholic archdiocese charged with sexually assaulting boys has been sent for a psychiatric examination after he grinned and giggled in Gatineau court yesterday.
Police arrested Rev. Norman Page, 73, at his Chelsea home on Thursday. He faces two charges of gross indecency, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of attempted sexual assault on juveniles between 1976 and 2002.
Sgt. Manuel Bandeira, of the Municipalite Regionale de Conte des Collines police, said yesterday the alleged sexual assaults involved boys between the ages of 14 and 18, and took place in Chelsea, where the priest lives, and in the Laurentians.
Before his retirement, Father Page was director of the Office of Liturgy for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa.
He also taught religious studies at the University of Ottawa, lecturing on the history of religious architecture and sacred art, from 1965 until his retirement in 1997.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
09 April 2005
A priest accused of molesting a teenager walked free from court yesterday after the charge was dropped.
Fr Francis McAllister (50), curate of St Mary's on the Hill, Carnmoney, had faced a charge of indecently assaulting the 18-year-old man in his parochial house on an unspecified date between February 8-11 2003. However, prosecuting QC Paul Ramsey applied to Belfast Crown Court to have the single charge "left on the books", meaning that McAllister will not have to face a trial.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
The Fort Worth Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle a sex-abuse lawsuit involving a priest whom Bishop Joseph Delaney hired despite a documented 20-year history of misconduct with minors elsewhere.
Bishop Delaney admitted no wrongdoing in the suit, but it's clear he knew the risks of employing the Rev. Thomas Teczar. The bishop's own notes, surrendered in the suit, say the priest admitted to him before starting work in 1988 that he was "attracted to adolescents in every way, including sexually."
At that time, Father Teczar had been out of work for four years after repeated abuse allegations led to his removal from ministry in Massachusetts and inpatient therapy at a clergy treatment center. He pledged his personal assets to the Fort Worth Diocese in case it was ever sued over his actions, according to church records surrendered in the lawsuit.
Yet the diocese said on its Web site Friday that "there were no allegations of sexual misconduct" against the priest when he came to Fort Worth.
The Web statement added: "When he left the area in 1993 the diocese had no knowledge of sexual misconduct on his part."
Diocese officials declined to comment beyond the statement, which also said that "to the extent Father Thomas Teczar may have injured anyone," Bishop Delaney was "sincerely regretful."
BALTIMORE (MD)
Los Angeles Times
From Associated Press
BALTIMORE — A judge granted a new trial to defrocked priest Maurice Blackwell on Friday. The conviction on charges that he molested a boy who shot him years later was thrown out less than two months after a jury found the former priest guilty.
Circuit Judge Stuart R. Berger agreed with defense arguments that jurors should not have heard prosecution witnesses testify about other alleged victims of Blackwell, 58.
In a case where "credibility is a critical issue," Berger wrote, the witnesses "improperly attempted to enhance the credibility of the state's critical witness by injecting references to other victims."
In a hearing earlier Friday, defense lawyer Kenneth W. Ravenell argued that references that two Baltimore Police Department investigators made to other alleged victims made it impossible for his client to get a fair trial.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun
By Julie Bykowicz
Sun Staff
Originally published April 9, 2005
Maurice Blackwell, the former West Baltimore Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting a one-time choirboy, was granted a new trial yesterday because of improper testimony in his first trial.
The ruling by the Baltimore Circuit Court judge who oversaw Blackwell's trial marked the latest twist in a case that first grabbed headlines three years ago with a Reservoir Hill shooting at the height of the American Catholic Church's priest abuse scandal.
Blackwell, 59, was convicted in February on three counts of sexual child abuse after a trial marred by what Judge Stuart R. Berger determined yesterday were errors that made justice impossible for the once-popular priest.
Berger granted the defense motion for a new trial based largely on testimony by two Baltimore detectives and the alleged victim, Dontee Stokes, that referred to other people allegedly molested by Blackwell.
TEXAS
Boston.com
By Associated Press | April 9, 2005
A Texas man who contends he was sexually abused by a priest from Massachusetts has reached a settlement with the Catholic Dioceses of Fort Worth and Worcester that includes $2.75 million from the Fort Worth diocese, the parties said yesterday.
The settlement will be paid by the Fort Worth diocese and its insurers, the Texas diocese said in a statement. The diocese settled upon the advice of its lawyers to avoid the ''uncertainty of litigation and the related costs," the statement said.
The Worcester diocese bears no financial responsibility in the settlement, according to a statement from Bishop Robert J. McManus.
The Texas man, now 27 years old, contends that the Rev. Thomas Teczar sexually abused him during his time as pastor of St. Rita's Church in Ranger, Texas, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Ranger, a town of about 2,500 people, is 100 miles west of Fort Worth.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Dateline Alabama
By MARK PRATT
Associated Press Writer
April 08, 2005
A Texas man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest from Massachusetts has reached a settlement with the dioceses of Fort Worth, Texas, and Worcester, Mass., that includes a $2.75 million payout from the Fort Worth Diocese, the parties said Friday.
The settlement will be paid for by the Fort Worth Diocese and its insurers, the Texas diocese said in a statement. The diocese settled on the advice of its lawyers to avoid the "uncertainty of litigation and the related costs," the statement said.
The Worcester Diocese bears no financial responsibility in the settlement, according to a statement from Bishop Robert J. McManus.
BOSTON (MA)
Reuters
Fri Apr 8, 2005 02:41 PM ET
By Greg Frost
BOSTON (Reuters) - The Vatican's decision to let Cardinal Bernard Law lead a funeral Mass for Pope John Paul in Rome has prompted outrage back home, where the ousted Boston archbishop is seen as a symbol of a pedophile priest scandal.
Victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergymen were particularly harsh in their reaction, saying the decision to give Law a prominent role in the pomp and circumstance surrounding the pope's death came as a slap in the face.
"I find it personally very insulting and one more instance of how the Roman Catholic hierarchy protects and promotes even the most egregious among them," said Ann Hagan Webb, a regional coordinator of the group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
"He (Law) protected priests at the expense of children over and over and over again, and this symbolically says: 'We don't care about these children; we'd rather honor him,"' Hagan Webb, a clergy abuse victim herself, told Reuters.
Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after court documents showed that he and other leaders of the Boston church shuttled known pedophiles from parish to parish without informing worshipers.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Bradenton Herald
SARAH BRUMFIELD
Associated Press
BALTIMORE - A judge granted a new trial Friday to defrocked priest Maurice Blackwell on charges that he molested a boy who later shot him. The conviction was thrown out less than two months after a jury found the former priest guilty.
"The court finds the interests of justice compel the granting of a new trial," Circuit Judge Stuart Berger wrote in his order.
The judge agreed with defense arguments that jurors should not have heard prosecution witnesses testify about other alleged victims of Blackwell, 58.
In a hearing earlier Friday, defense lawyer Kenneth Ravenell argued that references by two Baltimore Police Department investigators to other victims made it impossible for his client to get a fair trial.
Ravenell told Berger that while the trial judge instructed the jury to ignore the comments, the damage was done. He also argued that the cumulative effect of the references may have made it hard for the jury to set them aside.
COLOMBIA
Mercury News
JAVIER BAENA
Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia - In a country where dozens of priests have been killed for their straightforward talk, Cardinal Dario Castrillon has a reputation for courage and outspokenness.
Over the years, he has called on a Colombian president whose election campaign was financed by drug traffickers to step down, branded lawmakers bribed by traffickers a national disgrace and urged voters to reject another presidential candidate because he supported the right to divorce.
Castrillon, the 75-year-old head of the Vatican's office for priests, is among several Latin American cardinals considered a contender to become pope. In Pereira, a city in the coffee-growing region where he spent 22 years as a bishop, he is remembered as fearless in actions as well as words. ...
At a 2002 Vatican news conference, Castrillon blamed a culture of "pan-sexuality and sexual licentiousness" for some priests committing pedophilia and said formulas must be found to punish abusers that do not conflict with "fundamental principles of the church," leading some critics to wonder if the Vatican was taking the matter seriously enough.
In his home country, Castrillon is known for his blunt talk.
The Guardian
Polly Toynbee
Friday April 8, 2005
The Guardian
With the clash of two state funerals and a wedding, unreason is in full flood this week. Yet again, rationalists who thought they understood this secular, sceptical age have been shocked at the coverage from Rome.
The BBC airwaves have disgraced themselves. The Mail went mad with its front-page headlines, "Safe in Heaven" and the next day "Amen". Even this august organ, which sprang from the loins of nonconformist dissent, astounded many readers with its broad acres of Pope reverencing. Poor old Prince Rainier of that squalid little tax haven missed his full Hello! death rites through bad timing. ...
The scale of it is breathtaking yet not at all surprising: most humans are sexual beings. A Vatican edict in the 1960s threatened to excommunicate anyone breaking secrecy on child sex allegations, and guaranteed that ever more children continued to suffer. And within its walls the Vatican shields an American priest from allegations.
Still the Vatican turns a blind eye to this most repugnant and damaging of all sexual practices, the suffering little children whose priests come unto them. Yet at the same time it thunders disapproval of sex in every other more innocent circumstance, blighting the lives of millions with its teaching on gays, divorce, abortion and unrealistic self-denial. There is no reckoning how many of the world's poorest women have died giving birth to more children than they can survive; contraception is women's true saviour.
OAKLAND (CA)
The Argus
By Susan McDonough, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND — After months of refusing to reveal details about a group of elderly priests accused of sexually abusing young people, Dominican church leaders Thursday surprised many by releasing information about the men they insist are not a threat to local children.
St. Albert's Priory, a residence for Catholic priests in Oakland's upscale Rockridge neighborhood, has for months faced mounting pressure from community leaders and neighbors to release details about the seven priests relocated to the priory and living within a few blocks of two elementary schools.
Church spokeswoman Carla Hass said church leaders heard the neighbors' concerns "loud and clear," but said public pressure was not the reason church leaders decided to release the information.
"Rumor and innuendo are flying around faster than facts," Hass said.
The media has portrayed the residence as a haven for pedophiles, she said. "That is simply not true."
HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com
A Hawaii man who accused a Catholic priest of sexually assaulting him 28 years ago has reached a settlement with a therapist who counseled him after he reported the abuse.
Eugene Saulibio, whose complaint of sexual misconduct led to the dismissal of Rev. Joseph Bukoski, sued the priest and his order, the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts, in May 2003 for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
Also named as a defendant in the suit was Sister Claudia Wong, a family and marriage therapist who counseled Saulibio after he came forward with his claims in May 2002.
Wong, in court papers, asked the court to rule that the settlement had been reached in good faith. Circuit Judge Bert Ayabe granted the request without objection by the parties on Wednesday and dismissed Wong from the lawsuit.
Under the settlement, Wong will pay Saulibio $50,000 and issue a letter of apology for the pain he suffered as a result of their May 27, 2002 meeting.
MARYLAND
The Sentinel
By Gabe Caggiano
Anyone channel surfing with their TV remotes this week has been able to find, at any given time, at least three networks praising the life of Pope John Paul II.
Many world leaders and local religious figures proclaim this Pope was among the greatest and most influential of all time. Fox's Bill O'Reilly predicts Pope John Paul II will be canonized and made a saint.
Earlier this week President Bush said the Pope's "great legacy will be the influence he had on the young." Bush also called Pope John Paul II "a courageous man, a moral person." Political pundits are giving this Pope as much credit as Ronald Reagan and Britain's Margaret Thatcher for ending communism throughout the soviet bloc.
I'm sorry, but as a man who grew up a Roman Catholic in Boston, I find much of the praise underserved. I was in the crowd of nearly a million people when Pope John II gave a mass on Boston Commons in 1979, and I distinctly remember the loudest roar from the faithful came when the pope proclaimed in his heavy Slavic accent "The Pope is your friend."
The truth, without blinders on, brings that declaration into question. Let's start with the Catholic Church pedophile scandal that exploded on Pope John Paul II's watch. As the scandal unfolded in the Boston Diocese, it became clear, much to the horror and outrage of the Catholic laity, that pedophile priests were moved from parish to parish repeatedly and continued to rape children even when the church hierarchy knew these men were beyond rehabilitation.
The former cardinal in Boston, Bernard Law, who had hopes of becoming the first American pope, resigned in disgrace after he lost all credibility as a spiritual leader for transferring a pedophile priest from church to church over two decades.
The pedophile priest scandal has bankrupted the once mighty Boston Diocese and more than 70 churches have closed. The scandal also revealed cover-ups, payoffs and a wall of silence and arrogance about this issue that went all the way to the Vatican. Pope John Paul II never did anything about this horrific problem until he was left with no choice.
The Stanford Daily
By Christopher R. Vaughan
Opinions Columnist
Friday, April 8, 2005
last updated April 7, 2005 6:58 PM
The death of Pope John Paul II last Saturday was grieved by the millions of Catholics to whom his passing was both unsurprising and unbearable, was met with ambivalent mourning by those left disaffected by the crimes and corruption of the Church and provoked deep thinking among all of us who contemplate the vexed role of Catholicism in the modern world.
The old question, "Is the Pope a Catholic?" has always had the obvious affirmative answer. But was the now-late Karol Wojytla a Catholic, in the universal sense of the word? The answer is far less simple. ...
When I speak of locality, I would be remiss to ignore that I am from Massachusetts, the heart of the clergy sex-abuse irruptions. The blame for these enormous crimes extends from knowing parishioners who maintained their silence; to priests who promoted docility by shrinking from even questioning their overseers; to Bishop Thomas Dupre, who officiated my confirmation and now faces serious accusations of sexual abuse; to the Papacy, which gave Bernard Law, the unspeakably corrupt former cardinal of Boston, an exculpatory appointment in Rome.
This has been the rare week in which a great many individuals were referred to by a great many news sources as "sheep" flocking to the obsequies of their "shepherd" and took it as a compliment.
One hopes that those of the "flock" pick up the dissident spirit of the many Catholics in Massachusetts who have either committed to be burrs in the saddles of their parishes or who have gathered to form splinter groups.
The Times-Picayune
Friday, April 08, 2005
By Steve Chambers
Newhouse News Service
When Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston, many in the Catholic reform movement were angry that he was transferred to an important position in Rome.
Thursday, the announcement that Law would celebrate one of nine official Masses to mourn Pope John Paul II introduced a bit of negative press to what has been a week of worldwide adulation.
The anger was the rawest in Boston and in the broader community of sex-abuse survivors, who blame Law for protecting predators and contributing to the parade of victims.
"Out of respect and compassion for the victims, he should have disqualified himself from these important Vatican committees he sits on and, at this juncture, he shouldn't be actively seeking the limelight," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It just rubs salt into these deep wounds."
The cauldron started bubbling on Sunday, when Law was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on ABC-TV. But it reached a boiling point Thursday, when the announcement was made about the Mass.
VATICAN CITY
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Friday, April 08, 2005
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
VATICAN CITY -- Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace from the archdiocese of Boston due to his role in a sexual abuse scandal that badly damaged the Catholic Church nationwide, has been chosen by his fellow cardinals to preside at one of the most prominent Masses to be offered for the late Pope John Paul II.
Law was selected to preside and preach Monday at 5 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica. It will be the fourth of nine days of funeral Masses for John Paul at St. Peter's.
The announcement from Archbishop Piero Marini, the Vatican's chief liturgist, indicated that Law, who last year was named archpriest of the patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major, was chosen to represent the major patriarchal basilicas. Each cardinal who preaches during the so-called Novendiales -- nine days -- is supposed to represent some important ancient or contemporary aspect of the church.
Although Law no longer has the responsibility for a diocese, he kept all of his assignments within the Vatican bureaucracy and is eligible to vote for the next pope. He is the only U.S. cardinal chosen to preside at one of the Novendiales.
DANVILLE (IN)
Indianapolis Star
By Tania E. Lopez
indystar.com
April 8, 2005
Danville -- A 43-year-old former youth director at a North Salem church is accused of molesting his daughter's 12-year-old friend during a sleepover.
The Hendricks County prosecutor has charged Richard E. Smith, of Danville, with one felony count of child molesting deviate sexual conduct.
The girl said the incident occurred sometime between the end of September and early October during a sleepover at Smith's home. It was the only time the girl was an overnight guest, police said.
The girl, now 13, told her mother about the incident in mid-February. Police have been investigating since then.
According to court documents, the girl had fallen asleep in Smith's younger son's bedroom while watching TV. Smith entered the bedroom around 3 a.m.
ELKHORN (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Associated Press
Posted: April 7, 2005
Elkhorn - A retired Jesuit priest from Chicago has been ordered to stand trial on accusations he inappropriately touched two men when they were teens in the 1960s.
The men, now 51 and 52 years old, testified Wednesday that Father Donald J. McGuire, 74, a former counselor and teacher at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., touched them indecently at a Fontana residence in the late 1960s.
McGuire faces two felony charges of indecent behavior with a child. Conviction could mean 20 years in prison.
Walworth County Judge Michael Gibbs ordered McGuire to stand trial at a preliminary hearing Wednesday. His arraignment and motion hearing are scheduled for May 1.
ARNAUDVILLE (LA)
KATC
(KATC)- Father Jules Arceneaux will not be charged in the Federal investigation involving pornographic pictures found on a computer at Saint Francis Regis Church in Arnaudville.
Arceneaux was removed from his post last summer after the pictures were discovered.
In a statement to KATC TV-3, Bishop Michael Jarrel says the diocese is resuming its investigation to find out who is responsible.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH _ The Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese has agreed to a $2.75 million out-of-court settlement with a second Texas man who said he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Teczar.
The settlement follows a $1.4 million settlement with another Texas man. Both men accused Teczar of groping and raping them in the early 1990s in Ranger. Teczar served in several parishes in the diocese, including Fort Worth, Bedford and Ranger, from 1988 until 1993.
The diocese agreed to the settlement Tuesday at the advice of its attorneys after ``weighing the options and considering the uncertainty of litigation,'' according to a statement released to the Star-Telegram on Thursday.
The money was paid from insurance coverage and the diocese, according to the statement. The man's attorney, Tahira Khan Merritt of Dallas, could not be reached for comment. Her client was identified as John Doe II in the suit. He was 12[ years old] when the abuse began, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2003 against the dioceses of Fort Worth and Worcester, Mass., alleged that Fort Worth Bishop Joseph Delaney knew that Teczar posed a threat to children because of his ``sexual interest'' in adolescents. Delaney could not be reached for further comment.
VATICAN CITY
The B.C. Catholic Newspaper
By JOHN THAVIS
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope John Paul II, who died April 2 at age 84, was a voice of conscience for the world and a modern-day apostle for his Church.
To both roles he brought a philosopher’s intellect, a pilgrim’s spiritual intensity, and an actor’s flair for the dramatic. That combination made him one of the most forceful moral leaders of the modern age.
As head of the Church for more than 26 years, he held a hard line on doctrinal issues and drew sharp limits on dissent, in particular regarding abortion, birth control, and other contested Church teachings on human life. ...
His reaction to the mushrooming clerical sex abuse scandal in the United States in 2001-02 underscored his governing style: He suffered deeply, prayed at length, and made brief but forceful statements emphasizing the gravity of such a sin by priests. He convened a Vatican-U.S. summit to address the problem, but let his Vatican advisers and U.S. Church leaders work out the answers. In the end, he approved changes that made it easier to defrock abusive priests.
VATICAN CITY
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Rachel Zoll
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston over his role in the clergy sex-abuse crisis, has been given a role of honor in the mourning for Pope John Paul II.
The Vatican announced yesterday that he would lead one of the daily Masses celebrated in the Pope's memory during the nine-day period that follows the funeral, called Novemdiales. The service will be Monday at Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, where Law was appointed archpriest after leaving Boston.
Some Catholics in his former archdiocese immediately protested.
Suzanne Morse, spokeswoman for Voice of the Faithful, a Massachusetts-based activist group that emerged from the scandal, said Law's visibility since John Paul's death had been "extremely painful" for abuse survivors and parishioners.
"It certainly shows and puts a spotlight on the lack of accountability in the Catholic Church, that the most visible bishop in the clergy sexual-abuse crisis has been given these honorary opportunities," she said.
Chester Gillis, an expert in Catholicism at Georgetown University, said celebrating a Mass during the mourning period was not only an honor but a position of influence.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Kentucky.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUISVILLE - The Vatican has responded to a federal lawsuit in Louisville over priest molestation cases and says the suit is flawed and should be dismissed.
Lawyers for the Holy See, the legal identity of the Vatican, allege several problems with the lawsuit in filings in U.S. District Court this week. It is the church's first in-depth response.
The Vatican asks Judge John G. Heyburn II to dismiss the suit, which Louisville lawyer William McMurry filed last year on behalf of three men alleging abuse as far back as 1928. The lawsuit alleges a cover-up to protect priests who molested American children.
McMurry, who in 2003 represented 243 abuse victims in reaching a $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville, is seeking to have the suit certified as a class-action case, alleging that "several thousand" victims exist nationwide.
The case is the first sexual-abuse suit to name the Vatican as sole defendant and would be the first class-action suit against the Vatican regarding sexual abuse.
ROME
L.A. Daily News
By Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times
ROME -- Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to resign in disgrace as archbishop of Boston two years ago for protecting sexually abusive priests, was named by the Vatican on Thursday as one of nine prelates who will have the honor of presiding over funeral Masses for Pope John Paul II.
To many American Catholics, Law is best known as the archbishop who presided over the Boston archdiocese as it became the focus for the sexual-abuse scandal involving priests.
But to Vatican officials, Law is a powerful kingmaker who traveled internationally for the church and whose favorite priests were regularly appointed bishops by John Paul II. After he stepped down in Boston in 2003, he was given a spacious apartment and a prestigious although honorary post in Rome as archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
It is by virtue of this position that he was given the high-profile role of celebrating Monday's funeral ritual, the third in the nine-day mourning period that follows a pope's death. It is expected that most of the cardinals will attend the Mass, which will be open to the public. Law will deliver a homily that many Vatican watchers will parse for clues about the cardinals' thinking on who should be the next pope.
VATICAN CITY
The UW Daily
By Carol Eisenberg / Newsday
April 08, 2005
VATICAN CITY -- The naming of Cardinal Bernard Law, former archbishop of Boston, to preside over one of nine Masses that will memorialize Pope John Paul II, stunned and angered many American Catholics on Thursday.
"For better or for worse, Cardinal Law is the poster child for clergy sex abuse," said James Post, president of Voice of the Faithful, a national lay group formed in Boston at the height of the scandal to demand accountability and reform. "Any role for him is a visible reminder of the complicity of the hierarchy in the clergy sex abuse crisis. I'm bewildered that the cardinals would deliberately select him, knowing it would simply remind people of this terrible, terrible scandal."
Law, 73, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 amid accusations that he knowingly shielded priest molesters, will preside over the fourth of nine days of Masses, called Novemdiales, to memorialize the late pope.
That service will be held Monday at Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, where Law was appointed archpriest after leaving Boston. A Mass is said for the pope every day during the mourning period.
NEW YORK
Pioneer Press
BY ADAM LISBERG
New York Daily News
NEW YORK - (KRT) - The Boston cardinal who resigned in disgrace after ignoring priests who sexually abused children will lead a memorial Mass in Rome for Pope John Paul II - outraging some American Catholics.
"They still don't get it. They simply don't get it," said Melissa Gradel, a parishioner at St. Boniface in downtown Brooklyn. "It's a travesty and an embarrassment."
Cardinal Bernard Law, who came to symbolize a church hierarchy that protected priests instead of their young victims, resigned as Boston's archbishop in late 2002.
Later the pope picked him to head one of Rome's great basilicas, St. Mary Major, where he will lead the memorial Mass on Monday.
Thursday's announcement enraged groups like Voice of the Faithful and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which formed as disclosures of church sex scandals started in Boston and spread across the country. "There are obviously thousands of people who could have been chosen for this Mass," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network. "It just reopens some very, very deep wounds."
New York Blade
By EARTHA MELZER
Friday, April 08, 2005
As people around the world reflect on the life of Pope John Paul II, many remember that the pope’s negative pronouncements on homosexuality and on sexuality generally, have been a source of great pain.
Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2, led the Catholic Church for 26 years and was the longest reigning Pope in recent history. He presided over a church that grew to a billion people and became well known for his opposition to communism and high profile visits to 127 countries. ...
The pope called homosexuality “evil”, and used his position as head of the Catholic Church to oppose the use of birth control and of condoms against AIDS and to exert political pressure against gay rights and same-sex marriage. He also attempted to scapegoat gay priests for the priest sex abuse scandals, according to Dignity President Sam Sinnett.
CHICAGO (IL)
The Catholic New World
Within hours of the April 2 death of Pope John Paul II, cardinals from around the world began gathering at the Vatican to honor the long-reigning pontiff in death and to begin preparations for the process to elect a successor.
Cardinal George left for Rome April 3 after celebrating the life of the pope at Masses at Holy Name Cathedral and in his column in The Catholic New World.
“It is hard to imagine a world without Pope John Paul II,” he wrote in his column for this edition. “For over 26 years, he has been the living voice of the Catholic faith. He has been loved intensely, and not only by Catholics. He has been respected and admired. He has been shot at, criticized, denounced. As he leaves us, millions of people around the word feel his dying as their loss.” ...
His reaction to the mushrooming clerical sex abuse scandal in the United States in 2001-02 underscored his governing style: He suffered deeply, prayed at length and made brief but forceful statements emphasizing the gravity of such a sin by priests. He convened a Vatican-U.S. summit to address the problem, but let his advisers and U.S. church leaders work out the answers. In the end, he approved changes that made it easier to defrock abusive priests.
GREECE
Kathimerini
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece yesterday appointed two bishops to investigate Nikiforos, Bishop of Didymoteicho, who is under scrutiny for alleged sex escapades, and the suspended bishop of Attica, Panteleimon, who was indicted by a court last week on criminal embezzlement charges.
Orange County Weekly
by GUSTAVO ARELLANO
Let’s cut the beatitudes: Pope John Paul II was a moral, abject failure when it mattered.
Screw his ecumenical efforts. Never mind his opposition to communism. Forget his apologies for the horrors that the Roman Catholic Church inflicted upon so many of the world’s innocent throughout two millennia. All those “breakthroughs” were inevitable, none of them particularly revolutionary, the media spectacles surrounding each vanity and striving after the wind. ...
Closer to home, Catholics should remember John Paul II’s ignorance of what’s shaping up to be his Church’s spiritual genocide—the priestly sex-abuse scandal. His defenders will mention that what the pope told the 12 American cardinals who visited the Vatican in 2002—“There is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young”—was penance enough.
That was too little, too late. By then, the pope already knew. He knew as early as 1985, when Tom Doyle, a priest with the Vatican Embassy in Washington, helped author a confidential report alerting American Catholic officials about the pederast storm on the horizon. He knew as early as 1990 that bishops were advising one another to send potentially incriminating documents to the Apostolic Delegate, the papal representative to the Catholic Church in the United States, because the office has diplomatic immunity. He knew in 1993, when he first addressed the American sex-abuse scandal by accusing the media of treating his prelates’ cover-up “as an occasion for sensationalism.”
He knew! Last year, he propped up former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law with a cushy job in St. Peter’s Square—the same Law who resigned in 2002 lest the feds make him sing about his role in the rape of children! John Paul II opposed the zero-tolerance policies that American bishops installed in 2002 to ensure that child rapists would never officiate over Mass again! John Paul II never removed scoundrels such as Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony and Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown from their posts despite their active shielding of child-molesting priests from the law. In fact, many of these scoundrels—demons such as Mahony, Law and the entirety of the United States’ delegation of cardinals—will vote soon on John Paul II’s successor, ensuring that their patron’s twisted policies will endure.
LOUISIANA
KLFY
Eyewitness News has learned U.S. Attorney Donald Washington is filing a bill of information, officially announcing his office's intention of ending its investigation of Father Jules Arceneaux, an Acadiana priest who was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly downloading child pornography onto a computer at Arceneaux's church in Arnaudville.
Washington writes:
We have completed our investigation and have determined the evidence collected is not sufficient to meet the prosecutable standard of this office and this type of case.
The problem, according to federal prosecutors, is that in order to secure a conviction for child pornography, prosecutors need to be able to prove the downloaded images in question are in fact children.
And, those efforts in this case were not successful.
VATICAN CITY
Los Angeles Times
By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff Writer
VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who became a focal point of the Roman Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal in the United States, won a coveted role Thursday to preside at one of a handful of funeral Masses for Pope John Paul II.
The appointment, announced by Archbishop Piero Marini, master of liturgical celebrations, appeared to catch other U.S. cardinals by surprise. It stunned sexual-abuse victims' advocates.
One church source close to developments, said here Thursday that cardinals were not consulted about Law's participation. He said the cardinals were simply handed the list of assignments. "It was already printed," he said on condition of anonymity.
Law, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after nearly 20 years in that post, will preside at one of eight funeral Masses beginning Saturday following Friday's main farewell and Funeral Mass for the supreme pontiff at St. Peter's Basilica.
The Vatican said Law and the others were chosen because it was an "ancient custom" to entrust one of eight subsequent funeral Masses to a particular group with close ties to the pope. For example, the Saturday Mass is to be said on behalf of the "faithful of Vatican City." Law, in his new role here as archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major, is scheduled to preside Monday on behalf of the four basilicas in Rome.
INDIANA
Indianapolis Star
By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com
April 7, 2005
A 43-year-old former youth director at a North Salem church is being held in jail accused of molesting his daughter's 12-year-old friend during a sleep over.
The Hendricks County prosecutor has charged Richard E. Smith of Danville with one felony count of child molesting deviate sexual conduct after police said the girl, now 13, just told her mother about the incident that occurred nearly five months ago.
The girl said the incident occurred sometime between the end of September or early October during a sleep over at Smith's home. It was the only the time the girl was an overnight guest, police said.
According to court documents, Smith entered the bedroom the girl was sleeping in around 3 a.m. after she fell asleep in his younger son's bedroom watching TV.
Smith, according to the girl, laid down on the bed she was sharing with his son, reached over the boy and molested her.
After Smith left the room, the girl told police she ran to her friend's room where she spent the rest of the night.
ELKHORN (WI)
Gazette
(Published Thursday, April 7, 2005 11:04:59 AM CDT)
By Mike Heine
Gazette Staff
ELKHORN-The Rev. Donald J. McGuire, a retired Jesuit priest from Chicago, on Wednesday faced the two men who accuse him of inappropriate sexual touching.
The men, now ages 52 and 51, both testified that McGuire, 74, touched their genitals at a Fontana residence in the late 1960s.
The 52-year-old man said McGuire, a former counselor and teacher at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., touched his genitals dozens of times over his clothing from the spring of 1967 through possibly June 1968 during visits to his uncle's home on South Shore Drive in Fontana. He was 14 and 15 at the time.
"He'd reach over and grab me in my groin, on my genitals," the man testified.
The man said McGuire also touched him at least once under his underwear. The incidents occurred at his uncle's home, in two cars or on a boat on Geneva Lake, the man said.
The Church of England Newspaper
By Paul Richardson Number: 5763 Date: April 8,
On the one occasion I met John Paul II I was surprised by his warmth and affability. Instead of an austere, authoritarian figure, here was a friendly, approachable priest speaking English in a jocular manner with a thick accent and fixing me with powerful, inquiring eyes.
Wojtyla’s background made a unique figure in the history of the papacy. He was the first non-Italian Pope for hundreds of years and he came to the chair of Peter with the experience of both manual labour and stage acting, knowing at first-hand what it was like to live first under both Nazi occupation and communism. ...
John Paul leaves an impressive legacy of Catholic social teaching. But demands for reform in the Church are growing, fueled by the scandal of clerical sexual abuse, and vocations remain in short supply. John Paul II was one of the great Popes of history. He hands on to his successor much on which the new Pope can build but he also bequeaths him difficult problems that are still to be resolved.
VATICAN CITY
CBS News
VATICAN CITY, April 7, 2005
(AP) Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston over his role in the clergy sex abuse crisis, has been given a role of honor in the mourning for Pope John Paul II.
The Vatican announced Thursday he will lead one of the daily Masses celebrated in the pope's memory during the nine-day period that follows the funeral, called Novemdiales. The service will be held Monday at Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, where Law was appointed archpriest after leaving Boston.
Some Roman Catholics in his former archdiocese immediately protested.
Suzanne Morse, spokeswoman for Voice of the Faithful, a Massachusetts-based reform group that emerged from the scandal, said Law's visibility since the pope's death has been "extremely painful" both for abuse survivors and rank-and-file Catholics.
"It certainly shows and puts a spotlight on the lack of accountability in the Catholic Church, that the most visible bishop in the clergy sexual abuse crisis has been given these honorary opportunities," she said.
David Clohessy, national director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called it "terribly insensitive."
OAKLAND (CA)
KGO
Issued by Western Dominican Province
It is important to note that at least two of the sources quoted in various media are believed to be ex-Dominican students who were dismissed from the Dominican Order for good cause and who we believe are now disaffected. These sources would not have had access to most of the details about the seven friars. Therefore, we are releasing this information to provide an accurate picture about this issue in the sincere hope that it will result in greater insight and peace for you, our neighbors.
There are currently six men accused of sexual abuse of minors living in the Western Dominican Province's communities in the Rockridge area. In each case, when we learned of an alleged instance of abuse, we took immediate steps to ensure that no children were in danger, and undertook a thorough investigation to determine whether the allegation was credible. Having completed that investigation, we removed each of the men from public ministry, meaning they do not celebrate Mass publicly, nor do they have any interaction with young people.
The allegations concern events that occurred between 20 and 45 years ago. All of these friars have received or continue to receive counseling by experts in the field; Eugene Merlin of Oakland, California, in particular has worked with the Province in the area of sexual offending since 1991. All are at least 65 years old. All but one lived in the Bay Area prior to being moved to Rockridge—the other lived outside of California. None of the six friars is a serial or "preferential" pedophile. No criminal charges were ever filed with regard to any of these men, although the police were notified in several cases.
The Observer
By Mary Kate Malone
Published: Thursday, April 7, 2005
Pope John Paul II was nothing less than an international globetrotter. When he visited the United States for the first time in 1979, Americans granted him unprecedented celebrity status for a religious figure. Despite his enormous popularity, the U.S. Church and the pope have had a complicated relationship from the beginning.
Under John Paul II, the Church saw an increase in the number of Catholics on a global level, a reinvigoration of Catholic conservatism and a new appreciation for the youth of the world. But the late pope also leaves behind him a struggling Church in the United States, a church that clashed with the Vatican over John Paul II's firm control of church leadership and refusal to compromise with American Catholics seeking a more democratic approach. ...
The U.S. Church, though united in its mourning of the pope, is struggling with internal problems.
In 2002, the sexual abuse crisis and the revelation that many predatory priests had been relocated rather than removed caused many Catholics to desire a greater voice in choosing local church leaders. The Vatican refused to change its policy.
As a result, many Americans turned their anger toward Rome. Kaveny said the empowerment of local leadership could have helped ease the minds of concerned American Catholics.
The News-Sentinel
BY DAVID CLOHESSY
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) - The legacy of Pope John Paul II is marked by triumphs and adversity, both personally as well as within the sanctuary of the church he led. Time and time again he spoke candidly of healing the deep pain caused by crimes and mistakes of the past, such as in the church's complicity in the persecution of Jews. That he sought to mend those wounds is commendable, but to truly acknowledge this pontiff's noteworthy achievements requires that we examine his own track record with similar frankness.
The charisma of Karol Wojtyla was recognized immediately upon his ascendancy to the papacy. His youth marked the intention of the church to lead Roman Catholics into the Third Millennium, and his philosophical and theological beliefs, demonstrated in his deeply spiritual defiance to Nazism and communism, framed values that were the bedrock of his leadership.
Winning the hearts and minds of young people was the special passion of this pope, and his efforts to inspire them remained a key focus of his travels across the globe.
But John Paul's concern for the young was undermined by his failure to address - and more important, to stop - the rape and molestation of children and others at the hands of those charged with carrying out the church's ministry. That failure was further exacerbated by his deputies covering up those horrific crimes, which the pope himself described as a "grave delict" against God.
In the United States particularly, the scandal has been widely documented. But it also has been pandemic in Austria, Ireland, Great Britain, Australia and other nations. We fear that it is perhaps even more widespread and devastating - if that is possible - in the developing countries of the world where John Paul spent so much of his time and compassion.
BOSTON (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 11:44 am EDT April 7, 2005
UPDATED: 12:48 pm EDT April 7, 2005
BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law has been chosen to lead one of a series of Masses that will be celebrated during the nine days of mourning that begin with Friday's funeral for Pope John Paul II.
Law, who resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 over his role in the clergy sex abuse crisis, now serves as archpriest of the St. Mary Major Basilica -- one of the most important churches in Rome. He remains a member of the College of Cardinals and serves on several Vatican agencies, including the Congregation for Bishops.
Law will be among the group of 116 cardinals who will vote for the next pope at the conclave beginning on April 18.
He was named Thursday by the Vatican as one of nine prelates who will lead daily masses during the mourning period.
Law was Boston's archbishop when the clergy sex abuse scandal erupted there in January 2002. It later spread nationwide to become what church leaders describe as the worst crisis to befall the American church. Hundreds of accused clergy have been removed from parishes around the country in the last three years.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Alexis Huicochea
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A 52-year-old woman filed a lawsuit against Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Wednesday alleging numerous incidents of physical abuse, sexual abuse and illegal restraint.
The alleged incidents took place between 1954 and 1968, the lawsuit said.
Mary Ann Shelton, who know lives in Illinois, was placed at the Tucson convent in 1954 by her mother as a way to ease financial burden, the lawsuit said.
Her mother hoped that Shelton, then Mary Ann Mallas, would have a religious and moral upbringing, and get an education, the lawsuit said. However, she became an "indentured servant," her attorney, Ivan Abrams, said in a telephone interview. "She was a cleaning servant and a sex slave," he said. "She was chained and held in a hidden room."
TUCSON (AZ)
AZCentral.com
Associated Press
Apr. 7, 2005 08:15 AM
TUCSON - A 52-year-old Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against a Tucson convent alleging that she was held captive and physically and sexually abused more than a half-century ago.
Mary Ann Shelton was placed at the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent in 1954 by her mother as a way to ease financial burden, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Pima County Superior Court.
However, she became an "indentured servant," her attorney, Ivan Abrams, said in a telephone interview with the Arizona Daily Star. advertisement
"She was a cleaning servant and a sex slave," he said. "She was chained and held in a hidden room."
In the lawsuit, Shelton says she was raped, sodomized, repeatedly beat, psychologically abused and deprived of food and water.
The lawsuit said that when Shelton's mother removed her from the order's custody in 1968, she did not reveal the abuse out of religious fear.
OAKLAND (CA)
KGO
Apr. 6 (ABC7) — The ABC7 I-Team has uncovered information that some East Bay residents want the names, pictures, and histories of Catholic priests who admit sexually abusing children. All seven of the men are living at a seminary in an upscale neighborhood of Oakland.
Officials at the St. Albert's seminary have refused to provide the names and pictures, even though neighbors have been demanding them since the ABC7 I-Team revealed in November that seven admitted sex offenders are living here.
The I-Team investigation four months ago caused uproar in the Rockridge neighborhood. We revealed that the Dominican order has moved six priests and one brother who admit sexual misconduct with minors into St. Albert's seminary and a house nearby.
Father Roberto Corral is head of the Dominican's western province.
Father Roberto Corral, Dominican western province: "These guys have been through their therapy, and working with their counselors and therapists. We are reasonably sure they will not re-offend."
The Progressive
As the mainstream media, as one, has broken into a weeklong chorus of hosannas about Pope John Paul II, a little perspective is in order.
Pope John Paul II was a mixed bag.
On the plus side, he supported Solidarity, the trade union movement in Poland that helped bring down the Soviet empire.
He spoke out against the excesses of capitalism. He condemned the inequality between the industrialized countries and the developing world. He called for "just wages." And he recognized the limits of the free market. In his 1991 Encyclical Letter "Centesimus Annus," he said the "market [must] be appropriately controlled by the forces of society and by the State, so as to guarantee that the basic needs of the whole of society are satisfied." ...
The pope also totally mismanaged the sexual abuse scandal that so besmirched the church in the United States, reacting haltingly to the mountains of charges against pedophile priests.
JAPAN
IOL
April 07 2005 at 12:57PM
Tokyo - A 61-year-old Japanese Christian pastor was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl at a church, news reports said.
Tamotsu Nagata, who heads the Central Church of Holy God in the ancient capital of Kyoto, allegedly threatened the girl to keep her silent, telling her she would spend eternity in hell if she told anyone.
The Protestant pastor allegedly repeatedly assaulted the girl, a member of his congregation, until late last year. He was allegedly suspected of sexually assaulting several young girls.
VATICAN CITY
News 24
07/04/2005 15:39 - (SA)
Vatican City - An American former archbishop forced to quit over a series of paedophile sex scandals involving priests in his diocese will celebrate one of the key masses during nine days of Vatican mourning for Pope John Paul II, officials said on Thursday.
Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, the former archbishop of Boston, will preside a mass for the pope on Monday, fourth day of the "novendiales" - nine days - period of formal mourning which begins with his funeral mass on Friday.
A mass is said for the pope every day during the mourning period.
Law's name was given among a list of prelates the Vatican named Thursday to preside the masses.
PUERTO RICO
Fox News
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Two Roman Catholic (search) priests in Puerto Rico's countryside were charged with sexually abusing four girls, police said Wednesday.
Revs. Jose Florencio Martinez Corvera (search), 39, and Manuel de la Cruz Sanchez Rivera (search), 49, both of El Salvador, were arrested Monday, police officer Maria Martinez Cubano said.
Both had been visiting priests at the La Monserrate parish of Jayuya, a central mountain town in the U.S. Caribbean territory, said Martinez Cubano, one of the officers in charge of the investigation.
The arrests came as some Catholics expressed hope that the successor to the late Pope John Paul II (search) would take a stronger stand against sexual abuse in the church. The sexual abuse crisis erupted in Massachusetts in January 2002, then rippled into most dioceses in the United States; the church in Canada, Australia, Latin America and Europe — including the pope's own Poland — also faced scandals.
Socialist Worker
April 8, 2005 | Page 3
THE MEDIA haze of kind words and rosy reminiscences about Pope John Paul II can’t change what the man was in real life--a hard-line right-winger who saw his mission as defending the most backward institutions and traditions of the Catholic Church. ...
When the U.S. church was exposed for harboring sexual predators among its priests, John Paul’s Vatican helped organize the cover-up, refusing to admit that anything about the workings of the church contributed to the scandal. Even a right-winger like former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a member of theAbuse Tracker Review Board of Catholic Lay People, which authored one report on the priest scandal, was forced to resign after he compared the Church hierarchy’s methods of concealing sexual abuse to those of La Cosa Nostra.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Kentucky.com
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Vatican has responded to a federal lawsuit in Louisville over the priest molestation cases and says the suit is flawed and should be dismissed.
Lawyers for the Holy See, the legal identity of the Vatican, allege several problems with the lawsuit in filings in U.S. District Court this week. It is the church's first in-depth response.
The Vatican asks Judge John G. Heyburn II to dismiss the suit, which Louisville lawyer William McMurry filed last year on behalf of three men alleging abuse as far back as 1928. The lawsuit alleges a cover-up to protect priests who molested American children.
McMurry, who in 2003 represented 243 abuse victims in reaching a $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville, is seeking to have the suit certified as a class-action case, alleging that "several thousand" victims exist nationwide.
ROME
Boston Globe
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff | April 7, 2005
ROME -- Adorned with miter and crimson vestments, Cardinal Bernard F. Law led a special Mass and prayer vigil for Pope John Paul II at St. Mary Major basilica for his congregation of Italian churchgoers and a handful of American tourists and pilgrims from other countries.
The service Tuesday offered a glimpse of Law's pastoral role as the head of one of Rome's three grand basilicas -- and the distance Law has traveled from the harsh spotlight of the priest sex abuse scandal that prompted his resignation as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in December 2002.
Many Boston Catholics say it is difficult to see Law in this leadership role at the heart of the Catholic Church after what they believe was Law's failed stewardship of the Boston archdiocese during the painful disclosures of widespread priest sexual abuse, and his role in permitting the reassignment of priests who had repeatedly abused children.
Those feelings have been intensified by the fact that Law, who has studiously avoided the media since his resignation, has reemerged in the public eye during the mourning for the pope.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Citizens Voice
By Michael McNarney, Staff Writer 04/07/2005
The Rev. Albert M. Liberatore Jr., accused of sexually molesting a teenage parishioner at his Duryea church, is asking a Luzerne County judge to throw out the charges against him.
The challenge claims that there's not enough evidence to even warrant a trial on charges of indecent assault, corrupting a minor, endangering the welfare of children, and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
The move comes more than five months after the Rev. Liberatore's lawyers, Larry Moran of Scranton and Joseph M. Cosgrove of Forty Fort, agreed with Luzerne County prosecutors to put the case in front of a common pleas judge instead of a magistrate.
Moran said Wednesday that there are significant legal and constitutional issues in the Liberatore case, issues that are best settled by a judge. Attempts to reach Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas were unsuccessful.
The case is being handled in Wilkes-Barre because county prosecutors there and in Scranton agreed to consolidate the crimes in a single case. The crimes are alleged to have taken place in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
The Courier-Journal
By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
The Roman Catholic Church is asking a U.S. District judge in Louisville to dismiss a lawsuit against the Vatican that alleges a cover-up to protect priests who molested American children.
In four motions and supporting memorandums, the Vatican asks Judge John G. Heyburn II to dismiss the suit, which Louisville attorney William McMurry filed last year on behalf of three men alleging abuse as far back as 1928.
McMurry, who in 2003 represented 243 abuse victims in reaching a $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville, is seeking to have the suit certified as a class-action case, alleging that "several thousand" victims exist nationwide.
The filings this week by attorneys for the Holy See, the legal identity of the Vatican, allege numerous problems with the suit and represent the church's first in-depth response.
The response argues, for example, that:
The suit should be dismissed because it fails to cite specific actions by the Vatican in regard to the abusive priests. The Vatican also says the complaint does not have enough specifics about the alleged abuse -- times, places and other circumstances -- to proceed.
McMurry did not comply with requirements in U.S. law that must be followed for a foreign country to be sued. The Vatican, which occupies a 109-acre enclave of Rome, is recognized as a sovereign state with legal protections.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor Staff
April 07. 2005 8:00AM
Frustrated that the Vatican has not responded for more than a year, a group of Catholics went public yesterday with a petition it sent to Rome 18 months ago calling for the removal of Bishops John McCormack and Francis Christian.
The group of 20 lay Catholics from around the state had planned yesterday's public release before Pope John Paul II died on Saturday. Out of respect for the pope's passing, members said, they canceled a scheduled news conference and released the documents to reporters individually. The group also plans to post the materials, which include a litany of complaints against McCormack and Christian as well as McCormack's replies, on New Hampshire Catholics for Moral Leadership's Web site.
"We followed the decorum of canon law and kept everything private," said Ed Kirby of St. John Neumann Church in Merrimack. "But for 18 months, (church officials) have essentially done nothing. And we feel we have the right now to tell the laity that there has been no substantial response."
Calls for McCormack's and Christian's removals are not new, nor are allegations that they protected abusive priests at the expense of children. And the people behind this complaint have led the calls for resignation here. What is different is the venue.
The petitioners, led by Jim Farrell of St. Mary parish in Dover, are hoping to persuade Vatican officials that the church's own canon law allows, even calls for, the removal of bishops and pastors who have lost their standing or harmed the church.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald
07.04.05
by Chris Barton
Wayne Hughes, the Takapuna Assembly of God pastor at the centre of sexual abuse allegations, is taking early retirement.
In a letter to the Takapuna church board Mr Hughes cited personal reasons - the need to care for his wife who suffers from Parkinson's disease and the stress caused by the publicity on his family and his own "health and emotional and spiritual wellbeing". He was also concerned about the effect on the church.
"The recent publicity that has erupted is hurting the church family. This is not good for the Takapuna Church nor the Assemblies of God in New Zealand - both of which I love.
"For these reasons I have personally decided to bring forward my retirement and step back from my current pastoral responsibilities, effective immediately."
Mr Hughes blames Nasir Ali for first raising the sexual abuse claims 10 years ago. Mr Ali, who served one year of a three-year term for burglary in the early 90s, was briefly married to Mr Hughes' daughter Angela in a Muslim ceremony.
CHICAGO (IL)
U.S. Newswire
CHICAGO, April 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Pope John Paul II's departure has left countless people around the world mourning and anticipating what the next pontiff's priorities will be. Linda Pieczynski, spokesperson for Call To Action, the nation's largest church reform group, stated, "We are hoping for a pope who forcefully spreads the message of peace and non-violence throughout the world in these troubled times as did Pope John Paul II. It is critical to continue his legacy in that area. But, the Church needs a leader who also listens to all the people of the Church because the Holy Spirit lives and breathes through all of us as the body of Christ. The new pope must recognize that there is wisdom to be shared by the laity which will assist him in confronting those matters left undone by the previous pope, especially on issues of human sexuality. He may also need to distance himself from some of the positions taken by Pope John Paul II in order to deal with the important issues facing the institution."
"For example, the next pope must take action regarding the priest shortage which threatens the sacramental life of Catholics. There are over 3,000 parishes in the United States without a priest and there are many priests who are pastors of multiple parishes. We hope that the new pope recognizes the necessity of lifting the mandatory celibacy ban," said Pieczynski.
"We are hoping that the bishops will see the need to select someone who will be collegial in his interactions with them and less authoritarian in dealing with those who disagree with him so that creativity is not suppressed and theological development may flourish in academic freedom. We also strongly encourage him to adopt the recommendation from theAbuse Tracker Review Board -- a lay group the bishops created to address the sex abuse crisis -- that there be lay involvement in the selection of bishops. We need to build structures in our church which reflect a more participatory structure."
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Associated Press
Wednesday, April 6, 2005 - Updated: 02:35 PM EST
BOSTON - Archbishop Sean O'Malley is heading to Rome this afternoon, where he'll join other Catholic leaders and world dignitaries for the funeral of Pope John Paul.
O'Malley was appointed by the pope in July 2003 to succeed Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned amid the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese.
Ironically, it will be Law, and not O'Malley, who will have a hand in choosing John Paul's successor. O'Malley was not elevated to cardinal before the pontiff's death, though it is widely believed that he will be elevated sometime in the future.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
Steve Lopez:
Points West
I wasn't going to say anything until a reader noticed the same thing I did in a story about Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony. His Eminence, flying to Rome in the Pope's final hours, was stretched out rather comfortably in first class.
"I know that it's a little early to be nitpicking about these things," said a reader named Carol. "I thought at some point … you might want to do a column about this, because I think it's just shameful."
In the photograph Carol is referring to, Mahony was sitting with his flack, Tod Tamberg. The cardinal, with his eyes closed and rosary beads in his hands, has his comfy seat tilted so far back that he appears to be crushing the woman in the row behind him. ...
Mahony sold crypts under the altar at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for up to $50,000 apiece, hawked paving stones for $5,000, peddled wine under the cathedral's name — and accomplished all of this while managing one of the biggest church scandals in modern history.
The most amazing thing about the scandal, in fact, is that Mahony continues to pass himself off as a national sex abuse reformer, even as he zealously stonewalls investigators trying to get to the bottom of cases involving priests accused of molesting young boys.
Alleged victims have pleaded and prosecutors have screamed for the cardinal to open up his files on accused priests. So have attorneys handling the 544 civil claims pending against the archdiocese.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Post
Post staff report
With its large concentration of Catholics, Greater Cincinnati may feel the impact of Pope John Paul II's death more acutely than many other places.
According to the Cincinnati-based Glenmary Home Missioners organization, more than 500,000 Catholics - more than one in every six persons - live in 19 counties of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The Diocese of Covington has another 89,000 Catholics.Thousands of them are expected to turn out at memorial Masses this week for the pontiff, who died Saturday night in his quarters at the Vatican.
"I think he was good for the church locally and throughout the world," said Villa Hills resident Martin Tepe, who attended Sunday night's memorial service at St. Agnes Church in Fort Wright. "Overall, I think he helped the church here." ...
David Clohessy, national director of the Louisville-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - SNAP - said the pope could have had a more positive impact on the situation, but didn't act soon enough or strongly enough.
"His public pronouncements were strong but belated and sadly, lacked real follow-through on the part of the bishops," he said.
Clohessy said that in particular, the pope could've reached out to victims and encouraged them to come forward.
"A deeply rooted, longstanding culture of secrecy isn't transformed by a couple of public comments," he said.
The Age
By Gregory Viscusi
Paris
April 7, 2005
Pope John Paul II's successor won't just face falling church attendance and an aging priesthood: He also has to find new revenue to balance the Vatican's budget.
After making a profit for eight years, the Holy See, the central administration for the church, ran deficits in the three years through 2003, the Vatican's financial statements show. The separately run budget for Vatican City, the independent papal state in Rome, was also in the red in 2003, the latest year for which figures are available.
The papacy relies on earnings from roughly $US1 billion ($A1.3 billion) in stocks, bonds and real estate to top up donations from Catholics around the world. While the Holy See benefited in the 1990s from booming stock markets and a strong US dollar, losses on currencies plunged it to a €9.6 million loss on revenue of €204 million in 2003. ...
The 2864 Catholic diocese and 412,886 parishes worldwide - even Rome's - are financially independent from the Vatican.
That independence kept the Vatican financially untouched by sex-abuse scandals in the US. The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2004 after paying $US53 million to settle more than 100 allegations of sexual abuse by clergy. The diocese of Tucson, Arizona, filed for Chapter 11 in September and Spokane, Washington, followed in November.
Vatican finances were totally secret before Edmund Szoka, then the archbishop of Detroit, moved to Rome at John Paul II's request to become head of the prefecture for the economic affairs of the Holy See in 1990.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By David Weber
Wednesday, April 6, 2005 - Updated: 03:58 AM EST
As a defrocked priest was led out of a courtroom yesterday in handcuffs, a young man glared at him and said loud enough for him to hear, ``You'll get yours.''
Robert Burns, 56, was arraigned yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court on six charges of rape and seven charges of indecent assault and battery on a child.
It could not be confirmed whether the burly redhead was one of the five men that Burns is accused of raping and molesting when they were youngsters in the 1980s and early 1990s at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Jamaica Plain and St. Mary's Church in Charlestown.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By James Leo Garrett Jr.
Special to the Star-Telegram
John Paul II's 26-year pontificate -- the third-longest in history, we are told -- will be remembered for much more than its longevity. Its impact on the Roman Catholic Church and the international community will be examined and pondered for decades to come.
Karol Wojtyla of Poland was the first pope to give flesh-and-blood embodiment to the longtime papal title of "universal pastor." By his travels to more than a hundred nations and by his engagement with audiences and closeness to people, he actualized a global papacy, using as well the various means of the new technological age.
As bishop and archbishop of Krakow, he had learned how to cope with Communist authorities, and after assuming the papacy in 1978, he gave encouragement to Catholics living within the Soviet empire. His role in the collapse of that empire will continue to be examined and assessed, as will his tireless advocacy of international peace. ...
The celibate priesthood and the less than prompt and vigorous Vatican response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal, especially in the United States, may prove to be negatives in the continuing evaluation of John Paul II's long and eventful papacy.
But the significant increase in church membership under John Paul II and the many expressions of his personal charisma probably will cause the affirmative characteristics of his papacy to prevail.
HAYWARD (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Two brothers testified Tuesday that a former Antioch priest tickled and molested them when they were young altar boys two decades ago, scarring them psychologically and leading to sexual confusion and substance abuse.
One of the brothers said that several years after the abuse, when he was a young man, he had an unsettling realization that his first sexual encounters in the late 1970s to early 1980s had been with "a 300-pound priest."
Tom and Bob Thatcher, speaking at a civil trial in their lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, told a jury at the Hayward Hall of Justice that they were terrified when the Rev. Robert Ponciroli -- whom they described as a large, angry man -- took them, one by one, into a rectory bedroom.
Ponciroli, then pastor of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch, had told the boys that he was going to punish them because they didn't properly pull weeds on the property, they said. The boys, who were about 9 and 10 years old at the time, said they felt confused because they didn't believe they had done anything wrong.
HAYWARD (CA)
The Argus
By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD — As his little brother was upstairs being tossed around in a priest's bed, altar boy Bob Thatcher paced back and forth at the foot of the rectory stairs, frightened and bewildered.
He was 10. He had just commanded his 8-year-old brother, Tom Thatcher, to follow the orders of the Rev. Robert Ponciroli and enter the Catholic priest's bedroom.
Bob Thatcher, now 34, testified Tuesday in a civil trial that his younger brother returned from Ponciroli's bedroom a half hour later looking confused and despondent.
"I remember mouthing to (Tom), 'Are you OK?'" Bob Thatcher told jurors Tuesday morning. "He didn't acknowledge me. And then I was summoned up, so I went up."
The two former Antioch brothers are suing the Diocese of Oakland for failing to protect them from Ponciroli's sexual assaults.
HAYWARD (CA)
Monterey County Herald
By JUSTIN M. NORTON
Associated Press
HAYWARD - A former altar boy on Tuesday recalled how a Catholic priest summoned him to his rectory on the premise of doing gardening work, but instead ordered him to his bedroom and molested him.
Tom Thatcher, now a 33-year-old maintenance worker from Lakewood, Fla., said the Rev. Robert Ponciroli pulled him close, told him to lift his shirt and then started tickling him. Before long, Thatcher, then about 9, was rolling around with the priest in bed, listening to him grunt and laugh, Thatcher testified during a civil trial stemming from his lawsuit against the Oakland Diocese.
"I felt like a little rag doll flopping around with him on the bed," Thatcher said, gasping and holding back tears as he recalled the incident from the early 1980s. "I remember thinking I didn't know why we were doing this.... I honestly did not know what to do."
Thatcher and his brother, Bob, filed a civil lawsuit against the diocese, alleging its leaders were negligent in their supervision of Ponciroli, who is now 68 and has been removed from public ministry. They say they were abused when they were altar boys at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch.
CALIFORNIA
Mercury News
By Robin Evans
Mercury News
Nearly all still have thoughts of suicide. Cocaine binges almost ended one man's marriage. Sexual dysfunction is keeping another, who wants children, from becoming a parent. A woman cannot work.
Lawyers for four former students of St. Martin of Tours parish school described the ways in which their lives have been traumatized by childhood sexual abuse by their pastor, the Rev. Joseph Pritchard.
The third trial in the 160 clergy sex-abuse lawsuits in Northern California, which began with an admission of negligence by the San Francisco Archdiocese, will be focused entirely on how much of that trauma is due to the molestation -- and how much compensation the church should pay.
The three men and one woman are among nearly two dozen former students who are suing the archdiocese for abuse in the mid- to late-'70s.
One of the plaintiffs sobbed as attorney Larry Drivon described the decline of another, his school friend -- an honor roll student who, once the abuse began, started smoking pot. Later, as a teenager, he began using cocaine, and as an adult was often homeless and sometimes in jail.
VATICAN CITY
Journal Gazette
By Alan Cooperman and Daniel Williams
Washington Post
VATICAN CITY – American cardinals come to Rome representing an enthusiastic home church, one widely admired for its spirit and for its generosity in giving to Catholic causes.
But even before the 11 U.S. cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to take part in electing a new pope, they know he will not be an American.
“You have to ask what’s best for the mission of the universal church. It may well be at this time it’s not best that there be an American pope,” said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. “We’ve done some good things and some not-so-good things – and good or bad, we’re resented by a lot of people and we’re suspect in a lot of quarters.” ...
Few issues in recent years have generated as many misunderstandings and recriminations as the scandal over child sex abuse by U.S. priests. Vatican officials at first suggested that the scandal was overblown, and some still think that the U.S. bishops overreacted to public pressure in 2002 by instituting a “one strike, you’re out” policy toward child sexual abusers in the priesthood.
“The pedophile scandal suggested to the Vatican that the American bishops were not capable of leading their church,” said Alberto Melloni, a historian of the Catholic church.
American cardinals contend that the sex abuse scandal, the priest shortage, rising divorce rates and declining church attendance are problems afflicting all developed countries. But they also accept some criticism for their own performance.
Rather than arguing that the Vatican bureaucracy has exerted too much control over local affairs, “you could argue that there wasn’t enough control, enough oversight,” said George, the archbishop of Chicago.
BOSTON (MA)
TheChamplainChannel.com
POSTED: 11:56 am EDT April 5, 2005
UPDATED: 6:08 pm EDT April 5, 2005
BOSTON -- A defrocked Catholic priest was arraigned Tuesday on charges that he sexually assaulted young boys in Massachusetts during the 1980s and 1990s.
Robert Burns, 56, of Concord, N.H., was convicted of sex crimes against a young child in New Hampshire in 1996, several years after he was removed from his duties with the church in Massachusetts.
The charges against Burns stem from sexual assaults that allegedly occurred while he was working at two parishes in Massachusetts. Prosecutors said that he molested a boy when he was a priest at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.
"The defendant continued to fondle the boy regularly for more than 18 months and periodically performed sexual acts on the boy," prosecutor David Deakin said.
CONCORD (NH)
Concord Monitor
By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff
April 06. 2005 8:00AM
A former Boston priest now living in Concord was arraigned yesterday on rape and indecent assault and battery charges stemming from his assignments with the Archdiocese of Boston in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Robert M. Burns, 56, has already served three years in prison in New Hampshire for molesting an 11-year-old neighbor in Salem in 1995, after he had been asked to leave the archdiocese. Burns moved to an apartment on North Main Street, across from the State House, after his release from prison in 1999. He is one of 95 registered sex offenders living in Concord.
The new counts - six charges of rape of a child under 16 and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 - stem from Burns's alleged abuse of five boys in Boston between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Prosecutors in Boston learned of the allegations against Burns in 2002, after the archdiocese gave them a list of priests who had been accused of molestation, said a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley.
But the district attorney's office could not begin intensively investigating the case against Burns until last year, after the victims reached the point where they felt able to participate in the investigation and prosecution, said David Procopio, a spokesman for Conley. Burns was indicted last week and arraigned yesterday at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. He was released on $5,000 cash bail.
WORCESTER (MA)
Woonsocket Call
Call Staff 04/06/2005
WORCESTER -- A former Millville priest charged with two counts of assault and battery will spend the next 18 months on supervised probation and is barred from performing any priestly duties.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, the Rev. Jean Paul Gagnon stood before a judge in Worcester Superior Court Tuesday and admitted to sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilty, according to a spokeswoman for the Worcester County district attorney’s office.
Gagnon, a Roman Catholic priest, was pastor of Millville’s St. Augustine Church for seven years. The charges stemmed from incidents that occurred during that time. The victim was an adult when the alleged assaults occurred.
The case was continued without a finding. Gagnon was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation. During that time he is required to submit to alcohol abuse and mental health evaluations, and comply with any recommended treatment.
Just hours after Gagnon’s court appearance, Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Worcester Diocese released a statement later that day announcing that Gagnon "is on administrative leave and cannot exercise any priestly ministry in this diocese or anywhere."
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— The Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon, former pastor of St. Augustine parish in Millville, admitted to sufficient facts for a guilty finding in court yesterday on assault charges.
In Worcester District Court yesterday, Judge Sarkis Teshoian continued the case without a finding for 18 months and ordered Rev. Gagnon to undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations with treatment and counseling as recommended by the Probation Department, according to court records.
Rev. Gagnon, 49, was initially charged with indecent assault and battery and assault and battery after an adult male who was active at St. Augustine parish alleged he was assaulted by the priest in Sutton in 2002. The alleged victim has not been named.
Judge Teshoian yesterday amended the charge from indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 to assault and battery, according to court records.
Rev. Gagnon’s lawyer, Fitchburg-based Edward P. Ryan Jr., said yesterday that Rev. Gagnon has maintained his innocence on the assault charges, and noted that there was no guilty plea involved in the decision.
Rev. Gagnon was placed on administrative leave by the Diocese of Worcester after he was charged, and he cannot serve as a priest.
A brief statement released by the Diocese of Worcester stated that “we hope and pray that this resolution to the charges which were brought against him will begin to bring a sense of healing for the victims.”
Rev. Gagnon took personal leave in October 2002 after Timothy P. Staney of Worcester, and his parents, Corrine and Joseph Staney of Spencer, filed a civil suit against him.
That suit, which was settled last year, alleged that Rev. Gagnon sexually abused Timothy Staney while he was serving at Holy Name of Jesus parish in Worcester. Rev. Gagnon denied the allegations.
WORCESTER (MA)
Milford Daily News
By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
WORCESTER -- A Millville priest accused of sexually abusing a male parishioner admitted to lesser charges yesterday and will remain on administrative leave from his church.
The Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon admitted to sufficient facts on two counts of assault and battery in Worcester District Court, according to Elizabeth Stammo, a spokeswoman for Worcester District Attorney John Conte.
Gagnon, on leave from St. Augustine Parish since October 2002, had been scheduled to stand trial yesterday in the court, which handles Uxbridge District Court's jury trials, on one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and one count of assault and battery. The charges involved two victims.
Gagnon's case will be continued without a finding while he serves an 18-month probation, Stammo said. He must submit to alcohol and mental health evaluations and comply with any recommended treatment.
The charges will be dismissed altogether if he meets his probation requirements, said his attorney, Edward Ryan Jr. of Fitchburg.
"Father Gagnon never, ever committed an indecent assault and battery on any individual, let alone the individual involved in this case," Ryan said. "To that end, he's vindicated."
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff | April 6, 2005
Moments after former priest Robert Burns was arraigned yesterday on charges of raping or sexually abusing five boys from two Boston parishes beginning in the 1980s, a red-haired man strode over and taunted him.
''You're going to get yours," he snarled as the defendant was led away in handcuffs. The man, yanked away by a female companion, later identified himself as one of Burns's alleged victims.
Burns, who has served three years in prison for sexually abusing a child in New Hampshire, was arraigned on six counts of rape of a child under 16 and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He pleaded not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court, but said nothing else.
The defrocked priest from Concord, N.H. was freed on $5,000 cash bail after Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David A. Deakin acknowledged that he posed little risk of flight. Burns made all of his court appearances after he was arrested in 1995 on sexual abuse charges in New Hampshire, served three years in prison after pleading guilty and five years on parole without incident, and then voluntarily returned to face the Massachusetts charges.
CHELSEA (MA)
Boston Globe
By Glenn Yoder, Globe Correspondent | April 6, 2005
A North Shore Catholic priest accused of propositioning a 12-year-old girl and her mother at a Chelsea restaurant in January must be evaluated for substance abuse and mental health problems and undergo sexual offender assessment to determine whether he needs treatment, a judge has ruled.
The Rev. Jerome Gillespie, 55, also must not contact anyone under 18, unless he explains the case and disposition to both the child and their guardian, Judge Sarah B. Singer ruled Monday in Chelsea District Court, where the case was continued without a finding.
If Gillespie violates the conditions, he can be tried again, said David Procopio, a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney.
Gillespie allegedly approached the girl and her mother at Floramo's in Chelsea on Jan. 25 and offered to pay them for oral sex. He agreed to a two-year continuance, after which the charges will be dropped, Procopio said.
''We're satisfied with this disposition because it serves three purposes," Procopio said. ''One, it holds him accountable for his actions. Two, it satisfies the victims who are in accordance with this disposition, and three, it will determine whether the defendant has any issues that require medical help or counseling."
SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — Three decades ago, they were playmates at a Roman Catholic elementary school and victims of its pastor.
They were together again Tuesday in a courtroom here, now in their 40s, asking a jury to compensate them for the damage suffered at the hands of the late Father Joseph T. Pritchard.
The three men and one woman will testify that he repeatedly fondled them from 1971 to 1979 while they attended school at St. Martin of Tours in San Jose, luring them and dozens of others into his private living quarters with soft drinks, candy, games and cartoons, their attorneys said in court.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, which included San Jose in the 1970s, does not deny that the abuse occurred. In fact, the church accepted responsibility for all damage inflicted upon the four.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Associated Press
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - Updated: 06:20 PM EST
BOSTON - A defrocked Catholic priest pleaded innocent to child rape charges Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court and was released on $5,000 bail.
Robert Burns, 56, of Concord, N.H., is charged with six counts of rape of a child under 16, and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
Prosecutors said Burns molested five boys while he was assigned to parishes in the Jamaica Plain and Charlestown sections of Boston between the mid-1980s and early 90s.
Burns was convicted in 1996 of indecent assault of a child and was imprisoned for three years in New Hampshire. He was defrocked in 1999.
BOSTON (MA)
Dateline Alabama
The Associated Press
April 05, 2005
The charges against a Roman Catholic priest who allegedly sexually propositioned a 12-year-old girl and her mother at a Chelsea restaurant will be dismissed if he meets the conditions of a two-year probationary period.
The case against the Rev. Jerome F. Gillespie, who resigned as pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Swampscott after the Jan. 25 incident, was continued without a finding on Monday in Chelsea District Court.
As part of Gillespie's agreeing to sufficient facts, he must complete substance abuse, mental health, and sex offender evaluations, and cannot have contact with children under age 18 without notifying their parents about his case.
If Gillespie, 55, does not meet those conditions, the case will be put back on track for trial, prosecutors said.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Times
By Roland Flamini
Chief International Correspondent
Washington, DC, Apr. 5 (UPI) -- The pope is the sole leader of the Roman Catholic Church and at the same time the absolute ruler of Europe's smallest independent state. There is no permanent representational body governing the church, and no parliament in Vatican City. Yet the pope is elected through a democratic process that would be familiar to any U.S. politician.
Andrew Greeley, the Catholic priest and best-selling author, calls it "the political event par excellence" and compares it to "American conventions of the old days." ...
For the first time in many years the United States cardinals enter the conclave with diminished prestige as "king makers." In 1979 Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia was reportedly a leading campaigner for Cardinal Wojtyla. In other circumstances a powerful American point man in the coming conclave would have been Cardinal Bernard Law. He was influential both among U.S. cardinals but also in Latin America and in the Vatican. But that was before Law was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 because of the sexual abuse crisis, and now holds a largely ceremonial post in the Vatican.
The pedophilia scandal, coupled with the U.S. hierarchy's support for the Iraq war, and later what many saw as the American bishops' interference in the 2004 presidential elections with their pronouncement on divorcees and Holy Communion, drew public criticism from other leading Catholic prelates, particularly in South America.
Beliefnet
By Deborah Caldwell
The Catholic Church is no longer simply a European church. It’s not even a Northern Hemisphere church. Nor is it primarily a white church. It is now a universal church found in every country, every race, and nearly every global culture.
All of which means that when the 117 cardinals begin their conclave next week to pick the next pope, they’ll debate far more than liturgical fine points or birth control or how the church will deal with women’s roles. They’ll set the stage for Catholicism’s embrace of the 21st century—complete with globalization, terrorism, poverty, American dominance, and the clash of Christianity and Islam. ...
On the other hand, says Reese, American cardinals are worried about the loss of morale among their members because of the priest sex abuse crisis. It’s critical the Vatican keep Americans content because U.S. Catholics contribute about 25% of the Vatican’s annual budget. Meanwhile, both Americans and Europeans want someone willing to bend on issues such as birth control and priestly celibacy; they also want a man who continues the pope’s outreach to Protestants and Jews, and who can continue efforts to lure wealthy, secularized Catholics back to the pews. Those concerns might argue for an Italian pope, who could soothe Americans and energize Europeans.
Chicago Tribune
By Eileen P. Flynn, a professor at St. Peter's College and author of "Catholics at a Crossroads: Coverup, Crisis and Cure" and "Catholicism: Agenda for Renewal."
Published April 5, 2005
People have absorbed the sad news that Pope John Paul II has passed on to the joy of the beatific vision, and our attention is turning to the issue of succession. Who will next carry the shepherd's staff and wear the fisherman's ring?
We are not accustomed to thinking of the papacy in functional terms. Instead, we tend to focus on the person who holds the office, the pope. Since Pope John Paul was such a strong and dominant person and since he held the papal office for more than a generation, we struggle to realize that the functions of the office differ from the officeholder and that they may be more important than the personality of the individual who sits on the throne at St. Peter's Basilica.
If the cardinal-electors want the next pope to be as interesting, energetic and influential as Pope John Paul, they will have an impossible task. And, they will be making a strategic error. Instead, as the Roman Catholic Church looks forward to the conclave to elect a successor to Karol Wojtyla, it would make more sense to consider the needs of the Catholic Church and the type of leader who has the strength to meet those needs. This leader need not be photogenic or silver-tongued; he could dislike air travel and feel uncomfortable with large crowds. No problem. Catholics will be fortunate if the next pope is open-minded, fair and totally dedicated to a clearly defined mission that is in line with the core priorities of Christianity. ...
The church's recent culture closed in on itself, and the hierarchy has been unable to credibly administer the church. The priest sex abuse scandal provides a tragic example of a church that lacked credibility and that refused to deal forthrightly with the crisis until leadership was dragged kicking and screaming by the media to listen to victim-survivors speak of their molestation. Bishops gave bureaucratic reasons for why they did not act decisively to remove priest abusers and Pope John Paul remained aloof from the crisis for as long as humanly possible.
How could this have been the case? For hundreds of years popes and bishops have considered themselves above the laity, a privileged class, leaders who were accountable to God, but not God's people, the church. This ingrained misconception needs to be abandoned, first by the next pope and, subsequently, by each and every member of the hierarchy.
AlterNet
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!. Posted April 5, 2005.
The Pope died Saturday night at the age of 84. Officials announced the cause of death as septic shock -- an infection causing organ failure and cardiovascular system collapse.
A massive funeral is scheduled to take place on Friday. Rome authorities are braced for as many as two million mourners -- including more than 100 heads of state -- in the largest such event the city has ever seen.
John Paul's 26-year leadership of the Roman Catholic Church was the third longest in history and he was the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. During his papacy, he visited a record 120 nations and was seen in person by millions. ...
Amy Goodman: What about the sexual abuse scandal?
Angela Bonavoglia: Women were key to the response to the sexual abuse scandal. That, I think, is a very important point. ... Barbara Blaine was sexually abused as a young woman from eighth grade through high school and spent years trying to get justice from the hierarchy in Detroit, where this happened to her. And finally she did get justice, but frankly it wasn't until she was about to go on the Oprah Winfrey Show that they finally relieved that particular priest of his duties. But Barbara, with a handful of people at a hotel room in Chicago in the late 1980s, started Survivors of Priest-Child Sex Abuse, and that organization has grown into over 5,000 people, and really those are the people who are advocates for survivors, who are pushing to get the hierarchy to meet with survivors, who are working to change laws that will make it easier to prosecute in terms of sexual abuse.
Amy Goodman: And the pope's response to the scandal?
Angela Bonavoglia: Well, I think a lot of people would agree that it was lacking. And I don't think he ever took it seriously. People felt he didn't take it seriously enough. And I think the sorriest sign of that was the appointment of Cardinal Bernard Law to head a basilica in Rome, so not only was he not punished in a visible way but he appeared to have been rewarded.
Amy Goodman: Cardinal Law being the former Bishop of Boston.
Angela Bonavoglia: Exactly, who resigned in disgrace because of the priests that had been moved around up there. And all of the children, hundreds and hundreds of children who were victims of sexual abuse in the Boston area.
CounterPunch
By JIM CONNOLLY
This week you will be inundated with honorific obituaries to Karol Wojtila, Pope John Paul II. I am writing not to honor Wojtila; he will (quite frankly) receive more honor in the next week than any individual mortal deserves. I write as a witness to the damage this man did during his 26 years as Roman pontiff to the causes of liberty and peace throughout the world.
There will be few voices such as mine raised on the occasion of Wojtila's death, but someone must speak the truth. Much of what I say here will be new (perhaps even surprising) to non-Catholics. To Catholics, I write to remind them of what each of them knows but seldom acknowledges. Karol Wojtila forced the best minds out of the Catholic Church, or at least to the extreme margins of the Church. Wojtila sanctified the baroque reproductive/sexual bugaboos that infest the Catholic Church while striving to ideologically lobotomize the Catholic clergy and laity. Although he was a fine ambassador of good will to Protestants, Jews, and Muslims, Wojtila degraded the richness of Catholic faith and tradition into mindless displays of loyalty. An archaic organization that had shown signs of serious promise as a refreshed (and even potentially progressive) social force under Popes John XXIII and Paul VI was methodically and ruthlessly drubbed into the mold of ideological and cultural reaction. The record shows that Karol Wojtila was a charming man and a master of international public relations, but he was a political and cultural reactionary to his core. ...
18. Last but not least, Karol Wojtila proved his utter moral bankruptcy in his horrendous mishandling of the pedophile scandals in the Catholic Churches of the United States, Canada, Ireland, Britain, and several other nations. Wojtila could never bring himself to a clear apology or an acknowledgement of wrongdoing or institutional responsibility for the Catholic Church's practices of abuse, intimidation, and rape of tens of thousands of children and adolescents. Most reprehensibly, Wojtila removed the independent power of the United States Catholic bishops to discipline pedophile priests while attributing the horror and filth within the American Catholic Church to some sort of American cultural malady.
NEW YORK
San Luis Obispo Tribune
DAVID CRARY
Associated Press
NEW YORK - Among the crowd cheering Pope John Paul II at Shea Stadium in 1979 was a 15-year-old New Jersey boy named Mark Serrano - there courtesy of a ticket provided by the priest he later accused of sexually molesting him.
Like other advocates for victims of abuse by priests, Serrano has mixed emotions as he assesses the papal transition now unfolding in the Roman Catholic Church. Though never losing affection for John Paul II, Serrano feels the Vatican under his leadership responded too weakly to the U.S. sex abuse scandal - and may not do any better under the next pope.
"Can we say the pope failed us? I think John Paul could have done more," Serrano said. "Can we say the bureaucrats in Rome failed us? Absolutely."
Serrano, who now lives in Leesburg, Va., is a regional official of SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
SNAP's national director, David Clohessy, and president, Barbara Blaine, said the pope's rhetoric was admirable when he summoned America's cardinals to the Vatican in 2002 and told them there was "no place in the priesthood" for those who harm children.
"It's been disappointing that the people who were close to the pope didn't take his message to heart, and didn't go further," Blaine said. "We know full well that many bishops, even after that statement, left child molesters in the ministry."
HAYWARD (CA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
JUSTIN M. NORTON
Associated Press
HAYWARD, Calif. - A former altar boy on Tuesday recalled how a Catholic priest summoned him to his rectory on the premise of doing gardening work, but instead ordered him to his bedroom and molested him.
Tom Thatcher, now a 34-year-old maintenance worker from Lakewood, Fla., said the Rev. Robert Ponciroli pulled him close, told him to lift his shirt and then started tickling him. Before long, Thatcher, then about 9, was rolling around with the priest in bed, listening to him grunt and laugh, Thatcher testified during a civil trial stemming from his lawsuit against the Oakland Diocese.
"I felt like a little rag doll flopping around with him on the bed," Thatcher said, gasping and holding back tears as he recalled the incident from the early 1980s. "I remember thinking I didn't know why we were doing this. ... I honestly did not know what to do."
Thatcher and his brother, Bob, filed a civil lawsuit against the diocese, alleging its leaders were negligent in their supervision of Ponciroli, who is now 68 and has been removed from public ministry. They say they were abused when they were altar boys at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch.
The case is important because it is among the first of more than 750 civil lawsuits against Roman Catholic dioceses in California to go to trial since the state in 2002 temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for filing sex-abuse claims.
NEW BRAUNFELS (TX)
KHOU
Associated Press
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- A minister who wrote about how he overcame an addiction to prostitutes and pornography has resigned as senior pastor of a 4,000-member church after a woman accused him of sexual misconduct, church leaders said.
The resignation of Mike Fehlauer, senior pastor of The Tree of Life Fellowship, was announced to the congregation Sunday in an hourlong sermon delivered by Ted Haggard, president of the 30 million-memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals.
Haggard said a married woman wrote a letter about two weeks ago to the church board, detailing her allegations. Since there was only a lone accuser and no proof, the church board decided to dismiss the complaint and drop the investigation, he said.
However, the woman threatened to sue the church if Fehlauer did not resign, Haggard said.
BOSTON (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 12:15 pm EDT April 5, 2005
UPDATED: 12:42 pm EDT April 5, 2005
BOSTON -- A defrocked priest with a prior conviction for indecent assault on a child faced additional charges in a Boston courtroom Tuesday.
NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that Robert Burns, 56, pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing five boys, including six counts of rape on a child under 16, and seven counts of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14.
The alleged sexual assaults occurred from the early to mid-1980s through the early 1990s at St. Thomas Aquinas in Jamaica Plain and at St. Mary's Parish in Charlestown. He moved to New Hampshire in 1991, where he sold real estate.
"One while he was a priest at St. Thomas Aquinas in Jamaica Plain, and four while he was assigned to St. Mary's Parish in Charlestown. In all but one of the cases, the abuse began before they were 10 years old," said Assistant District Attorney David Deakin.
In 1995, he was arrested and convicted of sexually assaulting a boy in New Hampshire. He served three years in jail. He was defrocked as priest in 1999.
HAYWARD (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Former top officials of the Roman Catholic Oakland Diocese testified Monday that they hadn't realized the extent of a priest's sexual abuse and acknowledged that they had reassigned him to a new church without determining whether he had victimized other children.
John Cummins, bishop emeritus of the East Bay diocese, acknowledged to a Hayward jury that church officials hadn't fully investigated allegations involving the Rev. Robert Ponciroli, whom Bob and Tom Thatcher accuse of abusing them in the early 1980s when they were altar boys at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch.
Ponciroli, 68, was removed from public ministry and faced criminal molestation charges until the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 overturned a California law allowing the prosecution of old molest cases.
"I did not really expect sexual abuse by priests to be a frequent occurrence," said Cummins, testifying in a civil lawsuit accusing the diocese of knowing that Ponciroli was a danger to children but doing nothing about it.
The Thatcher brothers are to testify today.
AMHERST (MA)
WFCR
Bob Paquette
AMHERST, MA (2005-04-05) Today is the national day to end sexual violence. Several groups at the University of Massachusetts are marking the day with a talk by a member of the class of 1975. Phil Saviano is the founder of the New England chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests. Saviano was 12 years old and living in a Worcester suburb when he was sexually abused by the priest at his church. That abuse continued for over a year. Saviano didn't talk about it with anyone, until he turned 40, and he read a news article about a former Massachusetts priest who was convicted of sexually abusing children in New Mexico. It was the same priest who had abused him.
Phil Saviano speaks this evening at 7:00 pm in the campus center of the University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
RIVERHEAD (NY)
WNBC
POSTED: 8:09 am EDT April 5, 2005
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- A former Long Island church counselor has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for sexual assault.
Vincente Elias Lopez, 44, of East Quogue, worked as a counselor at Living Water Full Gospel Church in Aquebogue 5 years ago.
Lopez was convicted of sexually abusing three girls under the age of 11. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office said Lopez used his position as a counselor to abuse the girls at a wedding, inside the church and at his house.
Meanwhile, a representative at the church said Lopez was not related to the church. The representative said Lopez rented a basement room to hold Bible study classes.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday
BY JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
STAFF WRITER
April 5, 2005
A Bible study leader was sentenced yesterday in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead to 8 years in prison for sexually abusing young girls.
Vicente Lopez, 45, of East Quogue, was convicted last month of four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, in a trial before Judge C. Randall Hinrichs.
His three victims were all younger than 11, with the youngest being 7, Assistant District Attorney Dana Brown said.
One incident took place at the Living Water Church in Aquebogue. The others occurred at his home, Brown said. The abuse took place between 2000 and 2002. The girls and their families were parishioners of the church, Brown said.
Lopez's attorney, Stephen Grossman of Sag Harbor, said his client borrowed the church basement for Bible study.
The New York Times
By THOMAS CAHILL
Published: April 5, 2005
WITH the news media awash in encomiums to the indisputable greatness of Pope John Paul II, isn't it time to ask to which tradition he belonged? Partisans unfamiliar with Christian history may judge this a strange question. Why, they may answer, he belonged to the Catholic tradition, of course. But there is no single Catholic tradition; there are rather Catholic traditions, which range from the voluntary poverty of St. Francis of Assisi to the boundless greed of the Avignon popes, from the genial tolerance for diversity of Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century to the egomaniacal self-importance of Pope Pius IX in the 19th century, from the secrecy and plotting of Opus Dei to the openness and humane service of the Community of Sant'Egidio. Over its 2,000-year history, Roman Catholicism has provided a fertile field for an immense variety of papal traditions.
Despite his choice of name, John Paul II shared little with his immediate predecessors. John Paul I lasted slightly more than a month, but in that time we were treated to a typical Italian of moderating tendencies, one who had even, before his election, congratulated the parents of the world's first test-tube baby - not a gesture that resonated with the church's fundamentalists, who still insist on holding the line against anything that smacks of tampering with nature, an intellectual construct far removed from what ordinary people mean by that word. ...
In contrast, Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston rebuked the dying Cardinal Bernardin for this effort because, as Cardinal Law insisted, the church knows the truth and is therefore exempt from anything as undignified as dialogue. Cardinal Law, who had to resign after revelations that he had repeatedly allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to remain in the ministry while failing to inform either law enforcement officials or parishioners, must stand as the characteristic representative of John Paul II, protective of the church but often dismissive of the moral requirement to protect and cherish human beings.
UNITED STATES
ABC
A play about a Catholic priest suspected of abusing children, Doubt, a Parable by John Patrick Shanley, has been awarded the Pulitzer prize for drama.
Awarded just two days after the death of Pope John Paul II, the prize was a reminder of the child sex abuse scandals that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church in recent years, particularly in the United States.
In the play, which had a critically acclaimed run off Broadway last year before it opened on Broadway last week, a nun named Sister Aloysius is faced with a dilemma when she suspects a young priest of abusing schoolboys.
Set in the Bronx in 1964, the play has won rave reviews, with the New York Times calling it "tight, absorbing and expertly acted".
"Doubt is an unusually quiet work for Mr Shanley, a writer who made his name with rowdy portraits of bruising love affairs," the paper wrote.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By David Abel, Globe Staff | April 5, 2005
A former Massachusetts priest, who has served three years in prison for sexually abusing a child in New Hampshire, was indicted yesterday by a Suffolk grand jury in the alleged rape or sexual assault of five boys under age 10 beginning in the 1980s, prosecutors said.
Robert Burns, 56, who served as a priest at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Jamaica Plain and Charlestown's St. Mary's Parish, now lives in Concord, N.H., and is expected to be arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court on six counts of rape of a child under 16 and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said during a press conference at his office yesterday.
''The defendant's conduct is repugnant," Conley said. ''These youngsters at a tender age placed their trust in him, and he violated that trust. It took many years for them to come forward."
Burns could not be reached last night, and his lawyer in Boston did not return calls.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, which has been racked in recent years by charges of abuse by priests, apparently first learned in 1991 of the allegations, which range from fondling to rape and occurred in places including church property and Burns's car, Conley said.
The abuse allegedly occurred from the early 1980s through the early 1990s. After family members of the alleged victims approached church officials in 1991, the archdiocese dismissed Burns from his position as a priest, Conley said. Several of the alleged victims had served as altar boys.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | April 5, 2005
HE IS BACK, commenting on the legacy of a pontiff. From Boston, it is difficult to hear Cardinal Bernard Law's voice and not think about promise unfulfilled, ambition derailed, and accountability deferred.
Law once told friends his goal was to become the first American pope. For a long time, his career path kept pace with this lofty ambition, granting him stature as one of America's premier Catholic power brokers. Then the clergy sexual abuse crisis engulfed the Boston archdiocese. After months of revelations about Law's failure to remove sexually abusive priests from ministry, he was forced to resign.
However, Law was not demoted but eventually reassigned to Rome, where he was named archpriest of one of the four basilicas under Vatican direction. This relatively soft landing was not appreciated or understood by victims of priestly sexual abuse nor by others who questioned the justness of his reward.
Law departed Boston without ever projecting understanding of the pain and ugliness connected to the saga of priests as sexual predators and the role he played as enabler. He still lacks the ability to project such understanding, as demonstrated by his recent appearance on ''This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Citing the opportunity Law had in Rome to reflect on the sexual abuse scandal, Stephanopoulos asked: ''Looking back, do you think there's anything more you could have done?"
Replied Law: ''You know, I don't think that this is a time to be reflecting on that issue."
UNITED STATES
Bookslut
I have an outsider's love-it-or-leave-it attitude towards orthodox Christianity. When Latter-Day Saints ask on group blogs, "When is it possible to criticize the clergy?", I mentally respond that Martin Luther answered that question a few hundred years ago for all of us. I therefore approached the women portrayed in Good Catholic Girls with some suspicion. As soon as they have decided that The Hierarchy Is Wrong, I thought, they aren't really Catholics anymore, since a tenet of Catholicism (to my nonexpert eye) is obeying the clergy and viewing them as instruments of the divine. "Why aren't these women Protestants?" I asked myself for most of the book.
Author Angela Bonavoglia, in this survey of women around the world who fight to soften the Catholic Church's positions on myriad issues, addresses this question occasionally throughout and then in depth, and almost satisfactorily, in her last chapter. Bonavoglia's chapters range over such topics as women's ordination, lay ministers, the history of the recent church reform movement, the priest sexual abuse scandals, and the Church's views on abortion, AIDS, and divorce. Each chapter reviews the protests for change, but also involves some measure of the author's fawning praise of reformers, and earnest, sometimes cloying observations of her own feelings during interviews and protests.
She finishes the book with reflections on why she and other women stay Catholic. I would have preferred some speculation on the future of the Church. She keeps saying that these women are an unstoppable force for change. How will the Church change, then? Can she extrapolate from current events?
PEORIA (IL)
Pantagraph
Associated Press
PEORIA -- The Catholic Diocese of Peoria has settled a lawsuit filed by a 37-year-old man who had sought $1 million in damages, alleging he was sexually abused two decades ago by three former priests.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A spokeswoman for the diocese and attorneys for both sides declined to elaborate on the agreement with Daniel Koenigs, who said he was abused while he was an altar boy from 1980 to 1984 in three Peoria parishes. "The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties," said Joseph Klest, Koenigs' attorney.
Koenigs accused former priests Francis Engels, Gregory Plunkett and the late William Harbert with abuse in the civil suit, which was dismissed last month because of the settlement.
The suit also alleged diocese officials allowed the priests to continue in public ministry after other incidents of alleged abuse took place. Koenigs contended former Bishop Edward O'Rourke discovered in the 1970s that Engels and Harbert had been accused of sexual abuse by another family.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Laura Crimaldi
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - Updated: 02:34 AM EST
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse called Bernard Cardinal Law's role in the selection of a new pope ``a slap in the face,'' as the disgraced former Boston archbishop makes national media rounds.
Law, appointed archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome after his resignation as archbishop amid the clergy sexual abuse scandal, will be one of 117 cardinals voting on the successor to Pope John Paul II.
``It reflects on the fact that they have no ability to police themselves. Their clericalism is first and foremost,'' said John Harris, 47, of Norwood, who claims to be a victim of convicted child molester and defrocked priest Paul Shanley. Harris joined members of BishopAccountability.org in protesting ABC News and local affiliate WCVB-TV Ch. 5 for hosting Law on ``This Week'' with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
``They turn around and interview this man . . . as if he has something to say of any credibility,'' Harris said.
``It's extremely painful for victims to see Cardinal Law participate in such a critical decision after the revelation in Boston indicating that (he) knew since 1984 that innocent children were being sexually molested yet did nothing to protect the children,'' said Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian.
SWAMPSCOTT (MA)
Lynn Daily Item
By Debra Glidden
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
SWAMPSCOTT - Charges against a local priest who allegedly asked a 12-year-old girl and her mother to perform sexual acts for a fee, were continued without a finding during a hearing in Chelsea District Court Monday.
The Rev. Jerome Gillespie, 55, faced charges of child enticement, soliciting sex for a fee and annoying an accosting a person of the opposite sex, stemming from an incident last January at Floramos Lounge in Chelsea.
Authorities say Gillespie was not dressed as a priest at the time of the incident and that Gillespie allegedly propositioned the mother and daughter, but had no physical contact with them.
Almost immediately after the allegations were made public, Gillespie resigned as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott.
Suffolk District Attorney's Office Spokesman David Procopio said Gillespie pleaded guilty Monday to sufficient facts, and the charges were continued without finding for two years.
HAYWARD (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
HAYWARD — The Roman Catholic bishop emeritus of Oakland testified Monday that he was unaware that a priest he promoted had been accused of fondling an altar boy four years earlier.
Bishop John Cummins told jurors that he did not review the personnel file of Father Robert Ponciroli before naming him pastor of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch in 1979. The file contained an internal church memo documenting the sex-abuse allegation against the priest.
Another former high-ranking diocesan cleric, Father Brian Joyce, also testified Monday in the case in Alameda County Superior Court that he had not seen the memo written to himself by then-Bishop Floyd Begin until last year. "I was wrong," he told jurors several times in response to questions about his failure to detect problems with the priest.
The May 22, 1975, memo records the bishop's conversation with parents who told him that their son said Ponciroli "took my pants down, touched my privates." It also reports that someone saw a boy, naked from the waist up, lying on a table with Ponciroli "tickling" him.
Police found the memo in the priest's personnel file during a 2002 criminal investigation. Six felony child molestation charges against Ponciroli were later dropped because the accusations were too old. Ponciroli had admitted abuse to police and said he was "a sick puppy," according to police.
PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star
By ANDY KRAVETZ
of the Journal Star
PEORIA - A lawsuit alleging a former altar boy was sexually abused by three former priests was settled last month. Terms were not disclosed.
Details regarding the settlement of the 14-count suit, filed in Peoria County Circuit Court in February 2004, were few. An order in the court file states only the parties mutually sought to dismiss the case because of the settlement.
Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Peoria declined to comment.
Joseph Klest, a suburban Chicago attorney representing 37-year-old Daniel Koenigs, said he had agreed not to discuss specifics.
"The only thing I can say is that the matter has been resolved to everyone's satisfaction," Klest said Monday.
ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
Pope John Paul II was the international face of the Roman Catholic Church, the great motivator of 1.1 billion Catholics.
His influence continues to be felt in the 500,000-member Diocese of Phoenix, where his legacy includes the appointment of two bishops and a 1987 visit that drew 80,000 people to a Mass at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
"He definitely led by example, and that spilled over into the diocese," said John Garcia, 46, of SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral, a member of the Catholic men's society Knights of Columbus. ...
For those who go to church regularly, the shortage of priests, and the prospect of having limited opportunities to attend Mass and participate in the sacraments, rates as a top issue, one that cuts across political and doctrinal lines.
The sex-abuse scandal has made recruiting and retaining priests even more difficult, Carpenter said.
The church responded with larger facilities and an increase in lay ministry, including deacons, volunteers and other church officials to take care of all the non-sacramental aspects of a parish. That frees priests to tend to matters that only they can do, such as consecrating the bread and wine and hearing confessions.
UNITED STATES
BBC News
A play about child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has been awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Doubt, by Oscar-winning writer John Patrick Shanley, won the prize just two days after the death of the Pope.
The play is about a priest accused of molesting a boy. It comes after a damaging scandal in the US Catholic Church that implicated 4,000 priests.
In other Pulitzer awards, Marilynne Robinson won the fiction prize and Ted Kooser picked up the poetry accolade.
Mr Shanley won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for Moonstruck, starring Cher, in 1988.
HAYWARD (CA)
The Argus
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD — Diocese of Oakland officials testified Monday that the church showed errors in judgment in handling a child-molesting priest.
Bishop Emeritus John Cummins, who led Alameda and Contra Costa counties' Roman Catholics from 1977 to 2003, acknowledged documents show his predecessor knew of allegations against the Rev. Robert Ponciroli in 1975, yet he did not learn of it until almost two decades later.
"I did not expect sexual abuse by priests to be a frequent occurrence," he testified, but he knows now that seven or eight priests abused children in his diocese during his tenure.
Earlier Monday, former diocese chancellor the Rev. Brian Joyce testified that although he chaired the diocese's clergy personnel committee from 1971 to 1979, he knew of no sexual complaints against Ponciroli — only complaints of tickling and losing his temper with altar boys. He said he confronted Ponciroli on those matters but "in no way" suspected molestation.
"My focus was his anger and his intimidating young people," he said. "I was wrong."
Attorney Rick Simons displayed a May 1975, memo from then-Bishop Floyd Begin indicating Begin knew of sexual abuse claims against Ponciroli during his time at Richmond's St. Cornelius parish.
HAYWARD (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Randy Myers
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
HAYWARD - Two former leaders of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland said Monday in court that they never checked the personnel file of a former East Bay priest accused of sexually abusing altar boys.
John Cummins, bishop emeritus of the Oakland Diocese, and the Rev. Brian Joyce, the former diocesan chancellor and ex-chairman of the clergy personnel board, took the stand in the civil trial stemming from abuse charges brought by two former Antioch altar boys. Brothers Robert and Tom Thatcher claim that they were sexually molested by since-defrocked priest Robert Ponciroli at Antioch's St. Ignatius Church from 1979 to 1980.
Their case is part of the more than 150 suits brought against Northern California dioceses after a 2002 state law lifted the statute of limitations for one year.
The Oakland Diocese admitted it acted negligently in the decades-old case and has agreed to pay compensatory damages it considers reasonable. The Diocese, however, disagrees with paying punitive damages sought by Robert Thatcher.
Joyce admits he and the Diocese made some errors in judgment. He described receiving a phone call about Ponciroli's "tickling," angry outbursts and intimidating behavior, and talking to the priest about it. Joyce served as diocesan chancellor in the 1970s and is a priest at Pleasant Hill's Christ the King Parish.
ALASKA
Anchorage Daily News
By LISA DEMER
Anchorage Daily News
Published: April 5th, 2005
Last Modified: April 5th, 2005 at 03:22 AM
The Catholic Church on Monday admitted that a former Nome priest committed sexual misconduct and said that it has settled a civil lawsuit that resulted from the abuse.
The Jesuits of the Oregon Province apologized for the actions of retired priest James Poole and called what he did inexcusable. The Jesuits and the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese together paid around $1 million to settle the case, according to the victim's attorneys, the diocese and a spokesman for the Jesuits.
The case concerns a woman, now 37, who accused Poole of kissing and fondling her dozens of times starting in 1978 when she was 10. The abuse included heavy petting and having her lie on top of him, the lawsuit said. It continued until she turned 19 and wrote him a letter saying she never wanted to be alone with him again, said the complainant, Elsie Boudreau. The lawsuit that she filed last year concentrates on the time she was 16 and younger.
"We admit that the sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred by James Poole did occur, and we are deeply sorry for it," said the Rev. John Whitney, head of the Jesuits' Oregon Province, who was reading from a prepared statement. The province includes Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
Poole, now in his 80s, did not return calls to the Jesuit home in Spokane where he lives. In the past, he called Boudreau's claims "highly inflammatory and highly exaggerated."
ALASKA
Fairbanks News-Miner
By MARY BETH SMETZER
Staff Writer
The top Jesuit in the Northwest made a public apology Monday and a request for forgiveness and healing for Jane Doe 1 and other victims of sexual abuse by clergy in Alaska.
The provincial superior of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, the Rev. John D. Whitney, traveled to Anchorage to also announce the finalization of a $1 million dollar settlement in a sexual abuse lawsuit against former Nome priest Father Jim Poole.
The Fairbanks Catholic Diocese was also a defendant in the suit.
"We apologize to the victim of this misconduct and to all who have suffered a loss of hope and trust," said Whitney in a written statement. "We ask forgiveness as we strive to ensure that such actions do not happen again."
However, the plaintiff in the civil suit, Elsie Boudreau, previously identified as Jane Doe 1, was not appeased by the conciliatory statement, calling it a "slap in the face."
"They don't mention having gone through over a year of litigation, attempting to dismiss the case, trying to keep records from the public, trying to keep me quiet," Boudreau said. "It feels disingenuous, and not very tasteful."
ROME
The Indiana Gazette
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer April 05, 2005
ROME - Three years ago Pope John Paul II summoned America's cardinals to the Vatican for an emergency meeting on the clergy sex abuse crisis. Now that those cardinals have returned to elect his successor, abuse victims fear the lessons from their suffering may be forgotten amid the ceremonies and papal politicking.
"It seems to me the victims offer a gift to the church," said Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "The church needs the voices of victims in order to sanctify itself, in order to redeem itself, because the church leaders were the ones responsible for this outrageous abuse."
Church leaders rarely mention the scandal when asked about the key challenges facing the next pope. Interfaith tensions, global poverty and declining religious observance in North America and Europe are widely considered more pressing. Some Catholic officials still think of the crisis as mainly an American one, even though Austria, Ireland and other countries have experienced similar scandals.
Sue Archibald, head of the victim advocacy group The Linkup, said she has little expectation that the cardinals will discuss abuse during their conclave to pick a new pope.
HAYWARD (CA)
Alameda Times-Star
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD — Diocese of Oakland officials testified Monday that the church showed errors in judgment in handling a child-molesting priest.
Bishop Emeritus John Cummins, who led Alameda and Contra Costa counties' Roman Catholics from 1977 to 2003, acknowledged documents show his predecessor knew of allegations against Father Robert Ponciroli in 1975, yet Cummins didn't learn of it until almost two decades later.
"I did not expect sexual abuse by priests to be a frequent occurrence," he testified, but he knows now that seven or eight priests abused children in his diocese during his tenure.
Earlier Monday, former diocese chancellor Father Brian Joyce testified that although he was chairman of the diocese's clergy personnel committee from 1971 to 1979, he knew of no sexual complaints against Ponciroli — only complaints of tickling and losing his temper with altar boys. He said he confronted Ponciroli on those matters, but "in no way" suspected molestation.
"My focus was his anger and his intimidating young people," he said. "I was wrong."
UNITED STATES
The Olympian
CHARISSE JONES
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Victims of the sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church praised Pope John Paul II's words condemning the crimes but said they hope the next pontiff will do more to punish those who protect abusive priests.
"I think he reached out to people at a level never done before by previous popes in working on peace and compassion, but when the issue of abuse arose within his own organization, that was a real test," said Sue Archibald, an abuse victim who is president of The Linkup, a group that assists victims of clergy abuse.
"He really could've done a lot more in addressing the issues and reaching out to people who had been wounded."
The January 2002 trial of a former priest accused of sexual abuse unleashed a flood of accusations that sparked the worst scandal to hit the U.S. Catholic Church.
More than 4,300 priests allegedly have abused more than 10,000 children and teenagers since 1950, according to a 2004 study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The scandal has cost the church more than $900 million in settlements, leading some dioceses to declare bankruptcy.
The pope summoned U.S. cardinals to Rome in April 2002, telling them that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."
ALASKA
Anchorage Daily News
Published: April 4th, 2005
Last Modified: April 4th, 2005 at 03:17 PM
The Roman Catholic Church said Monday it has reached a settlement with a woman who accused a Nome priest of molesting her in the 1970s.
The Rev. John D. Whitney, provincial supervisor of the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, acknowledged that the Rev. James Poole had abused a victim. Whitney apologized on behalf of the church.
"We apologize to the victim of this misconduct, and to all who have suffered a loss of hope and trust," Whitney said. "We ask forgiveness as we strive to ensure that such actions do not happen again."
Attorney Ken Roosa said early last month that the church had settled the case with his client, Elsie Boudreau, who now lives in the Anchorage area. Roosa repeated Monday that the settlement was for about $1 million.
HAYWARD (CA)
KTVU
POSTED: 11:37 am PDT April 4, 2005
HAYWARD -- The former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland said in court Monday he is "sorry" that church officials didn't conduct an extensive investigation into sexual abuse committed by a priest.
Testifying in an Alameda County Superior Court lawsuit against the Oakland diocese by two men who said they were abused as children by a priest in Antioch, John Cummings, now the diocese's bishop emeritus, said, "I didn't expect sexual abuse by priests to be a frequent occurrence."
Cummings said that in most instances the Oakland diocese didn't report allegations of sex abuse by priests to the local police because reporting wasn't mandatory until a law was passed in 1997.
Robert and Tom Thatcher's lawsuit alleges the diocese was negligent in assigning the Rev. Robert Ponciroli to St. Ignatius Church in Antioch in 1979 because officials knew he was a child molester.
The brothers say Ponciroli molested them on several occasions in 1980.
WASHINGTON (DC)
TheDenverChannel.com
POSTED: 9:24 am MDT April 4, 2005
UPDATED: 10:04 am MDT April 4, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Most Americans want the next pope to work for changes in Roman Catholic Church policies to allow priests to marry and women to join the priesthood. And they want more done to combat sexual abuse by priests, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
Do you want Pope John Paul II's successor to try to change church policy to allow priests to marry and to let women become priests?
Yes, priests should be allowed to marry and women should be priests.
Women should be allowed to be priests, but priests should not marry.
Priests should be allowed to marry, but women should not be priests.
No, the church should stick to strict doctrine.
A solid majority of Americans, and Catholics in the country, are calling for the changes even while saying they widely admire Pope John Paul II, who supported traditional policies against priest marriage and against allowing women into the priesthood.
"He crossed so many boundaries, opened doors to many governments," said Joseph Riess, a Catholic businessman from Vienna, Va. "But I think it's time for changes."
Just over half of Americans, 51 percent, and almost three-fourths of Catholics say John Paul, who died Saturday, will be remembered as one of the greatest popes, according to the poll conducted for The Associated Press by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
The Washington Post
By Hanna Rosin
The Washington Post
So much was expected of Karol Wojtyla when he became pope in 1978. Here, for the first time, was a pontiff plucked not from the Vatican's inner chambers but a man of the world. He was not Italian; he skied, he kayaked, he acted in dramas. His fellow clerics compared him to John Wayne.
His faith, too, seemed tested. He had lost his mother early, lived in the shadow of Auschwitz, performed forced labor in a limestone quarry. "Do Not Be Afraid" was his motto at his inauguration.
So even before his first papal pronouncement, he was granted a place in history as the Roman Catholic Church's first modern pope, charged with leading the centuries-old institution into the next millennium — the "new springtime of Christianity," as he called it. ...
In the pews here, he faced a laity star-struck but not especially loyal. Very few Catholic Americans agree with the pope's teaching that even sex within marriage should have procreation in mind.
His inflexibility on this question, coupled with his unwillingness to deliver a strong rebuke of the U.S. bishops involved in the sex-abuse scandals, meant "the credibility of the church on sexual matters was diminished or destroyed," said the Rev. Richard McBrien, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Each time an encyclical was anticipated, many Catholics, especially in the U.S., waited for a shift in policy. And each time they were disappointed, as the pope reinforced church orthodoxy on the role of women, sexual ethics, homosexuality.
CANADA
Canada NewsWire Group
CORNER BROOK, NL, April 4 /CNW/ - The Most Rev. Douglas Crosby, Bishop of
St. George's Diocese, today confirmed that the Roman Catholic Episcopal
Corporation of St. George's, the civil arm of the Diocese, is seeking a 45 day
extension of the time to file a proposal under the Notice of Intention filed
on March 8, 2005 pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. This notice
effected a "stay of proceedings" in civil actions against the Corporation
including those launched since 1991 on behalf of 36 victims of sexual abuse.
Since March 8th, the Corporation has notified its creditors of the
filing, established a listing of the Corporation's land holdings, completed a
full review of the Corporation's insurance policies, initiated a review of a
number of legal issues affecting various stakeholders including creditors and
parishioners and has begun assembling a list of other assets within the
Corporation. The Corporation is currently in the process of obtaining
independent valuations for each of its land holdings and, with the assistance
of legal counsel, is preparing to meet with the insurers to assess liability
coverage.
MASSACHUSETTS
Cape Tod Times
By SEAN GONSALVES
STAFF WRITER
As Catholics around the world contemplate the legacy of Pope John Paul II and reflect on the future of the church, Catholic parishes on the Cape are vibrant - and growing.
Of the state's 3 million Catholics - roughly half the population of Massachusetts - 116,000 of them live on Cape Cod, according to Fall River Diocese officials.
Led by Bishop George W. Coleman, former pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich, the Fall River Diocese encompasses 1,194 square miles in Southeastern Massachusetts and represents approximately 350,000 parishioners.
Of the diocese's 101 parishes, 22 are on the Cape and islands.
And while the church's teaching on certain moral issues and fallout from the clergy sex-abuse scandal has brought a dip in church attendance in recent years, the Cape has been a growth region for the Fall River Diocese, church officials say.
LOUISIANA
Times-Picayune
Monday, April 04, 2005
By Bruce Nolan
Staff writer
Archbishop Alfred Hughes told a Belle Chasse congregation this weekend that he has permanently removed its former pastor from the priesthood after three hearing officers advised him they believed Pat Sanders sexually abused two teenagers on an overnight youth trip 12 years ago.
Hughes personally disclosed his decision to parishioners at Saturday evening Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. Bishop Roger Morin continued the announcements at all the parish's Sunday Masses while Hughes led a memorial Mass for Pope John Paul II at St. Louis Cathedral.
Hughes temporarily removed Sanders from duty in April 2004 while the Archdiocese of New Orleans conducted a detailed inquiry into the youths' claims. Since then, Sanders has been forbidden to identify himself as a priest or act as a priest, except to celebrate Mass in private.
Sanders denied the youths' allegations and has maintained his innocence in e-mail messages and in personal contacts with parishioners.
"I am devastated and heartbroken," he said Sunday by e-mail when asked to respond to Hughes' decision. "I feel an injustice has been done to me and my life's vocation has been taken away. I steadfastly maintain my innocence and will appeal this decision to the Vatican."
Boston Globe
By Jason Berry | April 4, 2005
WHEN JOHN Paul II in 1979 made his first trip back to Poland as pope, he was determined to change the course of modern history. The stirring sermons exhorting human freedom, spiritual freedom, had long resonance through the final decade of the Cold War. He orchestrated clandestine support to Solidarity leaders in Poland, keeping pressure on the Communist regime. In 1989, when we watched the Soviet Empire crumble on television, John Paul stood a victor on the world stage, his very person transcending Stalin's famously cynical remark: ''How many divisions has the Pope?"
In like measure, the middle years of his papacy demonstrated a remarkable honesty about a runaway consumerist mentality in Western capitalism and the church's own sins, committed in the Crusades, toward Jews, Muslims, even Galileo.
These and other virtues secure his role as one of history's great popes. An actor in his youth, he had a charm and charisma that captivated millions on his many travels. With a refined sense of drama, he turned his final days into a farewell act that, as many have said, made his physical suffering a reminder of Christ's sacrifice. ...
A champion of human rights to people under the boot heel of dicatorships, he chose as secretary of state Cardinal Angelo Sodano, a former papal ambassador to Chile who befriended the sadistic dictator Pinochet and tried to intervene on Pinochet's behalf when he was facing indictment by a Spanish court.
Several weeks ago, when Sodano met with Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice, he awkwardly asked her help in defusing a sex abuse lawsuit filed against the Vatican by a Kentucky lawyer, something over which she had no control.
Within the Roman Curia, Sodano was a powerful supporter of another man he befriended in Chile who stands today, arguably, as the most notorious priest in Rome: Marcial Maciel Degollado, a Mexican who founded a religious order called the Legion of Christ. Maciel was accused in 1976 and 1979 of sexually assaulting seminarians. After years of being ignored by John Paul, eight ex-Legion members filed a canon law case against Maciel.
Over the last decade, as the clergy abuse crisis slowly spread in Ireland, Austria, North America, Australia, and Chile, John Paul's scattered comments were contradictory, expressing sympathy for victims while scolding the media for sensationalism even as he refused the request of US bishops to give them a streamlined process to defrock pedophiles. His response to the worst crisis of the modern church was passive to a fault.
As American Catholics reeled from the news of the abuse scandals, John Paul in a November 2004 ceremony at the Vatican praised Maciel in glowing terms. Meanwhile, a sign of a split emerged at the highest levels of the Vatican, Sodano ever the champion of Maciel, while Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the chief theologian, reopened the dormant investigation of the Legion founder.
ARIZONA
ascentral.com
Associated Press
Apr. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
A former top official in the Phoenix Catholic Diocese has resigned amid allegations of sexual improprieties, according to a letter given to parishioners at an evening Mass on Saturday.
In his letter, Monsignor Dale Fushek, pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Church in Mesa and co-founder of a youth group, denied the allegations but said he resigned to protect parishioners from the "ordeal."
He said his resignation would be effective June 30. advertisement
Fushek was placed on leave after an attorney notified the diocese that a client claimed to have recovered a repressed memory involving sexual improprieties by Fushek in 1985.
A lawsuit in January named Fushek and Phil Baniewicz, president of Life Teen Inc. Former priest Mark Lehman, resigned Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, the Diocese of Phoenix and St. Timothy's in Mesa also were named in the suit.
VATICAN CITY
Pioneer Press
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — The last time the College of Cardinals gathered to select a pope, the Cold War dominated the globe, non-European voices in the church were weak and unfocused and dialogue with other faiths was left to second-tier envoys.
None of that is true today.
When the cardinals assemble in the Sistine Chapel this month, the questions and priorities considered in selecting the successor of Pope John Paul II will reflect 26 years of profound shifts: the rising influence of African and Latin America clergy, greater pressure to allow married priests after damaging sex scandals and hopes for Vatican leadership in critical outreach between the West and the Muslim world. ...
High on the list could be greater sensitivity to the fallout from priest sex scandals that have battered the church in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. John Paul effectively closed the door on easing rules for priestly celibacy, which some Vatican critics consider a major obstacle to encouraging vocations.
Celibacy is a deeply rooted tradition in the church, but not an issue of immutable doctrine. In 1980, the late pope allowed married Episcopal clergy to join the Catholic Church and serve as priests. Married priests are common among Eastern Rite Catholics, which follow many Orthodox traditions but are loyal to the Vatican.
BRITAIN
Mirror
THE passing of His Holiness The Pope is, in one way, none of the business of those who are not Roman Catholics.
If you do not believe that he was the anointed Vicar of Christ on Earth, and the holder of the Keys of Peter, you need not worry yourself at the thought of his Maker having subjected him to a long and painful and embarrassing dotage. (Even so, he fared better than his predecessor, who was un-chosen by Heaven only a few weeks after being anointed.) ...
It's easy to see why Pope John Paul might have wanted to pump up the morale of his flock with this mass production of holiness.
Under his stewardship, the most appalling scandal of all - the institutional rape and torture of children - was allowed to spread and also to be denied. One of those most responsible for the cover-up, Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, was hastily removed from American jurisdiction and given a sinecure at the Vatican.
Slate
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Friday, April 1, 2005, at 2:51 PM PT
The papacy is not, in theory, a man-made office at all. Its holder is chosen for life, by God himself, to hold the keys of Peter and to be the vicar of Christ on earth. This is yet another of the self-imposed tortures that faith inflicts upon itself. It means that you have to believe that the pope before last, who held on to the job for a matter of weeks before dying (or, according to some, before being murdered) was either unchosen by God in some fit of celestial pique, or left unprotected by heaven against his assassins. And it means that you have to believe that the public agony and humiliation endured by the pontiff was also part of some divine design. In the case of a presidency, or even a monarchy, provision can be made for abdication and succession when physical and mental deliquescence occur. But there could obviously not have been any graceful retirement in the case of John Paul II. The next vicar of Christ could hardly be expected to perform his sacred duties knowing that there was a still-living vicar of Christ, however decrepit, on the scene. Thus, and as with the Schiavo case, every last morsel of misery has been compulsorily extracted from the business of death. For the people who credit the idea, apparently, heaven can wait. Odd.
I leave it to the faith-based to wrestle with all this. Or rather, I would be happy to do so if they would stay out of my life. But there is one detail that sticks with me. A few years ago, it seemed quite probable that Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston would have to face trial for his appalling collusion in the child-rape racket that his diocese had been running. The man had knowingly reassigned dangerous and sadistic criminals to positions where they would be able to exploit the defenseless. He had withheld evidence and made himself an accomplice, before and after the fact, in the one offense that people of all faiths and of none have most united in condemning. (Since I have more than once criticized Maureen Dowd in this space, I should say now that I think she put it best of all. A church that has allowed no latitude in its teachings on masturbation, premarital sex, birth control, and divorce suddenly asks for understanding and "wiggle room" for the most revolting crime on the books.)
Anyway, Cardinal Law isn't going to face a court, now. He has fled the jurisdiction and lives in Rome, where a sinecure at the Vatican has been found for him. (Actually not that much of a sinecure: As archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, he also sits on two boards supervising priestly discipline—yes!—and the appointment of diocesan bishops.) Even before this, he visited Rome on at least one occasion to discuss whether or not the church should obey American law. And it has been conclusively established that the Vatican itself—including his holiness—was a part of the coverup and obstruction of justice that allowed the child-rape scandal to continue for so long.
CALIFORNIA
Daily Bulletin
By Brad A. Greenberg
Staff Writer
Thousands of Catholics flocked to local parishes Saturday to honor the life of Pope John Paul II.
"The world is a better place because he was in it," said Matt Beall, 21, of San Bernardino. "It is very sad he is gone, but it is also joyous because he is with the Lord."
The death of the 84-year-old pontiff closed the book on a fabled life for the third-longest-serving pope in history.
To many in the Inland Empire, John Paul embodied the teachings of Jesus Christ. ...
The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests released a statement Saturday thanking John Paul for saying in 2002 that there is "no place in the priesthood for those who would harm the young."
"We all hope that his successor will push harder to hold bishops accountable for harboring priests who abuse children," Mary Grant, southwest regional director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said.
TOTOWA (NJ)
NorthJersey.com
Sunday, April 3, 2005
By MAYA KREMEN
HERALD NEWS
TOTOWA - In the past, they might have found themselves on separate sides of a protest march. One is a Mexican-American police officer and former Marine with a neat haircut. The other is a bearded Chicano professor with a rebellious streak.
But on Saturday the men came together for the same cause: to talk about being abused as children by Catholic priests, and to encourage other Latino victims to come forward.
About 25 people showed up at the first national meeting of Latino clergy abuse victims, held at the borough's American Legion hall. The meeting was organized by Johnny Vega of Wallington, who says he was abused by a parish priest in Paterson more than 20 years ago. Partly as a way to cope, Vega founded a Latino branch of the group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) in Totowa in May of last year. This year, he decided to broaden the group to Latino victims nationwide.
However, on Saturday, few of the victims, victims' supporters and family members who sat on folding chairs watching a panel of speakers were Latino. Vega said he wasn't surprised. He said Latino victims were often "too scared" to come out publicly about sexual abuse.
"You repress it, you forget about it," he said. "But eventually it's going to surface again, and you're going to have to face it." Talking about it, he said, is "one way to face it."
NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune
4/3/2005, 2:02 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
(AP) — On Sunday morning at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, there was no escaping a link between the two news stories that had the attention of much of the nation all last week.
Archbishop Alfred Hughes, during Sunday morning Mass noted that John Paul the II had been a victim of violence — a shooting — in a May 13, 1981, assasination attempt. Then he touched on the death of a severely brain-damaged woman following an extended legal fight over whether her feeding tube should be removed.
Hughes left no doubt where he stood: "We have also experienced the sad victimization of Terry Schiavo and her tragic death." ...
"Like everyone, I'm certainly saddened by his passing. I think he was one of the great popes of church history," said Jason Berry, a Catholic and a freelance journalist.
Berry praised John Paul's "remarkably honest" approach to church history — including an unprecedented apology to Jews for past wrongdoings by Catholics — as well as foreign policy achievements.
"Obviously his role as a catalyst in helping to bring down the Soviet empire was quite extraordinary," Berry said in an interview with The Associated Press.
But Berry was critical of John Paul's passiveness in dealing with a burgeoning scandal involving pedophile priests. Berry helped uncover the scandal with a series of stories on Acadiana priest Gilbert Gauthe in the 1980s and in the book "Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children."
"On balance, I think it a papacy marked by paradox: The greatness of the early years shadowed by the failure of the later years and his imability to confront the needs within the church itself."
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
Although Pope John Paul II never visited Toledo - the closest he came was a 1987 trip to Detroit - the longtime leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics had a major impact on this region and its Catholic population.
The 307,000 Catholics in the Toledo diocese's 19 counties looked to the Pontiff for spiritual guidance for 26 years, and scores of local residents made journeys to see the Pope in person, many of them during his four-day visit to Toronto in 2002 for World Youth Day.
"Locally we certainly have felt his touch," said the Rev. Michael Billian, episcopal vicar of the diocese. ...
Claudia Vercellotti, co-coordinator of the local SNAP chapter, a support group for victims of clerical sexual abuse, said the Pope's legacy includes his fights against communism and poverty, but his greatest contribution is his mandate to protect children.
"The Pope said unequivocally that there is no place in ministry for anyone who harms the young," Ms. Vercellotti said. "But that has not been implemented by bishops across the country. The greatest legacy the Pope could leave is that above all he protected children, and now it's up to those who follow him."
MESA (AZ)
East Valley Tribune
By Beth Lucas and Kristina Davis
Tribune
A popular Mesa priest, on leave while church officials investigate claims of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old boy, announced Saturday he is resigning in order to protect his parishioners from the "ordeal."
Monsignor Dale Fushek penned a heartfelt goodbye letter in the church bulletin for his parishioners to read as they left mass Saturday, stating his resignation would be effective June 30.
Fushek led St. Timothy’s Catholic Community in Mesa for 20 years and founded the nation’s largest Catholic youth organization, Life Teen.
He has been on leave since December, when former church member William J. Cesolini accused Fushek of masturbating while watching another priest sexually abuse him in 1985, according to a lawsuit filed in January. Cesolini said he retrieved repressed memories of molestation by the Rev. Mark Lehman, who served 10 years in prison for molesting students in the late 1980s.
"My resignation is in no way an admission, or even a suggestion, of guilt," Fushek wrote. "The ‘repressed memories’ that have brought about these circumstances are utterly untrue. However, it will take many months and a lot of energy to deal with these hurtful accusations. It would be selfish of me to force the community to go through this ordeal, with me as your pastor. It is best for our beloved community to move on."
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER / The News Journal
04/03/2005Some of Pope John Paul II's suffering in the last days of his life was due to his willingness to suffer with Christ for the sins of the world, including the sins of the priests who sexually abused children during his ministry, a Dover psychiatrist said.
It was a scandal that grieved the pope and violated the spiritual principles he taught, said Dr. Mark Borer, who serves on the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's Review Board that examines sexual abuse cases in the diocese.
Some victims of clergy sexual abuse, though, believe the pope's response to the scandal that emerged publicly in the United States in 2002 was inadequate at best, and at worst compounded their injury.
"He certainly hasn't done anything for the healing of victims," said Gary Belkot, 48, of Georgetown, who said he was abused as a seminary student at Villanova University in the mid-1970s.
The pope drew criticism for what was perceived as silence shortly after the scandal broke in January 2002, when the first of more than 10,000 cases nationwide became public. By April, though, he had summoned U.S. cardinals to the Vatican for a summit on the issue. In a joint statement, the pope and cardinals acknowledged the gravity of the problem, urged "solidarity and assistance" for victims and their families, said they would promote correct moral teaching on the issue and affirmed the power of conversion and turning from sin.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The message traveled by television, emails from the Vatican and the tolling of a church bell at St. Patrick Cathedral in downtown Fort Worth.
Devout believers and lapsed Catholics entered candlelit sanctuaries. In Bedford they walked past a wedding party, wiping away tears. Others stopped at the first church they found on their way home from Saturday afternoon errands.
Throughout the day they prayed for Pope John Paul II - a man they knew from great distances and from vast rallies in Texas, Louisiana and Colorado - because his death felt so close. ...
Dede Schmidt, a member of the Fort Worth chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic group that supports victims of sexual abuse, said she admired the pope for his strong stance on social justice, his opposition to war and his dedication to peace.
But Schmidt, 73, also said she hopes the church will work toward greater openness, especially regarding reports of sexual abuse, and more involvement for women.
EDINBURG (TX)
The Monitor
April 03,2005
Brittney Booth
The Monitor
EDINBURG — Court documents allege Robert Franklin viewed male pornographic Web sites, had a history of drug abuse and had several relationships with teenage boys before the former Trinity Worship Center music minister pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a young churchgoer.
The records reveal the dark side of a man once hailed as a charismatic minister who generously gave to help bring youths to Jesus.
Franklin, 38, pleaded guilty March 15 to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy who had come to him for spiritual mentoring. Before pleading guilty to two felony counts of sexual assault, he faced 10 additional charges from a grand jury alleging he gave marijuana and cocaine to the boy.
On March 29, 332nd state District Judge Mario Ramirez sentenced Franklin to six months in jail and 10 years probation. He also must complete 240 hours of community service and pay a $10,000 fine. As part of his parole, Franklin will have to wear an electronic monitor, attend a 90-day drug-treatment program and enroll in the county’s sex offender program. He will have to register as a sex offender in each city he lives in for the rest of his life.
BOSTON (MA)
The New York Times
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: April 2, 2005
BOSTON, April 2 - Jack Connors, a prominent member of this city's large Catholic community, has a resonant memory of Pope John Paul II's visit to Boston in 1979. Throngs of people descended on Boston Common for a public Mass, many waiting for hours in a torrential rain.
"I was drenched," Mr. Connors said. "My kids wanted to know why are we here. We should have known it was a sign that we were in for some stormy weather."
It is the kind of anecdote that crystallizes the complex feelings many here have toward Pope John Paul II, who died on Saturday at the age of 84. It is a sense of awe and affection mixed with disappointment at his handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that exploded in Boston three years ago and continues to reverberate here.
"Am I angry with him? No," Mr. Connors said. "He was a good man and did what he thought was right. But regrettably, there wasn't as much thoughtfulness and oversight as one might hope for."
Similar reactions were common this weekend as many of the 2 million Catholics in and around Boston struggled with how to reconcile the respect and warmth they felt for John Paul with what they saw as too little attention paid too late to the problem of sexually abusive priests. In particular, there was criticism that when Cardinal Bernard F. Law was forced out of his position as Boston archbishop because of the scandal, he was not chastised or demoted, but was instead named archpriest of one of the four basilicas under Vatican direction in Rome, St. Mary Major's Basilica.
KENTUCKY
Baltimore Sun
Friday
The pre-trial hearing in what might be the nation's first class action lawsuit against a Roman Catholic diocese over clerical sexual abuse is scheduled to begin in Burlington, Ky. Steve Rubino, a New Jersey lawyer who has represented hundreds of victims of clerical sex abuse, said he believes the Burlington case is the first in the nation where a molestation lawsuit against a diocese is being permitted to go forward as a class action. The diocese spans 14 counties and includes 89,000 parishioners, many of them in the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati. The two sides are expected to ask that the trial date be moved again while mediation goes on.
VATICAN
azcentral.com
Alan Cooperman
Washington Post
Apr. 2, 2005 07:00 PM
During his long reign, Pope John Paul II apologized to Muslims for the Crusades, to Jews for anti-Semitism, to Orthodox Christians for the sacking of Constantinople, to Italians for the Vatican's associations with the Mafia and to scientists for the persecution of Galileo.
He apologized so often, in fact, that an Italian journalist compiled a book of more than 90 papal statements of contrition.
Yet the pope never apologized for the most shocking behavior that came to light on his watch: sexual abuse of children by priests and the church's attempts to hush it up. To some alleged victims, that is a puzzling omission and a deep stain on his legacy. advertisement
"I would hate to see all the good works this pope has done over his lifetime be overshadowed by this scandal. But that's what may happen," said Gary M. Bergeron, of Lowell, Mass., who says he was molested in the 1970s by Rev. Joseph Birmingham, a priest accused of abusing more than a dozen altar boys. Birmingham has since died.
John Paul's defenders contend that sexual misconduct by priests is a worldwide problem that began before he became pope in 1978. They say once it came to light, he reacted decisively. Summoning America's cardinals to the Vatican in April 2002, he declared that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."
Those words became the basis for the "zero tolerance" policy adopted two months later by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Over the following year, hundreds of priests resigned, retired or were suspended as the bishops pledged to remove any clergyman who had ever abused a minor.
SEATTLE (WA)
KING 5
From KING 5 Staff and Associated Press
SEATTLE -- At St. James Cathedral in Seattle, a bell began tolling at 1 p.m. as parishioners, some with tear-stained faces, quietly filed inside.
Services were held at St. James Cathedral in Seattle Friday.
"I'm happy for John Paul, he's with God. I have no doubt of that. He ran his course magnificantly," said the Rev. Michael G. Ryan, pastor at St. James. "I have to think he's having a great homecoming," he added.
Referring to John Paul's appeal to non-Catholics, Ryan said, "He connected with people's hearts." Many feel the pope's appeal lay in his ability to command respect from those who challenged his views. ...
The crisis of clerical sexual abuse emerged during his long tenure, and some Catholics blame him for driving parishioners out of pews and priests from the seminaries.
"He didn't put into office men who have an abiding pastoral care for priests. A great deal of this hideous crime of pedophilia has to be attributed to the fact that priests have no pastors. Their bishops don't take care of them," said the Rev. Matthew Naumes, a retired priest in Tacoma.
He said he hopes the new pontiff "will love the priesthood and remember he is a priest." "If we don't have a pope like that, soon the Catholic world will be a great deal smaller than we have right now," Naumes said.
VATICAN
Financial Times
By Robert Graham and Tony Barber
Published: April 2 2005 22:17 | Last updated: April 2 2005 22:17
Pope John Paul II, who died at the age of 84, will be remembered above all else for his efforts to reinvigorate the Catholic Church and for his role in the fall of the Soviet empire - an achievement that ushered in a new era of religious and political freedom. Yet the exceptionally long pontificate of this, the first Polish pope, will also go down in history as a period of paradox.
It began with the Vatican's contribution to the demise of the totalitarian regimes of Communist Europe but it ended with division in the Church as a revered but authoritarian pope refused to tackle what critics saw as crucial issues of reform. The deep conservatism of the man who had fought so hard for glasnost - openness - in the Soviet Union meant he was having none of it in his own Church.
Perhaps his triumphs and failings showed different aspects of one of John Paul's strongest characteristics: his courage. It was this physical and moral courage, which was never in doubt, that gave him such stature on the international stage. ...
Tensions over sexual morality were made worse in 2002, when more than 60 Catholic priests in the US became the subject of child sex abuse investigations. The US Church paid millions of dollars in damages to victims, and Cardinal Bernard Law, the archbishop of Boston, resigned in disgrace over the subsequent handling of the scandal - though he was later appointed to head a basilica in Rome.
John Paul II condemned the molesting of children as an "appalling sin in the eyes of God". He stated that there was no place in the Church for those who would harm children. Yet there were many who felt his words needed to be backed by tougher action.
VATICAN
Bloomberg
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Pope John Paul II, who traveled the globe for more than two decades spreading his message of peace, tolerance and reconciliation while stamping his conservative views on the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the Vatican. He was 84.
The spiritual leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics, who was in the 26th year of his papacy, died at 9:37 p.m. Rome time, the Vatican said. News of his death was announced from the steps of St. Peter's Basilica by Argentine Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to the 70,000 who had gathered in the church's square.
Polish-born Karol Jozef Wojtyla was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI more than 450 years ago and the third- longest-serving pope, surpassed only by Pius IX in the 19th century and St. Peter. ...
His efforts to unify Catholics and promote an image of Christian benevolence were tainted by cases of sexual abuse of children by U.S. priests and charges of a cover-up by senior church officials.
Leadership Style
Sexual assault by priests is a crime and ``an appalling sin'' that has caused the Roman Catholic Church to be ``viewed with distrust,'' he told a group of leading U.S. cardinals whom he summoned to Rome in April 2002. The pope called for a policy of ``zero tolerance'' and supported the cardinals' decision to expel any priest found guilty of serial sexual abuse.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - The Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese has agreed to a $1.4 million out-of-court settlement with a Texas man who sued the diocese, alleging that a priest molested him when he was a minor.
The lawsuit, filed against the dioceses of Fort Worth and Worcester, Mass., contends that Fort Worth Bishop Joseph P. Delaney knew that the Rev. Thomas Teczar posed a threat to children because of a "sexual interest" in adolescents, according to court documents.
Before moving to the Fort Worth area, Teczar had worked as a priest in the Worcester Diocese, where he was forced out after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a teen-age boy.
Delaney could not be reached for comment Friday. Diocese spokesman Jeff Hensley declined to comment and said Delaney could not speak because he is ill.
As part of the lawsuit, Delaney gave a deposition that states that he was aware of the allegations against Teczar before bringing him to Fort Worth and that Teczar had admitted to Delaney his sexual feelings for adolescent boys.
Teczar worked at parishes in Fort Worth, Bedford and Ranger from the late 1980s until 1993, court documents state. A man who answered the phone at Teczar's home in Dudley, Mass., declined to comment. Teczar is no longer practicing as a priest.
Daniel J. Shea of Houston, an attorney representing the man who says Teczar molested him, said the size of the settlement is commensurate with the damage done to his client. His client, who lives in Texas, is identified by the name John Doe in court filings.
GRAND PRAIRIE (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Susan Schrock
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
A Grand Prairie pastor faces seven counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child after a 12-year-old Arlington girl told her mother that she had been involved with the man, police said.
Jerry N. Castle Jr., 25, was Dallas County Jail with bail set at $350,000. He is pastor of Faith Tabernacle Church on Aggie Drive in Grand Prairie.
On Sunday, police investigating a suspicious vehicle call found Castle kissing a 12-year-old girl in the 2000 block of Hunter Place Court in north Arlington. Castle was arrested on traffic warrants and the girl was released to her mother, said Detective John Brimmer, a Grand Prairie police spokesman.
Castle was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of sexual assault after the girl told her mother they had been having sex at his Grand Prairie home during spring break.
GRAND PRAIRIE (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
GRAND PRAIRIE – An alert Arlington police officer checking out a suspicious vehicle led to the arrest four days later of a Grand Prairie pastor accused of having sex with a 12-year-old girl.
Police have accused Jerry Newton Castle Jr., 25, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Church, of having sex with the girl – a member of his congregation – at his house during a two-week period late last month while his wife was either asleep in another room or at work.
A member of Mr. Castle's family declined to talk about the allegations. His wife did not return a phone message.
Elizabeth Marquez, whose 6-year-old son used to play with Mr. Castle's kindergarten-age boy, said her neighbors kept to themselves. She also said the family's home was frequently attacked by pranksters wielding eggs and toilet paper.
Mr. Castle was being held Friday at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on seven counts of felony aggravated sexual assault of a child. His bail is set at $350,000. Court documents state that he admitted to the assaults when questioned by Grand Prairie detectives.
HONG KONG
News 24
02/04/2005 09:11 - (SA)
Hong Kong - A Hong Kong pastor has been jailed for beating and sexually assaulting a mentally retarded 23-year-old woman, a news report said on Saturday.
Lutheran Church pastor Cheung Wai-chung, 41, ordered the woman to go buy condoms so they could have sex in a church dormitory, then attacked her when she failed to do so, a court heard.
He sexually assaulted the woman and beat her with a leather belt in the attack in 2003 which led to him being stripped of his position as pastor, the South China Morning Post reported.
At a hearing on Friday, Cheung admitted charges of sexual assault and battery and was jailed for 21 months after magistrate Anthony Kwok said his actions had "destroyed the credibility of pastors".
HOUSTON (TX)
MySA.com
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A former Catholic school teacher has been charged with sexual assaulting two boys over six years, authorities said Friday.
Stuart Alan Murphy, 57, was arrested after confessing to authorities he molested the boys, who were between 10 and 13 when the abuse began, said Lt. Ruben Diaz with the Harris County Sheriff's Department. One of the boys is still a minor, while the other is now an adult.
Murphy worked as a teacher at a Catholic school in Houston and volunteered as a choir director at Annunciation Catholic Church. Authorities did not release the name of the school.
Diaz said he did not know if Murphy had contact with the two boys through the school or the church.
Authorities were alerted to Murphy after a couple told police in the Houston suburb of Katy that it had found child pornography on their computer after he had stayed at their home.
SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Republican
Saturday, April 02, 2005
By BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY
bdewberry@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - A year after he pledged to bring healing to the local Catholic diocese, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell, 67, said yesterday that mission would continue in earnest.
McDonnell, who was installed as the eighth bishop of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese on April 1, 2004, marked his first anniversary with a noon Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral.
He succeeded Bishop Thomas L. Dupre, who stepped down in February 2004, a day after The Republican confronted him with allegations that he molested two boys when he was a parish priest in the 1970s.
At his installation last year, McDonnell said healing the pain and damage caused by clergy abuse would be a top priority. He repeated those words yesterday after Mass.
"My prayer every day is that those who are hurt will know some relief from that hurt. It's only been a year, and healing can take a year, five years or can be a lifelong process," McDonnell said.
In this past year, McDonnell has had to address clergy sexual abuse lawsuits, a financial shortfall that has closed some schools and is expected to cause the closing and merging of many parishes, and the task of revitalizing the morale of many disheartened parishioners.
Many Catholics have praised McDonnell's decisions in tackling clergy abuse issues. Last May, he ended a $1,030 monthly stipend and benefits package for defrocked priest Richard R. Lavigne and has moved quickly to remove those facing abuse claims substantiated by a diocesan review board.
HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle
By ZEKE MINAYA
Houston Chronicle
A Catholic summer school teacher and volunteer church choir director has confessed to sexually abusing two brothers — including at least one incident in a classroom — over a period of nearly 10 years, Harris County Sheriff's officials said Friday.
Stuart Alan Murphy, 57, who volunteered as a choir director for Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Houston and taught summer school at the Cardinal Newman School, faces two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and four counts of indecency with a child, according to court records.
He was arrested Wednesday and remains in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $600,000 bail.
According to probable cause affidavits, the brothers were 6 and 12 when the alleged abuse began. The two are now 14 and 22. Both have given statements to investigators implicating Murphy, who was characterized in the affidavits as a "family friend."
"We are unaware and have not been informed of any incident of sexual abuse of a minor by this individual at any of our church properties," said Annette Gonzales Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. "We have been and continue to cooperate with law enforcement."
OREGON
The Register-Guard
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard
An amended lawsuit filed Thursday accuses two top Pentecostal Church of God officials of counseling a young rape victim against going to police, instead urging her to travel out of state to face her perpetrator and other church officials in a "church-conducted tribunal."
The two accused church leaders - Harold Gore of Drain and Jamie Joiner of Kennewick, Wash. - said the charges are inaccurate and that the revised lawsuit is an attempt to win a larger settlement. The out-of-state meeting never happened because the victim backed out at the last minute.
Gore is bishop of the denomination's Oregon-Southern Idaho district. Joiner is bishop of the denomination's adjoining Pacific Northwest district and an assistant general superintendent on the church's 12-member national executive board based in Joplin, Mo.
The revised suit, filed in Lane County Circuit Court, is the latest wrinkle involving Charles Fenwick Jr., who was sentenced last August to five years in prison, the maximum term, for sexually abusing the female parishioner, beginning when she was 14.
WATERLOO (IA)
Courier
By PAT KINNEY, Assistant City Editor
WATERLOO --- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque now faces its 10th outstanding clergy sex abuse lawsuit.
Attorneys for a Waterloo law firm filed the suit in Dubuque County District Court on behalf of an anonymous male plaintiff, "John Doe II," alleging he was abused by a now-deceased priest, the Rev. Albert Carman, in 1954.
Carman's last parish assignment was at Immaculate Conception Church in Clutier. He was a longtime faculty member at Loras College in Dubuque. At the time of the abuse, he was on staff at Loras Academy, a boys boarding school later merged with all-girls Clarke Academy to form Wahlert High School. He died in 1980.
Carman was chaplain for the boys who boarded at Loras Academy at the time of the alleged abuse according to the suit, filed by Waterloo attorneys Chad Swanson and Tom Staack.
The suit says Carman summoned the alleged victim/plaintiff to his residence and "sexually abused plaintiff by causing his pants to be taken down and by touching and blessing plaintiffs genitals with a crucifix."
WISCONSIN
Pioneer Press
Randy Furst, Star Tribune
April 1, 2005
The alleged involvement of a Catholic priest in the 2002 slayings of two funeral home workers in Hudson, Wis., soon may be headed to Wisconsin's version of a grand jury.
The St. Croix County district attorney is likely to review evidence concerning the deaths in the next few weeks and will have various options, including convening a hearing on the case, according to a source familiar with it.
The Rev. Ryan Erickson, 31, who committed suicide in December, is believed to be the chief suspect in the Feb. 5, 2002, slayings.
He denied any ties to the deaths of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison, according to police and other people who spoke with him.
Hudson police have previously indicated that they also were investigating Erickson about possible criminal involvement with minors.
CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly
by GUSTAVO ARELLANO
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Anaheim Angels have traded with each other only once: in 1972, when the Halos shipped Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen up Interstate 5 for Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Mike Strahler, Billy Grabarkewitz and Bobby Valentine. The trade did little to improve each team: the Angels finished 1973 with a 79-83 record, while the Boys in Blue placed second behind the Cincinnati Reds in theAbuse Tracker League West Division.
But in 1973, a deacon at St. Barbara’s in Santa Ana tongued a boy, setting into motion one of the best swaps in trading history. The following year, officials with the Los Angeles Archdiocese elevated the deacon, Theodore Llanos, into the priesthood and placed him in an LA parish. Llanos went on to become the most notorious pedo-priest in Los Angeles County history, violating at least 21 children in various county parishes until he was placed on the disabled list (a.k.a. put on inactive leave) while at St. Lucy’s in Long Beach in 1991.
But LA archdiocesan officials returned the favor to OC parishioners. Shortly after Llanos left Santa Ana in 1974, then-LA Cardinal Timothy Manning moved Eleuterio Ramos from Resurrection Church in Los Angeles to St. Joseph’s in Placentia. In a 16-year career that ended in the Mexican Winter League (a.k.a. Tijuana) in 1994, Ramos became king of Orange County pedophiles, admitting to more than 25 victims.
The Llanos-Ramos transaction is reminiscent of the 1999 Marshall Faulk-Edgerrin James deal between the St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts, in which both teams exchanged young stars and saw each prosper—if by “prosper,” you mean chewing up a lot of yardage as NFL running backs for Faulk and James and chewing up a lot of kiddie trousers as Roman Catholic priests for Llanos and Ramos.
ALASKA
Fairbanks News-Miner
By MARY BETH SMETZER
Staff Writer
Two more men, identified as Jack Doe 5 and Jack Doe 6, have filed claims against Jesuit priest Francis Nawn, saying they were sexually abused by Nawn when he was ministering at St. Peter's Church in Sheldon Point.
The two men join four other plaintiffs who have accused Nawn of molesting them as children at Sheldon Point, a small southwestern Alaska community located on the Black River in the Yukon River Delta. Nawn is now deceased.
The defendants named in the lawsuit filed in Bethel Superior Court are the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, the Society of Jesus Oregon Province and the Alaska Jesuits.
Jack Doe 5 came forward to say the sexual abuse by Nawn started in 1968, when he was 9 and continued until he was 13.
Jack Doe 6, an altar boy, alleges similar abuse by Nawn beginning when he was 7 and continuing until he was 12, from 1972-77.
Two date, more than five dozen complaints alleging sexual abuse in the Fairbanks Diocese have been lodged.
In addition to Nawn, three other priests, the Revs. Jules Convert, James Poole and Segundo Llorente and Catholic volunteer Joseph Lundowski have been accused of sexual abuse. Only Poole, in his early 80s, is alive.
MARYLAND
Baltimore Sun
Dan Rodricks
JOSEPH F. Vallario Jr. did not return my phone calls, so the only explanation I have is the one that Annapolis lobbyist Mike Gisriel says Vallario gave him - he doesn't like people going after dead priests.
Even if the priests molested children, Vallario doesn't think their victims should have the right to sue the priests' dioceses for damages long after the crimes occurred. This, Gisriel says, is why the 68-year-old chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is deep-sixing a bill that would extend the time for victims to claim damages. Gisriel, hired to represent victims of childhood sexual abuse, doesn't think Vallario will let the committee vote on the matter.
A ridiculous amount of power for one old-school pol, but that's our system.
At present, Maryland law allows such civil suits only before victims reach their 25th birthday. Victims' advocates say that's not enough time; victims of such horrific crimes are too burdened with guilt, shame and fear to come forward until they are deep into adulthood, and many of the Catholic victims have waited until their parents died before going public.
GREECE
Kathimerini
The suspended bishop of Attica, Panteleimon, was indicted yesterday to stand trial on criminal embezzlement charges, in yet another twist of the corruption and sex scandals bedeviling the Church of Greece.
The Council of Appeals Court Judges ruled that Panteleimon should be tried for allegedly siphoning off funds in excess of 100 million drachmas (300,000 euros) from the collection boxes of the convent of Ossios Ephraim in Nea Makri, eastern Attica, in 1996 and 1997. The charges — which include embezzling state funds, as the money was subject to taxation — followed a formal complaint by the convent’s nuns. An inspection of the bishop’s finances has revealed that he holds over 3 million euros in bank accounts.
The Church suspended Panteleimon on February 4 pending an investigation into claims he was involved in a trial-fixing ring consisting of judges, lawyers and churchmen, owned shares in offshore companies and had made lewd suggestions to a young man over the phone — after tapes of the conversation were made public. The bishop, who denies the charges, resisted intense pressure from the Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, to resign.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
NSTITUTIONAL detainees subjected to vaccine trials in the 1950s and 60s have been ignored by the Government's compensation commission and now a lobby group has threatened to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights.
Last night, the Irish Survivors of Institutional Abuse International (ISIAI) confirmed that they've been informed the Ryan Commission - which continued the work of the Laffoy Commission - is unlikely to be able to process complaints from institutional detainees who were subjected to vaccine trials without permission.
The commission - which is already struggling to cope with the volume of claims to be processed - believes that it does not have the technical or research facilities to properly examine the vaccine issue.
However, the ISIAI argued that the vaccine trials for pharmaceutical companies were amongst the most upsetting and exploitative of the abuses suffered by those in state and Church institutions.
IRELAND
One in Four
By John Downing, Political Correspondent – The Star
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin admits he does not have money to deal with clerical child abuse claims.
He is frank about the problem he inherited in the Dublin Archdiocese when he took over one year ago from Cardinal Desmond Connell. “I walked into an explosive situation. We are continuing to try to deal with it” he said simply. “Aside from personal hurt and blighted lives, the bill is considerable. I am talking to the priests about how we face up to the issue”. “It will mean finding new money, I don’t have it, he told The Star.
Latest Dublin figures show EUR3.7 million has been paid in settlements, with EUR1.3m in legal costs to date. An extra EUR1 million was spent on archdiocesan child protection fund. But all the signs are that the problem is continuing to grow, with claims dating back to before 1996 still expected. The archdiocese has so far paid EUR2.5 to a “Stewardship Fund” set up to in 1996 to deal with the problem.
FAIRBORN (OH)
WHIO
POSTED: 3:46 pm EST March 31, 2005
UPDATED: 3:50 pm EST March 31, 2005
FAIRBORN, Ohio -- A Zanesville church pastor posted bond in Fairborn and is now out of jail. However, he cannot go back to work because church administrators suspended him.
Graham Phillips, 25, was arrested in Fairborn earlier this week after investigators said he used a church computer to chat online with whom he thought was a teenage girl. They said he drove to Fairborn to meet the girl for sex.
Authorities said the teenager Phillips had been chatting with online was actually an undercover detective.
AUSTRALIA
The Age
By Jamie Berry
April 1, 2005 - 12:16PM
A Catholic priest will stand trial later this year on 29 charges of child sex abuse.
Frank Gerard Klep, 61, pleaded not guilty to 28 counts of indecent assault and one of buggery.
The charges relate to alleged assaults against eight teenage boys at Sunbury's Rupertswood College in the 1970s, where Klep was principal for some time, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.
AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
01apr05
A CATHOLIC priest facing 29 child sex charges dating back to the 1970s has been committed to stand trial in the Victorian County Court later this year.
Frank Gerard Klep, 61, pleaded not guilty to 28 counts of indecent assault and one of buggery.
Magistrate Rowan McIndoe today committed Father Klep to stand trial in the County Court on October 24.
The offences involve eight boys and were allegedly committed at Sunbury, 45km north-west of Melbourne between 1973 and 1979.
Father Klep, a member of the Salesian Order, was a teacher and later principal at the order's Rupertswood College in Sunbury, at the time of the alleged offences.
He left Melbourne in April 1998 to become the senior financial officer at a Salesian theological college in Samoa.
CANADA
London Free Press
JOE BELANGER, Free Press Reporter 2005-04-01 04:06:12
Roman Catholic Bishop Ronald Peter Fabbro denies he ignored a Brazilian couple's complaint of alleged sexual improprieties by a London priest that sparked a $3.1-million lawsuit. A statement released yesterday by the diocese of London says Fabbro launched an investigation immediately after meeting the couple in November.
"Whenever these kinds of allegations are made, deep pain is felt by all parties," the diocese's statement said.
"The Church is about healing those who are wounded, and we seek to bring resolution."
The diocese said Fabbro "contacted the sexual harassment officer (of the diocese) and asked her to investigate these allegations by meeting with (Jose and Isabel) Do Prado.
MEXICO
The Herald Mexico
BY NICK WILSON/The Herald Mexico
April 01, 2005
With Thursday's giving of last rites to Pope John Paul II the world's eyes turned to Rome; and Mexico home of Cardinal Norberto Rivera, a papacy frontrunner.
Many Mexicans have a special affection for the Pope, who canonized Mexico's Saint Juan Diego, the first Indian saint in the Americas, and to whom the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared according to the Church. The Pope visited the country five times it was the first foreign trip of his papacy as part of the special attention he paid to the second largest Catholic population after Brazil.
John Paul II's papacy coincided with a radical shift in relations between the Vatican and the Mexican government, which for decades had some of the world's strictest anti-religion laws, designed to rein in a Church that for centuries ruled as part of the colonial power structure.
Today, the Church enjoys a warm relationship with President Vicente Fox, who was criticized by some for kissing John Paul II's ring and attending the canonization, the first time a Mexican president attended a papal Mass. It recently granted him an annulment to his first marriage, giving official Church approval to his second marriage to conservative Catholic First Lady Marta Sahagún.
Things have changed so much in recent years that the Senate held a minute's silence, Thursday, when they mistakenly thought the Pope had died.
With Fox's pro-church, rightwingAbuse Tracker Action Party (PAN) in power; increasing pressure to elect a pope from a thirdworld country and a college of conservative cardinals picked by John Paul II, things are looking up for Rivera.
At 62, Vatican watchers consider him to be the right age to succeed his benefactor.
Like the ailing Pope, Rivera is outspoken and traditionalist.
When sex abuse scandals rocked the church he talked of a "media campaign of persecution" against the Catholic Church in the United States, and said there was no "documented denunciation" alleging priestly sexual abuse of minors in Mexico.
The cardinal said that as a Latin American he feels a special obligation to defend the U.S. Church when it is attacked, and that he is a "great friend" of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston. Law resigned amid sustained media pressure and accusations that he covered up pedophilia by priests in his diocese. John Paul II had previously refused his first offer to quit.
Rivera said of the alleged media plot: "Not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world, one can see underway an orchestrated plan for striking at the prestige of the Church."
He also defended Honduran Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, who is widely considered to be Latin America's other frontrunner for the papacy, and one of 10 cardinals on whom Vatican experts are placing bets for the top job.
Rodríguez compared the U.S. media's coverage of the sex scandals to persecutions under Roman emperors Nero and Diocletian, and 20th century dictators Hitler and Stalin.
AUSTRALIA
ninemsn.com
10:27 AEDT Fri Apr 1 2005
A former Anglican priest charged with child sex abuse would have to surrender a substantial amount of his savings if he were to be released on bail, a court said.
The 50-year-old former priest made his first appearance in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with five counts of indecent assault, one charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and two counts of procuring the commission of an act of gross indecency.
The offences allegedly occurred between October 27, 1991 and May 31, 1992 when the man was employed as a school chaplain.
The man denied the charges and said he had a network of friends that were prepared to provide $20,000 bail surety and had considerable savings of his own that could be lodged with the court.
DUBUQUE (IA)
KWWL
Another Dubuque priest is being sued for sexual abuse. This one is at Loras Academy.
The lawsuit alleges that Father Albert L. Carmen abused a young teen at Loras Academy during the 1954-1955 school year.
Records show that Carman continued assignments with Loras Academy and Loras College, as well as other assignments including ones in Dubuque, Manly and Clutier.
NEW YORK
USA Today
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
NEW YORK -When Brian F. O'Byrne last appeared on a Broadway stage, it was in the guise of a sexual tormentor and serial killer of underage girls. In John Patrick Shanley's Doubt (* * * ½ out of four), which opened Thursday at the Walter Kerr Theatre, the actor plays someone accused of less extreme (if similarly disturbing) crimes — but his performance is even more unsettling.
That's because Father Flynn, the character O'Byrne introduced when Doubt opened off-Broadway last fall, is a priest, and an articulate, charismatic one at that. "There's nothing wrong with love," he tells Sister James, a naive young nun teaching at the parochial school in the Bronx where the play is set, in 1964. "It's an old tactic of cruel people to kill kindness in the name of virtue."
The "cruel" person he has in mind is the school's principal and Doubt's stringently unsentimental heroine, Sister Aloysius. Dedicating his work "to the many orders of Catholic nuns who devoted their lives to serving others in hospitals, schools and retirement homes," Shanley traces, with shattering acuity, Aloysius' one-woman struggle against a patriarchal church structure that protects and even promotes men who abuse authority — and love — in unspeakable ways.
MASON CITY (IA)
The Globe Gazette
By NICK HYTREK, For The Globe Gazette
MASON CITY — A former Mason City man who alleged that a Sioux City priest sexually abused him in the 1960s has reached a settlement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City.
Dirk Jablonski, 54, has agreed to a monetary settlement. No amount was disclosed.
The diocese originally faced 26 lawsuits. The total number of cases settled this month is 16, and four lawsuits were settled last year. The diocese now faces six lawsuits.
The suits allege that the Rev. George McFadden committed the abuse when Jablonski and others attended school in St. Francis of Assisi parish, which has since closed.
Jablonski is a former Mason City public works director and now works in a similar position in Rapid City, S.D. He declined to comment on the case, which was a condition of the settlement.
CAMDEN (NJ)
Courier Post
Friday, April 1, 2005
By RENEE WINKLER
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
The Diocese of Camden ignored priests who sexually abused young boys, a Millville man claims in a lawsuit.
Darren K. Leibow, 28, alleges he was sexually assaulted between 1986 and 1992, when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of the Lakes mission church in Collings Lake. He says he repressed the memories because of threats by one of the former priests, James R. Ryan, who is now dead.
The lawsuit, filed this week in Superior Court in Camden, lists as defendants the diocese, present and former bishops, one former priest and the estates of two others. In addition to Ryan, individual clergy named in the lawsuit are John P. Kelly, also deceased, and Timothy E. Pisik, who served a state prison term for sexual assault.
Leibow is represented by Edward J. Ross, whose law firm handled the 1994 civil cases against the diocese.
The earlier lawsuits, filed by men who claimed they were sexually assaulted by 15 Camden area priests, were dismissed because they were filed too late. However, the diocese paid $880,000 to those individual plaintiffs.