Saturday, May 04, 2002

Two dioceses: opposite approaches to church abuse problem
CALIFORNIA/MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL: The AP's Kim Curtis reports: "OAKLAND, Calif. -- "No More Secrets" is the motto of a groundbreaking effort by Roman Catholic priests and survivors of clergy abuse in the Oakland diocese to work together to forgive and heal. A priest is leading a "survivors retreat" this summer. They also have an official Web site and the whole effort is headed up by a nun...In Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law's reluctance to involve lay people in discussions of abuse is disturbing, according to Svea Fraser, member of a grassroots church reform group called Voice of the Faithful..."

51 priests accused of abuse
Detroit archdiocese turns in 15 years' complaints
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' Jim Schaefer reports: "Fifty-one Catholic priests, two deacons and a religious brother have been accused of sexual misconduct in the Archdiocese of Detroit in the last 15 years, church officials said Friday. The number of priests is three times higher than the archdiocese had disclosed previously. The total number surfaced Friday afternoon as the archdiocese turned over files on the cases to local prosecutors -- part of a deal reached last week...

Lawyer: settlement rejection will lead to more litigation against church
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Jennifer Peter reports: "BOSTON -- Attorneys are promising increased legal retaliation against the Archdiocese of Boston following its abandonment of a multi-million-dollar settlement with alleged victims of a pedophile priest. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who negotiated the $15 million to $30 million settlement for 86 clients, said he will ask a judge Monday to approve the swift deposition of Cardinal Bernard Law and to restrain him from leaving the country. He also said he is exploring suing the church for breach of contract..."

Top U.S. nun: Catholic Church should respond cautiously to scandal
VATICAN: The AP's Tom Rachman reports: "ROME (AP) The Roman Catholic Church should respond cautiously to the sex abuse cases involving U.S. priests because the scandal is too complex for swift, sweeping decisions, a top American nun said Saturday. Sister Kathleen Pruitt, a Bellevue, Wash.-based nun, led a delegation representing 75,000 American nuns to the Vatican last week for previously scheduled talks to discuss their yearly work, the ramifications of the Sept. 11 attacks, religious dialogue and efforts to combat ethnic hatred..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/4/2002 08:51:55 PM

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (LETTER)
Good priests
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Tom Figel writes to the Chicago Tribune: "Evanston -- Several weeks ago, our parish priest spoke with anguish about the pedophilia coming to light in the U.S. Catholic Church. Of course, the church has to take decisive, effective action for the protection of everyone who is vulnerable to the sickness or selfishness of any member of the clergy..."

Is the Pope Catholic?
COLUMN: Bill Keller writes in The New York Times: "Pope John Paul II turns 82 this month, and he looks more mortal by the day. In his photo op with the American cardinals last week, he was so infirm and unintelligible that you wanted to avert your eyes out of pity. But let's not. The uncomfortable and largely unspoken truth is that the current turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church is not just a sad footnote to the life of a beloved figure. This is a crisis of the pope's making..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/4/2002 01:44:59 PM

Extent of Abuse in Church Not Understood
COLUMN: Peter Steinfels writes in The New York Times: "Do you think you have learned all you need to know to understand the sexual-abuse scandal that has overtaken the Roman Catholic Church in the United States? Think again. Despite the blizzard of wrenching stories that have appeared over the last four months, some basic facts remain obscure.
Consider three questions: When did most of the abuse that has recently been made public or reported in files provided to prosecutors actually occur? What has happened to the priests who were credibly accused? What changes, if any, have Catholic dioceses made to deal with abuse?"

Archdiocese abandons deal in Geoghan case
Committee rebuffs Law, cites serious fiscal threat
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian and Walter V. Robinson report: "The Archdiocese of Boston yesterday abandoned its agreement to make monetary payments to 86 victims of serial pedophile John J. Geoghan after Cardinal Bernard F. Law's hand-picked Finance Council rejected it, citing concerns that its cost would leave the archdiocese in grave financial peril. The decision provoked cries of betrayal from lawyers for alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.
Even officials close to the Catholic Church expressed concern that the decision would lead to protracted and damaging litigation that could take years to resolve..."

Text of Boston Archdiocese Statement
MASSACHUSETTS: Provided by the AP and published in the Hartford Courant: "Statement issued Friday by David W. Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston, on the decision to back out of the settlement with 86 victims of defrocked Roman Catholic priest John Geoghan: This morning, consistent with the requirements of Canon Law, His Eminence Bernard Cardinal Law brought to the Archdiocesan Finance Council for its consent the matter of the proposed settlement with the 86 alleged victims of John Geoghan...

Church Rejects Tentative Deal on Boston Suit
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "BOSTON, May 3 — The Archdiocese of Boston backed out of a multimillion-dollar settlement today with 86 people who claimed to have been abused by a Roman Catholic priest, saying there was not enough money to pay them and still compensate the scores of other people who have accused priests in Boston of sexual abuse..."

Shanley set for Mass. return; Coakley eyes roles conflict
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer reports: "One day after his arrest in San Diego on three counts of child rape, the Rev. Paul R. Shanley yesterday waived his right to fight extradition to Massachusetts and is expected to face arraignment in Newton as early as next week. Meanwhile, a law enforcement official close to Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said she is leaning toward resigning from her volunteer position on Cardinal Bernard F. Law's Commission for the Protection of Children, amid increasing questions about whether her membership on the panel compromises her duties as a prosecutor..."

Priest cases affect three valley cities
San Bernardino police forward information from diocese to departments in Fontana, Montclair and Ontario for further investigation.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' Joanna Corman reports: "Priests from the San Bernardino Diocese might have sexually abused children in three Inland Valley cities, San Bernardino police said Friday. San Bernardino police released a list of communities where priests from the diocese allegedly committed sex crimes against children. Montclair, Ontario and Fontana are three Inland Valley cities named in a list of 15 across Southern California. San Bernardino police sent law enforcement agencies preliminary cases, Lt. Frank Mankin said. He declined to comment on any of them..."

Bridgeport's Bishop Lori Named To Investigative Committee
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's DAVE ALTIMARI And DWIGHT BLINT report: "Bishop William E. Lori's swift action to purge the Diocese of Bridgeport of priests accused of sexual abuse has earned him a spot on a national committee that will set the standard on how the Roman Catholic Church deals with the continuing scandal. The ad hoc committee on sexual abuse will be in charge of recommending how the church will handle cases of clergy sexual misconduct when all of the U.S. Bishops meet next month in Dallas. On Friday, Lori announced that his old friend Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis had appointed him to the 13-member committee..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/4/2002 07:29:29 AM

Friday, May 03, 2002

Friday Evening Update

What attracts gay men to the Catholic priesthood?
OPINION: Religion professor and author Mark D. Jordan, writes in The Boston Globe: "Gay friends who are not Catholic often ask how a gay man can remain in the church, which is, as they see it, one of the most dangerous enemies of gay civil rights in the United States. The puzzle is worse than they think. Some of us don't have the excuse of being born Catholic: Like myself, we converted. We were drawn to the church as much through our sexual orientation as through any other natural disposition. Converts or cradle Catholics, many gay believers further feel a strong calling to priesthood or religious life. The call doesn't seem to deny same-sex desires; it seems instead to complete them. A vocation to the celibate, all-male priesthood is a grace. It is also a call to act out your manhood against social expectations, outside heterosexual marriage and in the company of other unmarried men..."

Archdiocese reneges on $20-to-$30 million deal with Geoghan victims
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "In a stunning reversal, the Archdiocese of Boston reneged today on a $20-to-$30 million sex abuse settlement affecting 86 victims of a single clerical molester, John J. Geoghan. The archdiocese said it was refusing to sign the deal, which was hammered out in March after 10 months of negotiations, because its finance committee was expressing ``grave concern'' that the settlement would be too costly to the church..."

A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
Bringing Shanley back
EDITORIAL:The Boston Globe says in an editorial: "THE ALLEGATIONS against the Rev. Paul Shanley are serious. Martha Coakley, the Middlesex district attorney, is right to bring him back from California for action by a grand jury and possible trial. Shanley's rights must be rigorously protected as the case advances. ''He is innocent until proven guilty,'' Coakley correctly said at a press conference yesterday..."

Retired priest won't fight extradition
CALIFORNIA/MASSACHUSETTS: The San Diego Union-Tribune's J. Harry Jones and Jeff McDonald report: "Retired Roman Catholic priest Paul Shanley chose not to fight his extradition to Massachusetts to face charges that he repeatedly raped a young boy between 1983 and 1990.Shanley's lawyer told a San Diego Superior Court judge Friday the Hillcrest resident 'has chosen to proceed back to Middlesex and take care of this matter.' Shanley could have chosen to fight the extradition, which would have delayed his departure from San Diego probably for several months...'"
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/3/2002 07:15:34 PM

Accuser Outlines Allegations
FLORIDA: The Tampa Tribune's NATASHIA GREGOIRE reports: "LARGO - She kept quiet about it since she was an eighth grader, 14 years now - her tale of the touching, the kissing, the heavy breathing. But now, everywhere Bridget Kolodziej turns, victims of abuse by priests are coming forward, prodding her to retrieve her story from its hiding place..."

REGARDING MEDIA
Catholic Periodicals Laud Church Scandal Coverage
NATIONAL: The LA Times' Tim Rutten reports: "...In conversations this week, the editors of the country's three leading Catholic publications--the National Catholic Reporter; Commonweal, a biweekly journal of opinion edited by laypeople; and America, the U.S. Jesuits' weekly magazine for "thinking Catholics"--agreed that the secular print media have done a good job covering the scandal. But is there too much coverage?." (Plus comments from the editors on the question of where the reporting should go next.)

Three Rochester-area Priests Resign;
Bishop Clark, Parishoner, and Victim React
NEW YORK: WOKR-TV's Kristen Miranda and Patrice Walsh report: "Rochester, NY - Three active priests in Rochester-area parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese have resigned at the request of Bishop Matthew Clark...The priests' resignation were requested by Bishop Clark after a preliminary revision in the diocesan policy on priest sexual misconduct. Officials discovered that allegations of sexual abuse had been made against all three priests for incidents that took place more than 20 years ago. All involved inappropriate behavior with teenagers..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/3/2002 09:34:10 AM Catholics Back Strong Steps on Abuse, Poll Finds
NATIONAL: The New York Times' ROBIN TONER and JANET ELDER report: "American Roman Catholics say that priests who sexually abuse children and teenagers should be barred from participating in parish life and that any accusations of abuse should be investigated by local law enforcement rather than the church, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. Church leaders in Rome last week appeared split about how to handle cases of past abuse — that is, whether to apply a zero tolerance policy to all offenders, future and past — but American Catholics showed few signs of ambivalence as regards 'parish life...'"

NYT Poll Details
Results, question by question.

State House Backs Stricter Penalties For Sex Abusers
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's LISA CHEDEKEL reports: "As one of the central figures in the child-sex scandal engulfing the Roman Catholic Church was arrested, the state House of Representatives approved legislation early today that would greatly extend the statute of limitations on child molestation and increase penalties for abusers. The vote came after an unusual and tense debate over a provision of the bill that would require clergy to break confidentiality, even in confessionals, in cases in which they had reason to believe a child was at risk of imminent injury. After a discussion that had lawmakers weighing the tenets of the Catholic church against the moral obligations of clergy, the bill was approved 144-2..."

Shanley arrested in Calif. on Mass. child rape charges
CALIFORNIA/MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Jack Sullivan and Tom Mashberg report: "A notorious Newton priest who endorsed man-boy sex for decades yet earned glowing reviews from Boston archdiocese officials was arrested yesterday in California on three counts of raping a child in the 1980s. The Rev. Paul R. Shanley, who appeared at formative meetings of the infamous North American Man-Boy Love Association, was being held on a fugitive warrant issued by Newton police after he was picked up at his San Diego home early yesterday morning..."

Cuffed priest 'big relief': Alleged victims rejoice in arrest
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey, Maggie Mulvihill and Tom Mashberg report: "Seeing the Rev. Paul Shanley hit with criminal charges and led to a police cruiser in handcuffs yesterday brought comfort - and in some cases more stress - to his victims and those of other sexually abusive priests, people involved in court cases said. 'Just to know he is under arrest and other people have control over what he is doing is a big relief,' said 44-year-old John Harris of Norwood, an alleged Shanley victim..."

Alleged victim's flashbacks led to arrest of notorious priest
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo reports: "In a job-performance review in January, his supervisors described him as an 'excellent airman' and an 'exceptional patrolman' on the fast track to becoming one of the future leaders of the Air Force. By early February, however, Paul Busa had reversed course, beginning a spiral into a past he had spent 14 years trying to forget..."

McCormack to discuss role publicly
He has talked to newspaper, will appear tonight on WMUR
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Concord Monitor's AnnMarie Timmins reports: "Tonight, the head of the state's Catholic church will use New Hampshire's biggest news outlet to discuss his handling of clergy sexual abuse here and in Massachusetts, where he has been accused in lawsuits of harboring abusive priests. Bishop John McCormack addressed the same issues in an interview with the Union Leader that ran today. His spokesman Patrick McGee requested both meetings and said these remarks will be the bishop's in-depth response to the sex abuse crisis McCormack has been promising the media for weeks..."

Petition calls for resignation
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP's J.M. Hirsch reports: "Bishop John McCormack should resign because he ignored warnings that priests were molesting children, according to a petition circulating through the state's Roman Catholic parishes. 'It is clear to us that Bishop McCormack cannot function effectively as the pastoral leader for this diocese any longer,' Jim Farrell, one of the creators of the petition, said yesterday in a telephone interview..."

N.H. bishop admits `tragic' errors
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "Embattled Bishop John B. McCormack of Manchester, N.H., has acknowledged reassigning Catholic priests accused of molesting children, but like his former supervisor, Bernard Cardinal Law of Boston, he asserts poor file-keeping kept him from knowing the extent of those priests' problems..."

Alleged pedophile priest arrested in Hillcrest on rape charges
CALIFORNIA/MASSACHUSETTS: The San Diego Union-Tribune's Sandi Dolbee reports: "An alleged pedophile priest from Boston who retired to San Diego was arrested at his Hillcrest apartment this morning after months of accusations that he molested boys during his 30-year-plus career back East..."

Earlier: Shanley hid his past when applying to be police volunteer
CALIFORNIA: The San Diego Union-Tribune's Sandi Dolbee reports: "The retired Catholic priest who's become a focal point in the Boston Archdiocese's sexual abuse scandal gave no indication that he had been a clergyman when he applied to be a volunteer with the San Diego Police Department. The Rev. Paul R. Shanley listed his occupation as "retired" and his former position as "hotel director" on a November 1999 document that was released yesterday by the police..."

A Sex Abuse Panic?
COLUMN: The Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen writes: "Harris Mirkin, PhD and associate professor at the University of Missouri, is in a spot of trouble. Back in 1999 he published an article in which he characterized the concern over pedophilia as a 'moral panic' and questioned the concept of the 'innocent child.' As if to prove him right, the state legislature took $100,000 out of the university's budget -- a penalty for having the temerity of independent thought. If Mirkin has any more, the university could go broke..."

Priest relieved of duties after allegations
KANSAS: The Kansas City Star's JUDY L THOMAS and MATT STEARNS report: "The Rev. Dennis Schmitz, who once oversaw recruiting of new priests for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, was relieved of his duties today because of allegations of sexual impropriety..."

Priest not hesitant to speak his mind
COLUMN: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Mike Nichols writes:"When Father Joe Janicki left St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Thiensville last fall after serving only about three years, there were questions about why. It's not a scandal. Quite the opposite. Janicki has chosen not to make a big deal about it publicly. He even asked his successor - Father Guy Gurath - not to put anything in the church bulletin. Still, Janicki told Gurath, it is fine to acknowledge the truth if people ask. 'Yes,' said Gurath Thursday. 'He is legally married...'"

Difficult days
Seminarians grapple with crisis in Catholic Church
WISCONSIN: The The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel'sCATHERINE FITZPATRICK reports: "Vespers have been said. The Angelus has tolled. In the twilight of a troubled spring, four young men gather in a small garden. They are confused and hurt, angry and sick at heart. They are seminarians..."

Priest sued by woman is put on leave; officials believed affair consensual
WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times' Ray Rivera reports: "A Seattle priest accused of mentally and physically abusing a female parishioner during a six-year affair was placed on administrative leave yesterday, after the woman filed a lawsuit against the priest, his religious order and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. Archdiocese officials and an attorney for the priest's religious order said yesterday they had known about the affair but believed it was consensual and not abusive. Archdiocese spokesman Bill Gallant said the priest had been allowed to continue his ministry after receiving "glowing" recommendations from his order..."

Guest columnist
The cardinals and bishops just don't get it
OPINION: John D. Hough writes in the Seattle Times: "THE overwhelming news about sexual abuse by priests and the cover-up by bishops has been a source of personal reminiscence lately about my encounter with the Catholic Church of my youth. In 1960, fresh out of the eighth grade at St. Joseph's Elementary School atop Seattle's Capitol Hill, I was off to pursue my "vocation to the priesthood." I had been an altar boy for years and was encouraged by several nuns and priests to go to the seminary. My parents were supportive and proud that one of their sons 'had been called.'

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/3/2002 07:05:14 AM

Thursday, May 02, 2002

Rev. Shanley arrested on 3 counts of child rape in San Diego
MASSACHUSETTS/CALIFORNIA: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes and the AP report: "BOSTON -- The Rev. Paul R. Shanley, a former priest in the Boston archdiocese and one of the most high-profile figures in the church sexual abuse scandal, was arrested this morning in San Diego on charges he repeatedly raped a young boy in his Newton parish in the 1980s. Shanley, 71, was arrested without incident at a friend's home in San Diego on three counts of rape of a child..."

Priest at Center of Scandal Arrested
Sex abuse: The criminal charges were the first to be filed against the Rev. Paul Shanley, who has been the focus of a civil lawsuit against the Boston archdiocese.
CALIFORNIA/MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports(includes video of the arrest): "BOSTON -- A Roman Catholic priest who allegedly advocated sex between men and boys was arrested this morning in San Diego on three counts of rape of a child, officials said. The arrest of the Rev. Paul Shanley, one of the priests at the center of the Boston church abuse scandal, was announced by Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office..."

Vatican reaffirms need for penance, but says some habitual sinners cannot be absolved
VATICAN: The AP's Nicole Winfield reports: "VATICAN CITY -- Amid the intensifying American clerical abuse scandal, the Vatican on Thursday stressed the need for Catholics to confess their sins -- but said some "habitual" sinners could never be forgiven. The Vatican didn't identify who these sinners were, but theological experts said Pope John Paul II was referring to homosexuals and divorced Catholics who remarry. The pope said last week priests implicated in the sex abuse scandal can be forgiven..."

COMMENTARY
Can Gays Be Good Priests?
OPINION: Catholic University Law School Dean DOUGLAS W. KMIEC writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Catholic tradition holds that God can find good even in the most profound evil. Great evil has apparently been lurking in the church for a while, so God may have his work cut out for him. Yet the outlines of good are beginning to emerge..."

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Catholic Church Can Right Its Own Wrongs
OPINION: Letters to the Editor of the Los Angeles Times: "Robert Scheer, true to form, plays the knee-jerk role of apologist for homosexuals, claiming that they are being scapegoated for priestly scandals in the Catholic Church ("Blame Church Arrogance, Not Oversexed Society," Commentary, April 30)..."

Truth Shields Media From Charge Of `Catholic Bashing'
OPINION: Journalism professor Paul Janesch writes in the Hartford Courant: "Q: Professor News: When will the American Catholic bishops start accusing the news media of "Catholic bashing?"
A: Soon. I can detect the early rumblings. Of course, the bishops and their apologists can't come right out and say that the news media are lying about priests molesting boys. They can't claim that the news media are spreading falsehoods about bishops covering up the crimes..."

Abusive priest accused again
Macomb Twp. man says he was molested by cleric in 1975.
MICHIGAN: The Detroit News' John Bebow reports: "MACOMB TOWNSHIP -- Michigan police are investigating a new sex abuse claim against a notoriously abusive priest -- a man who once avoided criminal charges here in 1970 by agreeing never to return. But Father Jason Sigler did return. And now, a 40-year-old Macomb Township man claims Sigler repeatedly abused him in 1975 when the priest briefly lived in the rectory at St. Robert's Parish in Flushing, near Flint..."

Family lived under gun for a year
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "Mary and Marcin Jean of Leominster say their family lived a yearlong nightmare because of a complaint to the state Department of Social Services that contained erroneous information supplied by the head of the St. Leo Parish school board..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/2/2002 09:33:04 PM

New Thursday Morning:
Background on the Clergy Abuse Tracker.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/2/2002 08:52:48 AM

Buchwald Gets Serious:
No Monopoly on Molestation
COLUMN: Columnist Art Buchwald writes: "I rarely write a serious column, but -- warning -- this is one of them. Not only little Catholic boys, but also little boys of other faiths have been molested -- not by priests but rather by civilian pedophiles in the land. There are thousands, possibly millions of men who, as children, were victims of sexual abuse. The majority never told anyone because they were so ashamed. This is why I am coming out of the closet. I confess that as a child I was a victim of molestation, and it has left its mark on me..."

Lawyer calls Law flight risk: Wants cardinal's passport impounded
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Robin Washington and Tom Mashberg report: "A lawyer seeking to depose Bernard Cardinal Law in a sexual abuse case later this month petitioned a court yesterday for a temporary restraining order to impound his passport, calling the embattled prelate a potential flight risk who could be whisked away to Rome to avoid giving sworn testimony..."

Should Cardinal Law step down?
ONLINE FORUM: The Boston Herald invites comments readers can post directly to its web site.

Abuse-case lawyers push to settle with church
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "Three attorneys representing about 200 people suing the Archdiocese of Boston in sexual abuse cases said yesterday they would embrace mediation rather than litigation to help pull the church out of its legal quagmire..."

Church $ appeal may suffer from name recognition
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo reports: "Parish priests throughout the Boston archdiocese will go to their church podiums this weekend to stump for the Cardinal's Appeal, the annual fund-raising campaign whose name has become its Achilles' heel. In years past, the use of Bernard Cardinal Law's name or title brought the kind of attention that virtually guaranteed success, but this year, archdiocesan officials are bracing for a backlash from Catholics outraged by the church's pedophilia scandal..."

SPOTLIGHT FOLLOW-UP
A father laments deference to priest
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Walter V. Robinson reports: "CANTON - At St. Gerard Majella Church, Kenneth A. MacDonald was a constant presence, to the parish's substantial benefit: a lector at Sunday Mass, a religious education teacher, a member of the Parish Council, and a force in St. Gerard's effort to build a school for the poor in Haiti...But now, as he lies gravely ill with heart disease, MacDonald wonders whether his deference to his church, so commonplace a generation ago, caused him to be too forgiving. In 1980, his 14-year-old son, Bryan, confided to him that the Rev. Peter R. Frost had taken him to Frost's parents' home, given him alcohol, and then allegedly molested him."

Some say church, officers shared code of silence
NATIONAL: The AP's David B. Caruso reports: "PHILADELPHIA - Katie Chrun says that when she told police in 1982 that her three sons had been molested by their priest in St. Louis, the sergeant gave her this advice: Forget about a trial. Talk to the archdiocese. Work it out in private. 'He told me that it would be better that way, that it would be better for the church and better for my kids,'' she said..."

Shanley wants records private
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "CAMBRIDGE - Lawyers for the Rev. Paul Shanley argued yesterday that the former Newton priest's medical records should not be turned over to a family that has accused the Roman Catholic priest of sexual abuse. Lawyer Roderick MacLeish Jr., who is representing a family whose son was allegedly raped by Shanley, is requesting psychiatric and other medical assessments of the cleric that were ordered by the Archdiocese of Boston..."

An exhibition of hubris from Vatican
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam writes: "Yikes! In what can only be termed a case study in bad timing, the Vatican Museums, in conjunction with the San Antonio, Texas-based entertainment monopoly - sorry, conglomerate - Clear Channel Communications, are soliciting national ''Corporate Partners'' for next year's scheduled tour of ''St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Pope.'''According to the glossy, leather-bound sponsorship catalog, the exhibition will spend 31/2 months in each of four ''regionally centered US cities ... hosted by a major museum.'' One of the designated cities is ''Boston/NE...'''

Hubbard removes priest from ministry
Albany-- Cleric who admitted in 1986 to sexual abuse is returning to Albany but won't be reassigned by bishop
NEW YORK: The Albany Times Union's Andrew Tilghman reports: "A priest accused of molesting at least three children in Albany more than 15 years ago has been removed from his latest position in New Mexico, following Bishop Howard Hubbard's review of clergymen from his diocese who were accused of pedophilia, church officials said. The Rev. David Bentley, 59, who was ordained in 1975 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and was most recently assigned to a small parish in Deming, N.M., was called back to Albany and will not be reassigned because of a history of sexually abusing children, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany..."

Clergy accused of sexual abuse remain at St. John's Abbey
MINNESOTA: Statewire reports: "COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Between 13 and 15 monks or priests live and work under restrictions at St. John' s Abbey after being accused of or admitting to sexual abuse, the abbot for the monastery said. The number represents about 7 percent of the 196 monks and priests affiliated with the monastery and nearby St. John' s University, a preparatory school and a religious press..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/2/2002 07:09:49 AM

Wednesday, May 01, 2002

The Crisis in the Catholic Church
NATIONAL: Barbara Mulvey writes on Spokane's KXLY.com: "I am a devout 'cradle Catholic' and a woman. Those two aspects of my being don’t always sit comfortably together, but I was born into both; it is who I am. As this sex abuse scandal unfolds in the Catholic Church, I have heard from the media how 'all American Catholics' are responding to this crisis. If there is one truth in all of this, it is that the media can’t possibly understand how 'all American Catholics' feel about this crisis, especially Catholic women. And what the media focuses on in this crisis does not speak to the real pain felt among the people in the pews..."

Shanley lawyers ask court to keep priests psychiatric records private
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Robert O'Neill reports: "CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Lawyers for the Rev. Paul Shanley argued Wednesday that the former Newton priest's medical records should not be turned over to a family that has accused the Roman Catholic priest of sexual abuse. Attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr., who is representing a family whose son was allegedly raped by Shanley, is requesting psychiatric and other medical assessments of Shanley that were ordered by the archdiocese..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/1/2002 08:29:04 PM Second priest leaves post at hospital here
MISSOURI/ILLINOIS: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Phyllis Brasch Librach reports: "For the second time in eight days, a Catholic priest ordained in Joliet, Ill., has left his position as chaplain at an area hospital after the Archdiocese of St. Louis disclosed a history of alleged sexual abuse with a minor. On Tuesday, the archdiocese announced that the Rev. Jay Anthony Meis, 65, has 'resigned and retired' from St. Anthony's Medical Center in south St. Louis County, effective last Wednesday..."

St. Louis says Joliet didn't tell priest past
MISSOURI/ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's David Heinzmann reports: "A priest sent to work at a St. Louis hospital in 1994 after the Joliet diocese settled a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a minor enjoyed unrestricted status as a priest for eight years without Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis officials knowing about his history, church officials there said Tuesday. When Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch sent Rev. J. Anthony Meis to St. Louis to work as a hospital chaplain in 1994, he informed the administrators at St. Anthony's Medical Center that the priest had been in trouble for sexual misconduct with a minor..."

Prosecutor tells Palm Beach diocese to report past sex abuse cases
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's Peter Franceschina reports: "Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer has asked Diocese of Palm Beach officials to notify his office of past sexual abuse complaints involving children, a request the diocese's spokesman said wasn't necessary because there have been no such cases. Krischer released a letter Tuesday in which he made the request to church officials..."

Hispanics Still Backing Catholic Leaders, for Now
CALIFORNIA/NATIONAL: The New York Times' Anthony DePalma reports: "...If there is one group whose loyalty the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is counting on as it tries to repair the damage caused by revelations of sexual abuse by priests, it is the 21 million Hispanic-American Catholics who make up more than 30 percent of all Catholics in the nation. Driven by high birth rates and continued immigration, Hispanics are responsible for 71 percent of the church's growth over the last 40 years. So far, that loyalty has remained steadfast..."

S.J. bishop to contact former students
CALIFORNIA: The San Jose Mercury News' Brandon Bailey reports: "Despite his initial reluctance, San Jose Bishop Patrick J. McGrath decided Tuesday to write a letter to all former students who attended the St. Martin of Tours parish school during the 1970s, when a number of men have said they were molested by a respected parish priest. The letter will include an apology, an offer of counseling and an invitation for molestation victims to contact church officials if they wish, said the Rev. Francis Cilia, a top aide at the Roman Catholic diocese..."

No time for deference
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara writes:"...It is not cynicism, but experience, that should prompt civil authorities to question the cardinal's sincerity. Even as Law promises to cooperate fully with...the state's district attorneys, he is failing to turn over hundreds of pages of court-ordered documents to lawyers for the victims. It is time to stop kissing his ring and start serving the subpoenas..."

Catholics drawn to splinter group in Wellesley
MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "WELLESLEY - In the basement of a parish school at Saint John the Evangelist Church, a quiet revolution is brewing. A group that started three months ago as a listening session for parishioners upset about clergy sexual abuse has grown explosively in the past few weeks, drawing about 4,200 supporters from 36 states and 19 countries..."

In about-face, Lowell priest to back appeal
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "Lowell pastor who said in a recent church bulletin that he would not ask parishioners to contribute to the Cardinal's Appeal this Sunday said yesterday that he will ask them to donate at a later date..."

American nuns meet with Vatican officials
VATICAN/NATIONAL: The AP reports: "A delegation of top U.S. nuns was meeting with Vatican officials in regularly scheduled talks this week that were expected to touch on the sex abuse scandal that has engulfed the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. However, delegation leader Sister Kathleen Pruitt denied news reports that the four-nun group was delivering a special letter to the Vatican denouncing the Church's behavior in the scandal, or that the sex abuse issue was the central theme of their meetings..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/1/2002 07:14:15 AM

Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Catholics launch donation boycott
Archdiocese urged to adopt reforms
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Aamer Madhani and Rudolph Bush report: "After months of concern among church hierarchy that the faithful would withhold donations to show disapproval of the handling of sexual abuse by priests, a group of area businessmen on Monday called on churchgoers to boycott the collection basket until the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago adopts a number of reforms. The boycott, headed by members of some of the richest and most generous area parishes, is the most visible attempt by laity to change policy at the Chicago archdiocese, which had hoped to avoid the kinds of protests aimed at collection plates in Boston and Florida..."

Archbishop fears abuse policy elusive
Myers cites bishops' differences
NEW JERSEY: The Newark Star Ledger's David Gibson reports: "Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, one of eight prelates tabbed to draft a common policy dealing with sexual abuse by priests, said yesterday that the nation's Roman Catholic hierarchy remains divided on some key issues and may not be able to agree on a uniform approach at its much-anticipated meeting in June..."

Accused priest worked at KC hospital until his retirement last week
MISSOURI: The Kansas City Star's Matt Stearns and Judy L. Thomas report: "A Catholic priest accused five separate times of sexually abusing minors served as a chaplain at a Kansas City hospital until he retired Friday, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph announced Monday. Monsignor Thomas J. O'Brien, 75, had been working at St. Joseph Health Center, a Catholic hospital. During his more than 50-year career in the priesthood, O'Brien also directed the Catholic school system in the diocese and was principal of a Catholic high school..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/30/2002 09:54:35 PM Nuns Hope Abuse Scandal Brings Extensive Reform
MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL:The Los Angeles Times' ELIZABETH MEHREN and MARY ROURKE report: "NEWTON, Mass. -- The pictures from Rome filled Sister Marie LaBollita with fury. All those white-haired men in red vestments, but not one victim of clerical sexual abuse. Not a single family member to attest to the toll of sexual violation. Not one expert on pedophilia. Not one woman. 'It's a disgrace,' said LaBollita, who watched the Vatican gathering of America's cardinals last week from her office at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic church in Newton. 'I'm outraged...'"

Pastor rejects drive led by Law
Lowell parish spurns Cardinal's Appeal
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "In a sign of continuing displeasure with Cardinal Bernard F. Law's handling of clergy sexual abuse cases, a Lowell pastor has said that on Sunday he will not ask parishioners to contribute to the Cardinal's Appeal, an annual fund-raising drive that helps pay for the church's day-to-day operating expenses. 'I have informed the archdiocese that we will not be participating in the Cardinal's Appeal at this time,'' the Rev. Albert L. Capone wrote in the weekly bulletin for St. Michael's parish. ''We must attend to the immediate needs of the parish, that being the pain, fear, stress, and hurt we all are experiencing as a result of this present crisis...'''

THE DONORS
Parish Will Skip Fund-Raising to Protest Leadership Inaction
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "BOSTON, April 29 — In a sign of the escalating rebellion against the leadership of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, a parish priest has announced that his church will not participate in archdiocese fund-raising campaigns this year.The priest, the Rev. Albert L. Capone of St. Michael parish in Lowell, Mass., made his announcement on Sunday in the church bulletin, perhaps becoming the first priest to endorse withholding contributions from the Boston Archdiocese..."

LITIGATION
Alleged victim demands apology from monsignor
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael S. Rosenwald, reports: "Garry M. Garland, who has accused Monsignor Frederick J. Ryan of molesting him as a minor, said yesterday that Ryan's resignation last week from a Kingston parish was a veiled admission of guilt. Speaking to reporters at his lawyer's Boston office, Garland said he will feel closure - and the Catholic Church will begin to heal - only when Ryan and other accused clergy publicly take full responsibility for their actions and apologize..."

Law aides balking at Geoghan costs
Settlement seen as risk to finances
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian and Walter V. Robinson report: "At least three members of the Archdiocese of Boston's 15-member financial advisory committee are expected to urge Cardinal Bernard F. Law on Thursday to abandon the multimillion-dollar settlement the church has tentatively agreed to pay to 86 victims of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan. The three members and perhaps others contend that the cost of the agreement - between $15 million and $30 million - is too high given the church's financial condition and the prospect that more people will file claims..."

Worcester priest removed
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "The Rev. Chester J. Devlin, who headed the Respect Life office for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, has been removed by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly from his assignment at St. Bernadette parish in Northboro because of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1980s. He was also removed from his position as director of anti-abortion activities in the diocese and has been placed on administrative leave. Maria Flores, the associate director, will take over as acting director of those activities..."

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Cleric faces new allegations
Suit asserts priest got teen drunk, then molested him
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP reports: "CONCORD, N.H. - A Roman Catholic priest charged with molesting a teenager in 1985 also is accused of getting a youth drunk in front of other clergy and later molesting him privately, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday. The Rev. George Robichaud molested Keith Murray, 35, of Concord as many as 30 times between 1982 and 1984, often after giving beers to him, according to the lawsuit filed against Robichaud in Belknap County Superior Court..."

Church policy disturbs victims
CONNECTICUT: The Connecticut Post's Daniel Tepfer reports: "BRIDGEPORT - The Roman Catholic church's decision to not impose a zero-tolerance policy on priests who sexually abuse children is no decision at all, say victims of abuse by Diocese of Bridgeport priests. 'The church really believes it is above the law,' said Sharon See of Shelton, who, as a teen-ager, was abused by the Rev. Raymond Pcolka at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Stratford, from 1978 to 1982. 'Anywhere else in society, if someone abuses a child they are immediately dealt with. It's infuriating that these same laws don't seem to apply to the Catholic church...'"

BRIDGEPORT CASE
Conn. priest admits misconduct
CONNECTICUT: The AP reports: "BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A Roman Catholic priest has resigned after admitting sexual misconduct and receiving his third conviction for drunken driving. The Rev. William D. Donovan, pastor of Holy Family Parish, has admitted to a sexual relationship with a young man, Bishop William Lori announced yesterday. It's unclear whether the man was a minor at the time of the misconduct, church officials said..."

THE TRAINING PROGRAM
Meeting Is Held on Detecting and Preventing Abuse
NEW HAMPSHIRE/NATIONAL: The New York Times' Fox Butterfield reports: "CONCORD, N.H., April 29 — Almost 300 Roman Catholic priests, nuns and other church workers from New Hampshire took part today in a national pilot program here on how to detect and prevent the problem that has created a crisis in their church, sexual abuse by priests. With the help of graphic videotapes made by a church-owned insurance company, the participants struggled with how, in a rapidly changing world, to express affection for children in their parish in an appropriate way, how to spot early warning signs of a predatory priest and when to know if an accusation of sexual abuse is credible..."

Church hears people's anger over cover-ups
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's Rhonda J. Miller reports: "BOCA RATON · Sexual scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church, particularly the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, drew 200 people together Monday night to share anger, confusion, forgiveness. In the meeting at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, lay people took to the microphone, some demanding explanations for what they called the hypocrisy of the church hierarchy in covering up sexual crimes by priests..."

Scholar's Pedophilia Essay Stirs Outrage and Revenge
MISSOURI: The New York Times' Jodi Wilogren reports: "KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 29 — Prof. Harris Mirkin could not have devised a better test for his controversial theory of sexual politics. In 1999, Dr. Mirkin published an article in an obscure academic journal likening the "moral panic" surrounding pedophilia to the outrage of previous generations over feminism and homosexuality. Now, Dr. Mirkin, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Missouri's Kansas City campus, finds the panic swirling around him..."

Meeting on Abuse Cases Bolsters Morale, Priests Say
NEW YORK: The New York Times Richard Lezin Jones reports: "YONKERS, April 29 — Cardinal Edward M. Egan met with hundreds of New York City priests today to detail his meeting last week with the pope and discuss future responses to sexual abuse allegations. The cardinal offered no new proposals on how the archdiocese would deal with abuse charges against priests, according to those inside the closed-door meeting. But his presence alone seemed to encourage many of the 500 priests who attended, some of whom admitted that their own morale was flagging because of the scandal..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/30/2002 07:49:44 AM

Monday, April 29, 2002

Cardinal Mahony Sued for Alleged Cover-Up
Religion: Two lawsuits claim he knew of molestation allegations against several priests but concealed the information.
CALIFORNIA: The AP's ROBERT JABLON reports: "Cardinal Roger Mahony, who leads the nation's largest Catholic diocese, was sued under federal racketeering laws today for allegedly covering up past sexual abuses by priests. Two lawsuits by four alleged abuse victims claim that over three decades Mahony knew of molestation allegations against several priests and concealed the information from parishioners and law enforcement, allowing the priests to continue working..."

Lay Catholics demand more church control
NATIONAL: USA Today's Fred Bayles, Rochelle Sharpe and Maria Puente report: "BOSTON — Nearly a week after an extraordinary papal summit in Rome about sexually abusive priests, American Catholics are not only still fuming about how their cardinals and bishops have handled the matter, some now are calling for a grass-roots movement to take more control of the church, at least within their own parishes. That portends prolonged conflict within some of the nation's biggest dioceses — especially here in Boston, ground zero of the metastasizing sex abuse scandal. The crisis of confidence in the church leadership is not only not going away, but it could get worse. Rank-and-file churchgoers and alleged victims of abusive priests are demanding change, calling the results of the historic summit "horribly disappointing" and "a waste of time..."

Mahony Hospitalized for Blood Clot
CALIFORNIA: The AP reports: "Cardinal Roger Mahony, who leads the nation's largest Catholic diocese, has been hospitalized for treatment of a blood clot in his lung. He was admitted Sunday night to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and was expected to remain there for several days, the archdiocese said today in a statement. Mahony, 66, was in good condition, according to the statement..."

WBZ-TV says it has located Shanley
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Boston.com staff reports: "BOSTON -- WBZ-TV reported tonight that it has located Father Paul Shanley, accused of sexually abusing dozens of young boys, at the house of a companion in San Diego. The man believed to be Shanley, found last night outside a residence WBZ says belongs to his longtime companion Dale LeGrace, refused to answer a producer's questions. A cameraman filmed the man concealing his face with two jackets and getting inside of a car..."

Lowell Parish Where Priest Abuse Alleged Not Taking Part in Fund-Raising
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "A Roman Catholic parish in Lowell where a former priest is alleged to have sexually abused children has decided not to take part in two major archdiocese fund-raisers. A letter from the Rev. Albert L. Capone published in the church bulletin last weekend informed St. Michael's churchgoers that the parish would not take part in Cardinal Bernard Law's annual appeal or the Promise for Tomorrow campaign, in order to tend to the needs of alleged victims of the late Rev. Joseph Birmingham..."

Editor's Journal: A test of perspective
Highlights from Bob Baker's L.A. Times newsletter on writing.
Two weeks ago we examined the previous six weeks of my newspaper's coverage of the priest abuse scandal.
And then the shit really hit the fan.
CALIFORNIA/NATIONAL: LA Times Deputy Metro Editor Bob Baker writes on his site, Newsthinking.com: The pope called the church's cardinals to Rome. The cardinals spent two days talking (the adjective "extraordinary" was used more within these two days by journalists than at any other time in recorded human history) and essentially punted to the church's bishops, who control 195 separate, independent dioceses. The bishops will meet in June. Until then you'll be reading lotsa "interpretive" pieces, but not much action. What follows is an analysis of our coverage during the past two weeks. As in the case of the April 15 posting, I'm not trying to show perfection--far from it--but rather the instantaneous choices that get made when a big whopping story drags you around like you were a big whopping fish..."

'It's not easy being a Catholic today'
Faithful pray for end to scandal
GEORGIA: The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Bill Hendrick reports: "Roman Catholic priests in Atlanta and around the country sought to reassure their flocks on Sunday that their religion will survive one of its worst and most painful crises in decades. Even so, priests expressed dismay, grief and outrage that the sex scandal that has rocked the church apparently has been covered up for so long..."

Law makes annual pitch for funds
Other drives struggle; priests see reluctance to give because of crisis
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "On the eve of an annual fund-raising appeal that some are seeing as a barometer of his staying power, Cardinal Bernard F. Law yesterday made a televised pitch for Catholics to give money to fund the operations of the Archdiocese of Boston. Law is hoping to raise $16 million next weekend through the annual cardinal's appeal, which funds the basic operating budget of the church's central administration. That goal matches the total raised last year, but some priests have said parishioners seem hesitant to contribute this year because of anger over the cardinal's handling of clergy accused of sexual abuse..."

Priest Accused of Molesting 4 Retires Early
Religion: Cardinal Mahony says the allegations were made long before his 'zero tolerance' policy took effect, and he expresses sympathy for the cleric.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' RICHARD WINTON and BETH SHUSTER reports: "A 69-year-old Catholic priest assigned to the new cathedral in downtown Los Angeles has been reported to police and forced to retire by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony because of allegations that the priest sexually abused four boys in the 1960s and 1970s. The retirement earlier this year of the Rev. Carl Sutphin came more than a decade after a man said he notified officials of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that Sutphin had molested him and his brother as children..."

Egan Invites 1,000 Priests to Discuss Abuse Cases
NEW YORK: The New York Times' ELISSA GOOTMAN reports: "Cardinal Edward M. Egan, back in New York after meeting with Pope John Paul II, has invited the roughly 1,000 priests in the New York Archdiocese for a meeting in Yonkers this morning, when he is expected to discuss the handling of sexual abuse allegations against priests. At the meeting, scheduled to take place at St. Joseph's Seminary, the cardinal will give the priests details on policies for dealing with abuse allegations, said Joseph Zwilling, the spokesman for the archdiocese..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/29/2002 07:54:21 PM THE OMBUDSMAN
Bias on the church scandal?
MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL: Boston Globe Ombudsman Christine Chinlund writes: "EVEN THE REPORTERS and editors at the epicenter of the Globe's pedophile priest coverage are stunned at how the story has reverberated around the world. What began in January as a Spotlight Team account of one errant Roman Catholic priest and the Boston Archdiocese's failure to contain him has unleashed similarly embarrassing stories in dioceses across the United States and in at least three foreign countries. Every major newsweekly has put the story on the cover, and international media attention has been intense since the ripple effects reached the Vatican..."

Priest's Plea On Photographer Assault: Not Guilty
'SF Chronicle' Employee Allegedly Attacked
CALIFORNIA: Editor and Publisher's Jim Rosenberg reports: "NEW YORK -- A Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Donald Kimball, pled not guilty Thursday to charges that he assaulted San Francisco Chronicle photographer Penni Gladstone and damaged her camera..."

Father, Forgive Them
In his revealing Holy Week diary, a priest responds to the media mayhem surrounding sexuality, pedophilia, and the Catholic clergy
OPINION: Father Thomas Buffer writes in The Rake (a monthly magazine published in Minneapolis) :Palm Sunday. 6:00 a.m. My clock radio goes off. It is set to a local news station. The spiritual maxim is this: Upon awaking in the morning, give your first thoughts to God. I am beginning to learn that clock radios don’t always enable this practice. Before I can give my thoughts to anything in particular, the radio announcer says, “In the headlines: crisis in the Catholic Church over priest pedophiles.” The announcer sounds very concerned as she reads a script cut and pasted from the Boston Globe and New York Times..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/29/2002 12:48:54 PM Zero-tolerance policy is likely, George says
ILLINOIS/NATIONAL: The Chicago Tribune's Sean D. Hamil reports: "Chicago's Cardinal Francis George said Sunday that when the U.S. Conference of Bishops meets in June in Dallas, public pressure will probably force church leaders to agree to a zero-tolerance policy for priests found guilty of sexually abusing children. But during a round of Sunday morning talk shows and after saying mass in Arlington Heights, George said he hopes the policy will be 'a little more supple' and won't treat every guilty priest the same..."

'Everyone feels abandoned'
ILLINOIS/NATIONAL:The Chicago Sun-Times' Frank Main reports: "Cardinal Francis George stood in the pulpit Sunday before a northwest suburban congregation to address "this terribly shameful period" of sex scandals in the Roman Catholic Church. George delivered the homily during a mass celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. James Church in Arlington Heights after making the rounds of nationally televised news programs and talk shows..."

Seeking crystal-clear policy on priest conduct
COLUMN: Dan Rodricks writes in the Baltimore Sun: "DESPITE international media reports that the American cardinals meeting in Rome last week had stopped short of adopting a zero-tolerance policy for clergy who sexually abuse children, Cardinal William Keeler called to tell me his colleagues support the remedy. "I wish we had said this more clearly in Rome," the cardinal said during the weekend..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/29/2002 11:34:05 AM An alleged victim is called negligent
Term is ascribed to Law in lawyer's response to suit
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Walter V. Robinson reports: "In his first legal response to charges that the Rev. Paul R. Shanley began molesting a Newton boy when he was 6 years old, Cardinal Bernard F. Law has asserted that ''negligence'' by the boy and his parents contributed to the alleged abuse. The cardinal's claim, filed in court by his attorneys, is boilerplate legal defense language. But a lawyer who is not involved in the case and has handled other cases involving allegations of clergy sex abuse said last night that the decision to use such a claim in so sensitive a case showed poor judgment..."

Last Word on Abuse Policy Will Be Vatican's, Law Says
MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL: The New York Times' Fox Butterfield reports: "BOSTON, April 28 — Cardinal Bernard F. Law, Boston's embattled archbishop, said at Mass here today that even if the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States worked out new guidelines for handling clerical sexual abuse at their annual meeting in June, the proposals would still have to be submitted to the Vatican before they are binding. Cardinal Law's comments, made at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, his home church, appear to represent a setback for Catholics who believed that the American bishops, after a special meeting in Rome last week with Pope John Paul II, were now empowered to come up with rules on their own for dealing with the priest abuse scandal..."

At a Largely Gay Church, a Test of Faith
CALIFORNIA: The New York Times' Evelyn Nieves reports: "SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 — It was a typical Sunday morning at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, and it wasn't. Parishioners filled the pews for the popular 10 o'clock Mass, as they do every week, while organ music played and sunlight danced across the stained-glass windows. But while this largely gay parish in the heart of the city's largely gay Castro district is usually joyful, it was tense...Being gay and practicing Catholicism, a religion that preaches that homosexual acts are sinful, is never an easy proposition. But in these days of scandal, when priests have been accused of sexually abusing minors, mostly boys, to such a degree that Catholics are questioning their faith, it is especially hard..."

Child sexual abuse cases harder to track, verify
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Ellen Berry reports: "WORCESTER - Twice the little girl has come to this office for a talk about her private parts, and twice her mother has taken her back home. Nothing. Helene Murphy is certain she knows what happened to the girl. Murphy has sat beside the 31/2-year-old as she babbled sentences and fractions of sentences about her mother's boyfriend. She has noted the bed-wetting, the reluctance to make eye contact, the compulsive masturbation that has caused chafing. After 20 years in the field of sexual abuse evaluation, Murphy can tell this is going to be one of the cases that drive her crazy..."

Dismay follows priest's removal
MAINE: The Portland Press Herald's KELLEY BOUCHARD reports: "ELLSWORTH — Parishioners of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church reacted with sadness, anger and dismay Sunday as they learned why their priest of six years was plucked from their midst last week. The Rev. Leo James Michaud, 51, was removed from St. Joseph's parish Thursday after a man told the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland last Tuesday that Michaud sexually abused him about 25 years ago. The man, who no longer lives in Maine, said he was abused from the ages of 16 to 19, when Michaud was a seminarian serving at Holy Rosary Church in Caribou..."

Nevada priest denies claims he abused boys
NEVADA: Las Vegas Review-Journal's J.M. KALIL reports: "A Catholic priest charged with sexually and physically abusing teen-age boys in his Henderson parish says the allegations against him not only are false, but "atrociously scurrilous and blasphemous," according to court documents filed this week. The Rev. Mark Roberts, the former pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, has not previously responded to the sexual misconduct allegations that led the Diocese of Las Vegas to remove him from his post in January.,,"

Catholic Worshipers See Salvation for Church
Dialogue, Apologies Ease Sex-Abuse Sadness
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Washington Post's Debbi Wilgoren and April Witt report: "Parishioners at St. Michael's Church in Silver Spring applauded yesterday as their pastor apologized for sexual abuse of minors by priests and labeled it a crime. In Manassas, worshipers at All Saints Catholic Church read in their weekly bulletin that "even ONE incident is a grave sorrow and injustice..."

Cardinal describes meeting in Rome
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo reports: "In his first public appearance since his return to Boston, Bernard Cardinal Law painted an optimistic picture of last week's meeting of U.S. cardinals at the Vatican, while demonstrators continued their call for his resignation. A phalanx of protesters, reporters and police waited in the rain outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, while inside, Law began morning Mass by addressing the clergy sexual abuse scandal that brought him to Rome..."

Cardinal 'Encouraged' By Vatican Meeting
MASSACHUSETTS: The Washington Post's Paul Duggan reports: "BOSTON, April 28 -- Returning to the pulpit for the first time since last week's gathering of American cardinals at the Vatican, Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston today declared the meeting in Rome a success, saying he was "very, very encouraged that we're moving in the right direction" in dealing with the sexual abuse scandal rocking the Catholic church in the United States..."

Vatican's Man of The Hour
McCarrick Improves Scandal-Tarnished Image of Church
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Washington Post's Caryle Murphy and Alan Cooperman reports: Resplendent in their red hats and elegant black robes, the American cardinals stepped into the Roman sunshine and swept down the stairs of the fortresslike Pontifical North American College. Most passed in silence before a gaggle of TV crews and boarded a shuttle bus to their next meeting. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick was in no hurry, however. On a shady patch of grass off to one side, the 71-year-old Washington archbishop chatted amiably with reporters last Tuesday. After a half-hour, his press secretary gently stepped in to warn him that he had to move on -- or he might miss the bus..."

In Canada, a Tougher Stand on Clergy Sex Abuse
Following Lawsuits Over Residential Schools, Bishops Acted a Decade Ago to Require Quick Response
CANADA: The Washington Post's DaNeen L. Brown reports: "TORONTO -- While Roman Catholic churches in the United States struggle with the sexual abuse of minors by priests, church officials in Canada are working with guidelines created a decade ago that determine what to do when such cases arise. The policy was adopted after a series of lawsuits were filed against residential schools for native people, known as aboriginals, by former students who say they were sexually, physically and psychologically abused when they were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to these institutions..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/29/2002 07:15:23 AM

Sunday, April 28, 2002

For molester priests on the hunt for young victims, parents often were the first target
NATIONAL: The AP's David Crary reports: "Before sexually molesting young victims, many predatory priests psychologically seduced the parents -- winning their trust in order to gain access to their children. Lawyers, psychologists and victims say the initial target sometimes was a low-income single mother, struggling with day-to-day problems and delighted to find a surrogate father for her son..."

Gay groups protest church's handling of abuse
NEW YORK: The AP's Lukas I. Alpert reports: "NEW YORK -- Nearly 100 gay advocates braved the pouring rain Sunday outside St. Patrick's Cathedral to protest church leaders' handling of the sex abuse scandal. The protest was spurred by Monsignor Eugene Clark's comments during Mass at St. Patrick's on April 21, when he labeled homosexuality 'a disorder' and said that admitting gay students into seminaries was a 'grave mistake...'"

posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/28/2002 09:06:44 PM Cardinal addresses flocks
after return from Rome
NATIONAL/MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Ken Maguire reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law deflected any high expectations about immediate action stemming from the recent summit of cardinals, saying Sunday that any national policy about sexually abusive clergy would have to wait until an upcoming Catholic bishops conference..."

Ambiguity clouds conclusions of Catholics' meeting in Rome
American leaders leave without a 'one-strike' sex-abuse policy
NATIONAL:The Dallas Morning News' Jeffrey Weiss reports: "Molesting a 6-year-old should disqualify a Roman Catholic priest from ministry in the United States, whenever it happened. Sexual contact with a 16-year-old, if it happened only once and long enough in the past, may not. Those scenarios, some observers say, represent one of the ambiguous messages that emerged from last week's meeting of America's top Roman Catholic leaders with Pope John Paul II and other Vatican officials..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/28/2002 12:25:41 PM Lies of the Cardinals
OPINION: Author Garry Wills writes in The New York Times: "EVANSTON, Ill. — In the year 425, a scandal rocked the African diocese of Bishop Augustine — now known as St. Augustine. A priest in the community attached to the cathedral died and left his personal property to Augustine. A grieving Augustine went before his congregation to say why he felt that he could not accept the bequest. That priest, like others who had entered that community (and like Augustine himself), had sworn to divest himself of all personal property. To take the property would make the community dedicated to the truth of the Gospel a partner in a deceitful transaction..."

Ire and Brimstone
COLUMN: New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes: "WASHINGTON — In the Catholic catechism, schoolchildren learn the seven deadly sins. There is Lust, which ran unchecked — in a tortured, destructive form — in the Catholic priesthood. There is Greed, which prompted Catholic prelates to defame victims rather than face civil fines and depleted contributions. And then there is Pride, which was on infuriating display last week in Rome, where the most compelling tableau was the row of empty chairs at a Vatican news conference. Only 2 of the 12 American cardinals there bothered to attend..."

DEBATES
When Predators Are Priests
ONLINE FORUMS: NYTimes.com reports: "Weekly highlights from 150 forums — from scapegoating gay priests to surprising French election results..."

Why?
35 questions and answers about the crisis in the Catholic Church.
NATIONAL/FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' Ron Brackett and Caryn Baird report: "It's not the first time the Catholic Church has weathered a sex scandal. But this time, the U.S. church's beleaguered hierarchy made an extraordinary journey to the Vatican. After consulting with Pope John Paul II, America's cardinals have returned home with a rough outline for new policies. Inside, a detailed look at the policies, the scandals that lead to them and their chance at success..."

Suspended priest fights allegations
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' MELIA BOWIE reports: "LUTZ -- The pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, who was suspended last week from his post by Bishop Robert N. Lynch, denied on Saturday allegations of sexual misconduct 14 years ago, when he was a seminarian..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/28/2002 11:08:38 AM Cardinal heaps shame on church with gag order
COLUMN: The Boston Herald's Margery Eagan writes: "At last Bernard Cardinal Law has revealed his true enemy: not serial sodomizers but serial organizers. That is, loyal Catholics and devoted priests now planning meetings to reform their church. Law's move was literally breathtaking in its gall..."

Hub man: Abuse part of brother's broken life
COLUMN: The Boston Herald's Peter Gelzinis writes: "It is not about apologies. No apology will ever reunite Kevin McDonough with his brother Billy. Nor is it a matter of money. Jean McDonough and her two sons already have been compensated for their pain and suffering . . . twice. Once by the Order of St. Francis; and once by the Archdiocese of Boston..."

Jumble of abuse policies sows confusion in church
NATIONAL: The Boston Globe's Tatsha Robertson reports: "Philadelphia's cardinal bans priests who admit having homosexual tendencies. The Diocese of Dallas doesn't allow priests to be alone with children, not even during confession. The archbishop of Los Angeles boasts of a zero-tolerance policy that requires reporting to civil authorities substantiated cases of sexual abuse by priests. In a mostly rural diocese in northern California, allegations of abuse must be reported if the accuser is still a child, but not if now an adult..."

Seminarians follow the bishops' debate
NATIONAL: The Boston Globe's Charles Sennott and Jason Horowitz report: "ROME - On the winding Gianicolo street that overlooks the cupola of St. Peter's Cathedral, young seminarians made their way back Wednesday from their traditional passeggio, or daily walk, part of a tradition meant to ensure that future priests are healthy in body as well as soul..."

A Leap of Faith
American Catholics, more than they realize, are in a position to decide what kind of church they want.
OPINION: Author Jack Miles writes in The Los Angeles Times: "I am a born Roman Catholic who became an Episcopalian more than 20 years ago. I made the change in all sincerity, and yet in my heart I regard myself as a member of both churches at once, or, better, as "proleptically" (by anticipation) the loyal member of a Christian church that does not yet exist..."

The Church's PR Nightmare
COLUMN: Newsday Columnist Paul Vitello writes: "The Catholic dioceses have begun hiring public relations firms. In Philadelphia and Boston, they've had them on call for a while. The Diocese of Rockville Centre just hired the firm of Rubenstein Associates, a company famous for crisis management. Kathie Lee Gifford and Lizzie Grubman are two recent crises of theirs. Soon maybe the pope will be another..."

Public Vows, Private Lives
FLORIDA: The Tampa Tribune's JENNIFER BARRS reports: "DUNEDIN - His secret, he says, made him a better priest. He knew what it meant to walk the floor with a crying child, to calm an angry wife, to mull over a messy checkbook. Because he and parishioners had these experiences in common, he could understand them. Help them..."

Woman Fights Vatican In Catholic Celibacy Requirement
FLORIDA: The Tampa Tribune's Michelle Bearden reports: "When she couldn't find a priest to visit her dying mother, Louise Haggett found a calling. Haggett, who blames the shortage of Catholic priests in the United States on the mandatory celibacy requirement, became a warrior in a battle with the Vatican. In 1992, she founded Celibacy is The Issue, and its popular Rent-A-Priest program. The free referral service provides Catholics with married priests who perform religious duties..."

PRIESTLY SINS
Putting Pedophilia in Perspective
False accusations risk a new witch-hunt
OPINION: Cathy Young writes in the Boston Globe/San Francisco Chronicle: "Sexual abuse of children by clergy is hardly a new discovery. The case of the Rev. James R. Porter, the Massachusetts priest who reportedly molested more than 100 altar boys, made headlines a decade ago. But today, charges of abuse and cover-ups in the Roman Catholic Church are the focus of unprecedented national attention. The horror of sex crimes against children is compounded by a shocking betrayal of trust. It seems clear that many church officials were more concerned with avoiding scandal than with protecting the most vulnerable of their parishioners..."

Irish Voice On U.S. Scandal
VATICAN/NATIONAL: The Hartford Courant's Rinker Buck reports: "ROME -- Below, in the ornate halls of the Vatican, the American cardinals were meeting with the pope, carefully choosing their words as they prepared a communique on pedophilia and priests. In the spacious, immaculate garden behind the yellow stucco villa on Via Angelo Masina, the literary prophet of the present crisis in the Roman Catholic Church in America was expostulating on life, art and the surprises of sudden fame. When he leans forward to make a point, or to tell another yarn, Frank McCourt's wise brown eyes expressively dance, and the trailing syllables of his lilting Irish brogue seem to be picked up by the breeze and carried away..."

S.J. parish struggles to accept dark secret
REVELATIONS OF ABUSE MET WITH ANGER, SYMPATHY
CALIFORNIA: The San Jose Mercury News' Brandon Bailey, Richard Scheinin and Elise Banducci report: "At church, in school, over the phone and across the kitchen table, members of a San Jose Roman Catholic parish have been confronting a painful secret. Since a group of former students at the St. Martin of Tours parish school came forward last week and said they were fondled by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard in the 1970s, mothers have been calling their adult sons to ask if they, too, were abused by Pritchard. Sometimes the answer turned out to be yes..."

When Bernie Law comes knocking, stiff the stiff
COLUMN: The Boston Herald's Howie Carr writes: "Got something in the mail from the cardinal this week. He's got his pudgy hand out, again. This time I'm supposed to dig deep for the Cardinal's Appeal 2002. He's kidding, right? Surely there's some mistake here. What's next - a fund-raising letter from the Jane Swift Committee?I'll make you a deal, Bernie. When you go, I give..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 4/28/2002 08:35:37 AM