Saturday, May 11, 2002

Saturday Evening Update:

Am I My Brother's Keeper?
A New York Times Magazine profile of David Clohessy
NATIONAL: The New York Times Magazine's Frank Bruni reports: "One night in early April, as the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church swept more and more priests into an unforgiving spotlight, David Clohessy stared at the telephone in his St. Louis home, wondering whether to warn one of the next priests in line. His stomach roiled. It would be easier, he reasoned, not to do it, and it would probably be best. But then he envisioned the priest in question rounding a corner the following morning without any knowledge that his name had hit the newspaper and facing a television camera he never saw coming. He imagined the man's humiliation. And he was not sure he could bear the thought of it..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/11/2002 02:12:13 PM

Excerpts from 1985 report to U.S. bishops
NATIONAL: In The National Catholic Reporter, Gary MacEoin excerpts the 92-page report to the nation's bishops "The ordinary [bishop of a diocese], if convinced initially by his “trusted” chancery interviewer of the parent(s) that the allegation has any possible merit or truth, should suspend immediately the cleric. This may be done without a trial and by means of an extra-judicial decree (Canon 1342). … I would next suggest that the cleric be moved IMMEDIATELY from the parish rectory and into a retreat house, monastery, and bishop’s residence..." (See Friday evening posts below re Thomas C. Fox article and download of full report.)

Egan Supported Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse
NEW YORK: The Washington Post's Michael Powell reports: "NEW YORK, May 10 -- Cardinal Edward Egan of New York testified five years ago that he encouraged a priest to continue working and offered to write him a letter of recommendation even though he knew the priest was an admitted sexual abuser. Egan, who was bishop of the Bridgeport (Conn.) Diocese at the time, also testified that diocesan priests were "self-employed" and not the bishop's responsibility. And he said that he would not summarily suspend a priest, even in the face of shocking allegations of sexual abuse..."

Worcester priest says he abused dozens
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "The Rev. Robert E. Kelley admitted in a sworn deposition that he sexually molested “50 to 100” young girls while he was an associate pastor to St. Cecilia's parish in Leominster from 1976 to 1983..."

6 ex-altar boys allege sex abuse by priest
Now ages 28 to 32, the men say they were sexually abused by the Rev. Robert Schaeufele, who resigned in April.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' Waveny Ann Moore reports: "PINELLAS PARK -- Six men are accusing the Rev. Robert Schaeufele, a priest who served in nine area parishes for 27 years, of sexually abusing them when they were altar boys nearly 20 years ago at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church..."

Oakland Diocese Working With Victims
CALIFORNIA: The AP's Kim Curtis reports: OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Roman Catholic clergy in the Oakland Diocese and survivors of sex abuse by priests are working together in a groundbreaking effort to help victims. The effort, which includes an informational Web site and plans for a ``victims retreat,'' is the latest result of regular discussions between victims and Oakland Diocese officials that began two years ago..."

Trial for priest OKd in attack on journalist
Felony assault, battery among Kimball's charges
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Pamela J. Podger reports: "A Sonoma County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that there is sufficient evidence for an inactive Roman Catholic priest to face a felony assault trial..."

Q & A
Gay Priests and Sex Abuses: How the Past Shaped the Present
QUESTION & ANSWER: The New York Times' Laurie Goodstein interviews professor and author Mark D. Jordan:"For many years the Roman Catholic Church did not acknowledge it had gay priests. Now the pope's spokesman is blaming them for the sexual abuse scandal. How did that happen?"

Treating the Priest, Under Church's Wing
Effectiveness of Diocese-Paid Programs Challenged
NATIONAL: The Washington Post's Caryle Murphy reports: "The red brick building in Silver Spring is set amid acres of wooded land. A sign near the front door with its name -- St. Luke Institute -- is inconspicuous to passersby on the street. Keeping a low profile is important, because most of the 70 residents are troubled Roman Catholic priests, a quarter of them accused of molesting children..."

Court Halts Release Of Sex-Abuse Files
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's Elizabeth Hamilton reports: "The state Appellate Court on Friday halted the anticipated release next week of thousands of sealed court documents from sexual abuse lawsuits against the Bridgeport Diocese. The diocese had requested the stay..."

Cardinal Law Wins a Delay in Release of New Transcripts
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "OSTON, May 10 — On the second day of the deposition of Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston, a judge granted a request by archdiocesan lawyers today and ruled that further transcripts of the questioning could not be released until the cardinal had a chance to review and amend the transcripts..."

Law wins control of deposition release
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg and Eric Convey report: "Smarting from the embarrassing release Wednesday of his unedited testimony in the John J. Geoghan molestation suit, Bernard Cardinal Law moved yesterday to have his ongoing deposition in the Archdiocese of Boston abuse scandal impounded for the full 30 days provided to civil witnesses under law..."

Lawyers seek to depose priests: Aim to back Shanley case
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg and Eric Convey report: "Lawyers suing the archdiocese on behalf of an alleged victim of the Rev. Paul R. Shanley said yesterday they would try to depose a rogues' gallery of problem priests in coming weeks - some serving jail time - as they prep for their own deposition of Bernard Cardinal Law in the church scandal..."

Law tells worshippers at Mass: `We have learned from past'
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo
reports: "During a break from his court-ordered deposition, Bernard Cardinal Law yesterday defended the Archdiocese of Boston's clergy sexual-abuse policy and asked Catholics to pray for healing in the church..."

Church: TV $$ not for abuse claims
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Jack Sullivan REPORTS: "The top archdiocesan finance official told Boston Catholic Television viewers yesterday that their donations would not be used to settle claims of cleric sexual abuse against Bernard Cardinal Law and others..."

Cardinal questioned for 2d day
Judge orders delay in release of transcript
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Farragher and David Arnold report: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law resumed his sworn testimony yesterday about his supervision of a pedophile priest, but a transcript of his answers to questions under oath was ordered withheld by a judge who said Law must have a chance to review it first..."

Allegation spurs sex abuse inquiry against deceased priest
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's Peter Franceschina
and Marian Dozier report: "Palm Beach County prosecutors have started an investigation into a sexual abuse complaint involving a minor against a deceased priest, but they released few details of the case on Friday..."

Priest, 69, steps down after sexual abuse allegations
Wayne County investigating, but prosecution may be barred by statute of limitations
MICHIGAN: The Detroit News' Ronald J. Hansen reports: "DETROIT -- Walter Lezuchowski, a priest who spent most of the past decade ministering to prison inmates and in a hospital, on Friday became the latest Metro Detroit Roman Catholic clergyman to step down from service under suspicion of sexual misconduct. The Archdiocese of Detroit confirmed late this afternoon that Lezuchowski is the priest facing a "very credible" allegation that he had sexual relations with a young girl more than 20 years ago. He is among 16 current and former Roman Catholic priests under investigation in Wayne County..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/11/2002 06:33:09 AM

Friday, May 10, 2002

What they knew in 1985
17 years ago, a report on clergy sex abuse warned U.S. bishops of trouble ahead
NATIONAL: The National Catholic Reporter's Thomas C. Fox reports: "As attorneys across the nation press countless clergy sex abuse cases against the church, two critical questions they most often ask are: “What did the bishop know?” and “When did he know it?” At stake is episcopal culpability. Also at stake in thousands of lawsuits, many filed and many others still being planned, is potentially billions of dollars in payments to victims. In light of these developments, a 92-page report on clergy sex abuse, distributed to the U.S. bishops in May 1985, warning them of the trouble ahead, has been repeatedly cited by victims’ attorneys as a hard measure of episcopal negligence. The document, reportedly referred to in more than 100 lawsuits, is well known to the bishops..."

Full text of 92-page 1985 report to American bishops
TEXT: The National Catholic Reporter makes the report available for downloading in four sections in PDF format.

Judge bars release of further transcripts of Cardinal Law's deposition
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Robert O'Neill reports: "BOSTON -- A judge on Friday blocked the release of further transcripts of Cardinal Bernard Law being questioned by lawyers about the sex scandal engulfing the Boston Archdiocese until Law can review the transcripts..."

Former priest confined in N.M. home
INDIANA/NEW MEXICO: The AP reports: "EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- A former Catholic priest at a southern Indiana church has been confined for more than a decade to a home for members of the clergy accused of sex offenses. The Rev. Joseph L. Clauss has been detained in an institution in New Mexico since he was accused of sexually abusing a child in 1990 in Ohio..."

Gay Pastor's History of Abuse Shocks a South Dakota City
SOUTH DAKOTA: The New York Times' John W. Fountain reports: "RAPID CITY, S.D., May 8 — Though it was never meant to be a secret, the Metropolitan Community Church of the Black Hills, which serves a gay and lesbian congregation, existed in relative obscurity in this community of 60,000. That is, until last week, when news broke that the church's pastor, the Rev. James A. Forsythe, was a former Roman Catholic priest who 13 years ago pleaded guilty to molesting a 15-year-old boy while an associate pastor of a parish in Kansas..."

Victims' Group Uses Spotlight to Seek Changes in Law
NATIONAL: The New York Times' Laurie Goodstein reports: "or more than 10 years, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests was little more than a loose support group of men and women who gathered in one another's homes to share tears, traumatic memories and legal advice. Their stories rarely made it beyond their living rooms, and members say they grew used to being ignored or rebuffed by the Roman Catholic Church, the news media and in many cases even their friends and families. All that changed when the sexual abuse scandal engulfed the church, giving the organization, known as SNAP, a news media platform it had never known..."

Archdiocese's Crucial Fund Drive Turns to the Parishioners
NEW YORK: The New York Times' DANIEL J. WAKIN reports: "He came to town with a reputation for a golden touch at raising money and for being a tough, cost-cutting administrator. Cardinal Edward M. Egan has done his part for this year's Cardinal's Appeal, bringing in a professional fund-raiser to run the campaign, imposing a tougher burden on his pastors to bring in donations and personally tapping wealthy Roman Catholics for more than $2 million..."

Diocese to meet with abuse victims
MAINE: The Portland Press Herald's JOHN RICHARDSON reports: "Catholic Church leaders plan to meet with Maine victims of clergy sexual abuse who demanded Thursday that the church stop protecting abusers and show more compassion toward their victims..."

McCormack remaining at diocese’s helm, asking for trust
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Nashua Telegraph's ALBERT McKEON reports: "Despite loud calls for his resignation, Bishop John McCormack intends to keep leading the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester, especially through the clergy sexual abuse crisis in which he had a role..."

McCormack refuses to step down amid concerns about sex abuse scandal
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP reports: "CONCORD, N.H. -- A New Hampshire bishop said he will not step down, despite mounting questions about his role in the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church..."

Jesuit High ex-teacher accused of sex abuse
A Miami priest is removed from active ministry after he is accused of misconduct with a student while a Jesuit High teacher in the early 1980s.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' GRAHAM BRINK reports: "TAMPA -- For the third time in as many weeks, a former teacher at the elite Jesuit High School has become the focus of a sexual abuse investigation. The New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus announced Thursday that a preliminary investigation determined that a "credible" accusation had been brought against Thomas J. Hidding, a Miami priest who also once worked at Sacred Heart Church in Tampa..."

Published Earlier:

UN urged to act against Vatican on abuse issue
INTERNATIONAL: The Belfast Telegraph's Eamonn McCann reports: "The UN should impose sanctions on the Vatican. That's the view of a coalition including survivors of child sex abuse, lawyers and 'dissident' Catholics which has come together to lobby the UN General Assembly's Special Session on Children which opened in New York yesterday..."

Priest remains despite abuse in '70s
INDIANA: The AP reports: "EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Parishioners clapped and shouted approval after learning that a priest who admitted having sexual contact with a minor more than 20 years ago will remain as their pastor. The Rev. Michael Allen told more than 400 people who filled the pews at St. Peter Catholic Church in Celestine, Ind., that he initiated a sexual relationship in 1976 with a 16-year-old boy..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/10/2002 05:18:02 PM

A chance to be heard
Victims of clergy abuse granted meeting with S.F. auxiliary bishop
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Elizabeth Fernandez reports: "In an impromptu catharsis, victims of clergy sexual abuse crossed a momentous threshold Thursday, sharing their stories and their tears with officials of the San Francisco Archdiocese..."

Bridgeport Diocese Moves To Keep Records Sealed
Ruling Opening Child-Molestation Case Files Challenged
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's ERIC RICH And ELIZABETH HAMILTON report: "The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport moved swiftly Thursday to block a legal ruling that would unseal confidential court records amassed during nearly a decade of litigation involving priests accused of child molestation..."

Reilly asked to drop confidentiality
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Richard Nangle reports: "Victims of sexual abuse by priests are asking the Catholic Church to free them from out-of-court confidentiality agreements that bar them from speaking about their cases..."

Abuse victims take their case to public
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- Men and women who say they were abused by priests asked Bishop Daniel P. Reilly to join them in supporting measures they believe will hold abusive priests and those who cover for them accountable under the law..."

Lawyer claims New Hampshire bishop
handled Paquin for church
NEW HAMPSHIRE/MASSACHUSETTS: The Manchester Union Leader's KATHRYN MARCHOCKI reports: "Church files on the Rev. Ronald Paquin, a retired Massachusetts priest charged this week with child rape, show Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack played a key role in handling his case, the attorney representing the alleged victim said yesterday..."

Mass cash: Boston Catholic TV holds $31M in coffers
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Jack Sullivan reports:"Archdiocese of Boston officials are sitting on $31 million in unfettered assets at their television station, a pot of gold they have their eye on as they scramble for funds to pay sexual abuse victims' claims, officials confirmed. The Boston Catholic Television nest egg is from investments made through viewer donations to the 24-hour cable station that broadcasts Masses and Rosaries, papal addresses, religious movies, talk shows and ``Davey and Goliath'' cartoon reruns...:

Court: Separation of church, state won't protect Law
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "Even as Bernard Cardinal Law crammed for Round 2 of his sworn deposition in the John J. Geoghan molestation case, Law's lawyers were before a judge again yesterday arguing state courts have no jurisdiction over his or his church's role in the clerical abuse scandal...But in a ruling from the bench, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Raymond Brassard rebuffed Rogers, who wanted the judge to use the new Supreme Judicial Court ruling to toss out civil actions against Law, his clerical subordinates, and the Archdiocese of Boston, all on constitutional grounds of church-state separation..."

Cannon law said to be of little legal weight
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen reports: "In his depostion on Wednesday, Cardinal Bernard F. Law explained that he abandoned his agreement to pay 86 victims of pedophile priest John J. Geoghan after the archdiocese's finance council told him they wouldn't approve it and he learned that canon law required the council's approval for such a large expenditure. However, civil precedents around the nation and interviews with legal specialists suggest that citing canon law, the body of laws that govern the Catholic Church, as a mitigating circumstance seldom works when secular or civil law becomes entangled in church business..."

Lawyers expect to press Law on Geoghan
Reassignment role is seen as critical
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "Lawyers for alleged victims of pedophile John Geoghan are expected to continue their two-track deposition of Cardinal Bernard F. Law today, focusing on Law's role in reassigning the former priest despite reports he was a sexual predator, and probing the decision by Law's Finance Council to reject an agreement to settle 84 molestation lawsuits..."

Delegation of duty is called faulty
Law should have tracked Geoghan case, some say
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher and Matt Carroll, report: "e supervises 900 priests. He manages a $43 million budget. Like most chief executives, Cardinal Bernard F. Law's day is chockablock with meetings and conference calls, speaking engagements and frequent travel. So few legal analysts were surprised by Law's frequently faulty memory in his sworn testimony Wednesday about precise details of events from 18 years ago. But business leaders and those who teach future CEOs said yesterday that they are surprised that Law so loosely delegated to subordinates explosive charges that one of his priests had been sexually abusing children..."

Los Gatos priest booked on sex charge
HE ALLEGEDLY MOLESTED MENTALLY RETARDED MAN
CALIFORNIA: The San Jose Mercury News' Daniel Vasquez reports: "A priest accused of sexually abusing a mentally retarded dishwasher for years at a Los Gatos Jesuit center was charged Thursday with felony lewd conduct..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/10/2002 07:45:40 AM

Thursday, May 09, 2002

Thursday Evening Update

Sex Scandal's Impact on Priests
Life in Parishes Changes in Subtle but Real Ways
NATIONAL: National Public Radio's Susan Stamberg reports: "May 9, 2002 -- The Rev. Brian Joyce says he's not acting differently around parishioners these days. But something has clearly changed for Joyce in the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the U.S. Catholic church..."

Clerical sexual abuse: exploring deeper issues
NATIONAL: FRAN FERDER and JOHN HEAGLE write in The National Catholic Reporter: "Dealing with clergy sexual abuse was not exactly how either of us planned to spend Holy Week. But here it was in front us -- nightly news broadcasts, feature articles in newspapers across the country, and calls from reporters looking for one more lead on how to understand how this could have happened..."

Fueling Boston’s fires of outrage
MASSACHUSETTS/NATIONAL: Chuck Colbert writes in The National Catholic Reporter: "The quiet but determined revolution underway here among the Catholic laity is gaining momentum, if numbers are any measure, even as the beleaguered leader of the archdiocese tries to clamp down on lay organizing..."

Chaotic Vatican summit produces flawed document
VATICAN/NATIONAL: The National Catholic Reporter's John L. Allen Jr. reports: "Rome--Pressures of time and conflicting views left the final communiqué from last week’s Vatican summit with the American cardinals regarding clergy sex abuse a flawed document, according to participants. Just how flawed is a matter of debate..."

Ratzinger endorses day of penance for abuse
VATICAN: The National Catholic Reporter's John L. Allen. Jr. reports:"Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope’s top doctrinal official, has endorsed the idea of the American bishops performing a public day of penance connected to the spiraling sexual abuse scandal in the United States..."

Abuse victims ask bishops to help them lobby for changes making it easier to prosecute molestation claims
NATIONAL: The AP reports: "Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse urged U.S. bishops Thursday to help them convince state lawmakers nationwide to make it easier to prosecute Roman Catholic priests who molest children. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests wants legislatures to expand or eliminate criminal statutes of limitations and to require that clergy in every state report suspected abuse..."

Abuse-reporting bill advances
Senate panel OKs clergy plan, but foes see loophole
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Christi Parsons and Adam Kovac report: "SPRINGFIELD -- A Senate committee on Wednesday enthusiastically endorsed a bill requiring clergy members to report suspicions of child abuse, but critics of the measure say it contains a gaping loophole that renders the measure meaningless..."

Wayne County prosecutor opens investigations into 16 priests
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' Jim Schaefer reports: "The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has opened sexual abuse investigations on 16 priests, Prosecutor Michael Duggan said Thursday. Duggan said it would likely take weeks to complete the investigations and he would not speculate on charges in any case..."

A spirited parish priest speaks his mind
COLUMN: Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini writes: "They're right there in the open, but we don't see them. We pretend not to see them. We're so caught up in our search for the bad ones that we overlook men like the Rev. John Hanley, pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe..."

Embattled priest gives up his duties
ARIZONA: The Arizona Republic's Joseph A. Reaves reports: "SCOTTSDALE - A Scottsdale priest who fathered a child with a woman he was counseling is withdrawing from public activities. The Rev. Patrick Colleary, 52, said he never considered resigning from the priesthood but would stop celebrating Mass and presiding at funerals and weddings..."

Media watchdogs analyze clergy abuse story
FLORIDA/NATIONAL: The Florida Catholic's Tom Tracy reports: "Feeding frenzy is too mild a phrase to describe this year's coverage of the (clergy sex abuse scandal)," writes a newspaper journalist in a May cover story in the American Journalism Review. 'The story cannot be escaped,' writes Carl Cannon, the journalist from Washington, D.C. But secular media watchdogs -- including one tracking the story for St. Petersburg's prestigious Poynter Institute -- disagree as to how long the church crisis will stay in the headlines and just how it became this year's big news story in the first place..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/9/2002 09:59:16 PM

Diocese settles with man molested by priest
NEW YORK: The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Jay Tokasz reports: "(May 9, 2002) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has offered to pay for five years of counseling costs under a tentative agreement reached Wednesday with a man who was molested by a priest..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/9/2002 03:43:09 PM

Victims Unhappy With Law Testimony
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "BOSTON (AP) -- Alleged victims of now-defrocked priest John Geoghan reacted with disbelief after Cardinal Bernard Law said he didn't remember letters accusing Geoghan of sex abuse and complaining about his transfer from parish to parish. 'I found that the cardinal had some selective amnesia,' said alleged victim Mark Keane, who heard Law's testimony during a deposition Wednesday..."

Rodriguez expert describes abuse; clergyman takes Fifth
Escapee feared rejection by family, was attracted to Rivas, witness says
TEXAS:The Dallas Morning News' Holly Becka reports: "MOUNT VERNON, Texas – Escapee Michael Rodriguez's homosexuality and attraction to prison break leader George Rivas spurred some of the defendant's criminal behavior, an expert witness for Mr. Rodriguez testified Wednesday. The defense's psychologist also said Mr. Rodriguez was "initiated into sexual activity" as a teen by a member of the Catholic clergy..."

Hudson minister gets 3½ years in jail for rape of 14-year-old
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Scott J. Croteau
reports: "CAMBRIDGE-- A former assistant pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hudson was sentenced yesterday to 3½ years in jail yesterday after he pleaded guilty to performing sexual acts on a 14-year-old boy from California in June..."

3 women sue Leominster priests, diocese
MASSACHUSETTS:The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw
reports: "WORCESTER-- Three women have filed a civil suit against the Catholic Diocese of Worcester and two priests who served at St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster in connection with alleged sexual abuse by Rev. Robert E. Kelley..."

Church's Bid For Privacy Denied
Judge Orders Records Unsealed
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's ERIC RICH reports: "A Superior Court judge late Wednesday ordered that confidential court records relating to almost two dozen sex-abuse lawsuits against priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport be made public a week from today..."

Church assists in abuse inquiry
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's David Cázares reports: "After years of working to keep allegations of sexual abuse by priests from public view through quiet settlements and legal maneuvering, the Archdiocese of Miami is reaching out to Miami-Dade County prosecutors intent on uncovering such abuse..."

Diocese clears priest of sexual improprieties
The reinstatement of a Lutz priest - after interviews and a polygraph - shocks his main accuser and thrills his parishioners.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' Bill Coats reports: "LUTZ -- A popular Catholic priest returned to work Wednesday, cleared by the Diocese of St. Petersburg after a 10-day suspension over allegations of sexual improprieties in the late 1980s. Parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church in Lutz were delighted, calling each other with the news that the Rev. Bob Morris had been reinstated..."

Two S. Fla. priests put on leave
Archdiocese starts own investigation
FLORIDA: The Miami Herald's JAY WEAVER reports: "The Archdiocese of Miami on Wednesday suspended two South Florida priests accused of molesting two former Miami-Dade County altar boys and launched an internal investigation into the allegations..."

State attorney's office retracts report of deal with archdiocese on sex records
FLORIDA: The Miami Herald's Lisa Arthur reports: "A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami denied Wednesday that Archbishop John Favalora had reached an agreement with Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle to give prosecutors church records on priests accused over the years of sexual misconduct..."

Women accuse St. John's Abbey priest of abuse
MINNESOTA: The Star-Tribune's Warren Wolfe, Paul McEnroe and Pam Louwagie report: "They were supposed to be joyous getaways with a priest well known by their families, a man who loved the outdoors and enjoyed taking groups of six or seven children on weekend outings in the 1970s. But two women say what they experienced at a northern Minnesota cabin were weekends of horror..."

Details still eerie 28 years after St. Cloud girls were slain
MINNESOTA: The Star-Tribune's Curt Brown reports: "Mary Reker's last diary entry is just as chilling today as when it was discovered 28 years ago, shortly after the 15-year-old St. Cloud girl and her younger sister, Susanne, were stabbed to death...With Mary's last wish for justice still unfulfilled, the sisters' unsolved murders returned to the headlines this week when Stearns County authorities said they are investigating a priest who is a suspect in several decades-old sex-abuse cases involving children..."

Man details his alleged abuse
MINNESOTA: The Pioneer Press' STEPHEN SCOTT reports: "When Michael Flaherty went out to pick up the paper Wednesday morning, a story he says he buried deep inside himself for 45 years was in the headlines — allegations that he was sexually abused by a priest in Minneapolis in the 1950s..."

Statutes of limitations hinder priest abuse cases, critics say
MISSOURI: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's PATRICIA RICE AND GREG JONSSON report: "A continuing frustration for prosecutors and people who say they have been sexually abused by a priest has been the inability to bring accused priests to trial, in most cases because victims and attorneys do not bring their cases to court within the legally allotted time..."

Bishop Breslin: Time to Step In
COLUMN:Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin writes: "Beautiful. Here was Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston giving a deposition in one of the lawsuits against him in a Boston courtroom yesterday. The questions were about how he dealt with complaints against priests by parents of children who were sexually abused by priests, the Rev. John Geoghan foremost..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/9/2002 11:00:45 AM

Law recalls little on abuse case
Says under oath he delegated Geoghan matter to other bishops
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Walter V. Robinson and Michael Rezendes report: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law testified under oath yesterday that he cannot recall any of the critical events surrounding his 1984 decision to send pedophile priest John J. Geoghan to a Weston parish after abruptly removing him from a Dorchester parish where he had molested children. Presented with documents that leave little doubt about his role, Law acknowledged that at the time he must have considered the issue ''an urgent matter'' and been involved in the fateful events that have now come to seriously erode his own stature and help ignite a nationwide scandal for the Roman Catholic Church...."

Caught in the crossfire
Boston Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrisey has a job no one would envy
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sally Jacobs reports: "On a crisp winter evening just over a year and a half ago, Donna M. Morrissey stood before an elegant cocktail party gathering and said farewell to a chapter of her life. After a grueling decade of working nights and weekends with the media, Morrissey had been offered a plum new job as spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Boston. Her co-workers presented her with a small diamond-cross pendant and applauded as she headed out the door..."

NEWS ANALYSIS
Common-man treatment for a cardinal
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "And now, it has come to this: Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the most prominent prelate of the nation's largest religious denomination, appearing under a judge's order at a towering county courthouse, protected by police, hounded by reporters, and questioned about sex..."

Lawyers quiz Law on abuse deal's demise
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Tom Mashberg report:"Bernard Cardinal Law conceded under oath yesterday he believed the scuttled $20 million to $30 million settlement in the John J. Geoghan abuse case was unconditional when he made it public March 12. In a blow to archdiocese claims that plaintiffs knew the deal was unsettled, the cardinal answered ``no'' twice when asked by attorneys for the 86 accusers whether their clients were ever warned that the accord could be torpedoed by the church's finance council..."

Sad church saga just gets worse
EDITORIAL: The Boston Herald writes: "It doesn't matter how old you are or what faith you are to look at the week's events and simply have to catch your breath..."

So unsheeplike a flock
COLUMN: San Francisco Chronicle columnist Stephanie Salter writes: "BEFORE IT gets too late to find the May 3 Catholic San Francisco, I want to recommend one of its cover stories to anyone who is interested in the current priest pedophile scandal or just in the Roman Catholic Church in this country..."

Local priests: concern for victims comes first
CALIFORNIA: Catholic San Francisco's Evelyn Zappia reports: "Woven through the anger and sadness of priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco runs a common thread that links these men: compassion for the victims of clergy sex abuse and concern for their needs..."

Double standard in stories about sexual abuse
CALIFORNIA: James O. Clifford Sr. writes in Catholic San Francisco: "As a Catholic and retired journalist, I feel shame when I pick up a paper and read about the latest sex scandal involving my church. I’m also ashamed of my former profession. I spent 40 years as a reporter and editor with wire services, a career that encompassed newspapers, radio and television..."

PROFILE IN THE NEWS
Todd seen as deft advocate for many high-profile clients
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher reports: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law, confronting testimony under oath for the first time, has beefed up his legal team, recruiting as his personal attorney a former judge known as a deft, blunt advocate for high-profile clients facing treacherous legal terrain..."

Controversy has barely touched Law's titular parish in Rome
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Globe correspondent Jason Horowitz reports: "ROME - Surrounded by Renaissance frescoes, the parishioners at Santa Susanna Church listened Sunday as an American priest talked about the troubles that have shaken the Catholic Church back home....Nearly all of the 250 families in Santa Susanna's congregation are expatriate Americans. This is also Cardinal Bernard F. Law's parish in Rome. Law is the 77th cardinal priest of Santa Susanna, a largely symbolic distinction for cardinals who for centuries have been assigned parishes near the Vatican in addition to their dioceses..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/9/2002 07:08:12 AM

Wednesday, May 08, 2002

Cardinal Law Says Pedophile Matter Was Left to Aides
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "BOSTON, May 8 — Answering questions under oath for the first time about what he knew and did in the case of a pedophile priest, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law said today that he was aware of accusations against the priest as early as September 1984 but that he turned the matter over to his top aides and never followed up to learn specifically what they did..."

The Priest Scandal
How Old News Became a National Story... And Why It Took So Long
NATIONAL: Carl Cannon writes in the American Journalism Review: "...Feeding frenzy is too mild a phrase to describe this year's coverage of the issue. The story cannot be escaped. It's on local television news, network news and cable news. Fox News did a March special on it; so did CNN. PBS did two...The reasons the story took so long to gain traction are varied and complex, and it takes awhile to sort them out. There isn't one explanation, there are many, and they interact with each other in a way that might serve as a cautionary tale to investigative reporters and editors..."

Review
Scandal
BOOK REVIEW: In The New York Review of Books, Garry Wills reviews: "The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul," by Donald B. Cozzens; "Don't Tell: The Sexual Abuse of Boys," by Michel Dorais; and "The Unhealed Wound: The Church and Human Sexuality," by Eugene Kennedy.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/8/2002 05:20:09 PM

Text of Cardinal Law's deposition
May 8, 2002, Suffolk County Superior Court
TRANSCRIPT: Following is the text of the first day of Cardinal Bernard Law's deposition: "Today is May 8, 2002 and the time is 9:17 a.m. This is the deposition of Cardinal Bernard Law in the matter of Francis Leary, Plaintiffs, versus Father John Geoghan, Defendants in Suffolk Superior Court, Civil Action No. 99-0371..."

Law grilled in deposition
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Tom Mashberg report: "Lawyers for the Archdiocese of Boston opened an extraordinary deposition of Bernard Cardinal Law this morning by claiming a running objection to the questioning on First Amendment grounds..."

Cardinal Law answers questions from victims' lawyer in civil lawsuits
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Robert O'Neill reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law maintained under oath Wednesday that he relied on the advice of doctors and subordinates when he approved the transfer of a priest accused of sexually abusing children to a new parish..."

Page 1 Editorial:
For the good of the church, the bishop should step aside
EDITORIAL: Manchester Union Leader Publisher JOSEPH W. McQUAID
writes: "WE WISH IT WOULD all just disappear. We wish that neither our newspaper nor our church pews were filled with headlines and literature dealing with priests as pedophiles, the Catholic Church hierarchy as enablers, or the payoffs and coverups that have provided fodder for the church’s enemies and brought anguish to the many good priests and religious in our communities..."

Piling on the Catholic Church
NATIONAL: Columnist Cal Thomas writes in the Washington Times: "Politically liberal and religiously secular people are having too good a time beating up on the Roman Catholic Church. Lefties, who would never tolerate stereotyping their favorite groups (blacks, women and gays come to mind as examples), think nothing of universally condemning all things Catholic for the despicable sexual actions of what appears to be a relatively small number of priests and the coverup by some higher-ups in the church..."

Catholic Church critics demanding U.N. action on abuse crisis as summit begins
INTERNATIONAL: The AP's Rachel Zoll reports: "NEW YORK -- A maverick group of Roman Catholics said Wednesday the Vatican has mishandled cases of sex abuse by priests so badly that it has violated the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child..."

PUBLISHED EARLIER:

Valley priest admits fathering child
Ex-parishioner says 1970s encounters not consensual
ARIZONA: The Arizona Republic's Bill Hart, Nena Baker and Joseph A. Reaves report: "A Scottsdale priest who has been active in several Valley congregations since the 1970s admitted Monday that he fathered a child 24 years ago with a parishioner who came to him for counseling. 'I violated my vows. I violated her boundaries. That was terrible,' Father Patrick Colleary said. 'The words shame, guilt, I don't know what to use. It's almost like the line from the Old Testament: My guilt is before me always...'" (5/7/02)

Tucson Diocese stayed mum on priest's trouble
ARIZONA: The Arizona Republic's Nena Baker reports: "TUCSON - Whatever happened to Father Steve? When a 17-year-old boy complained two years ago that a Tucson priest had molested him, the diocese didn't call Child Protective Services. Instead, court filings show, it launched an internal investigation that dismissed the priest's actions as accidental..." (5/4/02)

Enough priest bashing
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Reader Virginia Sager Holen writes to the Arizona Republic: "Enough already! Media reporting of the shameful acts of some priests and cover-ups by bishops has reached a saturation point...'" (5/1/02)

A message from the Big Boss for Bishop O'Brien
COLUMN: Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini writes: "I picture the angels of the heavenly host floating joyously to work on Monday morning as they always do, only to find a tersely worded stone-tablet Post-it note attached to their cloud. 'My office, now!' the note reads...'" (4/9/02)

Church is committed to preventing sex abuse
OPINION: Phoenix Bishop Thomas O'Brien writes in the Arizona Republic: "We see betrayal in our society in many forms: In a mother who drowns her young children, in a husband who abuses his wife, in auditors who hide the truth to protect their clients or their own reputation, in priests, ministers and church workers who molest young people. Sadly, sometimes people who ought to be above reproach - priests, ministers, teachers, counselors, doctors - betray those who come to them for guidance and help. In these cases, betrayal seems particularly egregious..." (4/7/02)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/8/2002 03:08:57 PM

Cardinal Law arrives at court for deposition in Geoghan lawsuits
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Robert O'Neill reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law arrived amid heavy security at a downtown courthouse on Wednesday to face questioning in civil lawsuits that accuse him of negligence in supervising a pedophile priest..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/8/2002 11:58:20 AM

Catholics want more input into church affairs
MISSOURI/NATIONAL: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Patricia Rice reports: "Roman Catholics here and nationwide are seeking more input in church affairs in the wake of the priest sex scandal that has jolted the church in America and forced the removal of eight priests in the St. Louis Archdiocese and one in the Belleville Diocese. They want to examine personnel records on prospective parish priests and to have a say in their appointments beforehand. They want to scrutinize seminaries. Some are even calling for the opportunity to choose the bishop to head their diocese. And there is church precedent to support their demands, they say..."

NEWS ANALYSIS
Church Hedges a Bet
NATIONAL: The New York Times' Adam Liptak reports: "The decision by the Archdiocese of Boston to back away from a settlement with 86 people who say they were abused by John J. Geoghan, a former priest, was the product of at least two sorts of financial calculations. The reason the archdiocese cited was that it could not pay those claims without compromising its ability to pay other victims. But implicit was a bet that the archdiocese would have to pay less after a court trial than it had agreed to in the settlement..."

Miami archdiocese to give personnel files to state prosecutors
FLORIDA: The AP reports: "MIAMI -- The Archdiocese of Miami has agreed to give state prosecutors the personnel files of priests accused of molesting children, as investigators begin to review the Catholic Church's handling of alleged sex abuse cases..."

Accused priest resigns from panel
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Nick Kotsopoulos reports: "WORCESTER-- The Rev. Lee F. Bartlett, the former pastor of Sacred Heart Church who has been accused of molesting a boy, has resigned from the board of the Worcester Redevelopment Authority..."

Accused priest says inquiry will clear name
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's David Heinzmann reports: "A priest accused of sexually abusing a boy 34 years ago took the unusual step of demanding Tuesday that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet investigate the claim immediately so that he can be cleared and resume his work as a suburban pastor..."

County to widen probe of 2 priests
Prosecutors set to look further into old cases
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Susan Kuczka reports: "After interviewing two people who allege they were sexually abused more than 20 years ago by priests in Lake County, prosecutors said Tuesday they would contact other parishioners and clergy to determine whether the allegations have merit..."

OPINION
Ex-Catholic schoolgirl recalls the simple rules of Mrs. Law
OPINION: Margaret McMullan writes in the Chicago Tribune: "Cardinal Bernard Law's mother was my 1st grade teacher. I adored her. At St. Richard's School in Jackson, Miss., we were lucky because our teacher wasn't a nun and she didn't use dunce caps or rulers to punish. She called us children, not kids. We were not, she said, small goats..."

Priest Exception Proposed For Bill
Sanctity Of Confession Raised In Senate Debate
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's CARRIE BUDOFF And LISA CHEDEKEL report: "In an emotional debate that touched on the sanctity of Catholic confessionals and the separation of church and state, the state Senate early today was poised to strip a bill of a provision requiring priests to report child sexual abuse disclosures made during confessions..."

Ex-priest Paquin held in rape case
$750,000 bail is set for Shanley
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer and Kevin Cullen report: "In a dizzying confluence of events yesterday, the Rev. Paul R. Shanley was ordered held on $750,000 bail for three counts of child rape, just hours before police arrested a former priest on an identical charge - all on the eve of Cardinal Bernard F. Law's scheduled pretrial testimony today about his role in allowing priests who abused children to remain in assignments..."

THE GEOGHAN SETTLEMENT
Verbal OK could bind church, professor says
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "If attorney Mitchell Garabedian and Boston Archdiocese lawyer Wilson Rogers Jr. orally agreed to a settlement of 84 molestation lawsuits against former priest John J. Geoghan, the settlement could well be binding even though church officials didn't sign it..."

FINANCE COUNCIL
Strategy on liability lacking, members say
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian and Ross Kerber report: "he notice informing the 16 members of the Boston Archdiocese's Finance Council about last Friday's meeting was sufficiently brief and to the point, stating: ''We will discuss current concerns relating to the misconduct issue',,,In the end, 13 people walked into the dining room of Cardinal Bernard Law's residence on the grounds of the chancery in Brighton and listened while Law opened the meeting with a strong, straightforward appeal that the agreement be approved..."

PROFILE IN THE NEWS
Judge at center of Geoghan case considered 'a fresh-air person'
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Ralph Ranalli reports: "The city had just lost a $100,000 court judgment to a local businessman and then-Springfield Mayor Theodore Dimauro was leaning toward paying. Writing the check, he decided, would keep the city from wasting money on a fruitless appeal and, he knew, the lawyer on the other side was a big deal in city politics. He walked over to City Solicitor Constance M. Sweeney's office to tell her his decision. Sweeney fixed Dimauro, her boss as well as her political mentor, with a steely eye..."

Broken faith, blind justice
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara writes: "It is no small challenge that confronts the criminal justice system, persuading a community that has lost its faith in the role of Law to place its trust in the rule of law. Those who have watched Boston Cardinal Bernard F. Law employ the tactics of the mob to shield himself and his miscreant priests from prosecution can be forgiven for the temptation to fashion themselves into a mob of their own..."

PUBLISHED EARLIER:

A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
Reversal of fortune
EDITORIAL: The Boston Globe writes: "CARDINAL Bernard Law has asked Catholic families anguished over the sex abuse scandal for patience and for bearance, for a chance to heal the church with the existing hierarchy and within the traditional archdiocese structure. At the same time, the archdiocese is reneging on its commitment to settle the child abuse cases brought by 86 alleged victims of former priest John J. Geoghan. It is a breathtaking rebuke..." (5/7/02)

Second Suit Names Costa Mesa Priest
Courts: Man alleges being sexually abused in 1978. Attorney says the cleric denies molesting minors.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' WILLIAM LOBDELL reports: "A second accuser stepped forward Monday to file suit against a Costa Mesa priest, alleging the cleric molested him more than 20 years ago at a Northern California parochial school..." (5/7/02)

EDITORIAL
The Church's Risky Ploy
EDITORIAL: The Los Angeles Times writes: "By abandoning a settlement worked out with dozens of alleged victims of a convicted pedophile priest, Boston's embattled Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard Law and his finance advisors are in essence telling the victims, 'So sue us...'" (5/7/02)

Report of Church Troubles Proved Prophetic
COLUMN: Insight Magazine's Paul Rodriguez writes: "The title of the confidential report is: "The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy." It is a 92-page document extraordinary not only for its blunt review of "the problem," but also because it was written nearly 17 years ago by leading U.S. authorities of the Roman Catholic Church. They reviewed the moral, spiritual, legal and economic consequences of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and proposed a five-year project designed to protect children from pedophiles, homosexual and heterosexual predators, and the church itself..." (4/29/02)

Investigative Report
Sins of a Father: 'Sauna Kids' Abuse
NATIONAL: Insight Magazine's Kelly Patricia O’Meara reports: "In the summer of 1985 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops held a closed meeting at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., a major center of the Order of St. Benedict in the United States, to address the problem of sexual abuse of children by clergy. The bishops were provided with a confidential report--a copy of which Insight has obtained--that not only acknowledged a "problem" but laid out plans to cope with it by, among other things, increasing specialized sex-therapy clinics for priests..." (4/22/02)

Catholic Church Was Warned to Take Action
NATIONAL: Insight Magazine's Paul M. Rodriguez and Kelly Patricia O'Meara report: "The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy" is how the report begins. It is a confidential document written nearly 17 years ago that lays out a detailed plan to steer the Roman Catholic Church away from troubled waters. The flood of allegations splashing across the news today strongly suggests that its leadership did not fully implement — if at all — such a plan and went to great lengths to cover up problems, quietly buy off victims and rotate pedophile priests from parish to parish without telling the public..." (4/22/02)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/8/2002 06:30:00 AM

Tuesday, May 07, 2002

Priest charges unlikely
Many named in 51 abuse files are beyond law's grasp, say Macomb and Oakland prosecutors
MICHIGAN: The Detroit News' Kim Kozlowski, Maureen Feighan and Mike Martindale report: "MT. CLEMENS -- Few of the 51 sexual abuse complaints against Metro Detroit priests released to prosecutors last week are likely to result in charges because the cases are too old, two prosecutors said Monday. But Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga still wants to make sure that any sitting priests who abused children are revealed so they will step down..."

Prosecutors say archdiocese not completely forthright
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' DAVID CRUMM, JIM SCHAEFER
AND ALEXA CAPELOTO report: "Even as they proclaimed a new era of openness in dealing with sexual abuse by priests, Catholic officials in Detroit declined Monday to identify at least four priests who still are working despite accusations turned over to prosecutors last week..."

Reader opinions
Abuse is matter for police, not cardinals
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution write: "Now let me get this straight: The Catholic cardinals have decided to propose a special process for the dismissal of notorious or serial abusers of minors. What does this mean? How many freebies do they get? .."

Retired judge says 'nothing explosive' in Palm Beach diocese files
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's Peter Franceschina reports: "The retired judge who is plowing through the Diocese of Palm Beach's confidential priest personnel files is more than halfway through his review and has found no past allegations of sexual misconduct..."

Former S. Fla. altar boy says he was forced into orgies with priests
FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel and the AP report: "HOLLYWOOD – A former altar boy sued the Vatican, the Archdiocese of Miami and two Roman Catholic priests on Monday, saying he was forced to participate in orgies with priests as a teen-ager 30 years ago.

Church Woes Are Invading TV Pilots
NATIONAL: The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley reports: "'The Calling,' a prospective ABC television drama, has a pious plot about a seminarian engaged in a personal search for God. But the script has a twist that is likely to be troubling to Roman Catholic bishops: the church is extraneous and even a hurdle in the spiritual quest. The pilot is one of several being considered for the fall season that deal with the Catholic Church and that seem to mirror the public mood, a disenchantment with the church hierarchy..."

Focus on gay priests may be a powder keg
NATIONAL: The Chicago Tribune's Monica Davey, Darlene Stevens and Don Terry report: "For the last 20 of his 45-plus years, the dark-haired man at the altar has baptized babies, buried grandparents, married young men and women. The fact that he is also gay had never been much of an issue, until now. 'I've never felt personally discriminated against,' he said. 'But right now there's a lot of homophobia and hysteria going around...'"

Judge orders questioning of Law
Testimony set for tomorrow in Geoghan case
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael S. Rosenwald reports: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the nation's senior Roman Catholic prelate and the man at the heart of the clergy sex abuse scandal, will be questioned under oath tomorrow on orders from a Suffolk Superior Court judge concerned Law might leave for Rome if the proceeding were further delayed..."

'STREET PRIEST'
Heavily guarded Shanley flown to Boston
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Corey Dade reports: "A heavily guarded Rev. Paul R. Shanley returned to Boston last night from California to face three counts of child rape and is scheduled to be arraigned today in the clergy sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church..."

Shanley visited child sex havens in Thailand
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Christopher Cox and Robin Washington report: "The Rev. Paul Shanley traveled to Thailand in March and spent as much as a month in a vacation spot infamous for its child-sex trade, likely meeting up with fellow priest and longtime companion John J. White, according to Thai immigration documents obtained by the Herald..."

`Faithful' group gives Catholic donors an alternative
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "Bernard Cardinal Law's annual $16 million fund-raising drive will soon have a rival from within the church..."

CONFLICT ISSUE
DA quits diocesan panel on children
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer reports: "With her office poised to prosecute a Boston priest who Cardinal Bernard F. Law knew had been accused of sexual abuse, Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley resigned yesterday from Law's Commission for the Protection of Children, saying that to remain on the panel would compromise her law enforcement duties..."

Priest who ran youth home in '70s accused
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Matt Carroll, reports: "A priest who ran the Alpha Omega home for troubled youths in Littleton during the 1970s was accused yesterday of molesting eight teenage boys, all but one of them at the home or at a vacation house in New Hampshire..."

Kelley faces new rape charge
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- The Rev. Robert E. Kelley, a former priest in the Catholic Diocese of Worcester who went to jail in 1990 after pleading guilty to raping a young girl, was charged yesterday with raping another girl when he was assigned to St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster..."

Published Earlier:

Past sex abuse claims fell sixth Joliet priest
Meis resigns his post as chaplain in St. Louis
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports: "A sixth Joliet diocese priest has been removed from ministry because of past allegations of sexual abuse, the diocese announced Tuesday. The Rev. J. Anthony Meis was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor during the 1980s, when Meis was serving as pastor of St. Mary and Joseph Parish in Chebanse, Ill., about 10 miles south of Kankakee. Meis resigned from ministry at the Chebanse parish in 1994 after the allegation was reported to the Joliet diocese..." (5/1/02)

Priest lawyer stymied '84 inquiry
Police denied chance to question Lenczycki after molestation allegations
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports:"When Hinsdale police, acting on an anonymous tip, tried to question a Joliet diocese priest about allegations of sexual abuse in 1984, an attorney for the church turned them away. Eventually, nine boys at St. Isaac Jogues parish would come forward and tell church officials the Rev. Fred Lenczycki molested them. None of the families filed a report with the Hinsdale police..." (4/30/02)

Imesch kept mum on priest's scandalous past
St. Louis officials had no idea reverend was accused of molesting altar boys in Joliet
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports:"A priest accused of molesting nine altar boys in the Joliet Diocese was allowed to serve in St. Louis for a decade, celebrating mass in a parish where no one knew his past. When officials in the St. Louis Roman Catholic church learned of the complaints against the Rev. Fred Lenczycki, however, they called Bishop Joseph Imesch and told him to take his priest back..." (4/23/02)

'Delay, deny and stonewall'
Report: Church lawyers use any tactics necessary to discredit accusers
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports: "Joliet diocese attorney James Byrne faced the young man accusing a Lockport priest of abuse, and asked him if he was turned on when the priest paddled his bare buttocks..." (4/22/02)

Imesch defends priests in series of depositions
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports:"On May 16, 1995, and Jan. 24, 1994, Bishop Joseph Imesch was questioned by attorneys for people alleging abuse by Joliet diocese priests...Following are excerpts from those depositions, obtained by the Southtown..." (4/21/02)

Court records: Bishop showed little regard for sex abuse claims
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports: "Concealed in court papers, some hidden for nearly a decade, is a tale of secrecy and shame in the Diocese of Joliet, which local church leaders have worked relentlessly to guard from public view. Bishop Joseph Imesch transferred at least three priests accused of sexual abuse to new ministries where they again had the opportunity to molest children. Imesch shook off complaints about sexually aggressive priests from worried parents, writing one concerned family that he knew of several instances where sexual abuse did no permanent damage to the victims..." (4/21/02)

Spanish Catholics view U.S. scandal with caution
SPAIN: Florida Catholic's Tom Tracy reports: "On the eve of the Vatican's summit with U.S. church leaders on clergy sex abuse scandals, Catholics in the Iberian peninsula -- including the archbishop of Seville -- said the roots of the crisis aren't simplistic..." (4/25/02)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/7/2002 07:09:50 AM

Monday, May 06, 2002

Law says council 'refused' request
Asserts his backing of Geoghan accord
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael S. Rosewald and Walter V. Robinson report: "As Cardinal Bernard F. Law kicked off his annual fund-raising appeal yesterday by asking for ''heroic generousness,'' he also tried to distance himself from the Archdiocese of Boston's recent rejection of a multimillion-dollar settlement with victims of clergy sexual abuse..."

Still a leader out of touch
ANNUAL APPEAL
Parishes seek to distance themselves from cardinal
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Scott S. Greenberger and Corey Dade report: "Given the mood of his congregation, the Rev. Peter Casey knew that the best way to solicit contributions for Cardinal Bernard F. Law's annual fund-raising drive was to separate the drive from Cardinal Law. Casey, the pastor at Milton's St. Agatha Parish, opted not to read Law's fund-raising letter or play Law's taped appeal during Mass yesterday. Instead, he told his congregation that the drive should be called ''the archdiocesan appeal'' and emphasized that much of the money would flow to poorer parishes..."

COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker writes: "In the sanctuary, hierarchy commanded its traditional respect. Cardinal Bernard F. Law spoke softly, explained quietly, once again asked for the prayers of the faithful. Outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, irreverence was the order of the day. Some said the ranks of protesters were slightly smaller than on some Sunday mornings, but remained vociferous..."

Church: Cap on payout is $40M
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "The chief money man for the Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday the church would cap spending near $40 million to settle all abuse claims against the church, and would not cover jury awards against individual clerics or their supervisors beyond what is available in insurance. Archdiocese Chancellor David W. Smith also said only three of the 12 Archdiocesan Finance Committee members present Friday voted for the multimillion-dollar settlement in the John J. Geoghan abuse case, and the balloting was conducted secretly due to its sensitivity..."

Law lauds finance decision
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Robin Washington and Tom Mashberg report: "Bernard Cardinal Law praised the archdiocese's finance council yesterday, calling 'laudable' its concerns that a settlement with 86 victims of convicted pedophile John J. Geoghan could force the church to deny claims to others molested by priests. In a bombshell reversal on Friday, the council reneged on a signed $20-30 million agreement with Geoghan victims represented by lawyer Mitchell Garabedian..."

Gay Catholics Struggle With Scandal
NATIONAL: The AP reports: PHILADELPHIA -- Mary Louise Cervone has been a practicing Roman Catholic all her life and, as a lesbian, has long hoped for acceptance from the church. But finding a welcoming place has never been easy and now with the clergy sex abuse scandals raging in dioceses across the country, Cervone and other gay Catholics feel that homosexuals are being scapegoated by church leaders..."

Pilla reaches out with apology, vows accountability, openness'
OHIO: The Cleveland Plain Dealer's David Briggs reports: "Bishop Anthony Pilla said yesterday that there is no place in the priesthood for those who harm the young, and he promised to consult lay Catholics on policy decisions to win their confidence about the safety of their children. In his most visible attempt to apologize for the sex-abuse scandal roiling the church, Pilla also told people attending a healing service last night at St. John Cathedral that future church policies will be designed to heal the wounds of victims and their families..."

Accused Catholic pastor resigns
MISSOURI: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's AISHA SULTAN reports: "An official with the Archdiocese of St. Louis informed parishioners at St. James Church in Catawissa over the weekend that their priest was the latest to resign amid allegations of sexually abusing minors. Msgr. Richard Stika, vicar general with the archdiocese, appeared at Masses Saturday night and Sunday and read a letter that the Rev. Hubert E. Creason had mailed to the small parish in Franklin County last week..."

2 priests step down amid sex file review
Archdiocese to discuss allegations today
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' ALEXA CAPELOTO reports: "Two local priests stepped down from their parishes Sunday, two days after the Archdiocese of Detroit surrendered internal case files to prosecutors regarding priests accused of sexual misconduct. The Rev. Tony (A.J.) Conti of All Saints Catholic Church in Memphis and the Rev. Dennis Laesch of St. Alfred Catholic Church in Taylor abruptly left their pastorships Sunday, according to archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath..."

4 Joliet priests ousted
Allegations of sexual abuse involve pastors in Elmhurst and Itasca
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's David Heinzmann, Sean D. Hamill, Matt Walberg and Susan Kuczka report: "The Diocese of Joliet removed four priests from public ministry Sunday, including two suburban pastors, because of sexual misconduct allegations. In three of the cases, the abuse is alleged to have taken place more than 25 years ago. Officials have substantiated allegations against three of the four priests, said Sister Judith Davies, diocesan chancellor..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/6/2002 08:21:03 AM

Sunday, May 05, 2002

Law says he will seek 'equitable solution' for victims of sexual abuse
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Ken Maguire reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law on Sunday acknowledged the anguish caused by the archdiocese's withdrawal from a settlement with 86 alleged sexual abuse victims and said he would seek to reach an 'equitable solution' in coming weeks. In a rare, detailed accounting of the church's legal affairs, Law explained that the archdiocese's Finance Council rejected the agreement because of a 'laudable' concern about the growing number of victims and the church's diminishing resources..."

Catholic laity to re-examine role
Grassroots groups want more say about decisions
NATIONAL: The Dallas Morning News' SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH reports: "At the Vatican last week, several U.S. cardinals said they supported greater involvement of lay people in the church. But they didn't put it in writing. In fact, those words were cut from the cardinals' final communiqué at the historic two-day summit on clergy sexual abuse called by Pope John Paul II..."

RELIGION
Rebuilding their faith
Weary Catholics may find comfort in looking ahead: Here are 10 recommendations for renewal
OPINION: Paul Wilkes writes in The Boston Globe: "As Catholics in Boston and across the country continue to stagger under the weight of the sexual abuse scandals, the time has come - and is so right - to think about the future. What else can be done as beleaguered Catholics look for a way simply to get through the next week, to face the suspicions of non-Catholic friends, to explain the horrors and the indifference to children?...As lay Catholics air their hopes for a more egalitarian, participatory church - and the bishops at least say they are our partners in life and in Christ - let us divide the commandments into five and five, an equal number for hierarchy and lay people. As for the middlemen, the crucial link, the priests, if my reading of their mood is accurate, I think they will endorse the first five and resonate with the final five listed below..."

Scandal opens door for causes of reformers
FLORIDA: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's James D. Davis reports: " As the Roman Catholic Church agonizes over sexually abusive priests, liberal reformers say their causes are getting a fresh burst of energy. In a sort of tie-in marketing, Catholics on the ideological left are using the abuse issue to reopen discussions on:The ordination of women; Making celibacy optional; Urging openness on church decisions; Greater lay participation..."

Albany: The impact of the arrest of the Rev. Paul Shanley, the former Boston-area Roman Catholic priest accused of three counts of child rape, can be felt in the Albany Diocese.
NEW YORK: The Troy Record's Anne C. Fullam reports: "'I have had contact with a person now living in our diocese, and Father Shanley witnessed that person's marriage,' said Bishop Howard Hubbard. 'This has been devastating for that person, their spouse and how they feel about their wedding day...'"

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/5/2002 12:24:23 PM

THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH
A Revolution From Below in Cardinal Law's Church
NATIONAL: The New York Times' Kate Zernike reports: "...Cardinal Law, whom some of his own clergymen have called arrogant, haughty and autocratic, has come in his 19 years in Boston to represent the kind of "father knows best" attitude the church has assumed under John Paul II. A protégé and confidant of the pope, he embodies the patriarchal and authoritarian church this pope has tried to foster..."

Notre Dame: A Catholic icon wrestles with scandal
NATIONAL: The Boston Globe's Mary Leonard reports: "SOUTH BEND, Ind. - When the spirit moves them, Notre Dame students mobilize. Nearly 7,000 flocked to a memorial Mass on the grassy South Quad on the afternoon of Sept. 11. This spring, hundreds came out to protest the administration's crackdown on alcohol and ban on dormitory dances. They demonstrated right under the Golden Dome, some of them burning copies of Du Lac, the thick student rules book. But only today, in a Mass of healing at the gothic Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and then in a discussion with the chairman of the Theology Department, will what many regard as the nation's preeminent Roman Catholic university formally invite students to pray over and talk about the crisis that is rocking the church..."

Church turmoil: Angry victims vow action
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo reports: "A day after the Boston Archdiocese backed out of a multi-million-dollar settlement with 86 people allegedly abused as children by defrocked priest John Geoghan, several said they are prepared to go to trial to expose the ``decay'' within the church. 'I have the confidence a jury will rip the church apart,' Tony Muzzi Jr. said yesterday. 'The jury, the people, the public, is going to take the church down . . . I feel like the devil has infiltrated the Catholic Church, and it's (Bernard Cardinal) Law...'''

THE WORLD
Hong Kong's Catholic Church Seeks to Ease Fears About Sex Abuse Cases
CHINA: The Los Angeles Times' Tyler Marshall reports: "HONG KONG -- Roman Catholic officials in Hong Kong say they will be ready to address questions from parishioners today about the church's handling of three recently disclosed cases of sexual abuse of children by local priests. The chancellor of Hong Kong's Roman Catholic diocese, Lawrence Lee Len, reportedly has told parish priests to work at services all day to ease worries among the region's quarter-million Catholics..."

SEX AND RELIGION
Maybe Common Sense Would Work
Church needs to grow up when it comes to sexual doctrine
OPINION: Paul McHugh writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Now is the time for all current and former faithful to come to the aid of the church. The world's last, great medieval fiefdom is stumbling. Princes of the church clutch their skirts as they seek cover behind sonorous statements that seem increasingly frail..."

After stresses of scandals, health problems, pope travels to spa island of Ischia
VATICAN: The AP's FRANCES D'EMILIO reports: "After weeks of stress from health problems and sex abuse scandals stinging the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II took a break from the Vatican and traveled to a spa island Sunday in the first of several trips that will test his stamina in the coming months..."

More than One Factor at Play in Brooklyn Diocese Accord
NEW YORK: The New York Times' Daniel J. Wakin reports: "or nearly two months after the priest sex abuse scandal came to light in January, Bishop Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn remained silent, declining to turn over the names of accused priests to law enforcement officials and leaving it to any accusers to go to the authorities. Last week, the bishop signed a memorandum of understanding with Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney, promising that the diocese would immediately pass on accusations against priests 'without prior screening.' The move followed the handing over of three dozen old cases to Mr. Hynes's office..."

FUND-RAISER
Some say 'no' as Law launches appeal
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Steven Wilmsen reports: "When the collection plates are passed at St. Mary's Parish in Charlestown today - the day Cardinal Bernard F. Law hopes to raise $16 million in his annual appeal to parishioners - Grazia Walker won't give any money. Instead, she'll place a note in the basket reprimanding Law..."

A prelate's pretense
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara writes: "Whither the Boston archbishop who brooks no dissent, who abides no challenge to his iron rule from pulpit or pew? What poseur pretends so preposterously to be our prince? Who has spirited away our authoritarian archbishop and installed in his place this compliant cardinal? What has the Finance Council done with Bernard F. Law?"

Law may face money risk
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "In protecting the Archdiocese of Boston's assets by reneging on a settlement deal with victims of former priest John J. Geoghan, Bernard Cardinal Law's finance council may have put him at extraordinary personal financial risk, legal experts said yesterday. Lawyers indicated they will press forward with suits that name Law personally for moving priests he knew to be pedophiles among parishes..."

Church weighs borrowing to settle claims
Plaintiffs pressing to depose cardinal after deal rejected
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian and Michael Rezendes report: "The chief financial officer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday that the church is considering mortgaging some of its real estate to help raise the tens of millions of dollars it would need to fund a proposed global settlement with alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse, including those molested by pedophile John J. Geoghan..."

Catholic Charities donors dwindle
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Marie Szaniszlo reports: "State budget cuts and the sexual-abuse scandal engulfing the Boston Archdiocese have forced Catholic Charities to bow out of another program that helps the poor. On June 30, the state's largest private social-service provider will turn over Seton House, a Lynn transitional home for children in foster care, to another agency, said Patricia Devoe of Catholic Charities."

Weight of controversy puts dent in money gifts to dioceses
NATIONAL: The AP reports: Edward Ricci was sickened as he watched his bishop, the Most Rev. Anthony O'Connell, resign in March from the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla., after admitting to sexual misconduct years earlier in another state. But Ricci is no ordinary parishioner venting his anger in cyberspace. He is a major Catholic philanthropist, threatening to withhold his six-figure donation to his church unless the nation's bishops agree to oust all errant clergy. Through his Web site, www.nopeds.org, he is urging other Catholics to join him, and some benefactors already have.

Voices from the pews are full of anger, hurt
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Meg Kissinger reports: "These days, when the collection plate passes Terry Ryan's way, she drops something in all right, but sometimes it is not what the Archdiocese of Milwaukee wants to see. Instead of the check she used to write to the Archbishop's Combined Appeal Campaign, Ryan, a former nun, now married and living in New Berlin, often tosses in a note saying she is giving to another charity instead..."

New Legal Action Threatened After Boston Archdiocese Rescinds Settlement for Victims
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' PAM BELLUCK reports: "BOSTON, May 4 — A day after the Boston Archdiocese decided to back out of a multimillion-dollar settlement with 86 victims of a sexually predatory Roman Catholic priest, the victims' lawyer vowed to take new legal action. Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer for the 86 people, all of whom say they were abused by the former priest, John J. Geoghan, said he would ask a judge on Monday to set a date for the deposition of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, and to issue a restraining order forbidding the cardinal to leave the country..."

Secret meeting misses the larger picture
EDITORIAL: The National Catholic Reporter writes: "Consider this picture: Two dozen prelates meet in secret to discuss the endemic clergy sex abuse scandal. No victims are present, no mothers or fathers, no experts in the fields of psychological, social or criminal behavior. The church leaders know going into their meeting that the man who called them to Rome and appointed them to high office opposes discussions of clergy issues, mandatory celibacy chief among them, that are on the minds of most Catholics. These men who gather never publicly question any aspect of Pope John Paul II’s church policies..."

Palm Beach Catholics educated about sexual trauma
FLORIDA: The Florida Catholic's Irene Hey reports: "Expanding upon the definition of incest, social worker Martha Rubio told area Catholics who were present for a sex abuse workshop that incest is a crime that doesn't necessarily occur among blood relatives. 'When we think about incest we think it only happens in the immediately family but incest can happen by a friend, a coach, a priest or people that we trust,' Rubio said during one of four workshops held throughout the Palm Beach Diocese...'"

Miami Archbishop Favalora reassures faithful in South Florida
FLORIDA: The Florida Catholic's Ana Rodriguez-Soto reports: "Archbishop John C. Favalora announced this week that archdiocesan officials have thoroughly reviewed the files of active priests in order to ensure that no one with a "credible accusation" of sexual misconduct with minors remains in active ministry in the Miami Archdiocese. In an interview with The Florida Catholic, the archbishop also said that diocesan officials are meeting with local authorities to see whether decades-old allegations of abuse need to be formally reported to law enforcement..."

Two St. Petersburg-area priests accused, one cleared
FLORIDA: The Florida Catholic's Janet Shelton reports: "...For weeks now, Catholics in the St. Petersburg Diocese have been told a diocesan committee investigates every sexual misconduct charge against priests and diocesan employees. They are looking for "substantial and credible" evidence of misconduct. However, many Catholics remain unsure about how those words, so open to interpretation, apply. The resignation of Father Schaeufele and the return of Father Molinelli may shed some light on how the investigation process works..."

Largo priest: 'I am not the person I was 20 years ago'
FLORIDA:The Florida Catholic's Janet Shelton reports: "Father Richard Allen could have left without a word. In the past few weeks, priests accused of sexual misconduct who have chosen to resign have taken a silent path. But Allen, former pastor of St. Matthew Parish in Largo, wanted to say something to parishioners before he left. The first 17 words of his letter show a man struggling with a dark past..."

Priest kept working after abuse cases
TEXAS: The Dallas Morning News' BROOKS EGERTON reports: "In the annals of clergy sexual abuse, the Rev. Norman Rogge is a familiar character. He has been accused of groping a young teen at a movie, of fondling others during swimming lessons, of exposing himself to an 11-year-old boy on a weekend trip and soliciting oral sex. What makes the 77-year-old former Dallas priest unusual is that he has been criminally prosecuted twice for child molestation. He pleaded guilty the first time and no contest the second. And – as some Catholic leaders are calling for a "one-strike" abuse policy and priests are being removed from ministry almost daily – Father Rogge remains in good standing, working at a Jesuit retirement home in New Orleans..."

In Boston, A Cardinal Under Siege
Beset by Scandal, Law Still Resolute to Lead
MASSACHUSETTS: The Washington Post's Paul Duggan reports: "BOSTON -- Celebrating Mass in the venerable Cathedral of the Holy Cross here, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, a beleaguered prince of a church under siege, rose to the pulpit last Sunday to deliver his homily. 'Do not let your hearts be troubled,' he told the worshipers, echoing that morning's gospel reading. It was a message from the Book of John to those oppressed by sorrow, saying faith in Christ eases all burdens. 'Well,' joked the cardinal, 'some days you want to say, 'That's easy for you to say!'... "

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/5/2002 07:36:46 AM