Saturday, May 18, 2002

Revolution by laity brewing as Catholics confront their bishops
CALIFORNIA/NATIONAL: The San Francisco Chronicle's Don Lattin reports: "As the Catholic sex abuse scandal deepens, parishioners are responding as never before, demanding accountability from their bishops, the princes of their church. Little reform movements are springing up across the nation, signaling the growing concern about the future of the church..."

Documents tell inside story of church sheltering priest in sex abuse case
MAINE: The AP's Jeff Donn reports: "PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Outside, prosecutors were building their case against a priest accused of molesting hard-luck children along the city's seedy waterfront. Inside, behind the brick walls of the chancery, the leaders of the Roman Catholic diocese were plotting a bare-knuckle legal defense..."

A holy calling, wholly embraced
Two area Catholic men are approaching their ordination undeterred by current crisis
TEXAS: The Dallas Morning News' Susan Hogan Albach reports: "Not once did Kyle Walterscheid or Benito Tamez ever imagine that one of the biggest moments of their lives would fall during one of the worst periods for their church. They're being ordained priests at a time when the image of Catholic clergy has been tarnished by months of revelations about sex scandals and cover-ups..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/18/2002 10:11:25 PM

N.C. school says it was told of charge
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian reports: "The head of a Catholic college in North Carolina acknowledged yesterday that the Archdiocese of Boston did inform him of an allegation of inappropriate behavior against a priest seeking a teaching job at the school..."

A Vatican Lawyer Says Bishops Should Not Reveal Abuse Claims
VATICAN: The New York Times' Laurie Goodstein reports: "A Vatican lawyer has written an article saying that Roman Catholic bishops should not turn over allegations or records of sexual abuse by priests to the civil authorities..."

Mahony Vows to Open Files to Authorities
Scandal: Under threat of grand jury probe, he says documents will be available. Meanwhile, Vatican discourages disclosure of abuse allegations.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' BETH SHUSTER and RICHARD WINTON report:"One day after being threatened with a grand jury investigation, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony pledged Friday to make the Roman Catholic Archdiocese's files on priestly abuse available to the district attorney's office..."

Priest's Abuse Case Dates to '67
Molestation: L.A. Archdiocese did not remove Father G. Neville Rucker until April.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' RICHARD WINTON and BETH SHUSTER report: "The Los Angeles Archdiocese knew for three decades about 1967 child abuse accusations against Father G. Neville Rucker, a retired priest living at Corpus Christi church in Pacific Palisades until his April 23 removal..."

Many Accused Priests Were Once Abuse Victims Themselves, Experts Say
Pedophilia: Clinicians estimate two-thirds of clergy suspected of sex offenses were molested as youths.
NATIONAL:The AP's Rachel Zoll reports: "Clinicians and other experts say a key pattern has been overlooked in the clergy sex abuse crisis: A significant number of the Roman Catholic priests accused of abusing children were molested themselves..."

Egan Paid Accused Priest
Was It Hush Money Or An Obligation?
CONNECTICUT/NEW YORK: The Hartford Courant's Elizabeth Hamilton reports: "While he resisted compensation for an alleged victim of a disgraced priest, Bridgeport's then-Bishop Edward M. Egan gave the accused clergyman as much as $17,000 to settle bank debts and pay for a criminal-defense lawyer, court documents show..."

Priest's Past Overtakes Him
After Decades Of Work With Troubled Kids, 'Father Lou' Paturzo Confronts Charges Of Sexual Misconduct From The 1970s.
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's MATT BURGARD And MAURICE TIMOTHY REIDY report: "For almost 30 years, the Rev. Louis Paturzo's secret stayed hidden from the world, driving him, he said, to find redemption in his work in Hartford's poorest neighborhoods. On Friday, Paturzo resigned from his job at a Hartford middle school after acknowledging two complaints that he fondled adolescent boys in the early 1970s..."

A Time Of Mourning
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The Hartford Courant's Eric Rich reports: "A day after a Bridgeport priest committed suicide in a psychiatric hospital, parishioners Friday mourned his death and a prominent therapist called it a reminder that clerics accused of sexual misconduct require immediate support in what is often their most vulnerable moment..."

At Clerics' Hospital, Pain and Paperwork
Procedural Review Follows Suicide
MARYLAND: The Washington Post's Caryle Murphy and Jamie Stockwell report: "St. Luke Institute spent yesterday reviewing the circumstances of a Roman Catholic priest's suicide with state health officials and trying to cope with the emotional impact of his death at the Silver Spring facility, where he had been sent for evaluation after being accused of sexually abusing boys..."

After Accused Priest's Suicide, Shock and Second Thoughts
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The New York Times' Paul Zielbauer reports: "The life of the Rev. Alfred J. Bietighofer, who committed suicide after pedophilia allegations, was full of contradictions, right to the end..."

Cardinal Describes Ouster of Priest Sued Over Abuse
NEW YORK: The New York Times' DAniel J. Wakin reports: "The Archdiocese of New York issued an unusual statement yesterday describing how, within weeks of becoming bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., in 1988, Cardinal Edward M. Egan settled a lawsuit over an abusive priest and arranged for his permanent removal from the priesthood..."


Boston Panel Wants Bigger Lay Role in Crisis
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports "WESTON, Mass. — A panel created by Cardinal Bernard F. Law to help address the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese recommended today that lay people play a greater role in investigating accusations of
abuse, counseling victims, starting prevention and education programs in parishes and monitoring how sexually abusive members of the clergy are treated..."

Cardinal promoted alleged sex abuser
Church official says pastor acknowledged misconduct
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes and Sacha Pfeiffer report: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law promoted a Quincy pastor to the position of area vicar with oversight of 19 parishes south of Boston in 1996, after the pastor had admitted to an allegation of sexual misconduct, according to the sworn testimony of a church official..."

SPIRITUAL LIFE
Boston College looks to church's future
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "The Rev. William P. Leahy, the president of Boston College, earlier this week announced that the Jesuit university would become the first Catholic academic institution in the country to take a serious look at the crisis in the church caused by the clergy sexual abuse scandal. Leahy plans to appoint a committee to design the program over the summer, and to launch it in the fall. But he said it will include undergraduate and graduate courses, public lectures, seminars, and events for alumni..."

HELLENIC COLLEGE
Law declines honorary degree
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe'sMichael Paulson "Cardinal Bernard F. Law has decided not to accept an honorary degree today from Hellenic College in Brookline in the face of protests by students and faculty members at the Greek Orthodox institution..."

ROLE OF LAITY
Report on abuse backed by Law
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher reports: "WESTON - Cardinal Bernard F. Law expressed support yesterday for a draft report prepared by his commission on clergy sexual abuse that would dramatically heighten the laity's role in efforts to protect children, assist victims and remove predatory priests from the ministry..."

Aide admits Law made molester priest a vicar
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg and Eric Convey report: "A high-ranking Archdiocese of Boston official has acknowledged under oath that Bernard Cardinal Law promoted a priest in the mid-1990s even though the cleric had admitted to child molestation..."

Commission: Zero tolerance: Enforcement of guidelines to go to panel of lay experts
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports:
"Zero tolerance for priests who sexually abuse minors will become the law of the archdiocese if guidelines proposed yesterday by a special commission are formally approved..."

Bishop Reilly subpoenaed in Rev. Kelley case
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly has been subpoenaed to give a deposition on June 19 in the civil suit that Karen A. Pedersen of Fitchburg is bringing against the Rev. Robert E. Kelley and the Diocese of Worcester..."

Catholics to get more chances to be heard
Sexual abuse issue has 'hit a nerve,' officials here say
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's TOM HEINEN reports: "The nearly 3,000 Catholics who jammed halls at six regional listening sites to comment on how the church handled the sexual abuse of minors by priests has convinced archdiocesan officials Friday that concern is so broad that more sessions must be held. Not only were the crowds larger than anticipated, a significant number of people came with the expectation that church leaders would answer their questions as well as solicit their reactions.When that didn't happen, disappointment added to the mix of emotions and helped turn concerned inquiry into some of the anger that was expressed..."

Growing into a vocation
At a time when the Catholic priesthood is under fire, one young man eagerly anticipates his ordination as the most recent step toward the life of service he always desired.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' Sharon Tubbs reports: "ST. PETERSBURG -- When Bill Wilson Jr. was a child of about 8, idealism framed his whimsical notions of what he might be when he grew up: A firefighter? A police officer? A Roman Catholic priest? Today, firefighters and police officers are celebrated as heroes. But the national scandal over the Catholic Church's handling of priests accused of sexual misconduct has tainted the once wholesome image of men in Roman collars..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/18/2002 09:06:34 AM

Friday, May 17, 2002

Mahony's 'Big Problem' Is Largely of His Own Making
COLUMN: The Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez writes: "He didn't call the police.He didn't warn parishioners. He didn't check up on the molester who had confessed to him in 1986. That left the offending priest free to prey on more children for another 14 years. I don't know whether to ask for a grand jury investigation of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony or run to the nearest church and light a candle for him..."

Confessions Of A `Bad' Catholic
OPINION: Liz Gwillim writes in the Hartford Courant: "The Catholic Church doesn't want me. I have been asked, politely, to leave the table where the sacrament of communion is served. My crime? I divorced and remarried. Zero tolerance in this case is strictly enforced..."

Priests' abuse of minors
GRAPHIC: Chicago Tribune graphic published in the Hartford Courant shows: the geographic spread of abuse cases around the country.

Priest Wrote Pope in '73 About Problems
VATICAN/MASSACHUSETTS: The Los Angeles Times' Elizabeth Mehrens reports: "BOSTON -- Top Roman Catholic Church officials knew as early as 1964 that a Massachusetts priest was molesting children, newly released documents reveal. The records of James A. Porter both push back the calendar on an apparent church cover-up of pedophilia in the clergy and link knowledge of the problem all the way to the Vatican..."

Vatican official: No need to tell churchgoers of sex-abuse priest
VATICAN: The AP reports: "ROME - Roman Catholic bishops should avoid telling congregations their parish priests sexually abused someone if the bishops believe the priests will not abuse again, a Vatican official said. The Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda also said in an article to be published Saturday that church leaders have no legal or moral responsibilities if such abuse does occur..."

Louisville Archdiocese wants suits sealed
Newspaper intends to fight the effort to limit access to public records.
KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier Journal's Peter Smith reports: "The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville asked Jefferson Circuit Court yesterday to enforce a little-used state statute and seal all lawsuits accusing church officials of mishandling past allegations of sexual abuse. Church lawyers are filing motions in each of 67 lawsuits against the archdiocese, asking the court to enforce a 1998 law that mandates the sealing of all lawsuits containing allegations of childhood sexual abuse that are more than 5 years old..."

3 more priests accused in lawsuits
7 allegations of abuse are filed, total number of claims reaches 67
KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier Journal's Gregory A. Hall reports: "Three more priests, including one assigned to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Jefferson County, have been accused of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed yesterday against the Archdiocese of Louisville..."

N.O. swept up in priest scandal
2 monsignors had sex with youths
LOUISIANA: The New Orleans Times Picayune's Bruce Nolan, Tara Young and contributing writer Louis Rom report: "A prominent New Orleans priest who helped draft the archdiocese's 1993 sex-abuse policy acknowledged Wednesday that he sexually abused a child for years at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Reserve in the early 1980s..."

Omaha Archbishop Curtiss: I didn't try to sway witness
NEBRASKA: The Omaha World-Herald's DAVID HENDEE reports: "NORFOLK, Neb. - Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss said Friday he did not try to influence a potential witness in the child pornography case involving a former Norfolk priest. His statement was in response to one from Madison County Attorney Joe Smith Thursday. Smith said Curtiss could be charged with witness tampering after a conversation with the witness, a Catholic school kindergarten teacher from Norfolk..."

High-profile panelists hearing priest case
WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times' Ray Rivera reports: "A panel of prominent outside experts convened by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle will meet today for the first time to begin reviewing allegations against the Rev. John Cornelius, a well-known priest accused by at least a dozen men of abusing them as adolescents between 1968 and 1985. Cornelius, who gained recognition for his civil-rights work and for adopting or taking in 13 children, has denied the allegations and has hired an attorney at his own expense..."

Bishop: Accused Priests Need Support
CONNECTICUT: The AP's MASHA HERBST reports: "A Roman Catholic bishop said Friday he is praying for and reaching out to priests accused of sexual misconduct after a diocese priest committed suicide at a psychiatric treatment center. `One of the things that I always encourage my brother priests to do is not to abandon a priest who has been accused, but to surround him with love, to contact him, and to let him know of our prayers,'' Bridgeport Bishop William Lori said..."

Published earlier:

Former Vermont priest is likely subject of abuse probe
VERMONT/CONNECTICUT: The AP reports: "
Burlington, Vt. (AP) — A former Essex Junction priest accused of molesting boys in Connecticut and Vermont could be the target of a criminal probe by the Vermont attorney general's office, according to a published report. The Burlington Free Press said in Sunday's editions that the former Rev. Charles Many, who became associate pastor of St. Lawrence Church in 1981, was removed in 1986, after a St. Lawrence parishioner contacted the state Catholic diocese to say Many had molested her son..."

Vermont church leaders removed priest after allegations arose
VERMONT/CONNECTICUT: The Burlington Free Press' Sam Hemingway reports: "Parishioners at St. Lawrence Church in Essex Junction learned in June 1981 that they would be getting a new associate pastor who seemed well suited to the position. Rev. Charles Many, they learned, was a native of Williston, a graduate of St. Michael's College and an Edmundite..."

Puerto Rican priest accused of sexual harassment relieved of most duties
PUERTO RICO: The AP reports: "A Roman Catholic priest accused of having a sexual relationship with a woman and later harassing her was relieved of most duties, including investigating church sex abuse cases, a bishop said Friday..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/17/2002 08:17:50 PM

Angry Catholics pack sessions on sex abuse
Hundreds demand archdiocese take action concerning accused priests
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's TOM HEINEN and MARIE ROHDE report: "Roman Catholic laity jammed halls at six southeastern Wisconsin parishes Thursday night in sessions that sometimes boiled over with anger at how the church has handled sexual abuse of minors by priests. The atmosphere was charged at St. John Vianney Church in Brookfield, one of the sites for the Milwaukee Archdiocese listening sessions. There were boos among the standing-room crowd of 1,100 when participants were told Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland - who was present - would not answer questions..."

Citing abuse, mother confronts Weakland
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's MARIE ROHDE reports: " Rembert Weakland was sitting stoically against a rear wall in the basement meeting room of St. John Vianney Church in Brookfield when Beth Glynn confronted him. Glynn, of Brookfield, accused Weakland of going on national television several years ago and saying that little girls had enticed priests...Weakland denied making the statement, but the woman repeated that she had seen him on television making the statement, and he declined to engage in further conversation..."

Accused priest hangs self
Conn. cleric was in treatment unit
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The Hartford Courant's ERIC RICH And DAVID LIGHTMAN report: "A priest who resigned from a Bridgeport parish recently amid allegations of sexual misconduct committed suicide Thursday at a prominent psychiatric hospital in Maryland, the second such incident linked to the sex scandal now gripping the Roman Catholic Church..."

Accused Priest Commits Suicide
Silver Spring Center Was Assessing Man
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The Washington Post's Jamie Stockwell and Michael E. Ruane report: "A Roman Catholic priest who resigned from a Connecticut parish after he was accused of sexually abusing boys hanged himself yesterday at the Silver Spring institute for troubled clergy to which he had been sent for evaluation, police and church officials said..."

A Trailblazing Priest With a Secret Past
Cleric Had Relationship With Teenager
CONNECTICUT: The Washington Post's Annie Gowen and Craig Whitlock report: "Hope and pride coursed through the capacity crowd that gathered in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore on a sunny Saturday in 1974 to witness the ordination of Maurice J. Blackwell. The ceremony had an unusual air of importance, because until that year the city had never had an African American priest..."

Accused priest hangs self
Conn. cleric was in treatment unit
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The Boston Globe's Michael Kranish and Matt Carroll report: "SILVER SPRING, Md. - A Catholic priest from the Bridgeport, Conn., diocese committed suicide at a Catholic psychiatric hospital here yesterday, authorities said, 17 days after he was removed from his parish when several men accused him of molesting them two decades ago..."

Keeler apologizes for abuse by priests
Cardinal says he regrets restoring Blackwell in '93; Church, police believed Stokes; City archbishop concedes 'painful breaches of trust'
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's John Rivera and Sarah Koenig report: "Cardinal William H. Keeler has apologized for the first time to victims of sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests and said he regrets his 1993 decision to return the Rev. Maurice Blackwell to his parish after an abuse allegation..."

Cardinal explains decision on Blackwell
OPINION: CArdinal William H. Keeler writes in the Baltimore Sun: "THIS WEEK, Baltimore saw first-hand the tragic fallout from the sexual abuse issues facing our American society today. The Catholic Church and all segments of society face multiple challenges related to this painful concern..."

Admiring teen found respected role model
Family: Relatives of shooting suspect Dontee Stokes watched his years of pain and struggle.
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Scott Shane reports: "On the kitchen wall in Charles P. Stokes Sr.'s rowhouse is a photograph from 1987, one he views now with decidedly mixed feelings. On the left is Pope John Paul II, reaching to clasp the hands of Stokes' daughter Thomasine, who was visiting Rome with the choir at St. Edward Catholic Church..."

D.A. Demands Mahony Turn Over Documents on Abuse
Scandal: Head of the Los Angeles Archdiocese is told to comply or face grand jury action.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' TERESA WATANABE and RICHARD WINTON report: "Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Thursday threatened Cardinal Roger M. Mahony with a grand jury investigation unless the archdiocese surrenders all documents related to the alleged sexual abuse of children..."

Jesuit magazine says bishops not responsible for sex abuse by their priests
VATICAN: The AP's Tom Rachman reports: "ROME - Bishops are not morally or legally responsible for sexual abuse committed by priests in their dioceses, an Italian Jesuit magazine says, in an article published amid a sex abuse scandal that has engulfed the Roman Catholic Church..."

Group forming to seek greater say for laity in Catholic Church
MAINE: The AP reports: "A group of Roman Catholics is forming an organization they hope will eventually give parishioners more say in how the church is run in Maine. Organizers of Voice of the Faithful chapters say lay people need to be more involved in the church to prevent such problems as the sexual abuse scandal..."

Scandal shadows church's recruiting
Catholic leaders worry that prospective priests will resist the calling as attention is fixed on alleged abuses by clergy
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Stephen Franklin reports: "Troubled for decades by a dramatic decline in the number of Catholic priests and seminarians, church leaders fear that the current sex-abuse scandal will turn away even more potential recruits..."

Church Agrees To Use DCF Hotline
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's MAURICE TIMOTHY REIDY reports: "Hartford Archbishop Daniel Cronin agreed Thursday to forward seven recent complaints of sexual abuse against priests to state authorities, a state official said..."

Woman blasts judge for letting priest 'walk'
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Kathleen A. Shaw and Gary V. Murray report: "WORCESTER-- The Rev. Robert E. Kelley was released on personal recognizance by a Superior Court judge yesterday afternoon after a judge in Leominster had earlier set bail at $200,000 cash...

LAW DEPOSITION
Judge blasts transcript release
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney yesterday expressed grave concern over the publication of last Wednesday's pretrial testimony by Cardinal Bernard F. Law in a clergy sexual abuse lawsuit, and sharply admonished the attorney who took responsibility for the release of Law's deposition..."

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Superior Court judge orders ex-priest's record released
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "In another court ruling requiring the release of a priest's church records, a Superior Court judge yesterday ordered lawyers for former priest Paul J. Mahan and the Archdiocese of Boston to publicly file personnel records for Mahan, including those relating to treatment at two facilities that treat sexually abusive priests..."

Ex-priest denies allegations
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "LEOMINSTER - A former priest who spent time behind bars for sexually abusing a child was released on personal recognizance yesterday after pleading not guilty to charges he raped another girl over a three-year period in the 1980s..."

Records: Church let loose predator priest
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Tom Mashberg report: "The Archdiocese of Boston turned former priest Paul J. Mahan loose on the public in the mid-1990s after he had been diagnosed as a ``sociopath'' and a ``threat to adolescent males,'' according to documents released yesterday..."

Ex-Fremont priest arrested -- accused of abuse in '60s
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Janine DeFao reports: "A former Catholic priest was arrested Thursday for allegedly molesting three girls at a Fremont parish more than three decades ago..."

CARDINAL'S LETTER
South African church keeps some abuse claims private
SOUTH AFRICA: Boston Globe correspondent Rena Singer reports: "JOHANNESBURG - A controversial sexual abuse policy to be spelled out this weekend in a letter to Catholic parishes throughout Southern Africa is putting the church on a collision course with law enforcement authorities..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/17/2002 06:55:04 AM

Thursday, May 16, 2002

Priest Accused Of Sex Misconduct Apparently Commits Suicide
CONNECTICUT/MARYLAND: The AP reports: "SILVER SPRING, Md. -- A 64-year-old priest who resigned from his parish in Connecticut amid allegations of sexual misconduct apparently killed himself Thursday at a Catholic psychiatric hospital, church officials said. The Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., identified the priest as the Rev. Alfred J. Bietighofer, who was stripped last month of his priestly powers and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation..."

The anguish within
EDITORIAL: The Baltimore Sun writes: "A SIMPLE "I'm sorry" might have made all the difference. It's a lesson learned too late by the Rev. Maurice Blackwell, shot three times Monday by an anguished young man who had accused him of sexual molestation. And perhaps that's no surprise, since it's also a lesson learned too late by the Catholic Church, which for years has protected sexually abusive priests and paid off victims instead of taking responsibility for the appalling criminal conduct of some of its own..."

Time to speak out in church
EDITORIAL: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes: "Granted, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee could have made it easier for parishioners and the public to take part in Thursday's listening sessions on clergy sexual abuse...But those who can attend tonight's sessions should take the opportunity that church officials, to their credit, have given them. As we said earlier this week, there's certainly a lot to talk about. If officials realize that sexual abuse is something that a significant number of parishioners want to discuss, maybe tonight will be only the beginning of a necessary dialogue between the church and its faithful..."

Priest scandal offers chance to teach young about abuse
OPINION: Author Debra W. Haffner writes in USAToday: "Parents have been struggling over what to tell their children about priests who didn't 'just say no.' I've been giving talks to parents for more than 20 years about how to discuss sexuality with their children, but this recent question was a first: ''My 8-year-old doesn't want to go to church anymore. What should I tell him?' I asked the group's members if they had talked to their children about clergy sexual abuse; only one parent raised her hand. The others said, 'they are too young to know' or 'they haven't heard about it.' I told them it was next to impossible for a child to turn on the TV and not hear 'Priests and sex! The latest coming up at 10!...'"

At church listening sessions, some wonder if they are heard
FLORIDA: The Florida Catholic's Tom Tracy reports: "...A few at the recent meeting in North Palm Beach called for a committee or lay group to study ways the laity can become more involved. But similar, more developed movements under way in Boston -- including "Voice of the Faithful"-- have created alarm among church leadership. In April, the Boston Globe reported that Cardinal Bernard Law started cracking down on efforts by lay Catholics to organize in greater Boston, ordering priests not to cooperate with an evolving coalition of parish leaders. Some in Florida wonder if all the organizing surrounding the clergy abuse matter will lead to some kind of schism -- or at least a serious rift in the church..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/16/2002 09:36:13 PM

Cardinal Mahony Kept Cleric's Abuse Secret for 16 Years
Scandal: Archbishop failed to inform police and instead reassigned priest. In a letter, he admits mishandling case.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' Glenn F. Bunting reports: "A popular Los Angeles priest told Cardinal Roger M. Mahony in 1986 that he molested young boys, but was reassigned to parishes and allegedly continued his sexual abuse of minors for more than a decade, documents and interviews show. Mahony later approved a secret $1.3-million payment to two men who said they had been abused by the priest, Father Michael Stephen Baker, from 1984 to 1999. The cardinal arranged for the priest to quietly retire from the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles in late 2000..."

An Apology to 'My Brother Priests'
TEXT: Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahoney writes to priests of the Archdiocese: "...It is quite likely that very soon the public media will highlight the case of Michael Baker, a former priest of this archdiocese. You need to be aware that such a story could come anytime now, and you need to be aware of the seriousness of his case...As your archbishop, I assume full responsibility for allowing Baker to remain in any type of ministry during the 1990s. If I had known in those years what I discovered in early 2000, I would have dismissed him from all ministry and requested his dismissal from the priesthood in the late 1980s. I offer my sincere, personal apologies for my failure to take firm and decisive action much earlier. If I have caused you or your parishioners additional grief by my handling of the Baker case, I ask your forgiveness..."

Baltimore panel sharply dissented on priest's return
MARYLAND: The Boston Globe's Mary Leonard reports: "In exchange of letters between Cardinal William H. Keeler and a lay panel the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore created to review sexual misconduct cases shows there was a sharp difference of opinion over returning the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell to parish ministry after he was accused of repeatedly abusing a teenager in 1993..."

Man's Life, Faith Shattered
Family of Suspect in Shooting Says Church Failed to Listen
MARYLAND: The Washington Post's Maureen O'Hagan reports: "In 1976, the Rev. Maurice Blackwell took holy water and poured it over the forehead of the infant Dontee Stokes, baptizing him into the Catholic Church just like every one of Dontee's 46 Stokes cousins. Now Blackwell lies at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in fair condition with three gunshot wounds allegedly inflicted by Stokes..."

New Page In Clergy Scandal
Church: A Baltimore neighborhood is divided after a shooting by an alleged sex abuse victim.
MARYLAND: The Los Angeles Times' FAYE FIORE, VICKI KEMPER and MEGAN GARVEY report: "BALTIMORE -- When Dontee Stokes first alleged nine years ago that his parish priest had sexually molested him, the church rallied around its popular clergyman. Yellow ribbons sprouted outside St. Edward Roman Catholic Church, where congregants asserted the innocence of Father Maurice Blackwell. But Wednesday, as Blackwell lay wounded in a hospital bed and his now 26-year-old accuser faced a charge of attempted murder, the church was locked up tight. Its new pastor took no calls..."

Mental evaluation ordered for suspect in priest's shooting
Stokes asks judge to let him go home, says he's 'depressed, not suicidal'
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Allison Klein and Sarah Koenig report: "A Baltimore judge ordered a mental evaluation yesterday for Dontee D. Stokes, who pleaded to be allowed to go home to await trial on charges of shooting a Roman Catholic priest he says sexually abused him years ago. Stokes, who said he was 'depressed but not suicidal,' appeared calm as District Judge H. Gary Bass deferred a decision on bail until tomorrow, to allow time for evaluation of the 26-year-old barber..."

Competency Exam Ordered for Suspect
MARYLAND: The Washington Post's Craig Whitlock and Caryle Murphy report: "Baltimore prosecutors and police said yesterday that they believed 17-year-old Dontee D. Stokes was telling the truth in 1993 when he complained that a Roman Catholic priest had fondled him in a church office. But they decided not to file charges against the priest because the only evidence they had was the teenager's word..."

Joliet bishop at center of crisis
Criticism grows over Imesch's history of handling sex-abuse allegations
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Todd Lighty and David Heinzmann report: "Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch seemed unfazed as a lawyer questioned him in 1995 about bringing in a priest who had been convicted of molesting an altar boy in Michigan. 'If you had a child,' the lawyer recalled asking the bishop during the deposition for a civil suit, 'wouldn't you be concerned that the priest they were saying mass with had been convicted of sexually molesting children?' Replied Imesch, 'I don't have any children...'"

Catholics to discuss abuse
Lawyers guild to lead forums at 30 parishes
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Todd Lighty reports: "Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago will gather Tuesday at parishes throughout Cook and Lake Counties for discussions on how their church should handle allegations of child sexual abuse against priests. Lawyers will serve as forum moderators, gather material and prepare a final comprehensive report for Cardinal Francis George in time for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' June 13-15 meeting in Dallas..."

S.F. Archdiocese releases first batch of abuse records
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Elizabeth Fernandez reports: "The Archdiocese of San Francisco has turned over to Bay Area prosecutors a first batch of records detailing possible clergy sexual abuse. A second installment of documents involving suspected or known sexual abuse of minors is expected to be relinquished Friday..."

California pedophile priest untreatable, expert says
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Pamela J. Pdger reports: "A psychological profile says an inactive Roman Catholic priest convicted of sexual misconduct is an untreatable pedophile who doesn't recognize his own deviant behavior..."

Retired bishop faces more allegations
WYOMING/MISSOURI: Knight Ridder Newspapers' Scott Canon reports in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: "CHEYENNE – Police are investigating allegations that a retired Roman Catholic bishop accused of sexual abuse twice while a priest in Kansas City committed similar acts in Wyoming. Laramie County District Attorney Jon Forwood confirmed Tuesday that he has referred the latest accusations against retired Bishop Joseph Hart to local law enforcement authorities..."

BC puts abuse issue on agenda
Plans to examine future of church
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "Boston College, saying its students, priests, and alumni are reeling from the clergy sexual abuse crisis, is launching the first broad academic response to the scandal by a Catholic university..."

BC reaches out to Catholics: New project aims to foster dialogue on tough topics
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "Boston College is launching a broad-based response to the clergy molestation scandal that includes conventional scholarship but also enters what is usually the turf of bishops and archbishops with direct outreach to restless Catholics..."

Archdiocese denies hiding background
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Stephen Kurkjian reports: "The Archdiocese of Boston yesterday contradicted a statement by Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina that it was told nothing about allegations of inappropriate intimate contact against a Boston priest, the Rev. George P. Berthold, before the college hired him in 1997 to head its theology department..."

64 percent of Catholics say Law should step down
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Globe staff reports: "Only 1 in 10 Americans think that leaders of the Catholic Church have done a good job in handling charges of sexual abuse by priests, while 64 percent of the public - and as many Catholics - say they think Cardinal Bernard Law should resign as archbishop of Boston, a new CBS News poll has found..."

Worcester-area pastor has served many areas
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "The Rev. Raymond P. Messier, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Athol and St. Peter's Church in Petersham, had inappropriate sexual contact with a 9-year-old boy when he was serving at Sacred Heart Church in Worcester in the early 1980s, according to Boston lawyer Carmen Durso..."

More indictments against Rev. Desilets
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Gary V. Murray reports: "WORCESTER-- Additional indictments were returned yesterday against a former Bellingham priest indicted last month on charges of sexually assaulting 17 young men and boys..."

Paquin indicted on rape charges
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Farmer reports: "Jailed priest Ronald H. Paquin was served with a three-count indictment yesterday, charging him with raping a former Haverhill altar boy he mentored as a 'surrogate father...'''

Former priest indicted on child-rape charges
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "Former priest Ronald H. Paquin yesterday was indicted by an Essex County grand jury on three counts of raping a child on numerous occasions between 1989 and 1992..."

Do not perpetuate our tragic flaw
SPEECH EXCERPT:Author Alice McDermott writes in The Boston Globe: "We are a church of seven sacraments, except for women there are only six. We are a diverse people made one by our faith, except half of us are barred from full participation. At the center of our liturgy there is the Eucharist, the body and blood of our Lord, offered for the salvation of us all, but our leaders prefer that the consecrated host be held aloft by a criminal rather than a woman..."

Seminarians get an apology
MASSACHUSETTS: Globe staff reports: "NEWTON - Fourteen seminarians celebrated the completion of their undergraduate studies yesterday and got an apology from a senior priest, who said the clergy abuse scandal should not hobble their pursuit of the priesthood..."

College to award Law honorary degree
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson and Matt Carroll report: "Hellenic College, a small Greek Orthodox undergraduate school in Brookline, is planning to award an honorary degree to Cardinal Bernard F. Law this weekend, sparking protest from some faculty members concerned about Law's handling of clergy sexual abuse..."

Records: Vatican knew of scandal coverup in 1973
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Jack Sullivan reports: "Previously sealed records in the case of defrocked pedophile priest James A. Porter show Catholic church officials - including Pope Paul VI, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros and top aides to Richard Cardinal Cushing - knew of and took part in the coverup of cleric sexual abuse as far back as 1964..."

Attorney wants archdiocese evidence on public record
MASSACHUSETTS:The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "An attorney pressing numerous lawsuits against the church on behalf of alleged molestation victims is urging Bay State courts to file all evidence uncovered in the Archdiocese of Boston abuse scandal so a full archive can be available to the public and to posterity..."

Grand Jury Hears Testimony Alleging Sex Abuse by Priest
NEW YORK: The New York Times' Elissa Gootman reports: "AUPPAUGE, N.Y., May 15 — At least six men who say they were abused by the same priest testified about their experiences this week before a special grand jury formed to examine how the Diocese of Rockville Centre has handled abuse allegations. About a month ago, Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, said he would empanel such a grand jury, saying he was 'not at all satisfied with the credibility of public assertions of the church that it is properly policing its clergy...'"

Ailing pope is planning to continue his travels
VATICAN: The AP's Victor L. Simpson reports: VATICAN CITY - Aides wheel him around on a chariot-like cart during ceremonies at the Vatican. They attach a ledger to the arms of his chair to hold the papers of his speeches. They hold him tightly fearing a fall..."

Hong Kong police complain Roman Catholic Church shielded pedophile priests
CHINA: The AP's HELEN LUK reports: "Police said Thursday that the Roman Catholic Church appears to have been shielding alleged pedophile priests in Hong Kong rather than taking action to protect victims..."

Thanks to...
Tom Tracy, Janis Roihl, John Farley, Kathleen Shaw and others for overnight help with links. If you spot a story that should be linked here, please alert us.

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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/16/2002 07:24:44 AM

Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Columbia Journalism Review Currents:
Mea Maxima Culpa
NATIONAL: Columbia Journalism Review's Mike Hoyt writes: "Nearly a decade ago, when Boston’s press was circling the story of a child-molesting priest named James Porter, Cardinal Bernard Law called in an air strike: “By all means, we call down God’s power on the media, particularly the Globe.” Be careful what you pray for..."

EDITORIAL: Toward a healthy church, step by step
EDITORIAL: The National Catholic Reporter writes: "Nothing we do now will be enough,” a bishop privately said recently. 'They want an execution.'It must feel that way for a lot of Catholic clerics today. The sex abuse crisis seems relentless, every newspaper and electronic media outlet in the country is trying to get its fix on the scandal, wondering what went on in its own territory that remains hidden..."

Egan Will Send Abuse Cases Directly To Prosecutors
NEW YORK: Newsday's Karen Freifeld reports: "The Archdiocese of New York has created a new policy for handling allegations of sexual misconduct by clergy, discarding one it created last month..."

Incrementally and independently, area dioceses arrive at new policies on reporting abuse
NEW YORK: The AP's Diego Ibarguen reports: "NEW YORK -- In incremental steps that have ranged from precise to ambiguous, the area's three Roman Catholic dioceses have in recent months overhauled their policies on reporting allegations of sex abuse by clergy. On Wednesday, the Archdiocese of New York joined the Brooklyn and Rockville Centre dioceses by announcing that it, too, would report allegations of sexual abuse directly to civil authorities, abandoning a policy that called for a review by a church panel before taking such a step..."

Westchester DA Places Ads To Find Victims
NEW YORK: The AP reports: "WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The district attorney in Westchester County is taking out a newspaper advertisement to solicit reports of sexual abuse by clergy. The ad, to run in The Journal News on Thursday, features symbols representing Catholicism, Islam and Judaism, and reads, 'There’s no place for abuse in any religion...'"

Retired priest who admitted "fooling around" with boys indicted for rape
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Jay Lindsay reports: "BOSTON -- A retired priest who has admitted molesting boys was indicted Wednesday on charges he sexually abused a boy, sometimes in a cemetery. The Rev. Ronald H. Paquin, 59, was being held on $100,000 cash bail pending his arraignment on three counts of child rape, said Steve O'Connell, spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney's office..."

Bucher orders sex abuse investigation
Accusations against priest date back 30 years
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's JACQUELINE SEIBEL
reports: "Waukesha - District Attorney Paul Bucher on Tuesday directed the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department to investigate allegations of sexual abuse that occurred as long as 30 years ago by a Roman Catholic priest..."

As Sex-Abuse Suits Mount, Church
Tries to Protect Real-Estate Assets
NATIONAL: The Wall Street Journal's Milo Geyelin reports: "With its gilded ballroom and sweeping views of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay, the 70-room Aldrich Mansion glows with old-money opulence. It rents for $1,000 an hour for wedding receptions, $750 for baby showers. The proprietor: a corporate arm of the Roman Catholic church...Some dioceses are invoking decades-old corporate structures to try to keep real estate beyond plaintiffs' reach. In other cases, church lawyers have recently created new corporate boundaries they hope will protect properties..." (Requires paid subscription.)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/15/2002 06:12:56 PM

SPOTLIGHT REPORT
Law recommended fired dean for college teaching position
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Steven Kurjkian reports "Cardinal Bernard F. Law recommended the former dean of St. John's Seminary in Brighton for a teaching job at a Catholic college in North Carolina in 1997, less than two years after Law dismissed him for having improper physical contact with a 19-year-old seminarian at St. John's. Law provided a written assurance to Belmont Abbey College that the Rev. George C. Berthold had an unblemished record, despite Berthold's November 1995 dismissal..."

Doctor's question among Shanley papers
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer reports: Three years before Cardinal Bernard F. Law said he would recommend the Rev. Paul R. Shanley as director of a New York City guest house, a psychiatrist familiar with Shanley's history of sexual abuse asked Boston church officials: ''How do we protect others from him?'' The psychiatrist, Edwin H. Cassem of Massachusetts General Hospital, also concluded that Shanley was ''so personally damaged that his pathology is beyond repair'' and questioned whether he should be laicized..."

Church judged Shanley `beyond repair'
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg and Eric Convey report: "The Archdiocese of Boston let the Rev. Paul R. Shanley help run a Catholic hotel in the mid-1990s despite possessing confidential reports diagnosing him as an ``aberrant'' sexual threat to minors, newly released documents show. The records also indicate that top Boston church officials were told Shanley was afflicted with a ``pathology beyond repair,'' but alerted no one outside the church - not even the nuns at the Catholic hostel in New York City..."

Papers Show Officials Knew of Priest's Troubles in 1991
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "BOSTON, May 14 — Officials in the Boston Archdiocese were told in 1991 that the Rev. Paul R. Shanley had serious psychiatric problems, two years before they informed church officials in California, where Father Shanley was serving as a pastor, according to psychiatric and medical records released today..."

Catholic group in Boston sows seeds of revolution
MASSACHUSETTS: The Philadelphia Inquirer's Miriam Hill reports: "BOSTON - James Muller went to church every Sunday for almost six decades. He had honorary degrees from five Catholic universities for his work against the nuclear-arms race. But there came a day in January when he felt he would have to leave. He could not abide a church that he believed had covered up the sexual abuse of children by priests..."

Aide Defends Egan's Action in Priest Case
NEW YORK: The New York Times' Daniel J. Wakin reports: "The Archdiocese of New York issued a detailed defense yesterday of Cardinal Edward M. Egan's actions regarding a priest in Connecticut who had been accused of sexually abusing minors in the 1960's..."

'I wanted to run'
A priest's abuse, and the scars that remain
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Bella English reports: "The gold Plymouth Fury would turn the corner onto Hathorne Street in Salem, and Bernie McDaid and his buddies would scatter as if playing a game of hide and seek - which, in a way, they were. They'd jump over bushes, hide in the house, run into backyards - anything to avoid the car and the man who drove it. It was the late 1960s. The man behind the wheel was their parish priest, the Rev. Joseph E. Birmingham..."

Collections of the coverage
ARCHIVES: The Baltimore Sun and The Minneapolis Star Tribune add collections of their coverage of clergy sexual abuse, also linked on the top right of this page.

Sex abuse scandal profoundly personal
Reaction 'triggered' by reports, friends say
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Scott Shane and Del Quentin Wilber report: "One evening last week, watching an NBA playoff game with friends at home, Dontee Stokes made a seemingly casual remark about the sexual-abuse scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church. 'He just made a statement that it's messed up what these priests were getting away with,' said Damon E. Fisher, a friend and co-owner of the barber shop where Stokes cuts hair..."

Shooting suspect cites priest's abuse
Dontee Stokes, 26, alleges Rev. Maurice Blackwell fondled him over 3 years; 'Wanted apology, didn't get one'; Enters Baltimore church, asks for salvation and tells pastor of shooting
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Del Quentin Wilber and John Rivera report: "A 26-year-old man charged with shooting a Roman Catholic priest he says molested him years ago walked into a Northwest Baltimore church service hours after the assault, came forward to seek salvation and later confessed, the pastor said last night..."

Baltimore Priest Shot; Sex Abuse Alleged
Suspect Says Pastor Fondled Him as Teen
MARYLAND: The Washington Post's Paul Schwartzman and Caryle Murphy report:"A Roman Catholic priest was shot outside his Baltimore home Monday night by a man who had accused the priest nine years ago of fondling him in his church office, police said yesterday. It is apparently the first incident of violence against a priest associated with the church's growing sex abuse scandal..."

Baltimore Priest Shot by Man Who Accused Him of Abuse
MARYLAND: The New York Times' Francis X. Clines reports: "A ALTIMORE, May 14 — A suspended Roman Catholic priest was shot and seriously wounded outside his home here by a man who told the police he had been sexually abused by the priest nine years ago, the authorities reported today. The shooting occurred on Monday night when the 52-year-old priest, the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell, was confronted on the sidewalk by the gunman and shot three times..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/15/2002 07:10:22 AM

Tuesday, May 14, 2002

Alleged abuse victim
shoots Baltimore priest
Suspect tells police he shot cleric
who molested him nine years ago
MARYLAND: MSNBC reports: "BALTIMORE, May 14 — A Roman Catholic priest was shot and seriously wounded by a man who told police the priest sexually abused him nine years ago, authorities said Tuesday. DONTEE D. STOKES, 26, turned himself in to police Monday night, saying he had shot the Rev. Maurice Blackwell, police spokeswoman Ragina Averella said. He was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault and handgun violations. Blackwell, 56, was in serious but stable condition Tuesday at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/14/2002 08:30:20 PM

Man charged in ex-priest's shooting
Suspect turns himself in, accuses former pastor of molesting him 9 years ago; Blackwell removed from parish in '98 after admitting to sex abuse of minor
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun reports: "A man who accuses a former Roman Catholic priest of molesting him nine years ago has been charged with shooting the ex-pastor last night, Baltimore police said today. Dontee Stokes, 26, turned himself in about 11:45 Monday night, saying he had shot Maurice J. Blackwell after the former priest refused to talk to him, police spokeswoman Ragina C. Averella said..."

Keeler, priests to discuss scandal
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun reports: "Cardinal William H. Keeler will meet today with at least 165 of his priests for a "listening session" to hear their thoughts and concerns about the clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the U.S. Catholic Church..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/14/2002 03:06:16 PM

St. John's Abbey let priest keep post after allegation
MINNESOTA: The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Warren Wolfe and Paul McEnroe report: "St. John's Abbey was told in the late 1980s that the Rev. Richard Eckroth had allegedly sexually abused a boy years earlier. But officials at the Collegeville abbey allowed him to continue working as a parish priest in the Bahamas for at least six more years, according to records obtained by an attorney who settled a lawsuit with the abbey in 1995..."

C L E R G Y S E X U A L A B U S E
MAGAZINE SPECIAL ISSUE: Lutheran Magazine publishes a special issue on the topic.

I could die or heal
Breaking the silence about clergy sexual abuse begins the healing journey
PROFILE: Lutheran Magazine's Sonia Solomonson reports: "Linda Maue jokingly says she has a 'big mouth.' She admits it just may be because she has to speak for so many women who can't speak — because of fear or shame, or because they've taken their life. Fear and shame aren't strangers to Maue. They've been her companions since a pastor, who was much beloved by her and the congregation he served, sexually abused her. He is no longer an ELCA pastor..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/14/2002 10:56:55 AM Battling poison with ink and holy water
COLUMN: The Fort Worth Star Telegram's David A. House writes: "Holy water and ink can be quite effective against lies. So went the thought last week as I read more developments in the priest pedophilia scourge and thought about ridiculous accusations that "the media" are deliberately sensationalizing the situation..."

CLERGY ABUSE
Catholic scandals speed victims' movement
NATIONAL: The Religion Newswriters Foundation reports (and includes resources for reporters): "The scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church have brought new awareness to the issue of child and adolescent sexual abuse. Across the country, child advocates, prosecutors, police and medical experts say the intense spotlight will likely speed along a growing movement to treat all young victims of abuse with more sensitivity..."

Police sift claims against priest
Prosecutors are working with police who are investigating sex abuse claims against a priest by ex-altar boys.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' WAVENEY ANN MOORE and WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE report: "PINELLAS PARK -- Police and prosecutors are jointly reviewing allegations against a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing six boys in the 1980s. Pinellas Park police confirmed Monday they are investigating the Rev. Robert Schaeufele over allegations that he abused boys while at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Pinellas Park..."

Questions for the bishops
EDITORIAL: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes: "'Bishops do not like to put pedophiles in positions where they hurt children,' Green Bay Bishop Robert J. Banks said this week. Then why did they keep doing it?"

Once a Model, Chicago Panel on Priests Now Is Faulted
ILLINOIS: The New York Times' Sam Dillon reports: "A decade ago, as it reeled from the now familiar trauma of a sexual abuse scandal, the Archdiocese of Chicago pioneered an institution within the American Catholic Church: a review board that involved laypeople in deciding whether to remove from the ministry priests accused of molesting children. In the years since, the board has gained a national reputation, removed about a dozen priests and inspired scores of other dioceses to create similar panels of their own. But recently some Catholics and church critics have questioned how vigorously the Chicago board and its counterparts investigate reports of abuse..."

6 more priests linked to minors uncovered
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Heinen reports: "Six more priests who have questionable histories involving sexual conduct with minors are serving in active ministries and will have their cases reviewed by the community commission that Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland appointed, archdiocesan officials announced Monday..."

Bishop among clergy trained to report abuse
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly was among those in the Catholic Worcester Diocese trained yesterday on detecting and reporting child sexual or physical abuse. Clergy under the new mandated reporting law that took effect May 3 must file reports on any allegations of abuse or neglect they received in past years..."

Rape by priest alleged in latest suit
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- A class action suit was filed in Worcester Superior Court yesterday afternoon on behalf of alleged sexual abuse victims of the Rev. Robert E. Kelley."

Forum: Gay priests: the new pariahs?
The pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church is leading to thoughtless scapegoating
OPINION: America Editor James Martin writes in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "NEW YORK - Public blame for the Catholic church's current crisis is falling increasingly on homosexual priests. Commentators cite their apparent tendency for sexually abusing minors, refer to their supposed inability to live celibately, talk darkly of "lavender rectories" where sexual acting out is the norm, and take as an article of faith the "dangers" of the gay priesthood. In the wake of the sexual-abuse scandals, what passes for intelligent commentary about gay priests -- even in Catholic circles -- is often an unhealthy mix of rumor-mongering, stereotyping and scapegoating..."

Pass the clergy reporting bill
EDITORIAL: The Chicago Tribune writes: "`Bless me, father, for I have sinned.' So begins the ritual of confession, or reconciliation, one of Catholicism's seven sacraments. If the sinner confesses to molesting a child, he also has committed a crime. And a substantial number of lawmakers in Illinois think the priest who hears such a confession ought to be required to report him to the earthly authorities. But leaders of the Catholic Church say there has to be protection for the secrecy of the sacrament, and last week the Illinois Senate agreed with them. It passed a provision to exempt clergy from mandatory reporting of child abuse if the information is learned through confession or in the course of acting as a spiritual adviser..."

Church rite can hinder reporting of priests
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Aamer Madhani and Julia Lieblich report: "As legislators in Illinois and elsewhere seek to force Catholic clergy to report allegations of sexual abuse, they are finding the confession booth to be guarded by a thicket of legal, political and theological issues..."

Court refuses to get involved in clergy case
NATIONAL: The AP's Gina Holland reports: "WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court sidestepped a timely question today: how can priests be sued for alleged misconduct? Justices refused without comment to review an acrimonious case involving a priest, a divorced former governor and a secretly taped confrontation over the sexual infidelity of the governor's former wife..."

Cardinal Defends Reassigning Pedophile
MASSACHUSETTS: The Washington Post's Pamela Fredinand reports: "BOSTON, May 13 -- Showing visible signs of emotion today for the first time in three days of questioning, Cardinal Bernard F. Law angrily defended his honesty and acknowledged he was aware of John J. Geoghan's history of pedophilia before assigning him to another parish, according to one of the ex-priest's alleged victims..."

Accusers: Law knew Geoghan posed problem
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "A combative Bernard Cardinal Law admitted under oath yesterday he had read two 1989 clinical reports diagnosing John J. Geoghan as a pedophile before allowing the now-jailed ex-priest to return to parish work in Weston, according to two plaintiffs who sat in on Law's five-hour deposition..."

Law deposition ends, for now
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's David Arnold and Michael Rezendes report: "In the third day of his sworn testimony, Cardinal Bernard F. Law yesterday answered questions about three 1989 evaluations of then-priest John J. Geoghan that diagnosed him as a pedophile, and Law's own decision to allow Geoghan to resume parish duties at St. Julia Church in Weston..."

Cardinal Recalls Letter About Problems, 2 Say
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports: "BOSTON, May 13 — Testifying for a third day in the case of the pedophile priest John J. Geoghan, Cardinal Bernard F. Law said he did recall having read some documents that referred to Father Geoghan's problems in the 1980's, two plaintiffs who sat in on the deposition reported. In contrast to the first two days of his deposition last week, when the cardinal said he did not remember most of the critical letters and other documents referring to Father Geoghan, Cardinal Law said today that he recognized some of the records that plaintiffs' lawyers asked him about and that he remembered having conversations with his top deputies about Father Geoghan, the two plaintiffs said..."

The Pilot navigates through personnel shake-up
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: A personnel shake-up is under way at The Pilot, the archdiocesan newspaper that straddles the line between journalistic enterprise and public relations organ..."

Church loses the last word
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory writes: "edward Breen didn't get as far as he did in his 92 years by leaving the details to others, so in the end, in his dying days, he summoned his only daughter to his bedside and told her just how he wanted to go...They were the simple requests of an unfailingly dignified man, someone who, just two nights before he died, told Nancy, 'You're the second-best thing that ever happened to me.''After that, Nancy thought to herself, 'There's no one who could stop me from following through on his wishes.' It ends up, though, that someone tried - and hard. The Roman Catholic Church, in the form of a priest at her father's Lynnfield parish, tried to block Nancy Breen Shields at every turn..."

Bay Area priests fear crackdown on gay seminarians
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Don Lattin report: "Leaders at Roman Catholic seminaries in the Bay Area fear that the sex scandal roiling the church will inspire a crackdown on gay candidates to the priesthood -- even those who make a vow of lifelong celibacy..."

COURT RULING
Church yet to deliver medical case history
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer reports: "A Superior Court judge has ordered the Archdiocese of Boston to immediately turn over all psychiatric and medical records pertaining to the Rev. Paul R. Shanley, who is being held on three counts of child rape for allegations dating to his tenure as a priest in Newton in the 1980s. By yesterday evening, church officials had yet to comply with Friday's court ruling, according to Roderick MacLeish Jr., the lawyer for plaintiff Paul Busa, who alleges that Shanley sexually abused him from 1983 through 1990, beginning when he was 6 years old..."

SITE SERVICES:

Get the latest from the Abuse Tracker in your e-mail box every morning
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Click here to submit the Internet address of relevant material.
What is this site all about, anyway?
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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/14/2002 06:56:35 AM

Monday, May 13, 2002

Law Angry in Questioning on Church Sex Scandal
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston Cardinal Bernard Law in a deposition on Monday angrily rejected charges he was negligent when he failed to keep a priest accused of sexual abuse away from children, plaintiffs in the case said. Law, the senior U.S. prelate, answered questions for about five hours, in his third day of pretrial testimony in a suit accusing him and others in the Boston Archdiocese of covering up abuse by defrocked priest and convicted pedophile John Geoghan..."

Court Demands Priest's Medical Records
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP reports: "BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Archdiocese was ordered Monday to immediately turn over psychiatric and medical records of the Rev. Paul Shanley, the retired priest who has been charged with raping a boy. Middlesex Superior Court Justice Janet Sanders ruled that Shanley had waived any right to keep the records private when he turned them over to the archdiocese. A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday to determine whether the documents will be made public..."

Minn. Archbishop Leads Abuse Panel
NATIONAL: The AP reports: "MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- When Roman Catholic bishops gather next month to craft a new national policy for handling clergy sex abuse, a key committee will do much of the work. Leading that group will be Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, a man who knows all about helping the church recover from scandal. Flynn once had the task of piecing together a Louisiana diocese torn apart by the molestation scandal that first brought national attention to priestly sex abuse..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/13/2002 08:08:01 PM

Roman Catholic Church Shifts Legal Strategy
Aggressive Litigation Replaces Quiet Settlements
NATIONAL: The Washington Post's Michael Powell and Lois Romano report: "Eighteen months ago, she sued the Roman Catholic Church of Hawaii after a parish sacristan who trained her son as an altar boy pleaded guilty to molesting him. Assuming the church would settle before the case went to trial, the 41-year-old single mother was shocked last month when the diocese charged in a countersuit that it was she who was negligent for allowing her boys, then 7 and 10, to sleep over at the sacristan's apartment..."

Camden Diocese tries new tack in abuse crisis
A special 32-page paper went to 130,000 homes. It stressed safeguards and featured an interview with a priest's victim.
NEW JERSEY: The Philadelphia Inquirer's Elisa Ung reports: The Diocese of Camden, facing a wave of allegations of sexual abuse by its priests, has devoted a 32-page special edition of its newspaper to the scandal - including an interview with a man who says he was molested as a child. The May 10 issue of the Catholic Star Herald was mailed to the homes of about 130,000 Catholic families in South Jersey and was posted on the newspaper's Web site at www.catholicstarherald.org.

Abuse by convict priest connects two strangers
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Robin Washington reports: "Though they have never met, two men a half-continent apart say they feel inextricably linked, co-owners of a dark past few would understand and no one would want..."

Church paid legal fees for priests
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "The Archdiocese of Boston has shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for priests accused of sex abuse, frequently granting unsecured loans to the penniless alleged molesters, according to church documents and lawyers familiar with the practice..."

Arch McColl: Catholic Church needs 'open window'
OPINION: Dallas lawyer writes in the Dallas Morning News: "As the lawyer who recently represented the Rev. Stephen Bierschenk in his dispute with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, I have concluded that a big issue facing the church is the lack of accountability of bishops. Indeed, the diocese's handling of the matter suggests three lessons for the church:"

Putting priest 'on parole' troubles some people
WASHINGTON: The AP's Luis Cabrera reports: "The Rev. John Cornelius has been convicted of no crime, but he must meet several times each month with a Washington state parole officer hired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. The priest, accused of molestation by at least three men and now on administrative leave, has been observed by the officer since 1997 in his limited contacts with parishioners..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/13/2002 06:48:43 AM

Sunday, May 12, 2002

Physician has hand in healing the church
Priest sex-abuse cases spurred native Hoosier to form advocacy group and lobby for reforms.
NATIONAL: The Indianapols Star's Judith Cebula reports: "When Dr. Jim Muller was in medical school in 1967, he decided he was going to prevent a nuclear war. It was a big dream for a young Catholic from St. Joan of Arc parish in Indianapolis...Now a 59-year-old cardiologist living near Boston, Muller has accepted an equally daunting challenge -- helping to transform the Catholic Church in the midst of one of the greatest crises it has faced..."

The Whole Truth and Nothing But
NATIONAL: The New York Times' Adam Liptak reports: "THE law is entitled to every man's evidence, the adage goes. It's a nobly democratic principle. In practice, though, as when Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, the senior figure in the American Roman Catholic Church, was required by a local judge to answer questions under oath last week about his actions in the case of a pedophile priest, John J. Geoghan, the results are usually less than inspiring..."

A Collection Conundrum
COLUMN: Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin writes: "I am standing on the sidewalk outside the Sheraton Hotel on Seventh Avenue on Friday night and the doorman tells me that the big labor dinner being held by the cardinal, an event that was supposed to bring him a million, had been canceled..."

Law addresses congregation at end of tumultuous week
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Greg Sukiennik reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law broke with recent practice during Mass on Sunday, making no direct reference to the clergy sexual abuse scandal that took several new twists in the past week. But at the weekly Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Law spoke generally of the current suffering as part of a Mother's Day homily..."

The abuse that knows no gender
COLUMN: The Seattle Times' Nicole Brodeur writes: "The woman called with a tale of abuse by a member of the church, and my mind raced through the reams of horror stories I have read in recent weeks: Priest befriends parish family, grooms the child, then abuses him or her. Silence is kept until years pass and memories surge up — and our collective faith is rattled like a loose door in a hurricane. Almost, the woman told me. But her abuser was a nun..."

Published Earlier:

A woman priest's view of sex-abuse scandal
OPINION: Episcopal priest LAUREN R. STANLEY
writes: "I am a priest. Every morning, I get up and put on a black shirt. To that shirt, I attach a white collar, size 161/2, 11/2 inches tall, made out of flexible plastic. Then I go into the world, clearly marked as a priest of the church. Of course, there are many who are confused when they see me, a woman, wearing what is clearly a clergy collar..."

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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/12/2002 09:19:17 PM

"I'm sorry, Cardinal Law...It's just not going to work..."
EDITORIAL CARTOON: A cartoon by Bruce Beattie of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, published on Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index.

Church rules allow active role for married priests.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Former priest Joe McOscar writes to the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Among the many issues that have surfaced in light of the sex-abuse furor have been the matters of activating married priests (25,000 in the United States alone) back into service and rendering the celibacy requirement optional. After being dispensed of my duties as a cleric by the institutional church some 25 years ago, I began to be called back by the people to ministry in the early '90s. Since then, I have found the old argument about lack of dedication between marriage and ministry to be totally specious..."

Restrictions don't confine priests to abbey; several continue to travel
MINNEAPOLIS: The Minneapolis Tribune's Warren Wolfe, Pam Louwagie and Jackie Crosby report: "Restrictions on the movements of nine St. John's Abbey priests accused of sexual abuse have not kept at least four of them from traveling to Rome, the abbey's missions in the Bahamas and Japan, or elsewhere in Minnesota and other states..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/12/2002 11:16:53 AM The cloud over the collar
Bay Area priests learn to approach children -- and scandal -- with new sensitivity
CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Chronicle's Don Lattin reports: "Over at Marin Catholic High School, the sophomores had just come together for a campus retreat. It began with an 'icebreaker' -- a group bonding exercise where one student is lifted up and passed down over the heads of other giggling 10th-graders. Father Tom Daly, the popular chaplain on the Kentfield campus, wasn't sure what to do when the teenagers turned to him and said it was his turn to take a ride..."

Alcohol problems fuel Hub priest scandal
MASSACHUSETS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "In the search for answers in the clergy sex-abuse scandal, fingers have pointed in many directions. Bad seminary training; the celibacy requirement for priests; the sexual upheaval of the 1960s and '70s; and what critics call a ``homosexual subculture'' within the clergy are among the reasons most often given as a cause. But another factor that lurks behind many allegations reported within the Archdiocese of Boston over the past two decades has received scant public mention. Alcohol..."

The sin of falling in love
More often than not, when priests break their vows of celibacy it's with adult women, not young boys. But it's still complicated, and sometimes devastating.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' LANE DeGREGORY reports: "On a hot, muggy day near the end of that torturous summer, the Rev. Lee Breyer sat in his dorm room, trying to decide what to do. He had spent half his life in seminaries and religious schools. He had been a Roman Catholic priest for five years. He was 31, about to finish a doctoral degree at Notre Dame. His path had seemed so clear. His promises, so easy to keep. Then he met Carol Ann. A nun..."

Mentor programs up ante: Priest scandal puts emphasis on screening
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Christopher Cox reports: "As accusations of sex abuse by Catholic priests and the church's mishandling of these cases rock the Archdiocese of Boston, adults involved in local youth service programs said the scandal has only increased their resolve to put children first..."

Accused priest stayed active
Church wrongly said man was not serving
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' Jim Schaefer and David Crumm report: "Catholic leaders in Detroit backpedaled Friday from their public assurances a day earlier that a newly accused priest has not been working at any churches in recent years. In fact, the Rev. Walter Lezuchowski, 69, has been saying mass regularly at St. Ronald Church in Clinton Township for the last five years, Detroit archdiocese officials said late Friday..."

Treat the Abuser, Reduce the Risk?
Those fighting to protect children from sexual molestation confront many unknowns. But some methods to curb ruinous impulses hold promise.
NATIONAL: The Los Angeles Times' Linda Marsh reports: "The scandal that has engulfed the Roman Catholic Church has thrown light on a form of sexual abuse that, perhaps more than any other, has always hidden in the shadows. The sexual victimization of children by adults reaches far beyond the church to permeate society. Some experts say that as many as one in four girls and one out of six boys under the age of 18 will be molested at least once in their lives..."

Chicago church jolted by allegation against priest
Archdiocese seeks cleric who left U.S.
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Donna Freedman and Shia Kapos report: "Like other priests, Rev. Daniel McCarthy has grieved over the sex-abuse scandal gripping the Catholic church. But he never thought it could touch his own parish. When he learned that one of his associate pastors at St. Tarcissus might have had 'an inappropriate relationship' with a minor, it was 'a bolt from the blue,' he said..."

Accused priest leaves country
Is facing allegations he abused a girl while in Chicago
ILLINOIS: The Daily Southtown's Allison Hantschel reports: "A Roman Catholic priest secretly left the country this week, fleeing allegations he sexually abused a teenage girl while serving at a Chicago parish.
The Archdiocese of Chicago confirmed Friday that the Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti, a priest from India who served at a North Side parish, disappeared before authorities could interrogate him, just a day after the complaint was lodged..."

The Cardinal in Court
COLUMN: Syndicated columnist Mary McGrory writes in The Washington Post: "Massachusetts Judge Constance Sweeney appears to be the kind of woman who was brought up to genuflect to a cardinal and kiss his ring...But Judge Sweeney ordered Cardinal Bernard Law into the dock -- where Boston thinks he should have been since the Boston Globe broke the sickening saga of Law's pampering of the pedophiles slithering through his diocese..."

Mexican Parishioners Accept Priests Who Spurn Celibacy
Some Clerics Marry, Risking Wrath of Church Hierarchy
MEXICO: The Washington Post's Mary Jordan reports: "SAN BARTOLO COYOTEPEC, Mexico -- When the Rev. Manuel Marinero announced in 1997 that he had fallen in love with a female parishioner, the Roman Catholic Church immediately ended his 24-year career as a priest. But his village rallied around him..."

How Did Hartford Archdiocese Escape The Scandals?
COlUMN: Hartford Courant columnist Tom Condon writes: "Whenever the subject of the Catholic Church's horrid pedophilia scandal is raised, someone invariably asks me how Hartford managed to avoid it. With explosive revelations in Boston and Bridgeport, why not the Archdiocese of Hartford, where more than 500 priests serve almost three-quarters of a million Catholics?"

Debating More Than the Church's Next Potluck
NEW YORK: The New York Times' David W. Chen reports: :CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y., May 11 — Not so long ago, the weightiest matters facing the lay leaders of the Holy Name of Mary Church here might have included painting the roof or making sure that the next bake sale, by golly, would be the best ever. But these days, the church's parish council meets weekly, not monthly, to tackle issues of extreme importance. On one night, the council is listening to a parishioner seeking assurances that the new pastor has a clean record. On another, it is hiring a counselor who can help parishioners talk to their children about sexual abuse..."

Youth Group Unaffected by Scandal, but Aware of It
NEW YORK: The New York Times' Sara Rimer reports:"DEDHAM, Mass., May 7 — It was pizza and prayer night at St. Mary's Roman Catholic church on Monday, and about 80 teenagers were huddled together on the floor of the candlelit parish center basement. Their youth minister, Sean Flynn, reminded them that they were two weeks away from Pentecost, and one week from Mother's Day..."

Scandal erodes traditional deference to church
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen reports: "When Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney ordered Cardinal Bernard F. Law to submit to questioning by lawyers for the alleged victims of convicted pedophile and defrocked priest John J. Geoghan last week, it was a legal watershed. Law became the first cardinal in the United States to be deposed over his actions as a prince of the church..."

Central Mass. priest abuse victims band together
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Gazette and Telegram's Richard Nangle reports: "Just days after publicizing an e-mail address soliciting people who have been sexually abused by Rev. Robert E. Kelley, three women who have filed suit against the priest have received 10 responses. And they expect there will be more. Meanwhile, a Leominster parent is organizing a local chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a Wellesley-based group of Catholic parishioners formed in March as a response to the many cases of sexual abuse by priests that were being reported out of the Archdiocese of Boston..."

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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/12/2002 07:33:12 AM