Saturday, May 25, 2002

When priests commit suicide
NATIONAL: The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Amanda Garrett reports: :" What choice did he have? The Rev. Don Rooney had watched other priests struggle after being accused of molesting a child. Could they ever explain this? Would anyone trust them again? Now, he was the accused. As he sat in his green Buick outside a drugstore in Medina County the morning of April 4, Roo ney had con trol over only one thing - the choice of whether to live or to die. He chose death. So did at least 15 others in his situation. The local priest is one of at least 16 Catholic priests, 12 in the United States, who have killed themselves since 1986 amid allegations of child sexual abuse, according to a search of records by The Plain Dealer..."

Additional Coverage from the Plain Dealer

Clergy from Roman Catholic summer camp in New Hampshire facing allegations of abuse
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP's J.M. Hirsch reports: "GILMANTON, N.H. (AP) A Roman Catholic summer camp for children has become a target of sex abuse allegations from former campers, including a man who said he was sexually assaulted in the chapel by a former camp director in 1972..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/25/2002 10:11:35 PM D.A. asks archdiocese for details about trail of $450,000 payment
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's MARY ZAHN and MARIE ROHDE report: "District Attorney E. Michael McCann said Friday that he has asked the Milwaukee Archdiocese to provide him with documents showing where $450,000 came from to pay off a man who accused Archbishop Rembert Weakland of sexual assault. In addition, he said, he has asked for an accounting of how much money Weakland contributed to the diocese in his 25 years as bishop..."

Agreement wasn't enough
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom KERTSCHER reports: "The Milwaukee archdiocese succeeded for years in covering up sexual impropriety cases involving priests, but when one such matter touched Archbishop Rembert Weakland, not even a $450,000 payment and a confidentiality agreement by a top law firm could preserve the secrecy..."

Milwaukee archbishop's temporary replacement urges parishioners to recall good deeds
WISCONSIN: The AP's MELISSA McCORD report: "Rembert Weakland's temporary successor called on parishioners in the Milwaukee Archdiocese to remember the good deeds of the archbishop despite the revelation he paid a man $450,000 to settle a sexual misconduct allegation...On Friday, Sklba posted a message on the archdiocese Web site noting how Catholics have recently 'celebrated the remarkable accomplishments of the archbishop' as he neared his retirement, 'and we dare not forget them if we are a people of genuine gratitude...'"

(Updated with speculation on Weakland successor)
Pope allows Weakland to retire
Sklba takes over; administrator to be named
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Heinen reports: "...In the meantime, Weakland was sequestered in his residence Friday. Topczewski described him as spending time in prayer, and was "remorseful for the strain and stress this has brought to the archdiocese and to the church...Names of potential candidates to succeed Weakland are traded in casual conversations and e-mail exchanges in southeastern Wisconsin like stock market tips..."

Mother seeks probe of DSS
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "A Leominster woman has filed a complaint with a state agency seeking an investigation into the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. Mary Jean maintains that DSS targeted her family after she complained in late 2000 about the assignment of a priest to St. Leo's parish and school in Leominster. The priest, the Rev. Peter Inzerillo, had previously been named in a lawsuit accusing him, and another priest, of sexual abuse..."

Pay the Victims, Protect the Church
OPINION: Dirk Olin writes in The New York Times: "he child sex abuse scandal that has roiled the Catholic Church for the past few months has entered a crucial stage...One way to stave off financial collapse may be to create a victims' restitution fund — like the one that was created for the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks — that distributes available funds outside the tort system..."

Vicar Suspended Amid Allegations
Accused of improper relationship 20 years ago
NEW YORK: Newsday's Stephanie Saul reports: "The Archdiocese of New York on Friday suspended its vicar for development, the metropolitan area's highest-ranking priest so far entangled in the church's sex abuse scandal..."

Seattle's Rev. Cornelius: 'I have failed'
WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times' Ray Rivera and Janet I. Tu report: "The Rev. John Cornelius, a prominent Roman Catholic priest, resigned yesterday amid allegations that he molested at least a dozen men between 1968 and 1985. In a contritely worded statement, Cornelius apologized for the pain he has caused his accusers and the church and for the humiliation he has brought to his family, especially his adopted children..."

Archbishop Brunett's statement
TEXT: Statement by Archbishop Alex J. Brunett regarding the resignation of Father John Cornelius: "It saddens me greatly to know that many persons' lives have been disturbed or damaged by the actions of one of our priests. In the name of the Church, I offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies to the entire community with special sensitivity to those who have been hurt by the actions of Father John. I once again reiterate my offer to provide pastoral counseling to anyone who has been harmed..."

Rev. Cornelius' statement
TEXT: Statement of Father John Cornelius: "...To my Church, God's holy people I have tried to be a good priest, but it is obvious that I have failed and I accept responsibility...To the good people of the parishes I have served, oh how I love you and yet I have failed you. You deserved better..."

Church places pastor on leave
Allegation raised of abuse of a child
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeffer reports: "The Archdiocese of Boston yesterday removed a West Bridgewater pastor from parish duty and placed him on administrative leave because of an allegation that he sexually abused a child in the past..."

Lawyers ask court to merge many priest-abuse suits
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "Three attorneys representing some 250 alleged clergy sex abuse victims urged the state Superior Court yesterday to consolidate as many of their lawsuits as possible under one judge to avoid 'inconsistent rulings on identical issues...'''

Appeal filed to restore abuse case
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's John Ellement reports: "Saying the victim was too young to remember some events correctly, Suffolk County prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to reinstate the two most serious criminal charges against defrocked priest John Geoghan..."

Former Orange County Priest Is Charged Again
CALIFORNIA/WISCONSIN: The Los Angeles Times' William Lobdell reports: "A Roman Catholic priest, convicted of child molestation in the Midwest before being transferred to Orange County in 1976, was charged Wednesday in Milwaukee with nine new felony counts involving sexual abuse of three minors in the early 1970s..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/25/2002 07:16:27 AM

Friday, May 24, 2002

Archbishop Plans to Make Apology
Published May 24, 2002, 4:49 PM EDT
WISCONSIN: The AP's MELISSA McCORD reports: "MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who resigned effective Friday after acknowledging he settled a sexual misconduct allegation against him, plans to make a public apology, a spokesman said. The time and place of the apology has not been determined, spokesman Jerry Topczewski said..."

Pope accepts Weakland's resignation
Auxiliary Bishop Sklba immediately assumes duties
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Heinen reports: "Pope John Paul II has quickly granted Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland's request to speed up his retirement, with the Vatican announcing on Friday that Weakland's resignation had been accepted. The moment that action was communicated to Weakland, he was officially retired and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba assumed Weakland's duties..."

Priest pleads guilty to abuse
SHOCKING ADMISSION COULD BOOST CIVIL SUIT
CALIFORNIA: The San Jose Mercury News' Rodney Foo and Brandon Bailey
report: "After years of sexually molesting a retarded dishwasher in his care, an 81-year-old retired priest took only minutes Thursday to confess before a Santa Clara County judge, with a guilty plea that both astonished observers and bolstered a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Jesuit order..."

Romley to launch inquiry into Phoenix Diocese
ARIZONA: The Arizona Republic's Joseph A. Reaves reports: "Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said Thursday that he would begin a "preliminary inquiry" into whether the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was disclosing all it should about possible sexual misconduct by priests..."

Church reveals sex allegations
7 South Florida priests were suspended, 4 have retired amid complaints since
FLORIDA: The Miami Herald's JAY WEAVER, LISA ARTHUR AND AMY DRISCOLL report: "Seven South Florida priests have been suspended and four others have retired since 1998 because of sex-abuse allegations lodged against them, the Archdiocese of Miami disclosed for the first time Thursday..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/24/2002 05:39:53 PM

Pope Accepts US Bishop's Resignation
Fri May 24, 6:41 AM ET
VATICAN/NATIONAL: The AP reports: "VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican said Friday that Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II has accepted the resignation of Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who was accused of sexual assault by a man..."

Additional Weakland Coverage Below

Under new editor, The Pilot strongly backs Law's actions
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Robin Washington report: "In its first issue following the departure of longtime editor Monsignor Peter Conley, The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, took on a more combative stance in defense of Bernard Cardinal Law today..."

Bishop exerts control over new lay group
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Tom Mashberg report: "Bernard Cardinal Law's top lieutenant yesterday asserted the right of the church hierarchy to oversee a powerful new organization of lay Roman Catholics..."

LAITY, BISHOP MEET
Activist group told to work 'with and under' Law
Wellesley-based leaders say group plans no changes
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "A top aide to Cardinal Bernard F. Law yesterday told a delegation of leading lay activists that they have a right to meet, but that their fast-growing organization should operate only 'with and under the bishop of the diocese...'"

Weakland accused, denies sexual abuse
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: "Archbishop Rembert Weakland asked the Vatican to speed up his retirement Thursday after a former Marquette University theology student revealed that he was paid $450,000 in hush money to silence his allegations that Weakland sexually assaulted him. Paul Marcoux, 54, received the money in 1998 - nearly two decades after the alleged encounter with Weakland..."

District Attorney may seek probe into source of payment
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's MARY ZAHN reports: "Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said Thursday that he would consider appointing a special prosecutor to determine the source of $450,000 that was used to pay off a man who accused Archbishop Rembert Weakland of sexual assault..."

Timeline: Weakland, Marcoux relationship
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: "April-May 2002: The Weakland letter resurfaces; Marcoux talks to a Journal Sentinel reporter several times and agrees to meet with the reporter in San Francisco, where he now lives. He later decides not to meet. May 23, 2002: ABC's "Good Morning America" reports the settlement, citing the agreement Marcoux and Weakland reached in 1998. In a statement, Weakland denies he abused Marcoux..."

Some shocked, some saddened, but some not surprised
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Heinen reports: "Sadness settled over shock, disbelief and anger Thursday as Catholics struggled to come to terms with the revelation that an archbishop whom progressives once hailed as a potential American pope had fallen from public grace in the twilight of his career..."

Marcoux a mix of conflicting emotions
Man who says Weakland abused him expresses both love, hate for archbishop
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Meg Kissinger reports: "Paul Marcoux, the man Archbishop Rembert Weakland gambled his reputation on, is an unemployed houseguest who vacillates quickly in conversation from a delicate victim desperately seeking justice to a haughty accuser bent on vengeance..."

Questions grow, and the answers shrink
COLUMN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Laurel Walker reports:
"...Weakland's response to Thursday's revelations included this line: 'I do not want to be an obstacle to that search for credibility on the part of the church. . . .'There's one way to avoid it. Just tell us the truth..."

Weakland must do better
EDITORIAL: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes: "...The Catholics of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, who have often given so freely of their money, their time and their labor, deserve better. Finally, they deserve the truth."

Milwaukee reels over archbishop admission
$450,000 payoff to adult accuser
WISCONSIN:The Chicago Tribune's John Keilman and Monica Davey, and Rick Hepp report: "MILWAUKEE -- Archbishop Rembert Weakland, one of the most respected voices for liberal causes within the U.S. Catholic Church, acknowledged that he reached a financial settlement with a man who on Thursday accused him of "date rape" 20 years ago..."

Accused of Sexual Assault, Archbishop Seeks to Retire
WISCONSIN: The New York Times' Laurie Goodstein reports: "Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee asked the Vatican yesterday to speed up his retirement, hours after a man gave a television interview saying the archbishop had sexually assaulted him when he was a 33-year-old graduate student, then paid him $450,000 in 1998 in a confidential settlement. The accusation is the first direct accusation of sexual misconduct against an American archbishop since the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church began in January..."

Shock Over Accusations in Milwaukee
WISCONSIN: The New York Times' John W. Fountain reports: "ILWAUKEE, May 23 — Shock mixed with outrage today as church leaders here learned of accusations of sexual misconduct against Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland. 'Can you believe this is happening?' asked the Rev. Jeff Thielen, 53, the pastor of St. Lucy Catholic Church in Racine. 'I think all the bishops should quit. They should all quit and be replaced. The hurting has to stop. Someone's got to do better by all of the victims. I've been a priest since 1974. I almost wish I wasn't a priest. How can people stay Catholic in the face of this? It's unending..."

Weakland's hush money a disservice to faithful
COLUMN:The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Stingl writes: "In February I snapped a photograph. It's a picture of my Mom standing next to Archbishop Rembert Weakland...She's been showing the photo to everyone she knows. It's the kind of snapshot she could flash someday to heaven's doorman to get a better table. On Thursday it hurt her to look at it. "I don't think I'll mount that picture on the wall," she said..."

Court: Norwich Diocese cannot be sued in New Mexico for priest's abuse
NEW MEXICO/CONNECTICUT: The AP's Barry Massey reports: "SANTA FE -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich cannot be sued for damages in New Mexico by a victim of alleged sexual abuse by one of its priests that occurred when the priest worked in Santa Fe, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The 3-2 decision tossed out Navor Tercero's lawsuit against the diocese; the suit alleged abuse occurred in Santa Fe during the 1960s by the Rev. Bernard Bissonnette, a priest who came to New Mexico for treatment concerning pedophilia..."

Priest Charged From Old File on Sex Abuse
NEW YORK: The New York Times' Daniel J. Wakin reports: "Investigators arrested the first Roman Catholic priest yesterday to be charged in New York based on the old case files that the church recently turned over to sex-abuse prosecutors. The priest, the Rev. Francis X. Nelson, 38, was handcuffed near his Harlem church and charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl at her home in Brooklyn three years ago..."

Adults are the forgotten victims when clergy abuse their power
COLUMN: Sacramento Bee Columnist Marjie Lundstrom writes: "As scandal swirls about the Catholic Church, and story after story details the sexual abuse of children and teens, another set of victims remains in the shadows. Overlooked, often scorned, their stories are seldom told. In California, the law just looks away. These are the adult victims of clergy abuse -- women and men, though most are women, lured into sexual relationships they never wanted but couldn't refuse..."

Stonewalling in Rome
EDITORIAL: The Palm Beach Post writes: "They still don't get it in the Vatican. Pope John Paul II is off to Azerbaijan, where they don't talk about wayward priests, but his associates want the church to circle the wagons. At this rate, however, the circle will be empty, and there won't be many wagons..."

Woman alleges priest's abuse
The 31-year-old woman says the man molested her for eight years and also gave her family gifts.
FLORIDA: The St. Petersburg Times' William R. Levesque reports: "ST. PETERSBURG -- Pinellas prosecutors on Thursday interviewed a woman who says a Catholic priest sexually abused her on hundreds of occasions beginning when she was an 8-year-old in the 1970s..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/24/2002 06:45:46 AM

Thursday, May 23, 2002

Bishop: 'I was wrong'
Gettelfinger meets with angry parishioners
INDIANA: The Evansville Courier & Press' Maureen Hayden reports: "HAUBSTADT, Ind. - Facing an often angry and tearful crowd, Evansville Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger apologized Wednesday for keeping secrets regarding a priest's past sexual misconduct..."

Diocese reassigned Scottsdale priest despite warning
ARIZONA: The Arizona Republic's Nena Baker and Joseph A. Reaves
report: "A Scottsdale priest with a history of sexual misconduct was allowed to continue ministering to women and children despite a warning from therapists that after six months of counseling he posed a risk to the church..."

Archdiocese wants accuser in sex lawsuit identified publicly
FLORIDA: The Sun Sentinel's Noaki Schwartz reports: "The Miami Archdiocese and Archbishop John Favalora are demanding that a woman identified only as Jane Doe in a lawsuit against her former priest be named publicly..."

South Shore Catholics stand up to be heard: Voice of the Faithful comes to Hingham
MASSACHUSETTS: The Patriot Ledger's CARRIE LEVINE reports: "HINGHAM - Catholics from across the South Shore packed the pews of St. Paul's Church last night, many dressed in their Sunday best. But they weren't there to listen to a priest or a cardinal. Instead, they were there so church leaders could listen to them..."

The Bishop Is Back
ARIZONA/CALIFORNIA: KGO-TV San Francisco reports: "Patrick Ziemann was the first bishop ever to be sued by a priest for sexual assault. He resigned from the Santa Rosa diocese, and the church paid more than half a million dollars to settle the case. In light of the recent sex scandals across the country, we wondered what is Ziemann doing now? The answer has some North Bay Catholics shocked and dismayed. When we found him in Arizona three weeks ago, Bishop Patrick Ziemann didn't want to discuss the mess he left behind in Santa Rosa — his sexual misconduct and severe financial mismanagement..."

The D.A. needs to stop wimping out and go after Cardinal Maphony personally.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles New Times media column (The Finger) critiques the performance of the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. District Attorney's office:"...Well, it surely was nice to see the L.A. Times get off the starting blocks the other day with its first front-page, well-investigated, critical story on a pedo-priest coverup by Cardinal Mahony...But the bigger point is, with the exception of a few columns by Steve Lopez, the paper had been letting Mahony weasel out of responsibility for other priests he's shielded..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/23/2002 08:51:50 PM

Archbishop Signed $450,000 Agreement to Hush Sex Abuse Claim
WISCONSIN: ABC News' Brian Ross reports: Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland has urged the Catholic church to open up about its growing sex abuse crisis, but he has desperately tried to keep sexual abuse allegations against himself a secret, ABCNEWS has learned..."

Weakland paid $450,000 to silence man's claim of sexual abuse, documents show
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:"Archbishop Rembert Weakland and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee paid a former Marquette University graduate student $450,000 in 1998 after he claimed he was sexually assaulted by Weakland more than 20 years before, documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel show. Paul Marcoux, 54, said in an interview last week with the Journal Sentinel that Weakland "date raped" him after the two went for dinner and had a lot to drink. Marcoux was in his early 30s at the time of the alleged abuse..."

Weakland's denial of allegations and resignation
TEXT: Archbishop Rembert Weakland says in a statement published by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: I have never abused anyone. I have not seen Paul Marcoux for more than 20 years. When I first met him here in Milwaukee he was a man in his early 30s. Paul Marcoux has made reference to a settlement agreement between us. Because I accept the agreement's confidentiality provision, I will make no comment about its contents....As required by church law, I submitted my resignation as archbishop to the holy father on my 75th birthday, April 2. I have now today asked the Vatican to accelerate its acceptance..."

1998 settlement agreement between Weakland/Archdiocese and Marcoux
TEXT: Text as published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "This Settlement and General Release Agreement (hereafter "Agreement") is made by and between Paul J. Marcoux, (hereafter "Marcoux"), the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (hereafter "Archdiocese"), Archbishop Rembert Weakland, both individually and as representative of the Archdiocese (hereafter "Archbishop"), and all of the affiliated personnel and entities of the Archdiocese..."

1980 letter from Weakland to Marcoux
TEXT: Text of 1980 letter from Archbishop Rembert Weakland to accuser Paul Marcoux, published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: (Journal Sentinel reports: "A handwriting analyst who reviewed the letter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel concluded it is done in Weakland's handwriting.")

Carroll priest arrested in 1980 abuse
Boy was allegedly groped after swims at college pool; 1995 case earned a suspension; Cox ministers to homeless at farm near Westminster
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's John Rivera reports: "State police arrested a Carroll County priest last night and charged him with molesting an adolescent boy more than two decades ago while on swimming outings at a Western Maryland College pool..."

At outset, privileged trips with his priest
22 years later, man tells authorities about abuse
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's John Rivera reports: "In the early 1980s, the parish of St. John in Westminster was the center of life for the Irish Catholic family of John F. "Jef" Curran III..."

Man alleges Blackwell molested him in 1960s
Time discrepancy seen in account of first incident
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Johnathon E. Briggs reports: "A 50-year-old airport limousine driver came forward yesterday, alleging the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell molested him over three years on church property, including St. Mary's Seminary..."

Personal Responsibility in the Catholic Church
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Ralph Sariego writes to The Los Angeles Times: As angry and depressed as I am over our archdiocesan mishandling of child sexual abuse cases going back over decades, it does not keep me from finding Christ in the love, joy and hurts of our parish family..."

Attorney says priest passed lie detector test
Father Honesto Bismonte was arrested April 23 after two sisters told police he fondled them many times over the course of four years.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' Gene Maddaus reports: "FONTANA -- The attorney for a Pomona priest accused of fondling two underage girls announced Tuesday that his client has passed a lie detector test..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/23/2002 12:49:11 PM Lexington bishop denies abuse
Williams takes leave pending investigation
KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier-Journal's Peter Smith and Joseph Gerth report: "LEXINGTON -- Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington denied he sexually abused a Louisville boy in 1981, but he placed himself on leave yesterday, pending the results of a lawsuit and an internal investigation..."

Bishop to meet with victims
Church officials in Maine agree to series of meetings
MAINE: The AP reports: "PORTLAND, Maine - Bishop Joseph Gerry and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Maine have agreed to a series of meetings with people who say they were sexually molested by priests. The meetings are described as ''listening sessions'' and will be moderated by a facilitator to be chosen by the church and advocates for victims. No dates have been selected for the meetings. The meetings - two of which will be open to news reporters - represent a departure of sorts for Gerry and other church leaders in Maine, who have made few public comments about the abuse scandal..."

Victims say they still wait to meet Law
Archdiocese insists sessions proceeding
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher reports: "Despite Cardinal Bernard F. Law's public vow to meet victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Boston Archdiocese is routinely ignoring requests for those sessions, victims and their attorneys say..."

Records: Church threatened Mahan with public shame
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey and Robin Washington report: "Boston church officials threatened accused molester Paul J. Mahan with negative publicity as part of a 1996 bid to coax him from the priesthood, court records released yesterday reveal..."

Ex-priest hit with new claims: Paquin's bail hiked by judge to $500G cash
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Farmer reports: "Essex County prosecutors are reviewing the civil cases of four new alleged victims of admitted child molester and former Catholic priest Ronald H. Paquin to see if criminal charges are viable, while a judge jacked up Paquin's bail to $500,000 cash yesterday..."

APPEAL DENIED
Appellate panel of judges rules that Geoghan sentence stands
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Kathleen Burge and Stephen Kurkjian report: "n appellate panel of judges yesterday refused to reduce the prison sentence for John Geoghan, the defrocked priest whose scores of alleged crimes against children - and his single criminal conviction - launched the current scandal engulfing the Catholic church..."

Six Vt. priests put on leave in abuse investigation
VERMONT: The AP reports: "BURLINGTON, Vt. - Six priests will go on administrative leave tomorrow while the Vermont attorney general investigates allegations that they molested children years ago..."

Priest pleads guilty over date-rape drugs
IOWA: The AP's Miranda Leitsinger reports: "DAVENPORT, Iowa - A suspended Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute the date-rape drug known as GHB. The Rev. Jeffery Windy, 31, faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines when he is sentenced Aug. 22. He was allowed to remain under house arrest at his parents' Peru, Ill., home until then..."

A cardinal who gets it
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker writes: "He believes it is time for clergy to set an example by living more simply. He further believes the mansion he lives in, which has been the scene of overnight stays by a pope and a president, is unnecessarily lavish. And his archdiocese may face the prospect of paying damages to victims of sexual abuse. Therefore, the cardinal - Francis E. George of Chicago - announced this week that he will seek permission to sell his residence, one of the more lavish in the city..."

Suit seeks ordination of women
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP reports: "CONCORD, N.H. - The Roman Catholic Church must ordain women as priests or forfeit its federal tax-exempt status, claims a lawsuit filed in US District Court yesterday..."

Law knew priest had been accused
Mahan reassigned after allegations
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes reports: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law apparently knew of allegations of sexual misconduct against former priest Paul J. Mahan as early as 1993, before Mahan was temporarily assigned to a Cambridge parish and before he allegedly molested one of his nephews, according to church documents made public yesterday..."

Church passed blame in priest's sex abuse
MICHIGAN: The Detroit Free Press' David Crumm and Patricia Montemurri report: "By his own admission, the Rev. Tom Johnston was sexually out of control. But when the Catholic priest's misbehavior with a minor finally caught the ear of a bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit, church officials quickly shipped him out of Michigan without questioning him or alerting prosecutors. He was somebody else's problem..."

Pope hands off speech but not his duties
In Azerbaijan, he vows to serve until his death
AZERBAIJAN/VATICAN: The AP's Victor L. Simpson reports: "BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Stooped, slow and unsteady, Pope John Paul II began a visit to the Muslim nation of Azerbaijan on Wednesday, determined to pursue peace "as long as I have breath" but reading just a few lines of his speeches and staying seated most of the time. The 5-day trip to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria was the start of what could be a trying travel period for John Paul, who turned 82 on Saturday and appears increasingly frail..."

Wisconsin bishop to give deposition in Massachusetts suit against priest
WISCONSIN/MASSACHUSETTS: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Heinen reports: "Bishop Robert J. Banks of Green Bay said Wednesday he will travel to his home state of Massachusetts to give a June 4 deposition in a civil lawsuit filed by victims of a now-defrocked priest accused of molesting more than 130 youngsters there over three decades..."

Priests and Boys: Part Two of Garry Wills' Review/Analysis of The Issue
REVIEW/ANALYSIS: Garry Wills writes in The New York Review of Books: "Philip Jenkins was a fairly obscure historian until 1996, when reactionary Catholics made him an improbable star. He began his career as a professor of criminal justice at Pennsylvania State University, specializing in the debunking of alleged 'crime waves...'"
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/23/2002 06:38:38 AM

Wednesday, May 22, 2002

Springs Diocese removes priest
Abuse occurred before ordination
COLORADO: The Colorado Springs Gazette's Eric Gorski reports: "A priest serving two small parishes on the eastern plains has been removed for admitting to sexual misconduct with a minor 30 years ago, before he was a priest, church officials said Tuesday..."

Priest pleads guilty of making drug
IOWA/ILLINOIS: The AP reports: "Six men, including a Roman Catholic priest, entered pleas of guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute the so-called date rape drug..."

Appeals panel refuses to reduce Geoghan's sentence
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Denise LaVoie reports: "DEDHAM, Mass. -- An appeals panel on Wednesday refused to reduce defrocked priest John Geoghan's nine- to 10-year sentence for groping a boy, a punishment his lawyer called overly harsh..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/22/2002 06:40:10 PM

Coverage Suggestions:
DISCUSSION: Freelance journalist Lee Penn suggests: (Scroll down to middle of page.) Ten coverage ideas, including a comparison of "the treatment (pensions, housing, logistical support, payment of legal bills, job references, etc.) given to priests who left in order to marry, to that given by Church authorities to suspected abuser-priests (at least until zero-tolerance policies appeared, within the last few months)..."

'For sale' sign may go on cardinal's mansion
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Julia Lieblich and David Mendell report: "Believing that clergy--even archbishops--should live more simply, Cardinal Francis George on Monday said he will ask archdiocesan leaders to consider selling the landmark mansion that has housed Chicago bishops since the 1880s..."

Chicago Cardinal Proposes Selling His Mansion
ILLINOIS: The New York Times' Jodi Wilogren reports: "Cardinal Francis E. George wants to sell a Queen Anne-style mansion in Chicago that has been home to seven Catholic archbishops since 1885.

Abuse victims set aims in priest scandal
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Marie Rohde reports: "Victims of sexual abuse by priests who met Tuesday at Plymouth United Church of Christ said they have three priorities...They want church leaders to be required to report abuse; they want the ability to sue the church for covering up for sexual abuse; and they want the statute of limitations extended or eliminated so their abusers can be prosecuted..."

Ordinary Catholics sound off on sex abuse
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Sun-Times' CATHLEEN FALSANI AND ANA MENDIETA report: "Thousands of Catholics gathered at parishes across the Chicago area Tuesday night to discuss what the Roman Catholic Church in the United States should do about clergy sexual abuse of minors..."

Catholics sound off on abuse by priests
38 forums gather input for cardinal
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Monica Davey, Sean D. Hamill, Liam Ford, Tom McCann, Matthew Walberg and Ofelia Casillas report: "Gathered in parish meeting halls and basement schoolrooms Tuesday night, thousands of Chicago's Roman Catholics voiced their suggestions, concerns and, in many cases, their anger over the church's sex abuse scandal...."

2 more allege abuse by priest
Stokes' lawyer says men are credible; archdiocese produces proof of letters
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's John Rivera reports:"A lawyer for the man accused of shooting the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell said yesterday that at least two more people have come forward with new allegations that the Catholic priest abused them sexually decades ago, including at St. Mary's Seminary..."

Priest Suicide Prevention Reviewed
MARYLAND: The AP's Stephen Manning reports: "LANHAM, Md. -- A psychiatric institution that specializes in treating Roman Catholic clergy accused of sexual abuse is tightening suicide prevention methods after a priest hanged himself there last week..."

Another victim, more lawyers added to Rev. Kelley lawsuit
MASSACHUSETTS: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- A class action civil suit filed last week against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester and the Rev. Robert E. Kelley has been amended to include a new alleged victim and the addition of three lawyers to represent the plaintiffs..."

Bishop says forming synod takes time
MASSACHUSETTS: Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports:
"WORCESTER-- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly has told a group of parishioners from Christ the King Church that he does not oppose conducting a diocesan assembly of clergy and laity to address concerns about sexual abuse by priests, but is hesitant to do so because he only has a year left to serve as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester..."

Abuse victim wants monsignor prosecuted
MASSACHUSETTS: Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "WORCESTER-- Mark D. Barry, the subject of a confidential settlement to a civil suit involving alleged sexual abuse by the Rev. Thomas A. Kane, maintains he has been trying to persuade Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte to prosecute a Long Island, N.Y., priest for sexual abuse..."

Ruling sets suit standards: Likely to affect priest sex abuse cases
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg reports: "In a ruling with implications for the Archdiocese of Boston abuse scandal, a judge has set exacting standards for when church workers can be sued over improperly supervising clerical molesters..."

Catholic asks two things of others
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Robert J. Miller writes to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The Roman Catholic people are the church and as such we suffer the humiliation and shame of all that has been done by us and to us. We apologize to everyone. We offer no excuses. We intend to aid the victims in whatever way we can, to bring the perpetrators to justice, and to chisel in stone a procedure that will not let these terrible, shameful incidents go on..."

Gay Priests Say It's Harder Now to Tell the Truth
Scandal: Some fear the church is making them scapegoats and say they may leave in protest.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' Larry B. Stammer reports: ""Be honest with one another," Father Jim told his collegiate congregation gathered in the chapel just off campus for the early evening Mass. "Be open with one another. Live your baptismal truths." For 37 years, Father Jim has taught truth--the truth of God, the truth of the Gospels, the truth proclaimed for two millenniums by the Roman Catholic Church. But he could not tell the whole truth about himself. The truth be known, Father Jim, 63 and graying, is gay..."

Extradition Sought for Fugitive Priest
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' RICHARD WINTON and BETH SHUSTER report: "Glendale police have asked the district attorney's office to seek the extradition of a fugitive priest from Sri Lanka, 11 years after the man was charged with sexually abusing a teenage boy, prosecutors said Tuesday..."

Former Trainee Pastor Held on 18 Abuse Counts
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' RICHARD WINTON reports: "A former trainee pastor at a Long Beach Methodist church was arrested in Northern California Tuesday, after the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged him with repeatedly molesting two boys during the 1970s..."

Lexington bishop accused
Man says he filed abuse suit to protect others
KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier-Journal's Peter Smith reports: "Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of the Diocese of Lexington has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually molesting a teen-age boy at a Louisville parish in 1981. Identified only as a ''Father Williams'' in a lawsuit filed yesterday against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, the bishop is accused of molesting the boy at the Church of Our Lady, in Louisville's Portland neighborhood..."

Latest lawsuits bring number of Louisville-area plaintiffs to 87
KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: "Besides Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington, priests named in lawsuits yesterday include the Rev. Robert A. Bowling, a former Louisville priest who is now pastor of a church in Reno, Nev. And the plaintiffs include Jim Strader, known for his local broadcasts and trade shows about hunting and fishing. He alleged in his lawsuit that he was molested by the Rev. Louis E. Miller in the early 1960s. The latest suits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, which bring the total to 87, also accuse two other priests who have not been named previously..."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/22/2002 06:43:44 AM

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

Tuesday Evening Update:

Keeping the faith, changing the church
Thousands of Catholics around the world enlist in a quietly gathering revolution
NATIONAL: The Christian Science Monitor's Jane Lampman reports: "WELLESLEY, MASS. – Every Monday night now a crowd packs the large parish hall and spills over into the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church here. Catholics from across Boston come to share their anguish over the clergy abuse scandal and to join the mushrooming lay movement called Voice of the Faithful (VOTF)..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/21/2002 08:08:09 PM

Law's responsibility
EDITORIAL: The Boston Globe writes: "ON THE FEAST of Pentecost last weekend, Cardinal Bernard F. Law demonstrated once again why he should resign as archbishop of Boston. The sexual abuse scandal continues to mushroom and has irretrievably damaged his standing as a spiritual leader...However admirable the efforts of Boston College and the commission, Law casts a shadow over the church in Boston, and he can remove it only by his departure..."

CHURCH REACTION
Law's explanation finds some skeptics, some believers
Critics predict letter will only worsen crisis
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: Cardinal Bernard F. Law's latest mea culpa, in which he said that for his first nine years in "Boston he didn't know that the Rev. Paul R. Shanley had been accused of molesting children, was greeted skeptically yesterday by some leading Catholics around Boston and the nation..."

BC speakers fault errors on abuse
Graduation rites offer venue for criticism, advice
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Patrick Healy reports: "Two speakers at the 126th Boston College commencement yesterday strongly criticized local church leaders for mishandling allegations of sexual abuse and failing to show sufficient concern for the alleged victims..."

Law blasted over warnings: Woman says she told cardinal of sex abuse in '80s
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "A woman who says she twice told Bernard Cardinal Law that the Rev. Paul Shanley was molesting boys blasted the cardinal yesterday for saying he didn't recall the conversations..."

BC grads enjoy day with little mention of sex scandal
MASSACHUSETTS:The Boston Herald's David Weber reports: "To strong applause, the Boston College commencement keynote speaker urged graduates and their families yesterday not to smear the overwhelming majority of good priests with the ``depraved actions'' of pedophile priests..."

Okla. Archbishop Failed to Oust Priest
Long Trail of Abuse Prompts Criticism
OKLAHOMA: The Washington Post's Lois Romano reports: "DUNCAN, Okla. -- Just after Easter in 1994, Archbishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City received a disturbing letter from a church official in Michigan. The Rev. James Rapp, pastor of a Catholic church in this rural town, was about to be sued for allegedly molesting a teenage boy in Michigan a decade earlier -- an incident, the church official wrote, that had led Rapp's superiors to send him to a well-known treatment center for sexual disorders in 1986..."

Tough Policies on Priests Stir Some Dissension in the Pews
TEXAS: The New York Times' ANTHONY DePALMA reports: "DALLAS, May 17 — American Catholic bishops are scheduled to gather here next month to debate a tough new policy on sexual abuse, but many dioceses around the nation have already carried out what amount to zero-tolerance rules, swiftly removing accused priests and dealing harshly with clergy members who fail to adopt guidelines on preventing abuse...As they try to get tough, the bishops in several dioceses have been surprised by the reaction of parishioners who think the new approach amounts to a witch hunt..."

Ex-Altar Boy Alleges Priest Abused Him
Litigation: Complaint filed under federal racketeering law claims Mahony protected Father Baker. Cardinal calls the suit baseless.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' GLENN F. BUNTING and RICHARD WINTON report: "A former altar boy alleged in court papers filed Monday that he was molested at a Van Nuys church by Father Michael Stephen Baker, bringing to three the number of victims who say they were abused after the priest admitted engaging in sexual misconduct to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony..."

Alleged victim, with photos and letters, tell a story of sexual abuse by priest
CALIFORNIA: The AP's Paul Wilborn reports: "LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The snapshots from a family album tell the story of a friendship between a boy and his priest: Nine-year-old alter boy Matt Severson posing after mass with Father Michael Baker; the two wearing white vestments at Matt's confirmation at St. Paul of the Cross Church in La Mirada; and the boy on the priest's lap at a family party..."

LOS ANGELES ARCHDIOCESE
Alleged victims sue under racketeering laws
CALIFORNIA: Reuters' Dan Whitcomb reports: "LOS ANGELES - Four men who were allegedly molested by a Roman Catholic priest as boys sued him, the Los Angeles Archdiocese, and Cardinal Roger Mahony yesterday under federal racketeering laws, claiming that the church acted as a criminal enterprise in covering up the abuse..."

Abuse cases long her crusade
NEW YORK: The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen reports: "WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Jeanine Pirro has a great smile. She flashed it briefly last month, as lawyers for the Archdiocese of New York took their seats around the polished conference table here in her fifth-floor office, and then there were no more smiles..."

Priest accused of abuse in Putnam
CONNECTICUT: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Kathleen A. Shaw reports: "PUTNAM-- Charles Vigeant, now a businessman in Houston, has begun a one-man crusade against a priest he says molested him when he was a boy at St. Mary's Church..."

Bush won't raise Catholic sex abuse scandal in meeting with pope
NATIONAL: The AP reports: "In his meeting next week with Pope John Paul II, President Bush won't bring up the sexual abuse scandal that is roiling the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice says..."

Head of Italian Catholic church says seminaries must be more discerning
ITALY: The AP reports: "The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy urged seminaries to carefully screen candidates as a way to combat the problem of sexual abuse of minors by clergy..."

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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/21/2002 06:55:05 AM

Monday, May 20, 2002

Catholic leaders must resign to let healing start
COLUMN: Nashville Tennessean columnist Tim Chavez writes: "...It is the people — not the cardinals, bishops and priests — who are the Catholic Church. That's important to remember after another turbulent week. The sexual abuse scandal gripping the Catholic Church grew darker, and church leadership became more intent on hiding..."

Clergy-abuse plaintiffs forced to answer intimate questions
NEW JERSEY: The Philadelphia Inquirer's Nancy Phillips reports: "ATLANTIC CITY - Even as Camden Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio preaches compassion for victims of childhood sexual abuse, the church is taking a markedly different approach inside a third-floor courtroom in Atlantic County. Last week, a lawyer for the church asked one man who has sued whether he became aroused when a priest fondled him and whether he had ejaculated when the priest performed oral sex on him. He asked the man whether he had masturbated as a teenager and asked him detailed questions about his intimate relationship with his wife..."

Catholics seek bigger role for laity amid scandals
Congregations in South Florida and nationwide organize, act
FLORIDA: The Miami Herald's DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE reports: "After members of St. Maurice Catholic Church near Hollywood discovered up to $1.2 million in church funds missing, they called in new watchdogs -- themselves. Instead of the pastor picking a parish council, the congregation voted to select its own 16-member board -- one that advocated strict accountability and open communication....Throughout South Florida and the nation, there's a groundswell in the pews to make leaders of the Roman Catholic Church more accountable to the people they serve..."

Diocese says it is facing issue;victims, other critics skeptical
MICHIGAN: The Kalamazoo Gazette's Chris Meehan reports: "The Rev. Thomas DeVita has admitted to a sexual relationship with a teen-age boy in New York in 1978. The Rev. Carl Peltz has denied raping a 12-year-old youth in Iceland in 1985. In some dioceses across the country, especially in today's climate, DeVita would have been removed from his duties...

Parchment priest: 'I feel violated by this accusation'
MICHIGAN: The Kalamazoo Gazette's Chris Meehan reports: "It was Easter Sunday, and the Rev. Carl Peltz had reason to feel good. He was celebrating his 51st birthday the next day, and he was going on vacation. But as he left church, the priest was met by an ABC television news crew asking about allegations that Peltz had raped a 12-year-old boy in 1985. A week later, Peltz stood before his congregation and declared his innocence..."

Scandal stirs anger, sadness among local Roman Catholics
References from pulpit, fears of failed leadership
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Marcia Myers and Dennis O'Brien report: "Roman Catholics in the Baltimore Archdiocese listened respectfully yesterday as priests drew lessons from the unfolding clergy child abuse scandal and dealt with the fallout. But parishioners emerged from Pentecost Sunday services with plenty to say, too, after a week that began with the shooting of a Baltimore priest in connection with decade-old child abuse claims..."

City prosecutors plan search for 1998 letters
Archdiocese officials wrote about allegations of abuse against priest
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Gail Gibson reports: "Baltimore prosecutors will begin an investigation today to determine what happened to two letters detailing a sexual abuse allegation against the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell that the Baltimore Archdiocese says it sent to the state's attorney in 1998, but which investigators have no record of receiving, a spokeswoman said yesterday..."

From Tuesday's Sun
Women accuse another church of past abuse
Former Jehovah’s Witness leader to be tried on sex offenses, attempted rape; Congregation is in Chase; 3 accusers, now 29 to 31, claim incidents occurred between 1974 and 1984
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Dennis O'Brien reports: "In a case similar to those troubling the Archdiocese of Baltimore, police have charged a former leader of a Jehovah's Witness congregation in Chase with sexually abusing three women who say the congregation discouraged them from reporting the abuse and shunned them when they spoke out about it..."

Statute of limitations key in legal fights with church
NEBRASKA: The Omaha World-Herald's Stephen Buttry reports: "In courts across the country, judges have ruled as lawyers for the Archdiocese of Omaha have argued: that victims of sexual abuse could not sue for offenses from the distant past..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/20/2002 10:06:54 PM

For flamboyant clergy abuse lawyer, phone won't stop ringing
MINNESOTA/NATIONAL: The AP's Gregg Aamot reports: "ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Jeffrey Anderson thumbs through an 8-inch stack of folders on his desk, 47 in all, each holding a letter addressed to a Roman Catholic bishop somewhere in the United States. He claims each one is based on a " credible report" of clergy sexual abuse, and the kinetic trial attorney wrote them all during a frantic three-week period this year as alleged victims came forward to tell him their stories..."

Critics say program for abuse victims is flawed
Ties to church make Project Benjamin less effective, they say
WISCONSIN: The Milwaukee Journal's MARIE ROHDE reports: "When Archbishop Rembert Weakland formed Project Benjamin in 1989, it was touted as a cutting-edge program - a national model to heal the wounds of sexual abuse of children by priests or other church employees. Project Benjamin promised to lift the veil that long had hidden the church's darkest secret. But more than a decade later, Project Benjamin's critics say it has provided little more than window dressing. Its fundamental flaw: Many victims believe it simply isn't possible for the church to act as healer after it allowed the abuse to occur..."

Catholic order says clergy member abused boy at Onamia school in '80s
MINNESOTA: KTSP TV reports: "SHOREVIEW --A member of a Minnesota-based religious order of Catholic priests sexually abused a teen-age boy in the 1980s at its seminary school in Onamia, the Crosier Fathers and Brothers acknowledged Sunday..."

Teacher is local matter, Nebraska Archbishop says
NEBRASKA: The Omaha World-Herald's Jeffrey Robb reports: "Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss said Sunday that personnel matters involving a Norfolk, Neb., Catholic kindergarten teacher would be handled by the local parish. Last week, Curtiss came under fire for reportedly suggesting that Sacred Heart Elementary School teacher Linda Hammond resign after she told police that the Rev. Rob Allgaier viewed child pornography on a church computer..."

Law distances self on Shanley
Says he wasn't aware until '93 of allegations
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes and Sacha Pfeiffer report: "In his most substantive comments on his role in the case of accused child molester the Rev. Paul R. Shanley, Cardinal Bernard F. Law said yesterday that he was unaware of any allegation of sexual misconduct against Shanley until 1993, when the Archdiocese of Boston revoked the onetime Newton pastor's authorization to work as a part-time priest in California..."

TEXT OF CARDINAL LAW'S LETTER
'Obviously, I wish that I had been aware of all pertinent facts'
TEXT: Following is the text of the letter sent by Cardinal Bernard Law to the parishioners of the Archdiocese of Boston: "...When I arrived in Boston in 1984, I assumed that priests in place had been appropriately appointed. It did not enter into my mind to second-guess my predecessors, and it simply was not in the culture of the day to function otherwise. Despite the quantity of documents released and statements on the part of some indicating they believe otherwise, before God I assure you that my first knowledge of an allegation of sexual abuse against this priest was in 1993. It was immediately acted upon, and the authorization for him to serve as a priest in California was rescinded. I was not aware until these recent months of allegations against him from as early as 1966..."

Talking sense for Catholics
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker writes: "In the midst of a crisis like the sexual abuse scandal that has roiled the Roman Catholic Church for months, acts of grace become magnified. And so the Rev. William P. Leahy, president of Boston College, deserves credit for taking the lead in initiating a discussion of the scandal and how it has affected the relationship of rank-and-file Catholics to the church..."

Church slow to react to abuse claim, woman says
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune's Todd Lightly reports: "A woman who claims a priest molested her when she was a child in the 1960s says the archdiocese of Chicago has not promptly investigated her month-old complaint, even though the priest is pastor of a north suburban parish..."

Prosecutors review letters on Blackwell
Archdiocese had reported 1998 allegations of abuse to state's attorney's office; Files not found last week; Cardinal apologizes to Stokes family; priest released from hospital
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Scott Shane reports: "Baltimore prosecutors are reviewing two letters detailing a sexual abuse allegation against the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell that were sent to the state's attorney's office by Roman Catholic archdiocese officials in 1998 but may never have been investigated, sources said yesterday..."

Crisis lands on Keeler's doorstep
Cardinal: A consummate churchman's leadership now being questioned.
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's John Rivera reports: "In the months that clergy sexual abuse of children has embroiled the American Catholic Church, Cardinal William H. Keeler has skirted the scandal. He has only reluctantly addressed the issue, speaking out much later than many of his fellow cardinals. In his public statements, he has used carefully crafted, sometimes legalistic language. Exasperated with the intense scrutiny of the church, he blamed a media 'feeding frenzy.' Now the scandal has arrived on his doorstep. First were allegations by a former nun that she was raped by a priest and that Keeler was dismissive of her. Then last week, Baltimore drew national attention when a young man was accused of shooting a priest he claimed sexually abused him as a teen. Keeler had allowed the priest to return to his parish over the objections of a lay review board..."

Archdiocese protected its priests
Baltimore church officials acting more aggressively on abuse charges lately
MARYLAND: The Baltimore Sun's Gail Gibson reports: "The decision to return the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell to parish ministry in 1993 after he was accused of repeatedly abusing a teen-age boy was not the only instance over the past decade where the church firmly backed its priests in the face of credible abuse allegations, records and interviews show..."

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posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/20/2002 07:32:56 AM

Sunday, May 19, 2002

Law says first he knew of Shanley allegations was 1993
Media criticized during Mass
MASSACHUSETTS: The AP's Greg Sukiennik reports: "BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law said in a letter distributed to parishes Sunday that he did not become aware until 1993 of sexual abuse allegations against the Rev. Paul Shanley, who is facing criminal charges of molesting boys...Without addressing specifics, Law appeared to criticize published reports that some of the $31 million in the BCTV's coffers could be used to pay settlements to victims of sexual abuse..."

Concord priest removed amid sex abuse allegations
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP's J.M. Hirsch reports: "CONCORD, N.H. -- A Roman Catholic priest has resigned after three men came forward last week accusing him of sexually molesting them during the early 1960s, Bishop John B. McCormack said Sunday. The Rev. Aime Boiselle of Sacred Heart Church in Concord is accused of molesting the men while serving in a Manchester parish, McCormack said. The alleged victims were in their early teens at the time..."

Bernadette Malone:
Law, McCormack failed their flock and must go
COLUMN: Bernadette Malone writes in the Manchester Union Leader: "...As a Catholic, I have a tough enough time reassuring myself that the church's teachings aren't flawed. The stains are the priests who rape and molest, and the bishops and cardinals who hide them and then do not resign when caught. (Bishop John McCormack of Manchester refused to resign last week; Bernard Cardinal Law of Boston reportedly offered his resignation to the Pope, who rejected it)..."

Maguire transferred
despite allegations
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Union Leader correspondent JODY RECORD reports: "DOVER — A former priest at St. Joseph Church who admitted sexually assaulting altar boys there was moved to the parish by the Catholic Diocese of Manchester after telling church leaders he had molested a young Hudson parishioner in the 1970s."

Bishop McCormack’s
statement regarding
Rev. Joseph Maguire
TEXT: Statement by bishop of Manchester, N.H. published in the Manchester Union Leader.

Catholic Church Should Be Brought to Its Knees
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Joyce Lynch writes to the Los Angeles Times: "If the church is brought to its knees in the search for truth and justice, perhaps it belongs there. It has much to repent for..."

ORANGE COUNTY
Catholic Female Priest Says Vows
Religion: In Newport Beach, woman from offshoot group is ordained. She says she's been 'called' since childhood and that her church is more inclusive.
CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Times' MILTON CARRERO GALARZA reports: "Giovanna M. Piazza's dream is to sing backup with the Rolling Stones. Her calling is to be a priest, one that she fulfilled Saturday when she was ordained as the first Catholic woman priest in Orange County. Piazza, 40, became the third woman priest in the Diocese of Ecumenical, Old Catholic Faith Communities, a small offshoot of the Catholic faith, with about 300 members in the area and half a million worldwide..."

Rumors shadowed charismatic priest through the decades
WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times' Alex Tizon reports: "The whispers have swirled around him for decades. They followed him as he traveled the Northwest and roamed the grand old aisles of Seattle's Immaculate Conception Church, shouting "Amen!" to rapt parishioners, followed him as he rose to prominence as a new breed of Catholic priest with a heart for the poor and a way with the rich..."

The Rev. John Cornelius: a timeline
WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times tracks his life.

Accused priest not convicted, but monitored by Washington state parole officer
WASHINGTON:The AP's Luis Cabrera reports: "The Rev. John Cornelius hasn't been convicted of a crime, but he must meet several times each month with a Washington state parole officer -- one hired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle..."

Downstate priest faces sex abuse allegations
ILLINOIS: The Chicago Sun-Times' CHRIS FUSCO reports: "A Diocese of Joliet pastor accused of sexual misconduct was removed from ministry Saturday, becoming the 11th priest affiliated with the Roman Catholic diocese to resign or be forced to leave this year amid sex allegations..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/19/2002 08:11:20 PM

'One Strike' Plan for Ousting Priests Has Catholics Divided
NATIONAL: The Washington Post's Alan Cooperman reports: "Eight years ago, the Rev. John Calicott left his Chicago parish in shame. He admitted involvement in a murky sexual incident with two 15-year-old boys, and he was sent for psychiatric treatment to the St. Luke Institute, a church-run hospital in Maryland. Then, 18 months later, something extraordinary happened: He came back. He immediately disclosed to his parishioners at Holy Angels Church, a vibrant Roman Catholic congregation of 500 families on Chicago's South Side, where he had been during his "hellish limbo." He said doctors had assured him that he was not a danger to children, and he resumed his ministry with overwhelming support from his flock..."

Abuse Policy Has Roots in Middle Ages
Process Set Up to Prevent Arbitrary Dismissals
NATIONAL: The Washington Post's Alan Cooperman reports: "When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meets in Dallas next month, it could ask the Vatican to consider ways to speed up the usual process for dismissing sex offenders from the Catholic clergy..."

Church Panels' Role Under Review
Md. Priest's Shooting Focuses Attention on Advisory Groups
NATIONAL: The Washington Post's Caryl Murphy reports: "The nine men and women deemed the accusations of child molestation credible and concluded that reinstating the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell posed an "unacceptable risk." It was an impartial judgment, made by a panel that included non-Catholics and was appointed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore to help it assess these delicate cases..."

Diocese releases names of sex misconduct response team
FLORIDA: The Florida Catholic's Janet Shelton reports: "For weeks now, Catholics in the St. Petersburg Diocese have been asking questions about the diocesan response team that investigates allegations of adult sexual misconduct with minors. Who are these people? Are any of them parents themselves? How do those investigations work?"

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/19/2002 04:29:32 PM

Priest Gets Support, Criticism
CONNECTICUT: The Hartford Courant's MATT BURGARD reports: "The Rev. Louis Paturzo, the Hartford priest who admitted Friday that he has been the subject of complaints of sexual misconduct dating back 30 years, found support Saturday from his closest friends and allies, while others said he should no longer be allowed to work with children..."

Confusion reigns in wake of abuse law
A state agency, prosecutors and the church differ as to who should be called about an abuse allegation.
CONNECTICUT: The Norwich Bulletin's Katie Melone reports: "Though a 1971 state law established guidelines for reporting allegations of sexual abuse of a child, misunderstandings about the intent of the law still exist among those who enforce it. Confusion persists, particularly concerning clergy and the Norwich Diocese. Last week, the bishop of Norwich, the Most Rev. Daniel A. Hart, apologized for failing to notify authorities of an April letter alleging sexual abuse by a priest more than 40 years ago. The day following the apology, the diocese turned over eight allegations of sexual abuse to the state Department of Children and Families. The diocese had received only one such allegation since March..."

A public right to know
EDITORIAL: The Day of New London writes: "The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport is wrong to try to keep secret documents involved in sexual abuse lawsuits settled last year for $15 million. The records were sealed at the time, but given the fact that the church is now embroiled across in the nation in a series of poor decisions regarding such cases, the Bridgeport church leaders should be willing to make the records public..."

Scholar, bishops at odds on reporting sex abuse
Experts say Rome may be trying to influence policy for U.S. priests
TEXAS/NATIONAL: The Dallas Morning News' Jeffrey Weiss reports: "A respected Vatican legal scholar has recommended that Catholic bishops not automatically pass accusations of sexual abuse by priests to civil authorities. His comments in a semi-official Vatican magazine on Saturday contradict policies at some American dioceses and the recently expressed opinions of several American bishops. This represents the second time within a month that a highly placed Vatican official has spoken out against automatic reporting, though neither recommendation represents an official Catholic position..."

Releasing Rev. Kelley was correct
COLUMN: The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Dianne Williamson writes: "The strange machinations that unfolded in two criminal courts last week illustrate the legal tightrope we walk as the clergy sex scandal threatens to strain the objectivity of our criminal justice system..."

A Priest's 2 Faces: Protector and Predator
MASSACHUSETTS: The New York Times' Fox Butterfield and Jenny Hontz report: "OSTON, May 18 — The way Christine Hickey remembers it, the Rev. Paul R. Shanley was her protector, someone who made her feel safe. He was a hero to her parents, who even named one of her sisters, Pauline, after him..."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/19/2002 02:57:11 PM Law: Scandal is a historic test for flock
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Eric Convey reports: "Bernard Cardinal Law yesterday compared the mood within the Archdiocese of Boston to that of the first Christians as they huddled in fear waiting to understand the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion..."

Church scandals look alike: Priest crisis mirrors old Porter case in Fall River
MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Herald's Jack Sullivan and Maggie Mulvihill report: "He sits in prison, a convicted pedophile, a former priest who befriended then molested scores of children, perhaps more than 200 over the better part of two decades..."

Public turns blind eye to pedophile horror
COLUMN: Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan writes: "...Today 50 to 75 Catholics - maybe - will show up at Cathedral of the Holy Cross to protest Bernard Cardinal Law's death grip on his diminished, but not obliterated, power...Yesterday in more rain and again today, thousands of moviegoers will wait in line for tickets to ``Star Wars,'' this weekend's hot new release. Last week it was 'Spider-Man...'''

The free flow of fresh air
OPINION: Thomas H. Groome writes in the Boston Globe: "In a communique from Rome following their meeting last month, the US cardinals and episcopal leaders said that because ''a link between pedophilia and celibacy cannot be scientifically maintained'' they would remove priestly celibacy from the discussion. Those who hope for a systemic overhaul of priestly ministry know that when celibacy is taken off the table, the same surely follows for women's ordination...Likewise, the presence of women as priests and bishops would be an extraordinary gift to the life of the Catholic Church. What a loss it is when ordained ministry is limited to men, excluding the consciousness and gifts of women; at best we benefit from only half our priestly resources. To ordain women would surely hasten the demise of clericalism - the antithesis to priesthood as servant leadership - and catalyze a renewed ministry of 'holy order...'''

Arrogance at Harvard
COLUMN: Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara writes: "Cardinal Bernard F. Law may not have come by his hubris naturally; he probably picked it up at Harvard..."

BISHOP'S ORDERS
Priest said to admit more abuse after shift
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The AP reports: "DOVER, N.H. - A Roman Catholic priest, who told church leaders he had molested a boy in Hudson during the 1970s, was later assigned to a parish in Dover, where he has acknowledged abusing four more children, according to police..."

A PRAYER FOR PENTECOST
Law seeks peace, healing for church
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Globe correspondent Ray Henry reports: "On the eve of Pentecost Sunday, Cardinal Bernard Law prayed yesterday for reconciliation, healing, and peace for his archdiocese, beleaguered by the sexual abuse scandal..."

Ailing pope celebrates 82d birthday
VATICAN: The AP reports: "A wistful, ailing Pope John Paul II celebrated his 82d birthday yesterday before thousands of cheering youngsters but could only manage to read a few lines of his speech before deferring to an aide..."

SCANDAL FALLOUT
US bishops vow cooperation with authorities on sex abuse
NATIONAL: The Boston Globe's Michael Paulson reports: "Catholic bishops in the United States say they intend to continue turning over to secular authorities the names of priests accused of child sexual abuse, despite an article by a Vatican lawyer suggesting that they should not do so, according to a spokeswoman for the US bishops..."

HONG KONG
Church denies trying to skirt police
CHINA: Boston Globe correspondent Indira A.R. Lakshmanan reports: "HONG KONG - Roman Catholic leaders here, reeling from reports that local priests have sexually abused children, are denying accusations that they are not cooperating with police..."

More stories will be linked Sunday afternoon.
So check back here later.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 5/19/2002 08:26:09 AM