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Saturday, July 06, 2002
SAN DIEGO (CA)
D.A. Studies Church Files in San Diego
Catholic bishop promises to turn over all records of complaints of sexual abuse
made against priests dating to 1936, when the diocese was founded.
Los Angeles
Times
By TONY PERRY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
SAN DIEGO -- At the request of local prosecutors, the Roman Catholic Diocese of
San Diego has agreed to turn over records of complaints about sexual abuse by
priests dating to the founding of the diocese in 1936.
Bishop Robert H. Brom has pledged "100% cooperation" with prosecutors. In a letter
to parishioners, Brom said: "Rooted in prayer and united in faith, we must work
together to overcome the scourge of sexual abuse, not only in the church but also
in the family and in all sectors of society."
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
02:27:33 PM
HONOLULU (HI)
Methodists to discuss abuse, blame
Honolulu
Star-Bulletin
By Mary Adamski
Supervising clergy at a church convention next week will be asked about the moral
conduct of ministers under their direction.
Are they "blameless in their life and official administration?" is a question
originally posed by John Wesley, who founded the United Methodist Church 250 years
ago.
We will stand and be asked this ancient question," said the Rev. Barbara Ripple,
Hawaii district superintendent, who will join other islanders at the denomination's
California-Pacific regional conference in Redlands, Calif.
Beyond that traditional call to accountability, Methodists are guided by their
Book of Disciplines, which was strengthened over the past 20 years in the area
of ethical and moral conduct. Each regional conference was required to develop
a "clergy sexual ethics policy," which includes provisions for church trials and
stripping errant clergy of their ministry.
What those measures demonstrate is that "abuse has gone on for a long time, and
it is not just Catholic priests," said Ripple. "It tends to be persons who have
authority, persons whom other people trust. It can be a counselor, a coach, a
Scout leader, a family member. Most abuse does happen in a family.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
01:01:21 PM LEOMINSTER (Mass.)
Diocese sued over Kelley
Fitchburg
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Fred Hurlbrink Jr.
LEOMINSTER -- Suspended priest Robert E. Kelley is facing criminal charges, but
a civil suit filed by his alleged victims doesn't name him as a defendant.
The suit filed by Heather Mackey -- the alleged victim in the criminal case --
and other alleged sexual abuse victims is the latest legal effort revolving around
the former associate pastor of St. Cecilia's Church.
Mackey, of Tewksbury, is one of five plaintiffs. The others are Debbie A. Doucet
and Nicole M. Cormier of Leominster; Diane Gallian of Ashburnham; and Denise Hanrahan
of Idaho. All allege they were abused while parishioners at St. Cecilia's.
The complaint, filed Friday in Middlesex Superior Court by Marblehead lawyer Jeffrey
A. Newman, alleges 30 counts of negligence and liability by the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Worcester, St. Cecilia's pastor George E. Denomme, and the Rev. Francis
Goguen.
Newman said Monday that for the women to sue Kelley would essentially be redundant
and futile.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/6/2002
10:52:08 AM
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Lawsuit Accuses Bishop of Sex Abuse
Church: A former altar boy alleges molestation when the cleric served in Huntington
Park.
Los Angeles
Times
By WILLIAM LOBDELL, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A Roman Catholic bishop who was forced to resign as head of one diocese by a sex
scandal in 1999 was accused in a suit filed Friday of molesting a Huntington Park
altar boy during a sexual relationship that began in 1968 and continued for nearly
20 years.
The suit against G. Patrick Ziemann, 60, who now lives in an Arizona monastery,
claims the relationship went on until Ziemann was named auxiliary bishop of Los
Angeles in 1987. Ziemann worked under then-Archbishop Roger M. Mahony, overseeing
parishes, schools and other church institutions in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
In 1992, the Vatican named him bishop of Santa Rosa.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/6/2002
07:14:36 AM
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Clergy watchdog has special insight
Nanette de Fuentes is member of Cardinal Mahony's Clergy Misconduct Oversight
Board.
Los
Angeles Times
By Marshall Allen, News-Press
GLENDALE -- Nanette de Fuentes has an interesting perspective to offer as a member
of Cardinal Roger Mahony's new Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board: She's a psychologist,
a woman of minority descent and a survivor of clergy sexual abuse.
She's also not a member of the Catholic Church.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/6/2002
07:14:17 AM
BALTIMORE (MD)
Accused priest says he'll cooperate with police investigation
St. Francis Xavier leader faces claim of sex abuse
Baltimore
Sun
By John Rivera
A Baltimore priest accused of sexually abusing a minor has told his superiors
that he will cooperate with the police investigation and is available for questioning.
The Rev. Alfred Dean, 42, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in East
Baltimore, was relieved of duty after the Archdiocese Of Baltimore was informed
Wednesday night by police of the allegations against him. Dean, who belongs to
the Josephite religious order, was instructed to move out of the rectory to the
Josephite headquarters on Calvert Street in Mount Vernon.
"The Josephite Society is saddened and disturbed by the allegations made against
one of its members," the religious order said in a statement released yesterday.
"Father Dean has informed us that he is available to the civil authorities in
their investigation and will cooperate fully."
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/6/2002
07:14:01 AM
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Suit against archdiocese accuses Kelly of perjury
The
Courier-Journal
By Andrew Wolfson and Peter Smith
A lawsuit filed yesterday against the Archdiocese of Louisville alleges that Archbishop
Thomas C. Kelly ''lied'' two years ago when he testified that he didn't recall
any prior lawsuits against the Rev. Louis Miller.
In what may be the first sexabuse complaint in the nation to accuse a bishop of
perjury, Miller's niece, Mary C. Miller, charged that Kelly's March 2000 deposition
in a lawsuit that she had filed against her uncle the year before amounted to
an act of ''deceit and fraud.''
It was designed, her new lawsuit alleges, to ''keep parishioners and the public
ignorant'' of the Catholic Church's ''tolerance of pedophilia.''
The lawsuit also alleges that to ''hush'' Mary Miller and prevent public discovery
that her uncle was a ''sexual predator,'' the archdiocese lent him money to settle
her 1999 lawsuit and demanded that she keep the arrangement forever secret.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/6/2002
06:58:09 AM
Abuse victim admits to criminal record, facing Ga. arrest warrant
Akron
Beacon Journal
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
In his effort to hold the Roman Catholic Church accountable for his sexual abuse
as a child, Christopher Kodger has attracted attention -- both wanted and unwanted.
A flurry of media reports in late May described Kodger's belief that Cleveland
Catholic Diocese officials knowingly moved the priest who molested him in 1981
at a Kirtland parish, F. James Mulica, to another parish, giving Mulica access
to more children.
A local woman who searched the Internet for more on Kodger found his name on the
most-wanted list of the Nahunta, Ga., Police Department and contacted Chief Christopher
Beasley. Beasley confirmed it was the same man. (He won't identify the woman.)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/6/2002
06:54:51 AM
NAPLES (FL)
Priest loses clerical rights
Orlando
Sentinel
From staff and wire reports
Posted July 6, 2002
VENICE -- A retired Southwest Florida priest under investigation on charges of
sexually abusing a minor has had his authority to lead Mass and other ministerial
rights permanently revoked by Roman Catholic Church officials.
The Rev. Donald Baier, who served at San Marco Catholic Church on Marco Island
from 1991 to 1993, was removed from the public priesthood last week by the Diocese
of Venice, which oversees all Catholic churches in the region.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/6/2002
06:50:44 AM
GLENS FALLS (N.Y.)
3 men cite sex abuse by Glens Falls priest
Albany -- New reports, the most in region, raise questions about diocese
Albany
Times Union
By ANDREW TILGHMAN, Staff writer
Warren County prosecutors have received more new complaints about sexual abuse
by Catholic clergy than any area county, fueling fears among Glens Falls Catholics
that their city was a dumping ground for problem priests.
District Attorney Kate Hogan said three men have contacted her Glens Falls office
during the past month, all recounting similar but unrelated memories of abuse
by a single priest posted in the area...
Reports about new complaints in Glens Falls come after the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Albany last week removed from active ministry six priests who had a history
of sexual abuse...
Parishioners at St. Mary's Church in Glens Falls were outraged to learn that three
known pedophiles have been connected to their church over the years.
"It says that we have a disproportionate number of them up here," said Annette
Crawford, a St. Mary's parishioner. "We are at the very, very end of the diocese,
and I think they thought that people weren't going to say anything." The diocese
consists of 14 counties.
Known sexual abusers at St. Mary's included Edward Leroux, who was in residence
there in recent months; Mark Haight, who lived there for six years and worked
in Glens Falls Hospital before he was removed in 1996 due to sexual abuse allegations;
and Edward Pratt, who once taught at St. Mary's Regional Catholic School.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/6/2002
06:37:46 AM
AMARILLO (TX)
Abuse cases take toll on Amarillo Diocese
Allegations, new policy leave 6 of 35 parishes without a pastor
Dallas
Morning News
By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
One in six parishes in the Diocese of Amarillo has lost its pastor since March
because of sexual abuse allegations and a new get-tough policy on sex offenses
adopted last month by U.S. Catholic bishops.
Three priests responsible for four rural parishes resigned last week and two other
priests, each of whom headed a rural parish, resigned in April, Monsignor Harold
Waldow, a diocesan spokesman, said Wednesday.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
03:30:16 AM
No easy road to zero tolerance
America's Catholic bishops have adopted a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse
by clergy. But deciding on the policy seems to have been easier than implementing
it.
Buffalo
News
By ALAN COOPERMAN
Washington Post
Less than a month after declaring a policy of zero tolerance toward child sexual
abuse, the nation's Catholic bishops are encountering serious difficulties in
putting it into effect.
The policy adopted June 14 in Dallas requires the permanent removal from ministry
of any priest who has sexually abused a minor. But some priests are refusing to
go quietly, and bishops uncomfortable with the policy are raising practical obstacles,
such as uncertainty about the definition of sexual abuse.
The most serious challenge is in Chicago, where five priests are appealing to
the Vatican to overturn their removal by Cardinal Francis George. They contend
that the Dallas policy violates their rights under canon law, the church's internal
legal code.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
02:43:29 AM
KANSAS CITY (MO)
Keleher defends new Catholic policy on child sex abuse by priests
Kansas
City Star
By JUDY L. THOMAS
A new Catholic Church policy that addresses penalties for priests who sexually
abuse minors is tougher than laws in most states, the head of the Archdiocese
of Kansas City in Kansas said this week.
"People don't realize this, but the charter goes further than state or civil authorities,"
said Archbishop James P. Keleher in an interview with The Kansas City Star.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
02:29:25 AM
Catholic Clout Is Eroded by Scandal
Church Is Dealt Legislative Defeats
Washington
Post
By Michael Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
NEW YORK -- The clergy sex abuse scandals have diminished the once formidable
power of the Roman Catholic Church in statehouses throughout the Northeast, the
most heavily Catholic region in the nation.
Legislators who in years past would be deferential to church power are proposing
and passing laws extending civil and criminal statutes of limitations on sex abuse
cases, and requiring that priests report any allegations of child abuse to the
police.
The scandal has muted the church's voice on a range of issues, conservative and
liberal, from opposing gay marriage and pushing for parental consent for teenagers
seeking abortions, to raising the minimum wage.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
01:02:33 AM
HARTFORD (CT)
City Minister Again Accused Of Promoting Prostitution
Hartford
Courant
By NICOLE NEROULIAS, Courant Staff Writer
Police arrested a Hartford minister and community activist Friday on charges of
promoting prostitution and racketeering, his fifth arrest in the last two years.
Bail was set at $1 million.
Police said the arrest of the Rev. Henry L. Price was the result of a two-year
investigation sparked by his arrests in 2000 on charges of promoting prostitution.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 7/6/2002
12:56:26 AM
Friday, July 05, 2002
VATICAN
Vatican announces deficit for 2001 for first time in nine years
Boston
Globe
By Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) The Vatican reported its first deficit in nine years Friday
about $3 million for 2001 and blamed the shortfall on the worldwide financial
slump aggravated by the Sept. 11 attacks.
Increasing financial contributions from dioceses around the world were not enough
to balance losses from the global financial slowdown, said economic chief Cardinal
Sergio Sebastiani.
He blamed the ''unfavorable course of the world economy during the year, heavily
aggravated by the attacks of Sept. 11'' for the fall in investment income...
The scandal of sex abuses by clergy that has rocked the church in the United States
and other countries has raised concern that some Catholics may hold back on their
contributions.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/5/2002
09:56:06 AM JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
Governor signs bill requiring ministers to report child abuse
Kansas
City Star
July 3, 2002
By TIM HOOVER
The Kansas City Star
JEFFERSON CITY - Ministers and those who supervise them will be required to report
suspected child abuse under a measure signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Bob Holden.
But the new law will protect privileged communications -- such as confessions
by a parishioner to a priest -- from being reported to authorities.
OMAHA (NE)
Curtiss' take-charge style was absent on scandals
Omaha
World-Herald
July 3, 2002
BY STEPHEN BUTTRY AND JOSEPH MORTON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
As soon as Archbishop Elden Curtiss took over leadership of the Omaha Archdiocese,
Catholics noticed that he was in charge.
Curtiss ruffled feathers shortly after his arrival in 1993 by warning struggling
parishes to keep their archdiocesan taxes current, by saying he would monitor
teaching at traditionally independent Creighton University and by insisting that
St. Cecilia Cathedral close Cathedral High School if it could not pay off its
debt to the archdiocese.
A few years later, Curtiss told Catholics who didn't agree with church teachings
on abortion, euthanasia or ordination of women that they shouldn't hold leadership
or ministry positions in their parishes. More recently, he wrote (and later apologized
for) personal letters rebuking and ordering penance for Catholics who criticized
him in letters to the editor.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/5/2002
07:49:32 AM
CLEVELAND (OH)
Three more priests on leave
Cincinnati
Enquirer
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Catholic Diocese placed three priests on administrative
leave Thursday as the result of allegations of misconduct with minors.
The diocese now has 15 priests on administrative leave because of child abuse
allegations.
Placed on leave Thursday were the Rev. James Viall, 73, pastor at St. Rose in
Cleveland; the Rev. John Mueller, 69, pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
in Wooster, and the Rev. Daniel McBride, 75, retired from St. Barnabas in Northfield.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/5/2002
06:11:25 AM BALTIMORE (MD)
Priest subject of abuse claim
City police investigating; pastor is placed on leave; Boy says incident was in
April
Baltimore
Sun
By Alec MacGillis
Sun Staff
A pastor at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church has been suspended from his
priestly duties while Baltimore police investigate a claim that he sexually abused
a 14-year-old boy in April at the historic East Baltimore church, an archdiocese
spokesman said yesterday.
No charges have been filed in the investigation, said police spokeswoman Sherri
Albrecht. Police interviewed the boy Wednesday night, she said, but would not
disclose details of the boy's allegations.
The Archdiocese Of Baltimore placed the priest, the Rev. Alfred A. Dean, on administrative
leave after learning of the investigation Wednesday night, archdiocese spokesman
Stephen Kearney said last night.
The archdiocese also required Dean to move out of the church rectory and into
the headquarters of his order, the Josephite Fathers, Kearney said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/5/2002
05:31:11 AM
DALLAS (TX)
Dallas bishop says gay priest banned from parish work
The Washington
Times
By George Archibald
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
he Rev. Clifford Garner, 36, who quit this week as assistant pastor of a 5,000-member
east Dallas Catholic church because of criticism over chat-room remarks that he
was sexually attracted to Hispanic men and youths, has been sent to an undisclosed
location for rehabilitation and barred indefinitely from functioning as a priest,
Bishop Joseph Galante said in an interview.
"There are no plans to reassign him. There were plans for him to take extended
time for reflection and discernment," Bishop Galante said of the priest, who was
a subject of complaints in January 2000 for expressing homosexual desires toward
young Hispanic men.
"Although I am no 'chicken hawk,' there are some really cute guys around the country,"
Father Garner said in a November 1999 message to the chat room called St. Sebastian's
Angels.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/5/2002
05:17:13 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
2 join lawsuit against Kelley
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
The list of women who have accused the Rev. Robert E. Kelley of molesting them
as children continues to grow, with the addition of two more women to a lawsuit
filed in Middlesex Superior Court.
effrey A. Newman of Boston and Marblehead, their lawyer, said Diane Gallian of
Ashburnham and Denise Hanrahan of Idaho have joined the suit that was initiated
recently by Heather Mackey of Tewksbury, Debbie A. Doucet of Leominster and Nicole
M. Cormier of Fitchburg. Ms. Mackey has also brought criminal charges of child
rape against Rev. Kelley, who was indicted last month by a Worcester County grand
jury. The case is still pending...
Mr. Newman said he expects at least nine more women to be added to the suit and
that a number of women have come forward in recent weeks to tell of their alleged
abuse by Rev. Kelley. He said depositions in this lawsuit are scheduled to begin
shortly, and he expects new information to emerge.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/5/2002
05:06:44 AM
Thursday, July 04, 2002
EVANSVILLE (IN)
Gettelfinger ripped for removing priest
Evansville
Courier & Press
By The Associated Press
July 2, 2002
CELESTINE, Ind. - The bishop of the Evansville Roman Catholic diocese was chastised
at a parish meeting for removing a priest who has admitted to sexual misconduct
with a 16-year-old boy.
Two months ago, Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger received a standing ovation after he
told parishioners at St. Peter Celestine Catholic Church that the Rev. Michael
Allen would remain the parish priest despite admitting to abusing the teen-ager
in 1976.
Gettelfinger told parishioners on Sunday that he had no choice but to remove Allen
because of a zero-tolerance policy passed last month at the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops in Dallas.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:15:00 PM SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Priest quits because of acts here
Went to Texas after therapy to end abuse
State Journal-Register
By LISA KERNEK
STAFF WRITER
A Texas priest left his parish last week after acknowledging that he had sexually
abused children while in the Catholic Diocese of Springfield years ago.
The Rev. G. Neal Dee resigned Friday from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Groom,
Texas, according to Monsignor Harold Waldow, vicar for clergy for the Diocese
of Amarillo. Dee acknowledged the abuse during a parish assembly Thursday night,
said Waldow, who attended the meeting.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:11:39 PM
BIDDEFORD (ME)
Sexual-abuse victim wants meeting with pope
Portland
Press Herald
By Associated Press
OTTAWA — David Gagnon says he was a teen fending off a once-trusted priest in
the barn of his boyhood farmstead when he found the courage to end years of sexual
abuse. "I was finally able to say no," said Gagnon, now a 37-year-old unemployed
pastoral worker. "And that was the first time."
The abuse by the Rev. Michael Doucette started in Gagnon's hometown of Biddeford,
Maine, when he was 15, Gagnon said, and continued until he was 19.
Doucette told parishioners in February that he had abused a teen, and Gagnon later
identified himself as the victim. Doucette was one of two priests in northern
Aroostook County removed from their parishes in March as part of the Maine diocese's
newly adopted zero-tolerance policy.
Wednesday, as he and other survivors pushed for a meeting with Pope John Paul
II when he visits Toronto this month.
"The pope has been very clear. He's very ... concerned about the issue of abuse
in his church," said Gagnon, now director of the Survivors Network of those Abused
by Priests Canada.
"We're opening the door to him, and I would be very surprised if he didn't take
us up on that."
Even a 10-minute sit-down with the pontiff would restore some of their lost dignity,
if not their faith, said the coalition of groups representing victims.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
05:23:47 PM
NORWICH (CT)
Therapists' testimony inadmissable in priest's sex abuse trial
Norwich
Bulletin
By GREG SMITH
NORWICH -- A Norwich Superior Court judge Wednesday said he would not allow depositions
from therapists who treated a former East Lyme priest accused of sexual molestation.
Norwich Superior Court Judge Ian McLachlan cited psychiatrist and patient privileges
between former priest Richard T. Buongirno and at least three doctors from the
Institute of Living, a mental health facility in Hartford.
The motion was only one in a lengthy series brought by attorney Robert Reardon
as part of the civil suit against the Diocese of Norwich and Buongirno by a unnamed
victim who claims he was sexually molested as a 9-year-old at St. Mattias Church
in East Lyme.
Reardon unsuccessfully argued that a state statute allows exceptions to the privilege
in cases of child abuse. The judge's order also bars depositions from doctors
who may have treated Buongirno at St. Luke Institute in Maryland.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
10:18:46 AM
BOSTON (MA)
Fresh Air Interview with Boston Globe Reporters
Fresh
Air
Interview by Terry Gross
Boston Globe reporters Walter Robinson and Mike Rezendes. They're part
of the investigative staff that broke the story of sexual abuse in the Catholic
Church. The staff has written a new book about the scandal called Betrayal: The
Crisis in the Catholic Church. In January of 2002, the Globe published a two-part
series revealing the details of a decades-long cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese.
They told how a pedophile priest had been shuttled from parish to parish, and
of the millions of dollars paid to victims to keep the story secret.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
08:24:31 AM
BOSTON (Mass.)
Law's visit to Rome seen having several purposes
Boston
Globe
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff and Jason Horowitz, Globe Correspondent
ROME - Cardinal Bernard Law is in Rome this week, his first trip here since he
was part of an extraordinary summit of American cardinals called by the pope in
April to address the sexual abuse scandal in the United States. Officials at the
Vatican and the Boston Archdiocese have downplayed Law's visit as part of a routine
and previously scheduled meeting set to begin today of one of several committees
of the Holy See on which the cardinal serves.
But Law remains at the center of the storm in the American Catholic Church, and
Vatican sources and observers considered it likely that the cardinal would also
be meeting with the inner circle around the pope and perhaps the pope himself
to discuss the continued fallout of the crisis and whether Law can continue to
effectively function as the leader of the Boston Archdiocese.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
08:19:09 AM
BOSTON (Mass.)
Church advisor was suspended in '97
Boston
Globe
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff
An academic and consultant who has served as an adviser to a consortium representing
more than half the Catholic dioceses in the United States, including Boston and
Manchester, N.H., on how to protect children from sexual abuse was suspended from
the University of Texas for a semester for sexually harassing a student five years
ago.
Richard F. Dangel, a professor of social work at the school's Arlington campus
who runs a consulting business on the side, was ordered to undergo counseling,
in addition to being docked his pay for half of the academic year, according to
university officials.
A year after he was disciplined for sexual harassment, Dangel was one of the specialists
invited to a Washington, D.C., forum by the risk-pool consortium that represents
56 of the nation's 98 archdioceses and dioceses, including Boston's, to draw up
a program that would help the church prevent the sexual abuse of children.
More recently, Dangel's firm has provided training for a sexual abuse prevention
program that many dioceses, including Manchester's, have adopted and which other
dioceses, such as Boston, are considering. Dangel appears in two videos used in
training for the program.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
08:13:21 AM
SAN DIEGO (CA)
S.D. diocese's 'transparency' under question
$250,000 settlement in priest abuse case comes to light
San
Diego Union-Tribune
By Sandi Dolbee and Susan Gembrowski
STAFF WRITERS
Less than three weeks after Bishop Robert Brom assured parishioners that no large
settlements have been paid out in priest abuse cases since he took over 12 years
ago, the Catholic diocese has acknowledged that a man who said he was molested
as a boy received $250,000 in December.
The money came from three sources: The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and
an insurance company each contributed $75,000, and the estate of the accused priest,
the late Monsignor William Kraft, paid $100,000, according to Monsignor Steven
Callahan, the diocese's chancellor.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:56:19 AM
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Church's Defense Called Valid—to a Point
Priests: Experts agree the idea of rehabilitation once held sway, but fault transfers
of molesters.
Los
Angeles Times
By ROSIE MESTEL, Times Staff Writer
In defending themselves against the sex abuse scandal, leaders of the Roman Catholic
Church often point fingers of blame at the quality of mental-health advice they
have received about reinstating errant priests.
In previous decades, when many of the incidents now in the news occurred, psychiatry
and psychology had markedly more optimistic notions about how to handle sex offenders,
church leaders say. That, they maintain, sometimes led the church to believe that
priests who had sexually abused children were unlikely to re-offend.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, meeting with a group of Times reporters and editors
Tuesday, repeatedly said it was unfair to impose today's standards of judgment
on bishops who had kept priests in the ministry on the basis of psychological
advice of a different era.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:51:01 AM
NAPLES (FL)
Sex abuse charges substantiated against former island priest
Naples Daily News
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Staff Writer
A retired priest who once led Mass at San Marco Catholic Church has lost that
and other ministerial rights after an internal investigation into reports of child
sex abuse.
The Rev. Donald Baier, who served at San Marco from 1991 to 1993, was removed
from the priesthood last week by the Diocese of Venice, which oversees all Catholic
churches in Southwest Florida. Baier was among three retired priests suspended
by the diocese last month.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:47:17 AM
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Above the Law
In protecting pedo-priests, Cardinal Roger Mahony's played District Attorney
Steve Cooley and the cops for chumps. And, so far, he's gotten away with it.
Los
Angeles New Times
BY RON RUSSELL
On a Sunday morning in late June, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony stood in front of 400
parishioners at his boyhood church in North Hollywood and yet again apologized
for the priestly sex-abuse scandal afflicting the nation's largest Roman Catholic
archdiocese. And once again he let himself off the hook.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/4/2002
06:41:26 AM
BOSTON (Mass.)
Abuse accusers' lawyers to quiz mediators
Boston
Herald
by Tom Mashberg
Plaintiffs in the Rev. John J. Geoghan sexual abuse case won a limited victory
yesterday when a judge ruled that their lawyer could interrogate the two mediators
involved in a scuttled settlement with the Archdiocese of Boston.
But Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney confined that questioning to whether
lawyers for the 86 accusers and the church had given permission to the mediators
to discuss the $20 million deal in public.
``My clients see this as a step in the right direction,'' said Mitchell Garabedian,
lawyer for the 86.
Garabedian is asking Sweeney to rule that the settlement was formal and should
be treated as a binding contract. Key to his case is having the mediators testify
they understood the accord as binding when it was announced on March 12.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
05:30:42 AM
WASHINGTON (D.C.)
Bishops Face Obstacles to Tough Policy
Appeals, Uncertainty Hobble Zero Tolerance for Sex Abuse
Washington
Post
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Less than a month after declaring a policy of zero tolerance toward child sexual
abuse, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops are encountering serious difficulties
in putting it into effect.
The policy adopted June 14 in Dallas requires the permanent removal from ministry
of any priest who has sexually abused a minor. But some priests are refusing to
go quietly, and bishops uncomfortable with the policy are raising practical obstacles,
such as uncertainty about the definition of sexual abuse.
The most serious challenge is in Chicago, where five priests are appealing to
the Vatican to overturn their removal by Cardinal Francis George. They contend
that the Dallas policy violates their rights under canon law, the church's internal
legal code.
Catholic officials in Chicago acknowledge that the five priests are following
proper procedures and, moreover, stand a good chance of success.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
05:24:23 AM
PROVIDENCE (R.I.)
Ruling on Diocese's Privacy May Open Flood of Material
The
New York Times
By SAM DILLON
Over the nine years since Leland White sued the Roman Catholic church in Rhode
Island seeking damages, asserting that his parish priest sexually abused him in
1970, eight other men have lodged similar accusations against the same priest,
who has pleaded guilty to criminal abuse charges. But the Diocese of Providence
has given little quarter.
Citing its First Amendment religious rights, the diocese has refused to turn over
thousands of documents requested by Mr. White and nearly 40 other Catholics who
have sued the Rhode Island church, saying they were abused by priests. For nearly
a decade, the courts have upheld the church.
But that appeared to change this week when a state justice, citing the American
bishops' acknowledgment last month at their meeting in Dallas that the church's
culture of secrecy had hurt the church and its flock, ruled that the First Amendment
could not be construed as a blanket shield protecting the church from requests
for information in inquiries into priestly assaults on children.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
05:11:56 AM
HOUSTON (TX)
Church volunteer is arrested
Sex assault of boy, 7, alleged
Houston
Chronicle
By PEGGY O'HARE
A Houston man accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy at their church
on numerous occasions this year has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
Jose Luis Mendoza, 52, of the 5900 block of Glenmont was arrested Tuesday night
on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Mendoza volunteered to watch small children while their parents were praying at
the Casa de Oracion de la Iglesia de Dios, an evangelical church that moves frequently,
police said.
The boy was assaulted while church activities were being held in a warehouse in
the 14000 block of South Post Oak, said HPD juvenile sex crimes investigator Emma
Rodriguez.
Police believe he was assaulted at least 10 times this year through late May or
early June. His parents went to police last month when he finally told them, Rodriguez
said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/4/2002
05:08:13 AM
Wednesday, July 03, 2002
CHARLOTTE (N.C.)
Church worker pleads guilty to molesting boys at after school program
NBC6.com
By AMANDA GRANGER / nbc6.com
A worker at a Charlotte church after school program has pleaded guilty to four
counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor.
Investigators said Larry McCrae, 38, fondled three boys, 10 to 14 years old during
the after school program at the Chapel of Christ the King Church on East 17th
Street in Charlotte.
McCrae was sentenced to a minimum of 15 months to 18 months in jail. He was granted
247 days time served.
McCrae originally pleaded guilty to the charges in January. At that time he was
sentenced to three months in jail and five years probation.
The judge also ordered McCrae to pay restitution of $1,000 for each victim to
help pay for counseling.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
07:09:52 AM
Nationwide shortage of new priests troubles church
Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
By VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
July 1, 2002
The Seattle Archdiocese ordained three new priests this year. Next year, it plans
to ordain five. Those are big numbers, considering that in some years, no new
priests were ordained.
That upward trend mirrors a national turnaround that began in the mid-1990s, when
the number of men entering Catholic seminaries slowly began to pick up after a
30-year decline.
But people who work with seminarians and candidates for the priesthood worry that
the current sex-abuse scandals may undo the progress and contribute to the nationwide
shortage of priests.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/3/2002
06:59:41 AM
ANNANDALE (Minn.)
Women allege abuse by Jehovah's Witnesses member
Minneapolis-St.
Paul Star Tribune
Paul McEnroe
Star Tribune
Two women who alleged they were sexually abused when they were children by a member
of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Annandale, Minn., filed a
lawsuit Tuesday in Wright County.
The women claim they were abused at various times by Derek Lindala of South Haven,
Minn., while on church-related outings and at Lindala's parents' home. The abuse
reportedly happened during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Lindala wasn't available
to comment.
One of the women, Heidi Meyer, 22, said during a news conference Tuesday that
she was between 10 and 12 years old when Lindala molested her many times. She
said that when she reported to her parents that she'd been abused, elders ordered
her to stay silent or risk being shunned by church members and losing membership
in the congregation.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
06:54:03 AM A delicate balance for filling the pulpit
Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
Monday, July 1, 2002
By VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
For most of his 41 years, Armando Perez heard the call. He heard it in second
grade, after his mom sent him to parochial school. He heard it in high school,
when priests helped him navigate through the drugs and the gangs in his neighborhood.
He heard it as a young man, but had wanted to make money. As an older man, he
thought about marriage and kids. But by 35, after 10 years as a bank teller and
a few years owning a restaurant, he felt unfulfilled. When he heard the call again,
he finally accepted, and began the road to Roman Catholic priesthood.
Newly ordained Catholic priest Armando Perez celebrates Mass at Holy Family Church
Seattle in West Seattle. He was ordained just days ago.
Ordained in the Seattle Archdiocese last month, Perez starts his new career at
a troubled time, when bishops are mired in scandal and struggling for credibility,
the priesthood is under suspicion and the entire church suffers from a shortage
of priests.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/3/2002
06:45:29 AM
SAN DIEGO (Calif.)
Settlement counters claim by a bishop
Boston
Globe
By Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff
Three days after United States bishops meeting in Dallas endorsed a policy of
transparency and openness to address the issue of clergy sexual abuse, San Diego
Bishop Robert H. Brom claimed that there had been ''no large financial settlements''
of sexual misconduct claims in the diocese since 1990, when Brom was named bishop.
At a news conference following the landmark June meeting of the US Conference
of Catholic Bishops, and in a two-page letter to parishioners, Brom said that
''the small settlements that were made were covered by insurance'' and that the
diocese had paid ''slightly less than $200,000'' for medical treatment and counseling
to victims over the last 12 years.
But last December the San Diego Diocese paid $250,000 to the victim of just one
priest with a check drawn on a Union Bank of California account held by the San
Diego Diocese, according to a copy of the check, other documents obtained by the
Globe, and interviews with people involved.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
06:42:54 AM
Saving minds and hearts
San
Francisco Examiner
BY DAVID KIEFER
Of The Examiner Staff
San Francisco child psychiatrist Gilbert Kliman is one of America's leading voices
for psychologically injured children. He has appeared on "Today," "20/20" and
has often been sought as an expert witness in civil litigation, including two
prominent cases involving sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests.
David Kiefer: What does the church need to know about its abuse?
Gilbert Kliman: What amazes me is the lack of outrage the church feels when its
good work is being harmed. So, if there's anything the church needs to know, it
needs to know how to be outraged.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/3/2002
06:40:57 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
The bishop of Worcester: the church will prevail
Telegram
& Gazette
By Robert Z. Nemeth
Special to the Telegram & Gazette
“What went so terribly wrong?” I asked the Rev. Daniel P. Reilly during a recent
interview about the sexual abuse scandal that devastated the Roman Catholic Church.
“And why did the outrage erupt now, even though most of the incidents occurred
many years ago?” A touch of sadness clouded his kind and friendly face as he pondered
the response.
“It was coming for a long time,” he said. “Remember the turbulent 1960s, the 'Age
of Aquarius,' when the slogan was 'Make love, not war' and behavior that would
have been unthinkable before was suddenly acceptable? That general moral relaxation
in the country also infiltrated the church. The Second Vatican Council loosened
things up as well.”
There was little awareness of sexual abuse of women and children in those days,
within the church or society at large, and incidents were treated less severely,
he went on. A bishop would call in the suspected priest, have a heart-to-heart
talk with him, deliver a stern warning and, in some cases, arrange for treatment.
In those days pedophilia was not recognized for a serious illness. The fundamental
Christian tenets of tolerance, forgiveness, penance and redemption played large
roles. Moreover, priests' legal rights had to be considered, the bishop explained.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
06:28:27 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
Five women file suit against diocese
They say priest abused them in 1980s
Concord
(N.H.) Monitor
By ELIZABETH MEHREN
Los Angeles Times
BOSTON - Five women have sued a Massachusetts diocese, alleging that it failed
to protect them when they were young children in the 1980s from sexual abuse by
a Catholic priest who later served prison time for raping a girl.
Jeffrey Newman, the plaintiffs' attorney, said yesterday that he expects seven
other women to join soon in the lawsuit filed Friday against the Diocese of Worcester.
Experts said the case is unusual in the ongoing scandal of sexual abuse by priests
because all of the alleged victims are female.
The priest named in the lawsuit is Robert Kelley, 60, who owns a flower shop in
Cambridge, Mass., with his brother. Kelley, who served seven years in prison after
pleading guilty to raping a girl in an unrelated case, ceased active work in the
priesthood in 1985.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by the diocese but does not detail acts by Kelley.
In an interview, plaintiff Heather Mackey, 26, said he took a special interest
in her when she was as young as 5, attending St. Cecilia's Church in Leominster
with her grandmother.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
05:57:52 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
Reilly inaction alleged
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Thomas E. Moriarty told then-Monsignor Daniel P. Reilly in 1967 that his daughter
was sexually involved with the pastor of their parish in Kingston, R.I., and that
the involvement included drugs and alcohol, suspected orgies and a forced medical
procedure, according to court documents.
Monsignor Reilly served as assistant chancellor, chancellor and interim administrator
in the Providence Diocese before being named bishop of the Norwich, Conn., Diocese
and later the Worcester Diocese. He is named in 18 of 39 pending civil lawsuits
in Rhode Island involving alleged abuse of minors by priests.
A Rhode Island Superior Court judge on Monday ordered the Providence Diocese to
open its records on allegations of priest sexual misconduct. The diocese had sought
to keep its files secret on religious grounds. It filed a court motion yesterday
to stay the decision and the order to turn over its records.
Bishop Reilly has denied ever knowingly transferring a priest amid allegations
of sexual abuse. He said in recent interviews that the scandal that has rocked
the Catholic Church is far worse than he ever knew.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/3/2002
05:50:08 AM
Published Earlier:
Sex and the priesthood
San
Francisco Examiner
BY WARREN HINCKLE
Examiner Associate Editor
NEW YORK -- Now it has come to this: A bishop is outed for having affairs with
... grown women.
Guys in the New York press corps whom I have known for years were dismayed this
week when Bishop James McCarthy of Westchester resigned abruptly over the weekend
while he was packing to attend the Catholic Bishops' powwow in Dallas about sex
in the priesthood.
McCarthy is a standup guy who for years was known as the axe-man for former Cardinal
John O'Connor in his role as secretary to the cardinal, which was more of a big
babysitting job as McCarthy was a sharp as a new Cadillac and O'Connor had a tendency
to put his ecclesiastical foot in his red-hat mouth; the wise McCarthy kept saving
his bacon.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/3/2002
05:45:50 AM
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
Tuesday Evening Update
Is the Catholic priesthood an outdated institution?
Atlanta
Journal Constitution
By Diane Glass (on the left) and Nancy Schaefer (on the right)
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
08:51:35 PM
Worcester (Mass.)
Priests get needed support
The Catholic Free Press
By William T. Clew
Gestures of support for priests have been taking place in parishes around the
diocese.
A group of parishioners at St. Brigid’s Parish in Millbury handed out white crosses
at each Mass last weekend to show support for the priests of the diocese and to
pray for the victims of sexual abuse. And parishioners of St Theresa, the Little
Flower in Harvard collected Father’s Day cards for their pastor.
The idea for the crosses came when a St. Brigid’s parishioner brought back a letter
from a parish in Vermont where white crosses were passed out.
Julie Pierce, a lector at St. Brigid’s, said she and seven other parishioners
distributed the crosses at the two Masses on Saturday and at the three Masses
on Sunday. She said about 800 crosses were made and that they distributed about
600. “Most people took them,” she said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:32:39 PM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
Pastoral visit made to hurting parishes
The Catholic Free
Press
By Tanya Connor
The director of the diocese’s new Office for Healing and Prevention made her first
parish visits Sunday by joining Bishop Reilly in Athol and Petersham.
Patricia O’Leary-Engdahl went with Bishop Reilly to St. Peter’s Parish in Petersham
and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Athol.
Ms. Engdahl is the liaison from the bishop’s office to parishes and institutions
and her job is to communicate information about the diocese’s child sex abuse
policies and bring opinions and recommendations back to the bishop.
The bishop talked to parishioners and celebrated Mass at the two churches where
the pastor, Father Raymond P. Messier, has been placed on administrative leave
due to a sexual misconduct allegation.
Father Messier has said the allegation – that he molested a child in Charlton
in 1980 – is untrue and has retained a lawyer. Members of both parishes have expressed
support for their pastor and a desire to have him back.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:30:37 PM
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Church talk
Bevilacqua responds to questions, concerns about priests
Daily News
By GLORIA CAMPISI
The tone was for the most part polite, but there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction
as callers peppered Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua with questions on drive-time talk
radio yesterday.
"You're delusional if you think you've restored credibility," said one frustrated
male caller as the cardinal took questions on Michael Smerconish's Big Talker,
WPHT (1210-AM).
The caller was angered that American bishops recently meeting in Dallas on the
Catholic Church sex scandal had not denounced Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law for
allegedly transferring priests accused of sexual abuse of minors from parish to
parish.
The caller said the church would pay in lost donations to the collection plate.
"I don't know all the facts," Bevilacqua responded to the accusations against
Law. "That's between him and the pope."
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
07:14:01 AM
LONG ISLAND (N.Y.)
‘PRIEST-ABUSED' SISTERS TESTIFY
New York Post
By DAN MANGAN
July 2, 2002 -- A Suffolk County grand jury investigating sexual abuse by priests
heard testimony yesterday from two sisters who charge a cleric molested them thousands
of times while they were children.
Based on a prosecutor's questioning of sisters Donna Nichols and Darlene LoSordo,
their lawyer, John Aretakis, said, "I think the targets of the investigation are
the hierarchy of the church . . . This grand jury probe goes to the heart and
soul of the Rockville Centre Diocese."
Nichols, 47, said, "They're looking for victims to give their stories." She added
that victims should know that "the doors are opening wide. Come forward and release
this [information] to the proper authorities, and become a free human being again."
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:56:47 AM
LONG ISLAND (N.Y.)
Sisters Tell Grand Jury of Priest Abuse
Newsday
By Rita Ciolli
STAFF WRITER
Donna Nichols and her younger sister Darlene LoSordo told a grand jury yesterday
how they were repeatedly abused as teenage girls by the same Roman Catholic priest
at a Huntington Station parish more than 30 years ago.
While the former priest cannot face criminal prosecution, Nichols, 48, of East
Northport, said testifying gave her a sense of freedom. "I feel now that there
is hope for victims," she said. "The grand jury is a door opening for us. We have
been caged birds for so long and now we can spread our wings and fly."
"The truth had not been told before," added LoSordo, 46, of St. James. "Once it
is, the legal system can do what it should do."
The former priest, Nicholas Unterstein, can't be criminally prosecuted for raping
the sisters because so much time has passed. And the diocese can't be made financially
liable for his actions.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:49:54 AM
DETROIT (Mich.)
File on priest kept a secret
Prosecutor apologizes for record sealed in '87
Detroit Free
Press
BY DAVID CRUMM AND ALEXA CAPELOTO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan apologized Monday for his office's role
in concealing the record of a priest removed from parish work in Livonia on Sunday
-- 15 years after police first heard an accusation that he had sexually abused
a teenager.
"I've been the most critical of the archdiocese for not sharing information with
law enforcement, so it's pretty embarrassing that law enforcement hadn't shared
this information with the archdiocese," Duggan said Monday.
In 1987, instead of taking legal action against the Rev. Edmund Borycz or warning
the priest's superiors, an assistant prosecutor sealed the file. That prevented
anyone from discovering the case until a recent review during which Duggan's staff
waded through all of the old files involving priests.
In a two-page letter of apology to Msgr. Walter Hurley, Detroit Cardinal Adam
Maida's point man in the sex-abuse crisis, Duggan said he regrets that disciplinary
action was not taken years ago against Borycz, who was removed Sunday from St.
Michael parish.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:40:04 AM
Bishops look to create national list of abusive priests
Rocky
Mountain News
By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press Writer
June 26, 2002
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- An effort to create a national registry of Roman Catholic priests
who have abused minors is being led by a bishop who had allowed at least two such
priests to remain in parish work.
Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger of Evansville said he was asked by Bishop Wilton Gregory,
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the group's meeting this
month in Dallas to draft a proposal that would create such a registry.
Such a list, Gettelfinger said, would help bishops meet an obligation to protect
the public from abusive priests forced to leave the priesthood.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
06:34:05 AM
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Claim against priest dropped, another named
The
Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
A local man has withdrawn a claim of misconduct against a Catholic priest and
is now accusing a different, deceased priest with a similar name.
A lawsuit filed by Joseph A. Ball Jr. on May 23 originally accused the Rev. Thomas
P. Creagh of making inappropriate comments when Ball went to him in confession,
seeking help after allegedly being molested by another priest.
That incident was alleged to have occurred in the early 1950s -- more than a decade
before Creagh was ordained or allowed to hear confessions.
In an amended lawsuit filed June 20, Ball makes no mention of Creagh and instead
accuses a different priest, the Rev. C. Patrick Creed, who died last year.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit give only one side of the case. Creed has not
been mentioned in any other lawsuits, and Cecelia Price, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese
of Louisville, says church officials have never received any abuserelated allegations
against him.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:31:42 AM
A Gospel of Shame by Frank Bruni and Elinor Burkett
Children, Sexual Abuse, and the Catholic Church
Denver
Post
Sunday, June 30, 2002
Book Excerpt:
Judgment Day -- Just Before Noon On A Cold New England Sunday in 1990, Frank Fitzpatrick
sat staring — yet again — at his telephone.
When the clock strikes twelve, I'll make the call, he told himself. High Noon,
he'd dubbed it.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
06:31:24 AM
Bishops totally sidestepping matter of gay priests
South
Florida Sun-Sentinel
Opinion By William Butte
Posted July 1 2002
Now that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' meeting is over, the full scope
of the church's sex abuse scandal and the extent of the hypocrisy seems apparent:
decades of child molestation by hundreds of clergymen, coupled with an enabling
episcopate whose philosophy became less "love thy neighbor" and more "hear no
evil, see no evil, speak no evil -- and blame the victim."
As to the meeting itself, a less-than-zero tolerance policy toward pedophile priests
was adopted, while the culpability of church hierarchy for concealing the scandal
was not publicly addressed.
But there was one topic that the bishops decided not to discuss, the one euphemistically
called "the elephant in the sacristy" -- gay clergy.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
06:28:07 AM
HAMMOND (Ind.)
Ex-principal pleads guilty to running away with girl
Chicago Sun-Times
BY STEVE WALSH
HAMMOND--The saga of a Christian school principal who ran away with a sixth-grade
student ended Monday in federal court with William "Andy" Beith pleading guilty.
Beith stood before a federal judge, the child he abducted and two families he
scarred to enter his plea. Judge Rudy Lozano asked Beith, as the procedure demands,
why he was pleading guilty.
Said Beith: "Because I'm guilty, sir."
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Beith, 30, pleaded guilty to one count
of traveling across state lines to have sex with the then-11-year-old. He must
wait until his sentencing hearing on Oct. 3 to find out how much time he will
spend in prison.
The former principal of Liberty Baptist Academy in Lake Station originally was
charged with two counts of crossing state lines to have sex with a person under
12 years old, after he fled the area May 1, 2001, with his student and was caught
near Las Vegas. Each of the charges carried a maximum of life in prison.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:23:14 AM
MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Minnesota abuse law may lead to prosecution of more priests
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Randy Furst
Star Tribune
A Minnesota law that isn't widely known or understood could lead to the prosecution
of individuals, including priests, for sexual abuse of children that happened
years ago.
Staff members at sexual abuse centers around the state said they were unfamiliar
with a provision of the law that extended the statute of limitations on child
sexual abuse.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
06:20:10 AM
Bearing the bashing
St. Paul Pioneer
Press
BY JEFFREY WEISS
Dallas Morning News
Posted on Sat, Jun. 29, 2002
Have Roman Catholics been getting unfairly bashed during the past five months?
It's a fair question, considering the level of attention. It seems as if a new
development in the Catholic sex abuse scandal leads the news somewhere in America
every day.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
06:17:24 AM
PROVIDENCE (RI)
R.I. diocese ordered to open records on priests
Judge Robert Krause rules in a sexual-abuse lawsuit that the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Providence's claim that the information was privileged was wrong.
Providence
Journal
BY SCOTT MacKAY
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- A Rhode Island Superior Court judge yesterday punctured the secrecy
surrounding personnel decisions by the Roman Catholic Church, ruling that top
officials of the Diocese of Providence must open their records of what they knew
and what they did about priests who were accused of sexual abuse.
Judge Robert D. Krause said the diocese's claim that such information was protected
under the "clergy-penitent" privilege was wrong. Krause ordered the diocese to
turn over such documents as internal church investigations, complaints against
abusers from other priests and parishioners, and medical reports from psychiatric
programs in which pedophile priests were enrolled.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed against the diocese by more than 30 victims
of abuse from Roman Catholic priests. Named in the lawsuit are Bishop Robert Mulvee,
former Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, and former Auxiliary Bishop Kenneth Angell, who
is now bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, in Vermont.
"I expect there will be a substantial amount of information that we will get,"
said Timothy J. Conlon, lawyer for 32 of the 38 victims who have filed suit and
are seeking monetary damages from the diocese.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
06:01:29 AM
SAN DIEGO (CA)
San Diego diocese to hand over data on abuse cases since 1936
San Diego
Union-Tribune
By Susan Gembrowski
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
SAN DIEGO – The unfolding investigation over pedophile priests just got wider.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office on Monday said the Roman Catholic
diocese here will turn over information regarding complaints of sexual abuse by
priests, going back to the diocese's inception.
Last month, the diocese turned over allegations against 23 priests – 18 to San
Diego County and five to Imperial County – made since Bishop Robert Brom took
over 12 years ago. But the diocese dates back to 1936.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
05:58:38 AM Polls Show Catholics Back Policy on Abuse
Los
Angeles Times
From Times Wire Services
A flurry of polls shows general confidence in new sex abuse policies adopted by
the nation's Roman Catholic bishops, but overwhelmingly strong support for removing
bishops who tried to cover up the scandal.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
05:55:48 AM
Arguing, Through Repetition, That Liberals Caused Priest Scandal
GOODBYE, GOOD MEN: How Liberals Brought Corruption Into the Catholic Church; By
Michael S. Rose; Regnery Publishing Inc., $27.95, 276 pages
Los
Angeles Times
BOOK REVIEW By WILLIAM LOBDELL, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Many conservative protesters at the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops conference in
Dallas this month stood outside in the sweltering heat and held above their heads
a book that revealed exactly what wickedness led to the church's sex scandal.
They may have even thumped the book a few times, though it wasn't the Bible.
It was Michael S. Rose's "Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into
the Catholic Church." The well-timed book places the blame for the sexual abuse
of minors by priests and the bishops' cover-up largely on the liberal teachings
of America's seminaries and the gay subculture he contends it fostered. Rose,
a Catholic journalist, spent two years interviewing 150 people associated with
seminaries in the U.S., including bishops, priests, faculty members and administrators,
seminarians and seminary dropouts.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/2/2002
05:54:36 AM
MANCHESTER (N.H.)
Catholic laity demands a voice
Foster's
Democrat
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The priest abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church
has galvanized the laity in an unprecedented clamor for church reform.
Different organizations of lay Catholics are forming and existing groups say they’re
newly inspired to work for reform. But opinions vary widely on where the church
should head.
Some groups, such as Call to Action, want women and married men ordained as one
solution to a priest shortage that has been only compounded by the priest abuse
crisis. Conservative groups like Roman Catholic Faithful want the church to investigate
homosexuality in the church and expel gay priests. And others, such as Voice of
the Faithful, a grassroots reform movement spreading across the country, are calling
for a greater role for the laity in church decision-making at every level.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:53:45 AM
MANCHESTER (N.H.)
Parties trying to resolve
NH sexual abuse claims
The
Union Leader
By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI
Union Leader Staff
Lawyers are exploring the possibility of resolving the approximately 100 civil
lawsuits against the New Hampshire Catholic diocese alleging clergy sexual abuse
through a “global settlement,” one attorney said yesterday.
“We are, at this point, having what I consider very good faith discussions back
and forth,” Manchester attorney Peter E. Hutchins said.
“We really want to explore the settlement possibility now before a lot of money
is spent both on litigation and also through other mechanisms,” such as the independent,
voluntary mediation model unveiled last month, he added.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:49:47 AM
AUGUSTA (ME)
Advocate in clergy abuse cases steps down
Portland Press
Herald
By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer
Maine's most vocal advocate for the victims of child sexual abuse by priests resigned
her volunteer position Monday, saying that the post was taking over her life.
Cynthia Desrosiers of Augusta will no longer serve as a national board member
for the Support Network for those Abused by Priests, or as the organization's
coordinator for Maine. A single mother of two teen-agers, Desrosiers, 37, said
she could no longer give the position the time it deserved and still be fair to
her family.
"It's just too much work to do on a volunteer basis," she said. "I have the passion
and the energy to do it, but not over and above my other responsibilities."
Since January, Desrosiers has handled a demanding dual role. She offered support
and counseling to people who say they were abused by clergy members, and she responded
to almost daily requests for interviews from the broadcast and print media as
the scandal of abusive Catholic priests unfolded.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:45:50 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.)
Bishop named in 18 sexual-abuse lawsuits in R.I.
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
The Rhode Island Superior Court yesterday ordered the Catholic Diocese of Providence
to turn over to lawyers documents on the handling of allegations of sexual abuse
by priests, and directed church officials to answer lawyers' questions.
Worcester Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, formerly a diocesan official in Providence,
is named in 18 of 39 pending lawsuits, according to Timothy J. Conlon, a lawyer
handling 32 of those cases. Mr. Conlon is chairman of the Plaintiff's Counsel
Committee of lawyers representing clients in all the suits against the Providence
diocese.
Bishop Reilly formerly was chancellor and held other posts in Providence before
becoming bishop of Norwich, Conn. He became the fourth bishop of Worcester Diocese
in 1993. The lawsuits also name past and present bishops and other diocesan officials
in Providence.
Judge Robert P. Krause cited the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young
People adopted last month at the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference in Dallas as
part of his rationale for opening the records. The bishops called for an end to
secrecy in dealing with sexual misconduct by priests, he said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:35:10 AM
Dallas (TX)
Dallas priest leaves parish, cites threats
The Washington
Times
By George Archibald
A Dallas priest who professed his attraction for Hispanic men on an online homosexual
pornographic chat room has left his parish after receiving what church officials
called "threats against his life." Top Stories
The Rev. Clifford Garner, 36, "will not be coming back," Monsignor Lawrence Pichard,
pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church announced at Masses last weekend, after the
priest's comments on the Web site were reported by The Washington Times.
"He will no longer be here at St. Pius again," Monsignor Pichard told parishioners,
the Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:28:47 AM
BRIDGEPORT (CT)
Woman Chosen As Chancellor
Hartford
Courant
Associated Press
BRIDGEPORT -- A 50-year-old woman was named Monday as the new chancellor of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport.
Marylee MacDougall of New Canaan will become the first member of the laity to
hold the diocese's top administrative position under the bishop...
The diocese also announced the creation of a new position, moderator of the curia.
Monsignor J. Peter Cullen, 63, has been appointed to the post.
As part of that job, Cullen will oversee the administration of the diocesan sexual
misconduct policy.
Any allegations of abuse will first go to him, and he will be responsible for
processing the claims and reaching out to the victims, McAleer said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/2/2002
05:22:07 AM
Monday, July 01, 2002
AUGUSTA (ME)
Leader of abuse victims in Maine resigns
Portland Press Herald
AUGUSTA - Cynthia Desrosiers, who organized victims of clerical sexual abuse in
Maine, resigned Monday as regional director of the Survivors Network of those
Abused by Priests.
Desrosiers, herself a victim, became involved with the survivors' group in 1994,
but her role had grown since the clerical abuse scandal broke nationally in January.
In the last four months, Desrosiers has talked to 80 victims, most of whom are
Maine residents, she said.
Desrosiers, of Augusta, pushed for a 1997 law that required leaders of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Portland to report abuse allegations to civil authorities.
In 1998, Desrosiers reached a $527,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed against the
Rev. Robert Kelley, whom she said abused her as a 5-year-old in Southbridge, Mass.,
in the late 1960s.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
07:46:14 PM WASHINGTON (D.C.)
Leading US bishop presents new sex abuse policy to Vatican officials
Boston Globe
By Rachel Zoll, Associated Press
A top U.S. Roman Catholic bishop said Monday that he traveled to Rome last week
to give Vatican officials the ambitious policy American prelates approved in Dallas
to bar sexually abusive priests from church work.
Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
confirmed the trip through a spokeswoman, but released no further details.
"He went to personally deliver to the Holy See the work of the Dallas meeting,"
said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the bishop's conference in Washington.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
07:02:46 PM Monday Evening Update:
BROOKLYN (NY)
Church Official Faults Policy
Respected liberal: Show priests mercy
Newsday
By Ron Howell
STAFF WRITER
June 30, 2002
For Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan, the sadness of the church's sex scandal
is hitting close to home. In fact, it's right in his home, a residence for priests
in Brooklyn.
"I live with a guy who was put on administrative leave," Sullivan said. "He's
a very good guy and he's 33 years a priest ... His whole identity is being a priest."
Sullivan was referring to the Rev. Ed Maurer, who until several weeks ago had
been assigned to St. Joseph's parish in Astoria. Maurer was one of eight priests
who were relieved of their duties within the past few weeks by Brooklyn Bishop
Thomas V. Daily, Sullivan said recently.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Archdiocesan panel to begin crafting sex-abuse policy
Philadelphia
Inquirer
Posted on Sat, Jun. 29, 2002
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua has convened an in-house panel to begin implementing
the sex-abuse charter that the Catholic bishops' conference adopted this month
in Dallas.
The cardinal chairs the working group of about a dozen archdiocesan officials,
which is supplemented by other "key players" in the bureaucracy, said church spokeswoman
Catherine Rossi. The panel met yesterday at archdiocesan headquarters to stake
out the work, she said.
Rossi would not identify the members. She also said they had not determined whether
they would seek lay input or make any meetings public.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:01:43 PM
FORT WAYNE (Ind.)
Ex-church elder charged with molesting
The
Journal Gazette
By Sara Eaton
A 65-year-old former church elder was arrested Friday and charged with molesting
a teen-age boy he had taken to movies and ballgames in 2000, police said.
Milton J. Sinn, of New Haven, was charged with one count of child molesting and
one count of sexual misconduct with a minor. He was released from the City-County
Lockup on $20,000 bond.
Sinn declined to comment Sunday night.
An affidavit for probable cause alleges Sinn, who was an elder at Calvary Temple,
1400 W. Washington Center Road, molested two boys from the church in his car.
He worked with boys at the church and often took them to dinner, movies or ballgames,
the affidavit said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
08:39:06 AM
FORT WAYNE (Ind.)
Friar rips media in Huntington firm's book
The
Journal Gazette
By Rick Farrant
A book released Friday by Huntington-based Our Sunday Visitor doggedly criticizes
the media's handling of the current sex crisis facing some priests.
It is the first book about the crisis produced by a Catholic publishing house,
Our Sunday Visitor Marketing Director Jill Kurtz said.
"From Scandal to Hope" ($9.95) was written by Father Benedict Groeschel, a Franciscan
Friar of the Renewal from Larchmont, N.Y.
It is a wide-ranging essay that, while noting that the offending priests are in
the minority, clearly calls for the reform of Catholic education and church morality.
It is dedicated in part to the victims of sexual abuse and their families.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
08:36:34 AM DALLAS (TX)
St. Pius priest leaves after threats
Dallas Morning News
By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH / The Dallas Morning News
A Dallas priest who apologized to his congregation last month for a suggestive
message he had posted on an Internet site for gay priests will no longer serve
St. Pius X Catholic Church because of threats against him, church members were
told Sunday.
The Rev. Clifford Garner, the church's assistant pastor, received two "threats
against his life" last week that had been reported to the police, Monsignor Lawrence
Pichard said at the end of a morning service.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:35:46 AM
SEATTLE (WA)
Some call priests' removal too harsh
Seattle
Times
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter
When the nation's Roman Catholic bishops passed a policy this month to remove
from ministry any priest or deacon who had sexually abused a minor even once,
many lay Catholics at the time thought it wasn't tough enough.
But now that clergy around the country are starting to be removed, some Catholics
are wondering if what they thought they wanted isn't too harsh and simplistic.
As some popular priests find themselves facing removal, their parishioners and
colleagues are wrestling with the realization that the policy may essentially
end the careers of some priests they have grown to love and respect.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:33:14 AM
ELLSWORTH (ME)
Replacement priest at Ellsworth parish will start on Aug. 1
Portland
Press Herald
The Associated Press
ELLSWORTH — A Roman Catholic educator who leads an Augusta parish has been tapped
to serve at an Ellsworth parish whose priest was removed for sexually abusing
a boy.
Parishioners at St. Joseph's Church learned at Sunday Mass that Rev. Lou Phillips,
who is currently serving at the St. Paul Center, will begin his duties in Ellsworth
Aug. 1.
Phillips has spent most of his priesthood in education, serving as a teacher and
administrator and working in campus ministry, Cathy Wayman, a member of St. Joseph's
pastoral council, told the Bangor Daily News.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
06:30:33 AM
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Tense times call for cautious steps
'Listening' is at the top of Dolan's agenda
By MEG KISSINGER and TOM HEINEN
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel
Second of two parts
Part 1: Dolan sees strength in trust
Milwaukee's new archbishop will arrive in town at what is arguably the tensest
time in modern Catholic history.
The church is reeling from a pedophilia scandal and tarnished by former Archbishop
Rembert Weakland's personal shame over his relationship with a man who later accused
him of sexual abuse.
At the top of Timothy Dolan's to-do list: gracefully helping to clean up the mess.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:24:50 AM
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Imagine if the Dolans traded jobs for a day
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel
Column by Jim Stingl
The early vibe on Timothy Dolan, our new archbishop-elect, is that he's an outgoing,
charming, intelligent, funny man who doesn't take himself too seriously.
With those qualities, maybe he should have his own morning radio show, just like
his younger brother Bob Dolan, the morning guy on WISN-AM in Milwaukee.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:22:32 AM
BROCKTON (MA)
Creating a Parish Comfort Zone
Priest's openness about church scandal strengthens his tie with his flock.
Los
Angeles Times
By ELIZABETH MEHREN, Times Staff Writer
BROCKTON, Mass. -- White-haired and bespectacled, the priest looked befuddled.
Oh dear, he muttered, where is that little turkey?
That is Father Frank Cloherty's fond shorthand for the 200 or so children at St.
Patrick Roman Catholic Church, "because it's easier than remembering all those
names." The term seems fitting in this bustling parish southeast of Boston--a
mix of immigrants and old-time residents in a tough industrial city. Like babes
in the barnyard, the kids flock to their pastor.
These young parishioners and their parents are well aware that a terrible cloud
has settled over many who wear the Roman collar. They have heard the term "pedophile
priest" at home, in Sunday school and in the very sanctuary where Cloherty delivered
an angry homily on the topic when the sexual abuse scandal first exploded in January.
These 784 families--nearly 3,000 people--are as outraged as anyone about sexual
misconduct in the priesthood, and about a church hierarchy that for decades covered
it up.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/1/2002
06:15:25 AM
DETROIT (Mich.)
Church removes 2 priests
Area parishes learn of misconduct allegations
Detroit
Free Press
BY ALEXA CAPELOTO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
On a day when Catholics usually gather to celebrate their faith, thousands instead
wrestled with grim news Sunday about local pastors removed from active ministry
because of sexual misconduct allegations.
Church officials visited parishes in Livonia, Taylor, Trenton, Beverly Hills and
North Branch during the weekend either to talk with parishioners who recently
lost their pastors or to announce new removals to others. By the end of the weekend,
two names were added to the list of 12 local priests disciplined by the church
since January for alleged sexual misconduct: Rev. Edmund Borycz of St. Michael
in Livonia and the recently retired Rev. Jude Ellinghausen of SS. Peter and Paul
in North Branch and St. Patrick Mission in Clifford.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
05:56:52 AM
DOVER (N.H.)
Bishop encouraged by annual conference
Foster's
Sunday Citizen
By SEAN MURPHY
Staff Writer
DOVER — This wasn’t the first conference of Roman Catholic bishops in the United
States. It wasn’t even the first to discuss sexual misconduct.
But when bishops from across the country got together for this year’s United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this month in Dallas, Texas, it was different.
This time, the conference was dogged by a scandal that has shaken the church to
its core.
The Rev. John B. McCormack, Bishop of the Diocese of Manchester, who attended
the two-and-a-half-day conference from June 13-15, said Friday that there were
signs, not all of them positive, that this year’s effort was different.
But, he added, there was also hope, and the conference ended on a encouraging
note, with a new national policy on how to deal with sexual misconduct on the
part of priests with minors.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
05:34:43 AM
Boston (Mass.)
Protesters bring fight to Mission Church
Boston
Herald
by Robin Washington
Protesters followed Bernard Cardinal Law to Roxbury's Mission Church yesterday,
where tensions mounted between demonstrators and parishioners not used to having
unrest at their front door.
The protests, which have been a fixture outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross,
shifted to the Mission Hill church as the cardinal joined congregants for the
first of his summer Mass visits to various parishes in the archdiocese.
It was also his last public appearance in Boston before departing for Rome last
night on what church officials described as previously scheduled Vatican business.
The confrontation between demonstrators and parishioners at the largely Hispanic
church was heated, especially following an ethnically charged taunt by alleged
sex abuse victim Steve Lewis of Lynn.
``I invite the Boston Police Department to check for green cards,'' Lewis said
through his bullhorn.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
05:21:38 AM Boston (Mass.)
Some priests allegedly abused confession info
Boston
Herald
by Robin Washington
For Catholics, the act of confession is one of the most sacred aspects of the
faith, a bond between penitent and priest defined as the epitome of trust.
But for some, it is a key into their privacy, unlocked to begin a nightmare of
abuse.
That is the betrayal described by Karen Pedersen of Fitchburg in her lawsuit against
the Rev. Robert E. Kelley, a convicted child molester who she claims sexually
molested her at St. Boniface parish in Lunenburg in 1975.
``Karen Pedersen states under oath when she was approximately eight years old
she went to the Kelley defendant to sacramentally confess and receive absolution,''
her lawsuit states.
Instead, the documents state, she was immersed in a bath and molested, all under
``the ritual imposition of the `sign of the cross.' ''
Pedersen's alleged abuse is not unusual, experts said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
05:17:18 AM
FORT WORTH (Tex.)
Six priests being removed in wake of church scandal
Houston
Chronicle
Associated Press
FORT WORTH -- Five priests in Amarillo and another in Fort Worth either were removed
last week or soon will resign as part of the new policy adopted by U.S. bishops
in Dallas two weeks ago.
The Fort Worth priest had been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1981
and was removed from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, officials said Saturday.
Another three priests with the Amarillo Diocese have voluntarily resigned and
two others are leaving, church officials said.
The Rev. Rudolf Renteria, who had been serving as a chaplain at several Fort Worth
and Dallas hospitals, was told by Bishop Joseph Delaney that he no longer could
be in the ministry, the diocese said in a news release Saturday.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/1/2002
05:10:58 AM
Sunday, June 30, 2002
Sunday Evening Update:
Cardinal Law departs for Rome for congregation meeting
Boston Globe
By Associated Press, 06/30/02
BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law left Boston for Rome on Sunday evening to attend
a meeting at the Vatican, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Boston said.
Law, who has been at the center of the clergy sexual abuse scandal since it
started in Boston in January, will be in Rome through the week, spokeswoman
Donna Morrissey said.
The meeting has been scheduled for some time and has nothing to do with the
scandal. "As a cardinal, he's a member of congregations and councils of the
Holy See," Morrissey said.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 6/30/2002
07:33:04 PM BOSTON (MA)
Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church
Boston
Globe
By the investigative staff of the Boston Globe
Book Excerpt:
Foreword
In June 2001, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the longtime Roman Catholic archbishop
of Boston, used a routine court filing to make an extraordinary admission: seventeen
years earlier he had given Rev. John J. Geoghan a plum job as parochial vicar
of an affluent suburban parish, despite having been notified just two months
previously that Geoghan was alleged to have molested seven boys.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 6/30/2002
07:30:43 PM
Clerical Sexuality
Commonweal
As a former Catholic priest and a currently practicing Catholic, I find myself
answering questions from people of all religions about the daily seamy headlines.
They want my take on the situation. They want to know if I have seen, firsthand,
evidence of rampant decadence in the once-revered Catholic priesthood.
posted by Tom Fox on 6/30/2002
01:11:53 PM
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