Saturday, July 20, 2002

BOSTON (MA)
At first nationwide rally, group seeks drastic changes in way Catholic Church governed
Boston.com
By Richard Ostling, Associated Press, 7/20/02
BOSTON -- At its first national meeting Saturday, a non-clergy reform group borne out of the Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal called for drastic changes in the way the church is governed.
An estimated 4,000 Voice of the Faithful members from 35 states and seven foreign countries signed a petition urging Pope John Paul II to endorse reform policies that U.S. bishops approved in June.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 04:42:39 PM

AMARILLO (TX)
Yanta says he asked two priests to resign
Amarillo Globe-News
By Don Munsch
dmunsch@amarillonet.com
Bishop John W. Yanta of the Diocese of Amarillo said he asked two priests to resign recently because of the new charter passed by American bishops at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Dallas in June.
Yanta talked Friday about various matters concerning the Catholic Church's crisis. Yanta had been in Europe the first half of July on a mission trip, and he leaves Monday for Toronto for World Youth Day. He will go to Mexico for the canonization of Juan Diego after his trip to Canada. He will return to Amarillo on July 31.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 04:41:11 PM

Our Current Crisis: TRUTH and the “Homosexual” issue
Catholic Online
By: Deacon Keith A Fournier
I am a faithful Catholic. I love serving the Church as a member of the clergy, a deacon. I cherish and embrace the wealth of wisdom that is the Churches teaching. A Polestar of that teaching is that every single human person has an inestimable dignity because they are created in the image of God.
I also appreciate and accept the Church's solid pastoral instruction that this includes "homosexual persons." In using that term, the pastoral instructions make a distinction between orientation and practice. Homosexual orientation is not sin. Homosexual practice is sin.
The "orientation" I am concerned about in priests of the Catholic Church is the one toward sanctity and faithfulness. That means for a consecrated celibate priest, chastity within that vow of celibacy. For a married priest, (mostly found in Eastern Catholic churches though increasingly in the West as well through the “pastoral provision”), that means chastity within a faithful marriage.
The priest stands "in persona Christi"--- in the person of Jesus Christ. That is mystically and wonderfully the truest at the moment of consecration. However, it is true in every aspect of a priestly vocation. Jesus Christ does not abuse. He does not treat persons as objects, products or property. Nor should His priests ever do so!
Like all Catholics I have been deeply troubled by the unfolding scandal that involves unfaithful clergy (that includes deacons and Bishops along with priests) who are violating their vows, committing egregious sin, abusing children and others and, it appears, concealing their criminal activity and their sin.
I am deeply concerned for the victims. As a former prosecuting attorney, I worked with Children’s services and served in the Juvenile justice system. I know that this abuse must be exposed, the perpetrators punished, the victims helped and the common good protected against further abuse.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 03:42:06 PM

RICHMOND (VA)
Ex-student says bishop ignored guidelines on abuse
The Virginian-Pilot
By STEVEN G. VEGH, The Virginian-Pilot
A former Catholic school student who alleged sexual impropriety by a Richmond-area priest said Friday that Bishop Walter F. Sullivan ignored new Catholic guidelines defining abuse when he exonerated the priest last month.
``What the bishop is doing is lowering the moral bar for the very people who should have the highest standard of measurement,'' Thor Gormley of Virginia Beach said.
Gormley and at least two other -- anonymous -- men told diocesan officials this spring about alleged sexual misconduct by the Rev. John E. Leonard. The incidents were said to have occurred when the three were students in the 1970s at St. John Vianney, a Catholic school in Goochland where Leonard was on staff.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 08:36:46 AM

LOS ANGELES
Woman to Lead Ministry of Lesbian and Gay Catholics
Los Angeles Times
By LARRY B. STAMMER, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Frances M. Ruth, an administrative assistant who has served in the Ministry of Lesbian and Gay Catholics for the Roman Catholic Church's Los Angeles archdiocese, has been named to lead the group following the resignation of Father Peter Liuzzi.
"As a Catholic who happens to be lesbian, this ministry is very dear to me, and it is my goal to keep it running full throttle," Ruth wrote in an e-mail announcing her new job. She said Cardinal Roger M. Mahony continues to fully support the ministry, which has drawn fire from conservative Catholics.
Ruth, 54, said this week that the ministry--whose budget, like other departments in the archdiocese, has been cut--is especially important in view of the sexual abuse scandal that has swept through the American church. "In light of the scandal, I see this ministry as one of education, education, education," Ruth said. "People need to separate words like pedophilia and ephebophilia [sexual attraction to post-pubescent youth] from homosexuality. They do not have anything to do with each other."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 08:29:41 AM

MODESTO (CA)
Priest admits to molestation
Modesto Bee
By PATRICK GIBLIN
BEE STAFF WRITER
The Rev. Oscar Pelaez, formerly assigned to Catholic churches in Hughson, Turlock and Modesto, pleaded guilty Thursday to all 13 counts of child molestation against him.
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Nancy Ashley immediately sentenced Pelaez to six years in prison. The district attorney's office had urged the maximum term of 11 years.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 08:25:30 AM

SANTA ROSA (CA)
Prosecutors to remain on assault case
San Francisco Chronicle
A Sonoma County Superior Court judge refused Friday to remove prosecutors in the case of inactive priest Don Kimball, charged with assaulting a newspaper photographer.
Deputy public defender Michael Perry filed the motion in June to have the Sonoma County prosecutors replaced with attorneys from another county because two people who work in the prosecutor's office testified at the preliminary hearing and are on the list of potential witnesses for the October trial.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 08:21:35 AM MIAMI (FL)
Suspended Broward priest sues Miami Archdiocese
Miami Herald
BY JAY WEAVER AND LISA ARTHUR
A suspended Broward County priest sued the Archdiocese of Miami Friday, claiming it conspired to ruin his reputation after two women alleged he molested them.
The Rev. Jan Malicki, 53, claims Archbishop John C. Favalora and Chancellor Tomas M. Marin authorized a church tribunal to review ''secret accusations'' against him on July 14, 1998, and then held a press conference eight days later to say the priest was under criminal investigation.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/20/2002 08:18:43 AM

MILWAUKEE (Wisc.)
Decisions on priests await new leader
Archdiocese largely to follow bishops' policy
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By MARIE ROHDE
of the Journal Sentinel staff
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee plans to follow the U.S. Catholic bishops' new national policy on the sexual abuse of minors by priests, but many decisions on exactly what will be done here won't be made until after Bishop Timothy M. Dolan is installed as archbishop on Aug. 28.
How Many Punished?
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee initially reported that 37 priests had been accused credibly of sexual misconduct with minors.
Of those:
12 are dead.
11 are retired.
Seven have no assignments.
Four have been defrocked.
Three are in the active ministry, one of whom recently left his parish and is without assignment.
The number now is at least 45.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 08:13:21 AM

LOUISVILLE (KY)
Miller pleads innocent to Oldham sex charges
Retired priest, also indicted in Jefferson, accused of child abuse
The Courier-Journal
By Darla Carter
The Rev. Louis E. Miller pleaded innocent yesterday to a 14-count indictment charging him with committing indecent or immoral practices with eight children in the St. Aloysius parish in Pewee Valley.
Oldham Circuit Judge Paul Rosenblum allowed Miller to remain free on the condition that he post 10 percent of a $50,000 bond within a week and refrain from contact with minors.
Miller, who retired in March as a chaplain at a Louisville home for the elderly, did not speak during the brief hearing, allowing his lawyer, David Lambertus, to waive formal arraignment and enter the plea for him.
Miller declined to comment as he was being processed in the circuit court clerk's office after the hearing. He was fingerprinted and photographed, and filled out paperwork.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 07:47:14 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Voice launches site for victims of abuse
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
A Web site for victims of alleged priest abuse in Central Massachusetts went live this week under the direction of a victim advocacy group called Worcester Voice.
Mary Jean of Leominster, who directs the site at www.worcestervoice.com, said the site gives news and information about the issue of priest abuse in the Worcester Diocese; lists priests who have been removed by the diocese amid allegations of sexual misconduct; and allows interested people to follow the court actions and civil lawsuits involving the Rev. Robert E. Kelley.
Rev. Kelley faces criminal child rape charges involving incidents that allegedly happened when he was assigned to a parish in Leominster.
According to the site, the goal is “to be a location where faithful Catholics in the Worcester area can collect truthful information” and rebut what Worcester Voice considers to be inaccurate information presented by the diocese.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:56:42 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Theologians back lay Catholics' bid for greater voice
Boston Herald
by Eric Convey
Nearly 5,000 lay Catholics assembling in Boston to launch a bid to democratize the church began their campaign yesterday by releasing a letter of support from academic theologians.
Some 60 professors or advanced students signed the petition backing the effort by Voice of the Faithful, the group that began in a Wellesley church basement six months ago and is drawing attendees from 30 states and several countries to today's conference.
``As Catholic theologians, we support the rights and responsibilities of lay Catholics . . . to gather in the spirit of Christ, who dwells within the whole church,'' the petition states.
The endorsement includes references to Vatican II documents that appear to suggest an active role for lay people.
The Archdiocese of Boston declined comment yesterday on the Voice of the Faithful event. On two previous occasions, a bishop met with the group's leaders to discuss its relationship to archdiocesan officials.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:45:42 AM

EASTHAMPTON (Mass.)
Pastor fires couple for views
Boston Globe
By Matt Carroll, Globe Staff
For more than 20 years, John F. Sheehan and his wife, Maureen, distributed Holy Communion, taught religious classes, and helped at church bazaars at Immaculate Conception Church in Easthampton.
Then in late May, the couple were fired from their volunteer jobs as Eucharistic ministers and lectors by the Rev. William Hamilton, the pastor of their church.
The reason: At a press conference at Faneuil Hall on May 3, John Sheehan called for less secrecy and more accountability from bishops and cardinals, who have been reeling from the sex abuse scandals involving clergy.
''We're outcasts in our own community,'' said Sheehan, 63, who is the national coordinator for a church reform group called the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church, which held the press conference.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:39:36 AM BOSTON (Mass.)
Catholic group to rate bishops
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff,
Taking their first steps to try to claim more power for laypeople within the Catholic Church, leaders of Voice of the Faithful said yesterday they will begin publicly evaluating bishops around the country, and will launch an effort to raise money for church ministries without sending it through the offices of bishops.
Leaders of the group, which was formed in February in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis, say they are expecting 4,000 Catholics from around the country to attend their daylong convention today at the Hynes Convention Center.
At a press conference yesterday, Voice of the Faithful unveiled its most provocative effort to date, a report card it will use to evaluate bishops around the United States based on their compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which was approved by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops at its meeting in Dallas last month. Voice of the Faithful leader Paul Baier said that he expects local chapters to begin evaluating their bishops shortly and that the results will be posted on the Internet in three or four months.
Baier said the group is also poised to launch its Voice of Compassion fund, which would accept charitable contributions from people unwilling to contribute money directly to the Archdiocese of Boston. Voice of the Faithful would then attempt to route the money to ministries run by the archdiocese, which is facing sharp budget cuts because of a decline in Sunday collections and fund-raising attributed to the abuse scandal. The Archdiocese of Boston has not said whether it would accept such contributions, which would be designed to circumvent the cardinal's office.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:36:12 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Conference of lay Catholics to offer solution to crisis from pews
Boston Globe
By Robert O'Neill, Associated Press
BOSTON -- After months of legal drama and summits of Roman Catholic leaders on the abuse of children by priests, thousands of ordinary churchgoers will gather here Saturday to offer their solution and a perspective from the pews.
"In Rome the pope spoke, and in Dallas the bishops spoke, and in Boston the laity is going to speak," said Jim Post, president of Voice of the Faithful, which is hosting its first national conference. "This is a day of awareness building, education, kind of the great awakening."
The conference was expected to draw 4,200 people from at least 28 states and Germany and Canada.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:33:05 AM

PORTLAND (ME)
Undaunted by scandals, local youths keep the faith
Portland Press Herald
By ELBERT AULL, Portland Press Herald Writer
Local Catholics, traveling to see Pope John Paul II in Canada next week, said they won't let scandals in the church affect their beliefs.
"The Catholic church is based on God, not a priest," said Jeff Upton, a youth adviser at St. Michael's Church in South Berwick. "A big part of our religion is forgiveness."
Upton, 25, will serve as a chaperone for seven teen-agers from York County traveling to Toronto on Monday for World Youth Day, a seven-day, biennial conference for Catholic youth.
The focal point of the conference is the pope, who has been in poor health recently. He is scheduled to make several appearances.
The festival takes place amid a nationwide scandal involving sexual abuse by priests and church officials' who did nothing to stop it.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/20/2002 06:27:07 AM

Friday, July 19, 2002

RICHMOND (VA)
Bishop defends reinstatement
Richmond Times-Dispatch
BY ALBERTA LINDSEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Richmond's Catholic bishop acknowledged that some of the Rev. John Leonard's actions might have been improper, but they weren't serious enough to remove him.
"You have to have strong reasons to remove a priest," said the Most Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, bishop of the 208,008 active parishioners in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. There wasn't enough evidence to warrant drastic action against Leonard, pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church in Glen Allen, Sullivan said.
"There were different standards then than today," Sullivan said. "I judged by standards at that time. It's not fair to judge by today's standards. You can't give a guy a spanking today. Even by today's definition [of child sexual abuse], I would not have removed him."
In May, three of Leonard's former students told an investigative team that he had engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior about 30 years ago. The alleged incidents occurred when the three were attending St. John Vianney Seminary, then a diocesan high school in Goochland County.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 09:30:11 PM

A whiff of anti-Semitism in Rome’s assessment of sex abuse crisis
National Catholic Reporter
By John Allen
Since the beginning of the sex abuse crisis in the United States, I have often been asked how Rome sees the situation. My shorthand answer has been that while Vatican officials are certainly horrified by the abuse of children, as well as by the failure of some bishops to prevent that abuse, most also regard the avalanche of public criticism of the Church as exaggerated.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/19/2002 11:54:44 AM

CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand)
Roman Catholic order says abuse victims should complain to police
July 18
Yahoo! News
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A Roman Catholic order embroiled in a sex scandal involving abuse of children at a boarding school it ran appealed to victims Friday to file complaints with police.
Peter Burke, head of the St. John of God Order in Australia and New Zealand, was speaking from the southern city of Christchurch, where he was meeting 25 men who claim they were sexually abused in the 1960s and 1970s by priests and lay members of the order.
"Their stories are worse than what I imagined I would hear," Burke said in a radio interview. "I am encouraging every person I am talking to, to go to the police and make an official complaint."

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/19/2002 09:22:25 AM

LONG ISLAND (NY)
Wanted: A Voice In The Church
Catholics meet to discuss future
Newsday
By Carol Eisenberg
STAFF WRITER
Carol Bongiorno and her husband, Joseph, had planned a Vermont vacation this month. But the retired couple from Williston Park recently postponed those plans to join thousands of Roman Catholics who are gathering in Boston tomorrow to take back their church.
"I'm very disappointed in how the hierarchy has handled this pedophilia scandal," said Carol Bongiorno, 65, a devout Catholic who sent her four children to Catholic grade schools, and who has helped lead a parish prayer group for 25 years. "I don't want to leave the church. But now that I know what I know, I have to take responsibility and do something about it."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/19/2002 08:30:46 AM

NEW YORK
Priest Is Pressed for Names in Pornography Case
The New York Times
By ANTHONY DePALMA
After initially minimizing allegations of wrongdoing by an Episcopal pastor involved in a bitter dispute with leaders of his Manhattan parish, officials of the Episcopal Diocese of New York this week acknowledged the priest's criminal record and said he would be required to identify any other priests involved in producing child pornography.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/19/2002 08:26:31 AM

BERLIN
German priest charged with sexually abusing teen-age boy
July 18
Yahoo! News
By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN - Prosecutors said Thursday they have charged a Roman Catholic priest with sexually abusing a teen-age boy, the latest case to come to light in Germany since a wave of sex-abuse scandals engulfed the church.
The 38-year-old priest from the parish of Holzwickede allegedly abused the boy, then 13, in 1998 when he was a member of a church youth group, said Heiko Oltmanns, a prosecutor in the nearby city of Dortmund.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/19/2002 08:18:01 AM

MANILA
Philippine bishop asks Catholic churches, schools not to harbor priest wanted in U.S. for alleged sex abuse
Yahoo! News
July 18
By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines - A Roman Catholic bishop on Thursday condemned a Philippines-born priest charged with sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl two decades ago in the United States, saying he should be arrested and put on trial.
U.S. officials have issued an arrest warrant for the Rev. Polienato Bernabe, 61, who is charged with capital sexual battery, a felony.
There is no statute of limitations for having sexual intercourse with a child under 12. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
U.S. investigators said Bernabe could be in the Philippines.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/19/2002 08:16:01 AM

TORONTO
Catholic sex scandal dampens papal visit
The Washington Times
By Barry Brown
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
TORONTO — The scandal over priests' child sex abuse and a fear of terrorist attacks have hurt efforts to attract young worshippers for Pope John Paul II's upcoming visit to celebrate World Youth Day, organizers say. Top Stories
The scandals "did take the wind out of our sails," World Youth Day spokesman Paul Kilbertus said. "It means [American] churches are caught up with it and cannot devote their energy to World Youth Day."
"Since September 11, Americans are more reluctant to travel, and many are concerned that because of the pope's health, he might not be able to come," Mr. Kilbertus said.
Organizers of World Youth Day, from Tuesday to July 28, say they are facing a $10 million deficit and a shortage of 5,000 volunteers they had hoped to recruit.
Thus far, just 150,000 people have registered to attend, not the 750,000 they had hoped would attend.
About 6,000 foreign registrants have been denied visas, and Toronto is scrambling to clean up after a garbage collectors strike.
"Now we're down to the last minutes and there's still a lot of details to work out," Mr. Kilbertus said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 07:18:08 AM

SOUTH AFRICA
Bishop resigns under pressure
The Washington Times
By George Archibald
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A Catholic bishop in South Africa, who wished the pope dead on a pornographic homosexual clergy Internet chat room started by American priests, resigned under fire after news of the Web site hit newspapers in Cape Town.
Bishop Reginald Cawcutt tendered his resignation Wednesday to Pope John Paul II after The Washington Times reported his involvement in the chat room where homosexual priests posted nude pictures, talked about sexual liaisons with young men and criticized church teachings against homosexuality.
The Vatican in Rome yesterday announced the pope's acceptance of Bishop Cawcutt's resignation without comment, after Cape Argus, a Cape Town newspaper, picked up The Times' story. The former bishop is now serving as an unassigned priest.
"Because I do not wish to be the cause of any further division in the church, after 40 years of what I believed to have been service to the Lord, I have resigned as Cape Town's auxiliary bishop and I will continue serving the Good Lord with a lower profile," Father Cawcutt said in a prepared statement posted on the Archdiocese of Cape Town Web site Wednesday.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 07:15:24 AM

RICHMOND (VA)
Priest's Return To Parish Questioned
Va. Cleric Accused Of Sexual Abuse
Washington Post
By Caryle Murphy
Washington Post Staff Writer
When the Rev. John E. Leonard said Sunday Mass at St. Michael's Catholic Church in suburban Richmond in late June, overjoyed parishioners gave him a standing ovation. They were happy their pastor was back from a seven-week suspension after an investigation of allegations that he had sexually abused three boys 30 years ago.
What most of the congregation did not realize was that Leonard's bishop, Walter F. Sullivan of Richmond, had reinstated the priest without input from the diocesan panel whose job is to review sexual abuse complaints. Most members of the panel, in fact, have yet to see the findings of the diocese's investigation, which were sent directly to Sullivan.
The bishop's handling of the case has led one panel member -- a psychologist who was on the investigative team and co-wrote its report -- to resign in protest. Others on the review board have asked to meet with the bishop to discuss his decision to reinstate Leonard, and he has agreed to do so on Aug. 1.
Advocates for victims say the decision, which Sullivan announced four days after U.S. Catholic bishops adopted tougher guidelines on sexual abuse by priests, illustrates how difficult it will be to enforce the new rules.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 07:10:03 AM

Listening to the 'Voice of the Faithful'
The Tidings
By Rev. Richard P. McBrien
The sexual-abuse crisis has generated a number of short-term consequences for the Catholic Church: most bad, some good. The hope is that, in the long run, the church will emerge from this crisis even stronger than before -- spiritually, ministerially, and structurally.
One of the most promising short-term effects that may help to realize this long-term hope is the evident determination of Catholic laity to involve themselves more directly in the church's decision-making processes. There is nothing particularly novel or revolutionary about this development. Almost 40 years ago, the Second Vatican Council called upon the laity to play a more meaningful role in the internal life of the church: "As sharers in the role of Christ the Priest, the Prophet, and the King, the laity have an active part to play in the life and activity of the church" (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, n. 10).
The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church was just as specific. The laity share equally, although in different ways, with the hierarchy, clergy, and religious in the three-fold mission of Christ -- of teaching, ruling, and sanctifying (n. 30).
The hopes of Vatican II will never be fulfilled without the direct and meaningful involvement of laity in the life and mission of
the Catholic Church.
Pastors "were not meant by Christ to shoulder alone the entire saving mission of the church toward the world." They must recognize the ministries and charismatic gifts that the laity also have and they must work with the laity so that "all according to their proper roles may cooperate in this common undertaking with one heart."

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 07:03:27 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Cardinal insists settlement was proposal
Boston Herald
by Tom Mashberg and Marie Szaniszlo
Bernard Cardinal Law insisted under oath yesterday that what he has referred to several times since March as a ``settlement'' in the sexual abuse lawsuit against former priest John J. Geoghan was in fact a ``proposed settlement,'' according to two Geoghan accusers present at the morning questioning in Brighton.
Law ``stumbled over a lot of questions and left the room with attorneys'' to discuss matters in private, according to one alleged Geoghan victim, Mark Keane, 33, of Merrimack, N.H., who was present at the deposition, conducted by attorney Mitchell Garabedian.
``He tried to convince everyone that (he) should have referred to it as a `proposed settlement,' '' Keane said of Law's testimony.
Law's reference to the ``proposed settlement'' came despite his calling the abandoned $20 million-plus deal for 86 abuse plaintiffs simply a ``settlement'' in an archdiocesan news release and during at least one Mass, Herald records show.
Garabedian, attorney for the 86 plaintiffs, said he was finished deposing Law in advance of a crucial July 31 hearing on whether the abandoned accord should be enforced by a Superior Court judge.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:39:32 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Second Geoghan trial is set for October
Boston Globe
By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff,
John J. Geoghan, the defrocked priest whose alleged crimes against scores of children ignited the Catholic Church's ongoing sex abuse scandal, will face his second criminal trial beginning Oct. 15.
Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle set the trial date yesterday, at a hearing in which prosecutors asked her to allow 22 other alleged victims of Geoghan to testify. Assistant District Attorney David Deakin argued that the other accusers will show jurors that Geoghan followed a pattern as he abused children between the early 1960s and the mid-1990s.
Geoghan is charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child; each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Prosecutors say Geoghan fondled a Weymouth boy in 1995 and 1996 as the priest drove the boy, now 17, around downtown Boston.
Prosecutors say Geoghan also molested the boy in 1993 in Readville, at the christening of the alleged victim's younger sister. Geoghan had invited the boy to serve as an altar boy, prosecutors say, and fondled the boy as he was changing in the vestry.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:36:19 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Other denominations report abuse charges
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson and Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff
Spurred by heavy publicity over the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, several other religious denominations say they are investigating allegations that some of their Massachusetts clergy have sexually abused minors in the past.
Local officials of the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Methodist Church, and the American Baptist Churches say they have recently received allegations against clergy that they are reporting to prosecutors and disclosing to their churches.
The denominations say they are meeting the requirements of a law that went into effect June 3 mandating that they report any past or present allegation of child abuse to state officials.
The numbers are tiny in comparison to the number of accused Catholic priests, and there appears to be only one new case in which a non-Catholic denomination knowingly allowed an accused molester to remain in ministry without notifying congregants. But the newly reported allegations illustrate that the Catholic Church is not the only church whose clergy have sexually abused children.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:31:22 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Prosecutors ask judge to permit testimony from alleged victims in Geoghan trial
Boston Globe
By Associated Press
BOSTON -- State prosecutors asked a judge Thursday to allow 22 alleged Geoghan victims to testify at his upcoming trial in the alleged molestation of a Boston boy in the 1990s.
Prosecutor David Deakin argued that testimony from other alleged victims would show a pattern of conduct from the early 1960s through the mid-1990s.
Defense attorney Geoffrey Packard argued that the other victims' claims are different from the claims made by the boy and would be prejudicial for the jury to hear at the upcoming trial.
The boy, now 17, alleges that Geoghan molested him just before performing his sister's baptism in 1993 and then repeatedly in 1995 and 1996. Geoghan is charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:28:20 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Law deposed for fourth time in Geoghan abuse case
Boston Globe
By Associated Press
BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law answered questions under oath for the fourth time Thursday in the case of defrocked priest John Geoghan.
Mitchell Garabedian, attorney for 86 plaintiffs in the sexual abuse lawsuit, announced outside the Archdiocese of Boston's chancery that he was finished deposing Law for now and would begin preparing for a July 31 hearing on whether a broken settlement reportedly worth $15 million to $30 million can be enforced.
"It was quite productive," Garabedian said. "We're ready for (the hearing) as far as Cardinal Law is concerned."
The deposition lasted 2.5 hours. Archdiocese spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne said the tone of the deposition was "professional" and "not contentious."

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:26:09 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Kelley facing new charge
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Richard Nangle
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Convicted rapist Rev. Robert E. Kelley could be arraigned on another rape charge as early as next week, perhaps reigniting controversy over whether he should be held on bail.
Rev. Kelley was indicted yesterday on a charge of unnatural rape and abuse of a 9-year-old girl. The incident allegedly occurred in 1990, when Rev. Kelley was serving as a Catholic priest at St. Cecilia's Parish in Leominster.
Rev. Kelley was due back in court Wednesday on rape charges that were filed last month. An arraignment date in Worcester Superior Court on the new charge, which involves a new victim, had not been scheduled yesterday, according to District Attorney John J. Conte.
On June 13, Rev. Kelley was released on personal recognizance for the second time in a month after pleading not guilty to five counts of child rape, prompting an angry response from several of his alleged victims, who attended his Superior Court arraignment.
Heather Mackey, now a Tewksbury resident, was the alleged victim of the rapes. The newest alleged victim has not revealed her identity.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:19:31 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Child rape survivors want bill approved
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Jennifer Peter
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON-- Child rape survivors are victimized twice because of a state law that imposes time limits on the prosecution of predators, a group of alleged clergy abuse victims told lawmakers yesterday.
They came to support a bill, championed by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley, that would eliminate the statute of limitations in rape and attempted rape when the victim is younger than 16.
“The statute of limitations on these crimes imposes a life sentence on these victims for crimes committed against them,” said Arthur Austin, who says he was molested by the Rev. Paul Shanley. The time limit “tells me that rape and sexual defilement are all right with the law after 15 years,” he said.
Murder is the only crime with no statute of limitations, Conley told the Criminal Justice Committee.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:15:31 AM

Greenfield (Mass.)
Former Greenfield priest faces allegations of abuse
Greenfield Recorder
GREENFIELD — Allegations were made Wednesday concerning sexual assaults on children made by a priest who served for a time at Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield and at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield.
Although the priest, The Rev. Francis Lavelle, denied the allegations, he has asked to be relieved of his duties as pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Longmeadow.
According to the allegations, made in a civil suit filed in Hampden Superior Court, Lavelle, who served at Holy Trinity Church around 1972, made advances upon a boy named Kerry Kristopher Kane, who was an altar boy there at the time.
The second accuser, who said he was assaulted in his own home near the Springfield cathedral, chose not to be named in the suit. Representing the two men is local attorney John J. Stobierski, who is also representing a number of people in suits brought against another local priest, Richard Lavigne, who pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery in several previous cases.
In a statement released by the Springfield Diocese, public relations officer Michael Graziano says that Lavelle, who is on vacation until the end of the month, spoke with Bishop Thomas Dupre Wednesday morning and asserted his innocence to the allegations.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:07:02 AM

PORTLAND (ME)
Diocese offers help for abuse victims
Portland Press Herald
By JOSHUA L. WEINSTEIN, Portland Press Herald Writer
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has hired an outreach professional to work with victims of sexual abuse by priests.
Sue Bernard, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said Wednesday that the woman, whose name is expected to be released next week, also will work with parishes that have lost a priest.
"We will be reaching out to parishes who are in any kind of crisis," she said.
That means the outreach worker will help parishes where priests have died as well as parishes where priests have been removed because of allegations of inappropriate conduct.
"Anybody who loses their priest goes through a lot of adjustment and mourning, so to speak, so this person will be reaching out to parishes who are in any kind of crisis," Bernard said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/19/2002 06:04:12 AM

Thursday, July 18, 2002

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/18/2002 08:20:46 AM

STATEN ISLAND (N.Y.)
GIRL MOLESTED IN CHURCH, COPS SAY
New York Post
By LARRY CELONA
July 18, 2002 -- A 26-year-old construction worker was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl at a Staten Island church, police said yesterday.
The victim was using the bathroom at St. Joseph's-St. Thomas Church Monday night when Maximiliano Gonzalez walked in and assaulted her, cops said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:55:11 AM

NEW YORK
New Battle In Priest Vs. Priest Case
Newsday
By Stephanie Saul
STAFF WRITER
A New Jersey priest who accused one of his brethren of sexually abusing him says he is facing retaliation through a rarely used Catholic Church legal proceeding, and a high-ranking Queens monsignor is participating in the bid to have him ousted.
The Rev. John Bambrick said he faces a possible church trial on defamation of character charges filed against him this week by the Rev. Anthony Eremito, a priest who formerly worked in both Manhattan and the Bronx. Eremito's canon lawyer is Msgr. William Varvaro, pastor of St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church in Middle Village.
Bambrick said the allegations against him are an attempt to prevent him from additional airing of his allegations, detailed in a story in Newsday last month.
"This is revictimization and completely, totally contrary to the new charter," said Bambrick, who said he faces possible removal as pastor St. Thomas More Church in Manalapan, N.J., or the priesthood altogether.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:44:00 AM

CHICAGO (Ill.)
Priests' group to take up peer reviews for accountability
The Washington Times
By Larry Witham
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The independent National Federation of Priests' Councils meets today in Chicago to discuss peer reviews as a way to improve the accountability and image of the nation's priests in the wake of sex-abuse scandals that have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church.
"What I hear from priests is, 'Help,'" said the Rev. Robert J. Silva, president of the NFPC.
The Rev. Lawrence Dowling, pastor of the St. Denis Parish in Chicago and a member of the Association of Chicago Priests, said the nation's 46,000 priests can and must "call each other to task."
"Yes, I think we can police ourselves, and, yes, I think we need to talk openly," Father Dowling said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:36:56 AM

PORTLAND (ME)
Outreach worker hired by Portland Diocese to help victims of priest abuse
Foster's Democrat
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has hired an outreach professional to fill a newly created position helping victims of sexual abuse by priests.
The woman, whose name is expected to be released next week, also will work with parishes that have lost a priest, Sue Bernard, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said Wednesday.
"We will be reaching out to parishes who are in any kind of crisis," she said. The outreach worker will help parishes where priests have died as well as parishes where priests have been removed because of allegations of inappropriate conduct.
"Anybody who loses their priest goes through a lot of adjustment and mourning, so to speak, so this person will be reaching out to parishes who are in any kind of crisis," Bernard said.
The worker also will coordinate any future meetings between survivors of sexual abuse and the bishop.
Sister Rita-Mae Bissonnette, one of two chancellors of the diocese, helped coordinate one such "listening session" June 20 in Augusta.
Cynthia Desrosiers, who recently stepped down as coordinator of the state’s Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Wednesday that the church has agreed to a second meeting.
That meeting will be held Aug. 15 in southern Maine, and will include Bissonnette, Bishop Joseph Gerry and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Cote.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:22:04 AM

PAXTON (Mass.)
Paxton church appeals decision
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
PAXTON-- The leadership of the First Congregational Church is appealing a decision by the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ that censured their pastor and ordered him to stay away from the church for four months.
The actions were imposed by the Ethics Subcommittee of the Committee on Church and Ministry of the UCC's Central Association and presented to church leaders on July 2. The ethics committee became involved after the diaconate asked the Massachusetts conference to investigate allegations made against the pastor by some members of the church.
The diaconate, which includes deacons and deaconesses, in a statement said that 117 church members attended a July 11 meeting and considered withdrawing from the United Church of Christ over its handling of the investigation of the Rev. Donald D. Whitcomb. The diaconate said membership in the UCC “will be re-evaluated within the next few months.”
“A clear consensus of the members who were in attendance is that the church should seek legal counsel to appeal the findings on the basis that the entire process was both incomplete and flawed,” the diaconate said.
The deacons said they could find no instance when Rev. Whitcomb's relationship with vergers, young custodians of the church, was improper.
The ethics committee cited in its report what it called abrogation of pastoral responsibility and lack of appropriate supervision. “When pressed for specific details, the Rev. Paul Thomas stated that Rev. Whitcomb's relationship with vergers at the church “is outside of standard proper boundary of pastoral relationships” because the vergers were being paid directly by Rev. Whitcomb. The vergers are paid junior custodians, the diaconate said. Rev. Thomas told the church leaders that Rev. Whitcomb at times was alone with the vergers. “It's the appearance of misconduct that gets us in trouble,” he said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:13:43 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Boston archdiocese not responsible for clergy abuse settlement
Springfield Union-News
By DENISE LAVOIE
The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) -- Lawyers for the Boston Archdiocese said that since the archdiocese isn't named as a defendant in lawsuits against a former priest accused of sexual abuse, it can't be held responsible for a $15 to $30 million proposed settlement to be paid to alleged victims.
In a motion filed earlier this week, lawyers for the Roman Catholic archdiocese said it shouldn't have to pay the settlement, even if a judge says the agreement is binding.
Seventeen defendants, including Cardinal Bernard Law, are named in the lawsuits that led to the tentative settlement.
Mitchell Garabedian, who represents the 86 alleged victims of former priest John Geoghan, countered that the archdiocese has been recognized by Judge Constance Sweeney as the payer in the settlement agreement.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:07:09 AM

LONGMEADOW (Mass.)
Accused priest departs
Springfield Union-News
By BILL ZAJAC
Priest relinquishes his post
A Longmeadow priest accused of sexual abuse has been relieved of his duties at his request.
The Rev. Francis P. Lavelle, pastor of St. Mary's Church, asked for and was granted relief of his duties by the bishop yesterday, according to a diocesan statement.
"He (Lavelle) said he understood that the people of the parish, who have been so kind to him, deserved to have a parish community free of any distraction or division," said the diocesan statement.
Two men accused Lavelle earlier this week of sexually abusing them when they were minors.
Meanwhile, a former Agawam resident, who filed suit this week against the late Rev. Richard J. Ahern, complained about the lack of pastoral outreach by the diocese to him as a sexual abuse victim.
Before the release of the diocesan statement on Lavelle yesterday, one of two men who filed suit against him Tuesday appeared at a press conference at the Franklin County Courthouse in Greenfield and urged the bishop to take action to protect the safety of parishioners.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 07:02:08 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Judge rules public should see video of cardinal's deposition
Boston Herald
by Tom Mashberg
Bernard Cardinal Law will give more sworn testimony today in the John J. Geoghan abuse suit - a day after a judge ruled video of Law's depositions should be made public and a lawyer for Geoghan's accusers blasted the church over its latest legal angle on the case.
Separately yesterday, the Archdiocese of Boston suspended yet another active priest, the Rev. Robert P. Beale, for a single molestation allegation dating from the 1970s.
Beale was director of Our Lady's Hall in Milton, a treatment center intended for alcoholic priests where several accused child molesters were sent to live during the 1990s - notably the Revs. Ronald H. Paquin and Edward T. Kelley.
Currently, no priests live at Our Lady's Hall, the church said.
In the ongoing sexual abuse lawsuits against the church, Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney ruled that edited audio-visual depositions of Law and of Bishop John B. McCormack of Manchester, N.H., Law's former Archdiocese of Boston personnel chief, should be made public at the same time as the written transcripts: 30 days after the final day of their ongoing depositions.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:57:36 AM

CANTON (Mass.)
PARISH AT THE CROSSROADS
The future of their faith
At one church, the abuse scandal causes young Catholics to question their beliefs
Boston Globe
By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff
CANTON - On a serene Sunday morning, three children chased one another across the entrance to St. Gerard Majella Church, their game of tag impeded only by a stack of newspapers whose headlines they were too young to read.
The headlines spoke, as they so often have in the past seven months, of a crisis that has torn through the heart of the Catholic Church: the sexual abuse of children by priests. This time, though, the news was of bishops finally moving to safeguard the church's youngest members. We have learned our lessons, the bishops promised. In voting to remove alleged abusers from active ministry while allowing them to remain priests, we have gone as far as we can, the bishops insisted.
Ryan Masciarelli, 16, wasn't buying. He glanced over at the newspapers on sale in front of the church, then offered his view of the new guidelines without a trace of doubt or deference in his voice: ''If they have committed those crimes - and that's what they are - they should be stripped of the priesthood.''

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:53:49 AM

MILTON (Mass.)
Director of Milton rehabilitation center faces abuse charge
Boston Globe
By Matt Carroll, Globe Staff
The Rev. Robert P. Beale, director of a Milton residence for priests with sexual abuse problems, yesterday was suspended by the Archdiocese of Boston after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor.
The allegation concerned an incident that allegedly occurred more than 25 years ago, said archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna M. Morrissey in a statement. She said the allegation was found to be credible.
Beale is the 16th priest to be suspended by the archdiocese since February.
Our Lady's Hall, where Beale was the director and has worked for 20 years, housed priests with sexual abuse problems and has been used as a residential facility for depressed and alcoholic priests. There are no patients at the facility now, said Morrissey. The facility is part of the archdiocese's Priest Recovery Program.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:51:44 AM ONWAY SPRINGS (Kan.)
Through Kansas parishes, a trail of suicide
Families blame deaths on ex-priest
Boston Globe
By Thomas Farragher
ONWAY SPRINGS, Kan. - They were bright-eyed boys raised in this fertile land of wheat fields, train whistles, and the modest steeples of small country churches. Their parents smiled from wooden pews filled with neighbors and friends when they helped their parish priest consecrate bread and wine on Sunday mornings.
It was, they believed, an honor.
There were five of them, hand-picked by the Rev. Robert K. Larson, a charismatic and demanding priest, known for stem-winding sermons and icy glares he would shoot toward parishioners whose babies' cries pierced his Sunday service, or who dared to creep into church even moments after he'd begun to deliver the word of the Lord.
Now, as their families explore the genesis of haunting downward spirals - desperate paths to isolation, hopelessness and self-destruction - they trace the suicides of their five sons to Larson, a now-imprisoned former priest who dressed dashingly, drove fancy cars, and molested his altar boys before striding imperiously down the aisle of churches where he was revered.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:46:45 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Judge: Videotapes must be released at same time as transcripts
Boston Globe
By Theo Emery, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) The judge overseeing cases involving priest sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston ruled on Wednesday that deposition videotapes must be available to the public at the same time as written transcripts.
In a separate development Wednesday, the archdiocese suspended a priest pending an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.
Superior Court Justice Constance M. Sweeney made the ruling about the videotapes in response to requests from media outlets for the release of deposition transcripts and videotapes of Cardinal Bernard Law and Manchester, N.H., Bishop John B. McCormack.
The media outlets, which include The Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and CNN, sought the release of the transcripts and videotapes immediately after each day of testimony ended in the case of three men who allege they were abused as children by the Rev. Paul Shanley. ...
The Rev. Robert P. Beale, director of Our Lady's Hall in Milton, became the 18th priest suspended by the Boston Archdiocese since the clergy abuse scandal erupted in January.
Beale, who was ordained in 1970, was placed on administrative leave after church officials reviewed a 25-year-old allegation of abuse and concluded Tuesday that it was credible.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:42:54 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Lawyers say Boston archdiocese not party to settlement
Boston Globe
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press
BOSTON -- Church lawyers claim that the Archdiocese of Boston should not have to pay a $15 million to $30 million settlement to alleged sexual abuse victims of former priest John J. Geoghan, even if a judge rules the agreement is binding.
The lawyers argue that because the lawsuits and settlement agreements do not specifically name the archdiocese as a defendant, it cannot be held responsible for the settlement.
Seventeen individual defendants are named, including Cardinal Bernard Law.
"It is undisputed that no signed writings exist in which the (archdiocese) in any manner agreed to assume responsibility to pay the amounts which the defendants ostensibly agreed to pay in settlement of this matter, even assuming such a settlement existed," the archdiocese attorneys wrote in a motion filed this week.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/18/2002 06:38:40 AM

Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Lay Catholics wrestle with sex scandal
San Francisco Chronicle
JEFFREY ZASLOW, The Wall Street Journal
July 17, 2002
Susan Troy was about to let go of her relationship with the Catholic Church. "I was holding on by my fingertips," the 53-year-old Boston resident says.
Like many Catholics, she is horrified by the sex-abuse scandals, which she considers "a hideous betrayal." But instead of leaving the church, she made a decision "to stay and fight for what I love." She now attends meetings of Voice of the Faithful, a grassroots lay group that helps angry Catholics come to terms with the crimes of priests and the deceptions of church leadership.

Victims target bishops
Precluded from prosecuting priests, many families seek to hold bishops accountable
Daily Southtown
July 14, 2002
By Allison Hantschel
Staff writer
Families that fell victim to priests' sexual misconduct and bishops' concealment wait while Will and DuPage county prosecutors review church documents that date as far back as three decades.
They know many of the priests who molested their children will escape justice because the events took place too long ago, though it's possible at least two are eligible for prosecution.
Knowing that, they question why authorities can't target bishops who allowed priests to prey on children.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/17/2002 10:35:29 PM

LAFAYETTE (LA)
Lessons Unlearned
Times of Acadiana
By Louis Rom
July 17, 2002
In the month since Bishop Edward O'Donnell voted in favor of sweeping changes in the Catholic Church aimed at protecting the flock from predatory priests, three priests and a former church employee of the Diocese of Lafayette have been accused of molesting children. Each of the four cases has been handled differently.
The Bishop's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People calls for any priest accused of sexually abusing a child to be removed from ministry until a thorough investigation can be completed. But that has not happened in each case.

LAFAYETTE (LA)
What's the Point?
Our stories are about the children.
Times of Acadiana
By Judy Johnson / Editor
July 10, 2002
Quite a few folks strike up conversations with me these days about The Times' coverage of the pedophile priests in the Catholic church. Many people commend us for having the courage to pursue the story so doggedly. Some think we're picking on the church, attacking the priests. Some object to our headlines.
Nearly everyone, at some point, talks about their outrage - at the media, true, but mostly at the priests, at the church, at the church leadership. There is a lot of anger, a lot of hurt, in our community; a deepening sense of betrayal among some and the beginnings of an attitude of cynicism toward a church that has been an anchor in many people's lives.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/17/2002 10:17:05 PM

NEW YORK (N.Y.)
Archdiocese denounces article about McCarthy
The Journal News
By SHAWN COHEN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
The Archdiocese of New York issued a public statement yesterday challenging the accuracy of a story about the resignation of Bishop James McCarthy that ran in The Journal News on Sunday.
Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling, in the written statement, said Cardinal Edward Egan played no role in last month's resignation, contrary to what The Journal News reported, and that Egan during his tenure as cardinal has always had a "warm and cordial" relationship with McCarthy.
"Bishop McCarthy has never missed an opportunity to tell the cardinal of his respect, and the cardinal has regularly assured the bishop of his support and affection," Zwilling wrote.
He said the article was "filled with factual errors" and specifically questioned the legitimacy of one anonymous source who said that Egan grew resentful of McCarthy during the mid-1980s, when Egan was an auxiliary bishop and McCarthy was Cardinal John O'Connor's secretary...
Henry Freeman, editor and vice president/news at The Journal News, defended the story.
"The archdiocese has not provided us with any information that would indicate that our reporting was in error," Freeman said. "In fact, they pulled back an earlier version of their press release because they felt that they made an erroneous statement based on an assumption on their part. We stand by our reporting."

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:54:30 PM

SPARTA (Ill.)
Priest who was ousted in 1993 remains bitter
Claims he was removed without due process
Belleville News-Democrat
By George Pawlaczyk
SPARTA -- With a full head of silver hair and a deep tan, Jerome Ratermann seems more like a jovial charter-boat captain than an ousted priest contemplating revenge.
The 70-year-old's good-natured banter masks a bitterness he said has been growing since his removal from ministry in 1993 when he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Belleville. The bishop at the time, the Most Rev. James Keleher, now bishop of Kansas City, Kan., announced that Ratermann had to be removed because of allegations he sexually abused minors some 20 years before.
Ratermann, the first of 12 priests in the diocese to be forced out because of allegations of sexual abuse or sexual abuse of minors, said he has been bitter since his ouster because he was not given ``due process'' by the church hierarchy.
That bitterness may result in revenge, Ratermann said, if a current review of his case by Bishop Wilton Gregory, which was mandated by action last month at the National Conference of Bishops in Dallas, results in Ratermann's removal from the priesthood itself.
If that happens, Ratermann said he may reveal ``embarrassing'' details regarding former high-ranking diocesan officials he would not name.
``I've been deprived of hope. I just hope it doesn't get any worse. If it does, I may tell my story,'' he said Monday, during an interview outside his Sparta farmhouse. ``If I told you, you wouldn't believe it.''
Ratermann would only laugh and shake his head when pressed for details.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 10:03:15 AM

TRENTON (N.J.)
Trenton in center of priest dispute
The Times
By JOSEPH DEE
TRENTON - The Diocese of Trenton could be thrust into the national spotlight of the Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse crisis if Bishop John M. Smith decides to conduct a dramatic church trial involving two priests - one who claims to have been victimized as a teenager by the other, who was already ordained.
Such a trial could unfold here because the diocese has received what is technically termed in church law a "letter of information," according to diocese spokesman Steven Emery.
The letter was submitted by a monsignor from Queens, N.Y., who is an expert in church law and who is acting on behalf of the Rev. Anthony Joseph Eremito, Emery said.
In it, Eremito accused the Rev. John P. Bambrick, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic church in Manalapan, of damaging his reputation by publicly accusing Eremito of fondling him over a six-month period in 1980.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:40:01 AM

ST. PAUL (Minn.)
Forest Lake man files suit alleging sexual abuse by priest
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Pam Louwagie
Star Tribune
Saying Catholic Church leaders misled him and his family after he reported 19 years ago that he had been sexually abused by a priest, a Forest Lake man on Tuesday sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the priest, then walked nearly a mile with supporters to confront church leaders.
Theodore Krammer Jr., 34, claims that he was molested about 25 years ago by the Rev. Lee D. Krautkremer when Krammer was a 10-year-old altar boy at St. Peter's parish in Forest Lake. Krammer and his family told archdiocese officials about it in 1983 and say they were assured the priest would not be placed in a position where he could abuse children.
After the family's allegations, Krautkremer served at St. Michael's church in St. Michael, Minn., Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Minneapolis and North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:33:38 AM

ST. PAUL (Minn.)
ST. PAUL: Man takes abuse claim to cathedral
Minneapolis-St. Paul Pioneer Press
BY STEPHEN SCOTT
Pioneer Press
Another allegation of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest was brought to public light Tuesday on the streets of St. Paul as a civil suit was filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The suit, which names former priest Lee Krautkremer, 61, as a co-defendant, was announced outside the Ramsey County Courthouse. The alleged victim, Theodore Krammer Jr., 34, of Forest Lake then walked with his family, attorney Jeffrey Anderson and supporters nearly a mile uphill to the chancery.
A face-to-face meeting with the archdiocese's chief of staff took place on the Summit Avenue sidewalk. The Rev. Kevin McDonough acknowledged lapses after Krammer brought allegations against Krautkremer in 1983.
Specifically, McDonough said, other parishes where Krautkremer served should have been notified.
"I think we dropped the ball on this one,'' McDonough told Krammer and his family. "You've helped us to bring the truth out on this.''

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:30:02 AM BALTIMORE (MD)
City priest pleads guilty to Net child porn charge
Rydzewski's purchases online led seller to call police; sentencing Sept. 12
Baltimore Sun
By Gail Gibson
Sun Staff
A suspended Baltimore priest who served as youth minister at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen pleaded guilty to a Internet pornography charge yesterday, admitting that he received graphic images of children on his computer in the church rectory.
Court records released yesterday also showed that authorities moved to arrest the Rev. Thomas A. Rydzewski last year after an eBay seller grew suspicious of Rydzewski's online purchases, which included anatomically correct dolls, photos of altar boys and adult "baby briefs" - men's underwear decorated with dinosaurs, trucks and tractors.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:22:40 AM

CHICAGO (Ill.)
Priest in abuse case will get 2nd review
Cardinal declines permanent ouster for church pastor
Chicago Tribune
Cardinal Francis George declined Tuesday to remove Rev. Raymond Skriba permanently from ministry even though the archdiocesan review board has concluded that there is "reasonable cause" to suspect that child sex abuse occurred in his case.
For the first time in the current abuse crisis, George called for "a second-stage" examination of the allegations, citing differing accounts and Skriba's denials. He accepted Skriba's written request to withdraw indefinitely as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Round Lake while the investigation continues.
Skriba, accused of molesting two girls nearly 40 years ago, said last weekend that if his withdrawal was approved, he would devote his time to proving his innocence.
On Tuesday the first woman to submit allegations about Skriba called the cardinal's decision "a travesty" that violated the U.S. bishops' zero-tolerance policy.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 08:15:12 AM

CHICAGO (Ill.)
Priest accused of abuse yanked from ministry
Chicago Sun-Times
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI RELIGION REPORTER
Saying there was reasonable cause to believe the priest had committed sexual abuse, Cardinal Francis George on Tuesday accepted the withdrawal from ministry of the Rev. Raymond Skriba, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Round Lake.
Two unidentified women, now in their 50s, have accused Skriba of molesting them while they were students at St. Gertrude Parish in Franklin Park in the 1960s.
Over the weekend, Skriba, 70, who has denied the allegations, offered to resign temporarily from ministry while the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago continued its investigation of the allegations.
The women, one of whom complained formally to the archdiocese about Skriba more than three months ago, and a national victims advocacy group have accused George and the archdiocese's independent Fitness Review Board, the decade-old group responsible for vetting abuse allegations against priests, of dragging their feet in the Skriba case.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:59:36 AM

SUN CITY CENTER (FL)
Catholics Speak Up And Step Up Action
Tampa Tribune
By MICHELLE BEARDEN
SUN CITY CENTER - While the world looks to the Vatican to chart the future of the troubled Roman Catholic Church, some of its faithful already are setting a course.
From a church school basement near Boston to a home on Oakmount Drive in Sun City Center, lay Catholics are rising up to claim more power.
``We're the ordinary people of the church,'' said Anne Marie Lydon, 75, a resident of the retirement community southeast of Tampa. ``And I feel ordinary people need to be listened to.''
This week, the steering committee of the Tampa Bay area's first chapter of Voice of the Faithful met for the first time. The chapter is part of a fast- growing national movement born in Boston in January.
Led locally by Hugh and Betty Burns of Prince of Peace Parish in Sun City Center, the group joins dozens of chapters in nearly 30 states across the country. Their motto: ``Keep the faith, change the church.''

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:54:21 AM

GULFPORT (FL)
Priest sought in child sexual abuse
The alleged abuse by the former Catholic priest began in the late 1970s on a girl of 8 through her teen years. Police think he's in his native Philippines.
St. Petersburg Times
By MIKE BRASSFIELD
© St. Petersburg Times
An arrest warrant has been issued for the Rev. Polienato Bernabe, a former Catholic priest who is accused of sexually abusing a Gulfport girl hundreds of times during the 1970s and 1980s.
Investigators don't know Bernabe's whereabouts, but they think he is living in the Philippines.
St. Petersburg police have asked the U.S. Customs Service to help. If found, Bernabe would be extradited to Pinellas County to face a felony charge of capital sexual battery.
"Right now, we're trying to work with Customs to see if we can locate him," said St. Petersburg police Detective Lorry Dunn.
Bernabe is accused of sexually abusing Melissa M. Price, now 31, beginning in late 1978 when Price was 8 years old and Bernabe was a priest at Holy Name Catholic Church in Gulfport.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:48:26 AM

NEW YORK
Two Who Queried Pastor's Past Are Forced Off Parish Board
The New York Times
By ANTHONY DePALMA
Two members of the governing board of an old-line Episcopal parish in Manhattan have been forced to resign because they raised questions about their pastor's decade-old conviction on charges of possessing child pornography.
The two vestry members of the Church of the Good Shepherd say that after stumbling onto their pastor's record in early March, they criticized the church's efforts to keep it concealed — especially while Roman Catholic leaders are being criticized for covering up clergy misdeeds. Within two weeks, they say, they were forced out.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/17/2002 07:42:02 AM

ATLANTA (GA)
Trial date set in House of Prayer case
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By JILL YOUNG MILLER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
The House of Prayer's Rev. Arthur Allen Jr. and four members of his congregation will go to trial in October on cruelty to children and aggravated assault charges, a Fulton County Superior Court judge decided Tuesday.
Six other church members also charged with cruelty to children and aggravated assault could be tried as soon as December, Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. said. In court Tuesday, however, he did not set a date for their trial.
Bedford said he wanted to split up the 11 defendants "for purposes of managing this case."
When he asked Allen if he had "any input" about dividing the defendants into two groups, Allen -- who is representing himself -- replied, "No, your honor."
Allen, 70, and 10 other members of the small, independent church in northwest Atlanta pleaded not guilty in March to the charges. None has retained a lawyer. All plan to represent themselves.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:37:40 AM

BOSTON (MA)
Abuse Panel Defends Cardinal Law
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press Writer
July 16 2002
BOSTON -- Members of a commission drafting a policy to protect children from abusive priests defended the pace of reforms Tuesday, one day after the state attorney general criticized the Boston Archdiocese for dragging its feet.
"This problem has existed for a long time, and this time, we want to make sure it's done right, and so does the archdiocese," said Maureen Bateman, chair of Cardinal Bernard Law's Commission to Protect Children.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/17/2002 07:30:52 AM

FORT EDWARD (NY)
Town Torn by Removal of Priest
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press Writer
July 16 2002
FORT EDWARD, N.Y. -- Nancy Ross remembers hearing about priests abusing minors and thinking "Throw the book at them!"
Then the abuse scandal visited her church, and her pastor. The retired school teacher is now left to reconcile an act she abhors with a priest she admired.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/17/2002 07:29:14 AM

PENACOOK (N.H.)
Catholic Faithful wrestle
with church sex scandal
The Union Leader
By CAROL ROBIDOUX
Union Leader Staff
Last night, a ripple of momentum gathered a bit more steam in the basement of the Immaculate Conception Church in Penacook.
The change was apparent at a meeting of the New Hampshire Voice of the Faithful, a spinoff of a Massachusetts group of Catholic laymen that emerged in the wake of the priest sex scandal. They came last night to share their frustrations and find a unified voice as they seek answers to the murky questions swirling around the church they love.
Membership has dwindled to about a third of the 90 people who showed up for the first meeting, attended by Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack.
Summer vacation aside, group member Jim Preisendorfer said, the turnout is representative of what is happening in parishes throughout the diocese.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:07:16 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Sex abuse suit names Stigmatine priest
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Lawyer Carmen L. Durso of Boston yesterday filed a civil suit in Middlesex Superior Court alleging that the Rev. Richard Ahearn, a Stigmatine priest, sexually abused a child while serving at a parish in Feeding Hills.
The suit named the Springfield diocese, the trustees of the Stigmatine Fathers and Rev. Ahearn as defendants. The man who alleges he was sexually abused is anonymous and listed only as John Doe. Mr. Durso said his client now lives in northern Connecticut.
The whereabouts of Rev. Ahearn are not known, the lawyer said.
Mr. Durso also represents clergy abuse clients in the Worcester Diocese and the Boston archdiocese.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 07:01:22 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Diocese clarifies extortion claim
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER-- The Catholic Diocese of Worcester clarified that an unnamed local lawyer did not attempt to extort money from the diocese, but that one of the requests for money came through the lawyer.
The clarification followed a declaration of support last week by diocesan officials for Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger. Bishop Rueger was named in a lawsuit filed Thursday by a Shrewsbury man alleging he was sexually abused many years ago by the bishop.
Bishop Rueger has denied the allegation, and in backing him in a statement issued Thursday, Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan accused the plaintiff in the suit, Sime J. Braio, of attempted extortion.
“The monsignor in no way meant to say the attorney was involved in extortion, but that one of the requests came through legal representation. That attorney has since dropped the case,” the diocese said in a clarification statement.
Monsignor Sullivan's statement alleged that one of Mr. Braio's attempts to extort money from the diocese happened in February when Mr. Braio called to report the alleged sexual abuse by Bishop Rueger.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:59:05 AM

SPRINGFIELD (Mass.)
Prominent priest will fight suits
Springfield Union-News
By BILL ZAJAC
The Rev. Francis P. Lavelle, pastor of one of the most prestigious churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, is being accused by two men of sexually abusing them when they were minors.
But Lavelle, pastor of St. Mary Church in Longmeadow, says the charges are false and he is prepared to defend himself against them, according to his lawyer.
The men filed suit in Hampden Superior Court yesterday against the Diocese of Springfield and Lavelle.
One man accuses Lavelle of molesting him several times and sodomizing him once. The other man said he was assaulted twice in one day.
Lavelle was unavailable for comment. He is on vacation until the end of the month. A rectory worker said he could not be reached for this story.
His lawyer, Daniel M. Kelly of Springfield, said Lavelle denies the allegations.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:52:09 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Archdiocese not party to deal, lawyers say
Boston Globe
By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff
Weeks before a judge will decide whether to uphold a multimillion-dollar settlement agreement between 86 alleged victims of pedophile former priest John J. Geoghan and the Archdiocese of Boston, lawyers for the church are arguing that even if the agreement is enforced, the archdiocese doesn't have to pay.
In a motion filed Monday, lawyers for the archdiocese and Cardinal Bernard F. Law are asking a judge to prohibit any evidence suggesting that the archdiocese was a party to the settlement. Since the lawsuits and the settlement agreement name only 17 individual defendants, including Law - and not the archdiocese - the archdiocese cannot be held responsible for the $15 million to $30 million settlement, the lawyers argue.
''It is undisputed that no signed writing exists in which the [archdiocese] in any manner agreed to assume responsibility to pay the amounts which the defendants ostensibly agreed to pay in settlement of this matter, even assuming such a settlement existed,'' the attorneys wrote.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:46:22 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
New Catholic reform groups at a crossroads
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff
In a moment of expected triumph for advocates of change in the Catholic Church, several thousand laypeople, joined by numerous priests and nuns, are planning to descend on the Hynes Convention Center in Boston Saturday for a daylong show of strength.
Voice of the Faithful, a group born in a church basement in Wellesley just five months ago, now boasts 19,000 members in 40 states and 21 countries, and has attracted Catholics from around the nation to its conference.
But after months in which it and two other key groups spawned by the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the Boston Priests' Forum and the Parish Leadership Forum, have fueled their growth with the anger and sadness of local Catholics, they now must figure out what's next.
The groups are facing the challenge of sustaining enthusiasm as the intensity of the scandal lessens, making peace with a skeptical church hierarchy, and, more fundamentally, determining just what it is they want to do besides vent their ire.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:43:19 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Commission members defend archdiocese on reforms
Boston Globe
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press
BOSTON -- Members of a commission set up to draft a policy protecting children from clergy sexual abuse defended the pace of reforms on Tuesday, one day after state Attorney General Thomas Reilly criticized the Archdiocese of Boston for dragging its feet.
"This problem has existed for a long time, and this time, we want to make sure it's done right, and so does the archdiocese," said Maureen Bateman, chair of Cardinal Bernard Law's Commission to Protect Children.
"Sometimes, that takes a little longer -- then so be it," Bateman said.
In a letter sent to the commission Monday, Reilly's office praised the commission's draft recommendations, but criticized the archdiocese for failing to quickly implement measures to uncover abuse and protect children.
Reilly also questioned whether Law will follow through on the commission's recommendations.
"The words are there, but the action hasn't matched those words, and that causes us concern," Reilly said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:40:30 AM

PORTLAND (ME)
Paper asks judge to release files on abuse complaints
Portland Press Herald
By DAVID HENCH, Portland Press Herald Writer
The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on Tuesday asked a Superior Court judge to order the release of information about 18 deceased Maine priests accused of molesting children or of other sexual misconduct.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland provided that information to investigators as part of an inquiry into whether criminal charges should be brought against current or former priests. Prosecutors refused to release the information when the newspapers filed requests in June and July under the state's Freedom of Access law.
"As a newspaper, we have an obligation to our readers to pursue all avenues of public information in the coverage of a news event," said the newspapers' executive editor and vice president, Jeannine A. Guttman. "In this case, the crisis involving the Catholic Church has become a major public-interest issue, prompting concern and debate here in Maine and across the nation.
"If we prevail in this case, and we are given access to the files, we will examine the contents and use our journalistic judgment to determine what material, if any, we will publish in our news pages. We will make that determination in a thoughtful, deliberative fashion," Guttman said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/17/2002 06:32:41 AM

Tuesday, July 16, 2002

Church panel chief calls abuser appeals `shameful'
Chicago Tribune
By Jeff Zeleny, Tribune national correspondent. Tribune staff reporter Todd Lighty in Chicago contributed to this report
July 16, 2002
BOISE, Idaho -- Priests who ask the Vatican to overturn their banishment from the Catholic altar are "shameful" and violating the spirit of the zero-tolerance policy for sexual abusers, unless they are adamant about their innocence and not merely challenging the strict order, said Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who is leading the church's inquiry into the scandal.
"To be appealing because they didn't do it is one thing," Keating said in an interview. "To be appealing because they think they are entitled to a technicality--or they think that they will be treated better in Rome--that is unacceptable. Those kind of people are the worst excuses for priests, and I hope they don't succeed."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/16/2002 10:32:16 PM

ROCHESTER (NY)
New plaintiffs likely in lawsuit against diocese
Democrat and Chronicle
Jay Tokasz
Democrat and Chronicle
(July 15, 2002) — A St. Paul, Minn., lawyer who has filed a lawsuit against a Rochester priest and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester will likely add more clients to the suit.
Jeffrey Anderson filed the lawsuit in June on behalf of three men who claim they were sexually abused in the 1970s by the Rev. Robert O'Neill.
O'Neill retired in May and has been living with friends. The diocese forbids him to participate in ministry, wear clerical garb or live in any diocesan housing.
Since the filing in Monroe County Court, Anderson has received several calls from other men claiming abuse by O'Neill.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/16/2002 10:30:33 PM

LOS ANGELES (CA)
LA Archdiocese faces class-action clergy abuse lawsuit
San Francisco Chronicle
PAUL CHAVEZ, Associated Press Writer
July 16, 2002
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles faces a class-action lawsuit that will be filed on behalf of known and unknown victims of clergy sexual abuse, a plaintiffs' lawyer said.
Two adult men, who claim to have been sexually abused by priests, will be named as plaintiffs when the lawsuit is filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Others who claim sexual abuse by archdiocese priests will be allowed to join the lawsuit, said Larry Drivon, a Stockton lawyer who is handling the case.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/16/2002 08:33:06 AM

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Catholic Diocese, former priest sued for abuse
Toledo Blade
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
Holding signs that said "Help us heal," victims of clerical sexual misconduct and their attorneys stood on the Lucas County Courthouse steps yesterday, taking turns telling their tales of abuse by men who were supposed to be their spiritual leaders.
Some spoke publicly for the first time about their painful experiences, hoping that a lawsuit filed moments earlier in common pleas court will lead to dramatic changes in the way the Toledo Catholic Diocese handles allegations of misconduct by priests and employees.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/16/2002 08:25:16 AM

LACONIA (N.H.)
Priest facing two sex assault charges
The Citizen
By GORDON D. KING
Staff Writer
LACONIA — The former pastor of Catholic churches in Alton and Wolfeboro has been indicted on two counts of sexual assaults involving a 15-year-old boy.
The Rev. George H. Robichaud, 58, of 284 Black Brook Road, Sanbornton, was indicted by a Belknap County Superior Court grand jury on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of attempted felonious sexual assault, both Class A felonies.
If convicted, Robichaud faces a maximum of 7˝-15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 07:08:47 AM

SANBORNTON (N.H.)
Priest indicted for
alleged altar boy rape
The Union Leader
By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI
Union Leader Staff
A Belknap County grand jury last week indicted a Catholic priest for the alleged rape of an altar boy in Sanbornton in 1985.
The Rev. George H. Robichaud, 57, is charged with one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault, Belknap County Attorney Lauren J. Noether said yesterday.
A grand jury returned the indictments Thursday.
One alleges Robichaud raped the male teenager in Sanbornton “while in a position of authority over the child as a priest and caretaker,” Noether said.
The other accuses the priest of attempting to rape the same youth, she said. The alleged victim was 14 or 15 years old at the time.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 07:03:04 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Bishop's letter supports assistant
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER-- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly issued a letter read at all weekend Masses in support of Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger.
The letter restates Bishop Rueger's position that allegations of sexual abuse in a recent lawsuit are not true.
Meanwhile, Sime J. Braio, who filed the suit Thursday in Worcester Superior Court, suffered a heart attack and stroke during the weekend. He is said to be recovering.
The letter to parishioners in the Catholic Diocese of Worcester noted that Bishop Rueger met with journalists last Friday in the chancery, “surrounded by many of his co-workers who have served closely with him over the years. He emphatically denied that there was any truth to the allegation being made, yet did so calmly and with a sense of Christian charity.
“His words were inspiring to all of us gathered there, as he avowed unequivocally his commitment to the priesthood which he loves and respects more dearly than anything in life,” Bishop Reilly said.
The bishop said the allegation was “thoroughly investigated by civil authorities under the direction of the district attorney's office and by our own internal investigation team.”

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 06:56:50 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Clergy abuse accusers hiring nonlocal lawyers
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER-- A number of people who have come forward since February alleging sexual abuse by clergy in the Worcester Catholic are turning to out-of-town lawyers for help.
Three lawyers are currently handling clergy sexual abuse cases in Central Massachusetts: Daniel J. Shea of Houston, who has law practices in Houston and Worcester; Carmen Durso of Boston, a former state repre sentative who worked for the state attorney general's office; and Jeffrey A. Newman, who recently joined Roderick MacLeish's law firm, Greenberg Traurig, in Boston.
Michael Ascher of Springfield is handling one suit, which he filed in Springfield because his client lives there. Abigail Williams of Worcester, a registered nurse and lawyer, is assisting Mr. Shea as co-counsel on some cases.
Mr. Durso, who is representing an alleged abuse victim of the Rev. Raymond P. Messier and a number of others who have not been publicly identified, said there could be a couple of reasons why Worcester-area lawyers have not taken these cases.
After 20 years of experience with sexual abuse victims, Mr. Durso said the cases can be deeply troubling for some lawyers. He recalled one young rape victim who had to give a deposition, which is testimony in a civil suit taken under oath. A young male lawyer was assigned to her case. He did what he was supposed to do, but “he never looked at her once,” he said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 06:50:46 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
AG complains of `slow pace' on church sex-abuse reform
Boston Herald
by Tom Mashberg
The Attorney General's Office expressed displeasure yesterday with the ``slow pace'' of Archdiocese of Boston sex-abuse reforms in a letter and memo coinciding with the final day for public comments on the church's post-scandal policies on clergy molesters.
``There are a number of critical areas where the archdiocese has not acted decisively in addressing the issue of sexual abuse,'' Assistant Attorney General Alice E. Moore said in a letter to Maureen Bateman, chairwoman of the Cardinal's Commission for the Protection of Children. ``Particularly with regard to education . . . (of) children on what constitutes sexual abuse and how to respond (to it) and report it.''
Sources confirmed in June the AG's office has asked a grand jury to review archdiocesan files on molester priests. Legal experts said the office could pursue civil sanctions against the church if it is not satisfied with its voluntary reforms. Moore, who heads the Public Protection Bureau for Attorney General Tom Reilly, and who would probe any civil rights charges stemming from the church's cover-up of child abusers, cited three key ``deficiencies'' in the church's draft reforms:
A lack of oversight plans for clergy known to have abused children who are now priests without ministry, who remain on church payrolls, or have been defrocked.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 06:46:07 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
AG raps archdiocese abuse plan
Letter labels policy 'deficient'
Boston Globe
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff
In what some see as a first step toward seeking an injunction under the state's civil rights law, the office of Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly yesterday accused the Archdiocese of Boston of dragging its feet on implementing measures to protect children from sexual abuse and said the draft policy prepared by Cardinal Bernard F. Law's Commission to Protect Children is deficient in three key areas.
The commission, which is expected to issue a final draft in early September, last month had invited interested parties, including prosecutors, to comment on a 22-page draft that commission chairwoman Maureen S. Bateman called ''very advanced.''
In a four-page letter supported by an eight-page memorandum, Assistant Attorney General Alice E. Moore, chief of the public protection bureau, praised the commission but said its draft lacked ''meaningful oversight'' of priests removed from ministry for abuse, ''clearly articulated procedures'' to investigate allegations, and meaningful sanctions against those who don't follow the policy.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 06:41:39 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Reilly: Church slow to implement child protections
Boston Globe
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) The Boston Archdiocese has failed to act decisively enough to stamp out clergy sexual abuse of minors, despite Cardinal Bernard Law's public declarations of reform, the state attorney general warned Monday.
''The words are there, but the action hasn't matched those words, and that causes us concern,'' said Attorney General Tom Reilly. ''It's one thing to say you're going to do something. Are they actually going to do it?''
Church officials have not trained priests about the state's new mandatory reporting requirements and have not educated children and parents on warning signs, according to a letter that Reilly's office sent to Cardinal Bernard Law's Commission for the Protection of Children.
''We continue to be frustrated by the archdiocese's slow pace of progress toward implementing the essential components of a comprehensive program,'' Assistant Attorney General Alice Moore wrote in the letter.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/16/2002 06:37:40 AM

Monday, July 15, 2002

BERLIN
Prosecutors open investigation of German priest accused of sexually abusing youth
Yahoo! News
July 15
By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN - German prosecutors Monday opened a criminal investigation against a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a teen-age boy, launching what was believed to be the first such case in Germany since a wave of sex-abuse scandals engulfed the church.
The Mainz diocese announced the priest's suspension Sunday and pledged a full inquiry of its own after a German magazine reported on the allegations against him. The western diocese near Frankfurt is the seat of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the head of the German Bishops' Conference.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/15/2002 08:50:31 PM Perspective: Watchdogs needed to restore faith in bishops
National Catholic Reporter
In the wake of their Dallas meeting where the U.S. bishops adopted a charter for stripping sexually abusive priests of their collars, they find themselves under fire from a variety of quarters. Not that they don’t deserve it.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/15/2002 04:11:02 PM

CINCINNATI (Ohio)
Bishop Foys says he won't be silent
New Covington leader 'a man of ideas.'
The Cincinnati Enquirer
By Tom O'Neill,The Cincinnati Enquirer
ERLANGER — He is a man of enduring faith and a quick sense of humor. He is, after all, an unrepentant Cubs fan.
Roger Foys is a 56-year-old Chicago native who, for the past 30 years, has been a leader in the Steubenville, Ohio, Catholic diocese. Today, he begins his new life as bishop of the Diocese of Covington.
Bishop Foys was appointed by the Vatican to fill the vacant bishop's chair in the 89,000-member diocese just one day after a $50 million class-action lawsuit was filed against it. Bishop Foys will be navigating the Roman Catholic community of Northern Kentucky through its connection to the national priest sexual abuse scandal.
Much of the scandal nationally is about old cases and allegations of cover-up. Bishop-elect Foys said he won't be silent.
“Each case must be taken as an individual case and examined carefully,” he said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 07:52:07 AM

BROOKLYN (N.Y.)
Pastor Jailed in 2nd Abuse Case
Newsday
By Ron Howell
STAFF WRITER
The pastor of a Brooklyn church, who was convicted of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1987, was in jail yesterday after being accused of trying to fondle a teenager in South Carolina.
The Rev. Robert Reaves was arrested Saturday in Bennettsville, S.C., after he allegedly put his hands in a 17-year-old boy's pants, authorities said. He was ordered held on $75,000 bail by Municipal Judge Nan Fleming, according to officials at the local jail.
Reaves, 37, moved to South Carolina after a Newsday story in May reported that he was trying to open a day care center in his church, the Cedar International Fellowship on Thatford Avenue in the Brownsville section, despite having the previous conviction for child sex abuse.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 07:44:12 AM

MINNEAPOLIS (Minn.)
Web of sex, gender issues sparks Catholic lay activism
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Warren Wolfe
Star Tribune
For many Catholics, solving the sexual-abuse crisis in the church is far more complicated than simply protecting children from predatory priests or punishing bishops who ignored reports of molestation.
A web of sex and gender issues -- sexual abuse, homosexuality, abortion, priestly celibacy, ordination of women and others -- has energized an unprecedented river of activism among concerned and angry Catholics.
Many are deeply skeptical that church leaders will police themselves, and they are demanding a larger voice in how the church is operated and even what it teaches.
"It's no surprise that many Catholics lump together many of these sexual issues -- some related, some not -- into a kind of strange stew," said Donald Briel, of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
"We don't handle sexuality well -- in the church or in society," said Briel, who heads the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Thomas. "For the past 15 or 20 years, it's been rare to hear a priest offer a homily about sexual issues, even abortion.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 07:36:59 AM

DETROIT (Mich.)
Do rules exempt certain priests?
Maida says no, but religious orders say Vatican must clarify
The Detroit News
By Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
TRENTON -- Like many parish priests, the Rev. James Vedro was a beloved cleric. At St. Joseph Catholic Church in Trenton, he initiated a massive remodeling plan for the church and school.
But unlike many of his colleagues, he didn't answer to the archdiocese in which he worked. Instead, he was a member of the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, a Catholic religious order that reports directly to the Vatican.
So when the Rev. Vedro was removed from his parish last month amid allegations of sexual misconduct, it was an unusual situation. He was removed by his major superior -- not Cardinal Adam Maida -- for sexual misconduct with an adult, not a minor.
The child sexual abuse policy adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops technically covers only diocesan priests, but more than 5,000 of the nation's 21,000 brothers and priests who are members of religious orders also serve in parish work. In the Archdiocese of Detroit, 300 of the 785 priests are from Catholic orders. Although they serve under Maida, they also answer to a religious superior bound by separate policies.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 07:30:49 AM BOSTON (Mass.)
Law returns to Holy Cross: Group of judges in Mass attendance
Boston Herald
by Robin Washington
Bernard Cardinal Law returned to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross yesterday, celebrating Mass with a sparse but influential audience that included a contingent of juvenile and family court judges.
Law's visit to the Mother Church, where he last celebrated Mass in June before breaking for the summer to visit other parishes, was accompanied by a group of regular protesters calling for his ouster due to the sex abuse scandal.
They also questioned the attendance of two dozen members of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in town for a national convention, among the light crowd of about 200 parishioners.
``I'm baffled as to why they were invited and I'm baffled as to why they came,'' said Joe Gallagher of the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors. ``I think it's the height of irony that youth judges are coming to hear a cardinal who didn't care about children being molested for years.''
One legal observer was more critical, stating there are plenty of other local cathedrals with less controversial leaders the judges could have visited instead of worshipping with Law, who has been named in numerous court cases.
``They're supposed to avoid the appearance of impropriety,'' the observer said.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 06:51:40 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Catholic judges advise Law;
Cardinal told to cooperate
Boston Globe
By Gloria Rodri Guess, Globe Correspondent
After attending Cardinal Bernard F. Law's first Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in more than a month, nearly a dozen Catholic judges from around the country met with the embattled church leader to discuss the legal impact of the clergy sex abuse scandal.
The judges, in Boston for the annual meeting of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, said that they advised Law to cooperate with legal authorities on sex abuse cases, rather than trying to keep them within the Church.
''You respond immediately. You don't mess around - you do it,'' retired Cincinnati judge David E. Grossmann said he told Law at a reception after Mass. Grossmann said Law told him, ''That's exactly what we're doing now.''
District Court Judge Gordon A. Martin invited Catholic judges participating in the convention to attend yesterday's Mass, and arranged the informal reception with Law that followed. Because of their legal experience, Martin said, the judges attending the conference have a special interest in Law's travails.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 06:47:46 AM

MANCHESTER (N.H.)
Abuse lawyer will run for state Senate
He hopes to change law
Concord Monitor
By MIKE RECHT
MANCHESTER - A lawyer for dozens of alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests is running for office and joins the increasing call to change state laws that have blocked many prosecutions and civil suits.
"I would abolish the statute of limitation for civil suits," said Peter Hutchins, who has 60 clients who claim they have been abused by priests dating back to 1949.
The criminal law is more complicated, and there would be more constitutional concerns because anyone convicted goes to jail, he said.
"It should be clarified and extended" to the maximum the Constitution would allow, he said. "I would have no problem pushing the constitutional envelope."
Hutchins, 44, a Manchester lawyer since 1983 and the past president of the New Hampshire Bar Association, decided last week to run for the state Senate after he was approached by the state Democratic Party. He is seeking the seat held by Republican Ted Gatsas, who is running for re-election.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 06:35:52 AM

WORCESTER (Mass.)
Bishop Reilly denies any role in R.I. priest sex scandal
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Richard Nangle
Telegram & Gazette Staff
In sworn testimony in a pending clergy sexual abuse lawsuit in Rhode Island, Bishop Daniel P. Reilly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester said he played no role in any reassignment of accused priests and did not recall many of the specifics regarding priests who were alleged sexual abusers.
Bishop Reilly, 75, for many years part of the Providence diocesan hierarchy, says at one point in his 1997 deposition, “... in my role as chancellor, I was in charge of the chancery; had a budget and handled the routine things that would come into the chancery office, but I wasn't privy to everything going on in the diocese. And he did that by design.”
Bishop Reilly was referring to Bishop Russell J. McVinney, who publicly praised him as a confidant. But the relationship between the two, Bishop Reilly said, did not extend to matters of priests accused of sexual abuse.
Bishop Reilly was named administrator of the diocese when Bishop McVinney died in 1971. After about six months, a new bishop, Louis E. Gelineau, was named in 1972. Bishop Reilly left the Providence Diocese to become bishop of Norwich, Conn., in 1975. He was transferred to head up the Worcester diocese in 1993.
“Bishop Reilly is saying, 'Only the bishops move people. I don't move people,' ” said Timothy J. Conlon, a Providence lawyer handling 32 of 39 Rhode Island lawsuits. Bishop Reilly is named in 18 of the 39 lawsuits.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/15/2002 06:24:47 AM

Secret database protects paedophiles
BBC Panorama
The Jehovah's Witnesses organisation keeps a sex offenders register that nobody outside the church is allowed to see, a former "elder" tells Panorama.
Bill Bowen, who has spent his lifetime as a Jehovah's Witness and nearly twenty years as an elder, says the organisation covers up abuse by keeping this database secret.
His sources indicate there are 23,720 abusers on the list - who are protected by the system.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/15/2002 12:44:33 AM

ALBANY (NY)
For victims of clergy abuse, pain doesn't end
Those speaking out for the first time describe families torn apart
Albany Times-Union
By DEBORAH MARTINEZ, Staff writer
July 14, 2002
Sharon Jones Witbeck waits for an apology that may never come.
And even if it did -- even if the Rev. Joseph Mancuso finally admitted he was sorry for what she says were two years of fondling and groping in his gold sedan -- it would not make up for the 30 years her mother unwittingly chastised her for leaving the Roman Catholic Church. Or the little faith she now has in God.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/15/2002 12:42:22 AM

Sunday, July 14, 2002

NAPLES (Fla.)
Therapist who treated priest faced own sex accusations
A female parishioner who was a former patient of Frederick Howard Wass accused him of sexually exploiting her
The Naples Daily News
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
A Naples mental health counselor who specialized in treating priests under suspicion of sexually abusing church members was himself accused of sexual exploitation of a 43-year-old female parishioner.
Like at least one of the wayward priests he treated, Frederick Howard Wass was charged with using religious symbolism "to prey upon the (victim's) devout belief and faith in God," according to a 1993 civil lawsuit filed in Collier County by Melody and John C. Miller of Bonita Springs. A confidential, out-of-court settlement was reached in 2000, the couple's attorney said. He declined to provide details.
Melody Miller, a member of St. William Catholic Church on Seagate Drive in Naples, was referred to Wass and his Church Counseling Center by the Rev. Neil Flemming of St. William — who is now under investigation by the Diocese of Venice on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor.
Wass, a 69-year-old former priest, did not return several telephone calls seeking comment, nor did the Millers. Flemming, 70, could not be located.
Asked about the connection between local churches and the religious-oriented counseling center where Wass was executive director, diocese spokeswoman Gail McGrath said, "Your contact would probably be Wass on that."

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 10:15:16 PM

CLIFTON (N.J.)
Priest on leave after sexual misconduct allegation
Boston Globe
By Associated Press
CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) A Roman Catholic priest has been placed on leave by the Diocese of Paterson after he was accused of abusing a Morris County youth more than 25 years ago.
The Rev. Thomas G. Rainforth denied the allegations, but voluntarily stepped down from his post at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton, diocese spokeswoman Marianna Thompson said.
The diocese notified the Passaic County prosecutor's office after learning of the allegations two weeks ago, Thompson said. She said the diocese is investigating.
Gregory Gianforcaro, an attorney, told The Sunday Record of Hackensack, his client, who is now in his mid-40s, was a resident of Mendham when the abuse happened.
Gianforcaro said the abuse took place at home Rainforth either rented or owned while assigned to Mendham.
The accusation comes as the diocese is reacting to other allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Two former Clifton priests, Ralph Sodano and Allen Stepien, were recently placed on administrative leave while the diocese investigates abuses allegations against them.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:41:49 PM BOSTON (Mass.)
Law returns amid protests, court actions
Boston Globe
By Associated Press
BOSTON -- Protesters and bad news from the courts greeted Cardinal Bernard Law upon his return to Holy Cross Cathedral on Sunday.
Law, a central figure in the national clergy sex abuse crisis, traveled recently to the Vatican and Washington D.C. and has been away on a summer retreat. Law, who generally does not celebrate Mass at Holy Cross during the summer, last was there early last month.
His return to the cathedral altar came days after a Suffolk Superior Court judge struck a blow to the Boston Archdiocese's defense of civil lawsuits brought by alleged sex abuse victims.
On Friday, Justice Constance Sweeney rejected the archdiocese's claim that it could not fund a $30 million settlement for victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan because the archdiocesan Finance Council disapproved. She said the council is not recognized under state law.
Sweeney said state law vests power in the archbishop.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:31:50 PM WORCESTER (Mass.)
Worcester Diocese Defends Accused Priest
Church Accuses Man Of Extortion
The Boston Channel.com
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Worcester church officials are defending a bishop accused by a Shrewsbury man of abusing him in the 1960s.
NewsCenter 5's David Boeri reported that the Worcester Diocese accused Sime Braio of trying to blackmail the church. Braio, 52, alleged that Auxiliary Bishop George Reuger abused him when Braio was a 13-year-old altar boy Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Worcester.
"I could never compromise the priesthood," Reuger said. "It has been the joy of my life."
Braio also alleged that the church tried to pay him money to keep quiet, but the diocese said that Braio actually tried to get money from it.
"Mr. Braio on that occasion threatened that unless the diocese paid him money, he would speak to Cathy Shaw of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and offer her pictures which would verify Mr. Braio's account," Monsignor Thomas Sullivan said. "It turns out, of course, that there are no pictures."
The man's claims came in a civil lawsuit filed by Daniel Shea, who has represented alleged victims of priests across the country. Claims about the bishop and monsignor have put the spotlight back on the accuser, who told investigators he had given a reporter compromising photographs to back his story.
"And the reporter said, 'No way,'" District Attorney John Conte said. "As we went from the reporter to others, we were not able to substantiate the allegations."

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:18:29 PM

The dangerous lives of gay priests
Fearing a witch-hunt in the wake of the sex abuse scandal, gay Roman Catholic priests talk of their dedication to their work and their God—and of the secret loves that put their careers at risk
The Advocate
By Mubarak Dahir
Excerpted from The Advocate, July 23, 2002
Two years ago, in the Southwestern United States, a newcomer joined a secret support group of gay priests who meet regularly for dinner. Longtime member Father Brent was instantly attracted to the guest’s “boy next door” looks. Newcomer Father James “spoke so sincerely and gently about his struggles being a gay priest—wanting to be honest about it—that I was touched in my heart,” says Father Brent. “I wanted that too.” [Priests identified only by first name have been given pseudonyms to protect their privacy.]

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/14/2002 05:16:08 PM

LEGAL DEFENSE
When sued, how should the church behave?
Commonweal
By Mark A. Sargent
...the lawyer representing the victim of sexual abuse will present, as forcefully and persuasively as possible, a definition of the nature and extent of legal responsibility for that abuse....
That definition, however, should not be confused with truth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How can the Catholic Church justify defending itself against lawsuits brought by those who claim to be the victims of sexual abuse by priests? Should not the church, in all honesty and humility, and in the spirit of penitence, work things out quietly with the plaintiffs' lawyers, and pay out the cash damages they demand? Isn't legal resistance—and sometimes vigorous resistance—simply a perpetuation of the pattern of cover-ups that helped create the problem? Has not the church, by choosing to litigate many of the claims against it, reduced itself to the level of those corporate malefactors who use their deep pockets to finance relentless legal defenses against the victims of their environmental crimes, defective products, or financial fraud?

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/14/2002 05:07:42 PM

CHICAGO (IL)
Priest asks for leave to battle abuse allegations
Chicago Tribune
By Amanda Vogt and Todd Lighty
Tribune staff reporters
Published July 14, 2002
A Roman Catholic priest has asked to withdraw indefinitely as pastor of his Lake County parish to fight accusations that he molested two girls in the 1960s, according to a letter read at Saturday mass by his supervising bishop.
Rev. Raymond Skriba, pastor since 1984 of St. Joseph Church in Round Lake, stated in the letter that he was acting because of his "concern for the well-being of this wonderful parish and the need to devote all my energies toward proving my innocence of any wrongdoing."
Two women have accused Skriba, 70, of molesting them when he was an associate pastor of St. Gertrude in Franklin Park decades ago.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/14/2002 12:24:31 PM

NEW YORK (N.Y.)
The fall of a bishop
The Journal News
By GARY STERN AND NOREEN O'DONNELL
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Cardinal John O'Connor beamed like a proud father, at points choked with emotion, as he ordained his friend and protege James McCarthy a bishop.
"Remember this, please, James," he said, as a full St. Patrick's Cathedral suddenly quieted. "Love the church. Love the church. Love the church."
McCarthy, who grew up in White Plains, would rise to become O'Connor's secretary and accompany him around the world. He sat in front of the altar as applause washed over him during the 1999 ceremony. Only he knows if he was thinking about his conflicted and sinful past, when his love was not confined to the church.
He could not have imagined that, only three years later, a sex-abuse scandal would explode to shake the American Roman Catholic Church and lead to his disgrace.
If not for the all-consuming scandal, it is unlikely that a Bronx woman would have notified the Archdiocese of New York last month that she had had sexual relations with McCarthy, her former priest. If not for the criticism directed at church leaders, it is unlikely that Cardinal Edward Egan, O'Connor's successor, would have ordered McCarthy, an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese and an esteemed pastor, to stop presenting himself as a priest.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 09:47:30 AM

Some see big reforms on horizon
National Catholic Reporter
Less than a month after the bishops’ June conference in Dallas in which they hammered out a national policy to protect children from abusive priests, a range of Catholic thinkers say they agree that the Catholic church in the United States has reached a unique moment in its history that could lead to significant reform.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/14/2002 09:40:06 AM

Commentary: Time for bishops to listen, take ordinary Catholics seriously
National Catholic Reporter
By Fran Ferder and John Heagle
They just don’t get it.” These were the words of a 68-year-old grandmother, as she pulled her sweater around her shoulders and leaned forward into the truth of her convictions. In the last few months, her statement became a recurring antiphon, a mantra of lament about Catholic leadership, as we went from parish to parish, facilitating listening sessions on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. At these gatherings we heard moms and dads, grandparents and youth, single parents and engaged couples -- faithful, hardworking, committed Catholics -- give voice to their disbelief, grief, and outrage at this crisis.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/14/2002 09:36:17 AM

U.S. media in anti-church plot says Mexican prelate
National Catholic Reporter
Another Latin American frontrunner to be the next pope has blasted what he calls a “media campaign of persecution” against the Catholic Church in the United States, responding to aggressive reporting of sex abuse scandals that have rocked American Catholicism.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/14/2002 09:33:00 AM

2 families say priest offended again after his 1976 conviction
San Jose Mercury News
Two new accusations of sexual misconduct have surfaced against a San Jose priest, involving incidents that allegedly took place after he was returned to ministry following a 1976 conviction for fondling a 12-year-old boy.
posted by Tom Fox on 7/14/2002 09:28:41 AM

MILWAUKEE (Wisc.)
A restless Catholic flock seeks new shepherds
Addressing shortage of priests here will be key item on Dolan's agenda
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By TOM HEINEN
of the Journal Sentinel staff
When Milwaukee's new archbishop, Timothy M. Dolan, arrives next month, he will face a central question that Catholics throughout the 10-county archdiocese are asking:
When our pastor leaves, will there be a priest to replace him?
That is no small question in an archdiocese that ordained just one new priest this year and is projecting a net loss of nine or 10 priests annually as ordinations continue to fall far short of retirements.
That fact, combined with the possible loss of more priests because of the sex abuse scandal, means more parishes will be led by a lay director instead of a pastor, and more parishes will have to share their pastor. The church may increasingly be forced to rely on deacons to perform baptisms and even to preside at funerals and weddings. And the shortage raises another question: Will more parishes be merged or closed?

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 09:03:31 AM

PITTSBURG (PA)
No prosecution of priests seen in 10 counties
DAs receive few claims of sexual abuse
Pittsburg Post-Gazette
By Ann Rodgers-Melnick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Since the Catholic Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Greensburg declared they would turn over all allegations of child sexual abuse against priests to the civil authorities, there is no sign that any prosecutor in the 10-county region is preparing a case against any current or former priest.
But just because a crime is not prosecuted does not mean it didn't occur. In Pennsylvania the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases normally expires five years after the victim's 18 th birthday.
Of seven district attorneys who returned phone calls from the Post-Gazette, four said they had received no allegations from the diocese or from alleged victims, one had received one allegation that was too old to prosecute, and one had received one allegation that it had not yet evaluated.
Allegheny County reported receiving multiple allegations, but did not specify a number. Mike Manko, spokesman for District Attorney Stephen A Zappala Jr., declined to discuss the status of the cases, but there are no indications from other sources that any are recent enough to prosecute. In cases dating from the 1960s to the mid-1990s, Allegheny County has aggressively prosecuted several priests who molested minors.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:51:10 AM

TRENTON (N.J.)
Abuse victim on a mission to change the church
The Times
By KRYSTAL KNAPP
It was God's providence, Bambrick believes, that led him to SNAP. He was sitting on his sofa watching the news in 1993 when he heard about a SNAP meeting to be held at a hotel near the Philadelphia airport.
"I was surprised there were more victims than me," Bambrick said. "I thought I was the only one. It was a revelation. I said, my God, if there is a national organization, how bad is this problem?"
He went to the meeting in regular clothes. He was nervous to go inside, so he sat in his car a long time.
"Then I went in and there were 40 other people with the same story as me," Bambrick said. "I felt supported. I realized I was not alone in the world."
His involvement with SNAP emboldened him to attempt to have Eremito removed from the Archdiocese of New York.
Back in 1991, shortly before his ordination, he had turned to his spiritual director for guidance and told him what had happened. The director urged Bambrick to go public and attempt to have Eremito removed from the Archdiocese of New York. But, Bambrick said, he rejected the idea, fearful that such a move would eliminate the possibility of him becoming a priest.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:36:22 AM

LANSING (Mich.)
Catholic Church paid for therapy
Diocese says man's treatment was act of charity, not guilt
The Detroit News
By Associated Press
LANSING -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing agreed in 1995 to help pay for the psychiatric treatment of a man who said he had been sexually assaulted by a member of a religious order, diocesan officials said.
Bill Kinney, 53, of Lansing said he was assaulted in 1966 by a brother with the De La Salle Christian Brothers of the Midwest who taught him at a diocese-run high school.
Officials said the allegation was not substantiated, but the diocese and the brother's order paid $10,000 for psychiatric treatment for Kinney.
Diocese spokesman Michael Diebold said officials agreed to pay for Kinney's counseling because "it was the right thing to do."
"There was never any admission of guilt," Diebold told the Lansing State Journal for a story published Sunday. "We paid because we are a charitable organization."
Okemos psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, a former director of state mental health, treated Kinney.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:22:12 AM TEMPERANCE (Mich.)
17th priest leaves church after sexual allegation
The Detroit News
By Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
TEMPERANCE -- The 17th priest in the archdiocese of Detroit has left his parish because of a credible allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor.
The Rev. Alfred Miller, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Temperance since 1982, resigned earlier this week and decided to retire after archdiocese official received an allegation of sexual misconduct it deemed credible.
"The events precipitated his decision to retire but he is in bad health," said archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath.
The allegation, received in the last two weeks from a male, dated back more than 30 years, McGrath said. The archdiocese also passed the information on to prosecutors.
Miller will be forbidden from any public ministry until a review board decides whether to recommend to Cardinal Adam Maida that Miller be disciplined under the bishops' new policy penned in Dallas.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:19:42 AM

DETROIT (Mich.)
Accused priests
The Detroit News
Eighteen priests within the Archdiocese of Detroit have been temporarily or permanently removed from parishes.
Banned from ministry
• Gary Beuche, SS. John and Paul Catholic Church in Washington Township
• Tony Conti, All Saints, Memphis, Mich.
• Michael Daly, former chaplain at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit
• Robert Haener, former chaplain at Angela Hospice, Livonia
• Walter Lezuchowski, St. Aloysius, Romulus .....

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:16:44 AM

DETROIT (Mich.)
Reality hits as priests depart
Metro Detroit parishioners tearful, joyful over archdiocese's zero-tolerance policy
The Detroit News
By Kim Kozlowski and Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News
LIVONIA -- Susan Ianni always knew she could depend on the Rev. Edmund Borycz. He presided over her marriage and the renewal of her marriage vows. He baptized one of her sons, gave the other his first communion and even let both stay the night with him.
That's why Ianni couldn't believe it when Borycz was removed as pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church because of alleged sexual misconduct with children. Calling his removal a wrongful discharge, she recently wrote a $1,000 check to begin his legal fund.
"I personally think Father Borycz should sue," said Ianni, 45. "He never even had a chance to answer any of these allegations."
For Ianni and hundreds of other Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit, zero tolerance is no longer a buzzword but a stunning reality. In the month since Cardinal Adam Maida has been implementing the bishops' new policy for sexually abusive priests, five priests have been banished from their ministries -- leaving behind a mourning flock and, in some cases, a division in the Catholic community that could take years to heal.
The number doesn't include 13 additional priests whose cases are under consideration and others who Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan has suggested are expected to face the same fate.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 08:15:04 AM

KEENE (N.H.)
Sentinel editorial: Bishop McCormack's deposition tells a sorry story
The Keene Sentinel
A civil suit has been brought in Massachusetts against present and former Catholic Church officials in the Boston area, including New Hampshire Bishop John B. McCormack. The plaintiffs are three men who say they were molested during the 1980s by the now-notorious Reverend Paul Shanley.
Excerpts from McCormack's June 4 deposition in that case were published this week by The Associated Press. They are devastating.
McCormack was a deputy to Cardinal Bernard Law during parts of the 1980s and 1990s, assigned to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Some investigations.
McCormack didn't believe suspicions raised about Shanley because, he says, "I had no reason to think that he was, when he reported to me, that he was being dishonest. In hindsight I do, but then I didn't."
In hindsight, abject credulity seems to have been McCormack's only investigative tool. Here attorney Roderick MacLeish asks him how he handled a warning from another priest that Reverend Ronald Paquin might have been molesting a teenage boy.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:55:37 AM

NASHUA (N.H.)
Don’t let anger halt charitable gift-giving
The Telegraph
It’s easy to be sickened by the ongoing revelations concerning the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.
In a deposition last month McCormack, who was Cardinal Bernard Law’s deputy at the time, also acknowledged there were several times he didn’t report suspicions of abuse by priests to civil authorities, claiming he was not legally bound to do so.
Now, however, McCormack has seen the light. In fact, he and his staff are so busy dealing with the problem that they won’t be holding the traditional Bishop’s Fund kickoff reception, held every summer for the past 16 years to raise money for local charities.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:52:47 AM

MANCHESTER (N.H.)
Attorney Quinlan speaks
for Manchester diocese
The New Hampshire Sunday News
By PAT HAMMOND
Sunday News Staff
Meet Diane Murphy Quinlan — wife and mother, attorney, authority on sexual harassment policies, and former marathoner.
She still runs every day and enjoys skiing and softball, as the season demands. But there’s another role she has now — since late April she’s been the official voice of the Manchester Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church on matters relating to sexual abuse of children by priests.
"I understand the law and also the church,” said Quinlan, who is Catholic. “And trying to bring them together is challenging, to make sure we are responsive to the survivors in a pastoral way and at the same time defending a lawsuit.
“We have an adversarial system,” she said, “where the lawyers have to fight for their clients. We want to respond, but it is difficult to do so in an adversarial system.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:46:23 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
Church, lawyers experience a summer thaw
Boston Herald
Analysis/by Tom Mashberg
Barely a month ago, tensions were so high between the Archdiocese of Boston and its fiercest accusers that there was talk of forcing the church into bankruptcy court to ensure compensation for 400 or so alleged victims of clergy abuse dating back 40 years.
Grand juries were poring over damning documents with an eye to finding civil rights violations.
Catholic dissidents were yelling at loyal parishioners from outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and neighborhood churches.
Private eyes were probing archdiocesan finances for evidence of salable assets, and subpoenas for depositions were flooding into the offices of besieged church lawyers.
With collection baskets growing as empty as the vaults of Enron, and even the most loyal Opus Dei donors dispirited with Bernard Cardinal Law and the Catholic leadership, the archdiocese was pleading poor mouth in earnest.
Today, three weeks into a truce declared between the church and lawyers for two-thirds of its accusers, some onlookers now say the atmosphere is changing for the better - locally and nationally.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:34:11 AM

BRIDGEWATER (Mass.)
Despite past, jailed ex-priest seeks 'just one chance'
Boston Globe
By Linda Matchan, and Stephen Kurkjian, Globe Staff
BRIDGEWATER - He was the first Massachusetts priest to go to prison for molesting dozens of children. And in a little more than a year, serial pedophile James R. Porter, 67, will be the first to be eligible for release.
Many people are interested in whether Porter does, in fact, go free, including the scores of men and women he raped and molested as children, and the Bristol County district attorney, who can potentially block his release.
And Annie Milner of Providence, Porter's new fiancee.
''He's just asking for a chance, just one chance,'' said Milner, a 69-year-old former nun who first met Porter about 40 years ago in Fall River, where she was raised and he was working as a seminarian, and was reunited with him last year.
''He has said to me, `I want my victims to know that I realize what I've done to their lives,''' Milner said. ''If the victims can only see he has changed, they would change their hearts a little bit.''

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:30:02 AM

LOUISVILLE (KY)
Ex-principal says priest given jobs despite sex claim
Archdiocese knew of allegation in '75, deposition claims
The Courier-Journal
By Andrew Wolfson
A former Catholic school principal says in a deposition that the Archdiocese of Louisville knew about child sex-abuse allegations against the Rev. Louis Miller as early as 1975, but continued to assign him to parishes where he worked with children.
Miller was moved from St. Aloysius Catholic Church in the 1975-76 school year ''a couple of days'' after an eighth-grader reported that Miller had molested him, said Sister Mary Fulgence Logsdon, the school's former principal.
But Logsdon said she was never interviewed about the allegation before Miller was installed six months later as pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, where he is also accused of abusing students.
The deposition was one of two conducted in May and obtained last week by The Courier-Journal.
Logsdon said that to her knowledge, archdiocesan officials never talked to other parents or teachers to see if additional children complained they had been molested at St. Aloysius.
The current archdiocesan administration has said that it has no record of complaints against Miller during the 1960s or 1970s.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:23:08 AM

INDIANAPOLIS (Ind.)
New policies on priest abuse spur local action
Accused clergyman put on leave; family says claims were dismissed for 2 decades.
Indianapolis Star
By Bonnie Harris and Judith Cebula
For more than two decades, an Eastside family has hoped the Archdiocese of Indianapolis would thoroughly investigate the priest they believe abused their nephew in the late 1970s.
In 1978, Paul and Nancy Tuttle first told archdiocese officials they thought the Rev. Jack Okon had made sexual advances toward their nephew Vincent Steiner and had given Vincent and other boys marijuana.
Nothing happened.
In the 1980s, Vincent's grandparents shared their concerns with a priest and Paul Tuttle went to the board president of Cathedral High School, Okon's employer at the time. The Tuttles said church officials simply counseled the priest to think about his career.
Then everything changed.
A priest sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in January and spread nationwide.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:18:46 AM

LOS ANGELES (Calif.)
Catholic group is upset by 'South Park' episode
Miami Herald
Zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES - The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is upset by a "South Park" episode poking fun at the sex abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Church and has issued a statement about its displeasure.
Comedy Central, the network that airs "South Park," provided copies of the statement to the nation's television critics Friday at the network's summer press tour presentation. The statement, by League President William Donohue, was issued July 2 after viewing promos for the episode, according to the league's Web site; the "South Park" episode aired July 3.
The league, according to network officials, is upset because the episode portrays priests as pedophiles instead of homosexuals, not because "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took on the issue.
In the statement, Donohue writes: "The scandal in the Church is not about priests having sex with prepubescent boys. It is about priests having sex with postpubescent young men. The former is called pedophilia and the latter is called homosexuality.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 07:06:27 AM

AMARILLO (TX)
Church's gay-friendly stance with clergy is a problem
Amarillo Globe-News
Opinion By Virgil Van Camp
The recent Catholic bishops' meeting in Dallas attempted to deal with the rising storm of worldwide criticism of child sexual abuse by those in the priesthood. Zero tolerance, "One strike and you're out," was the announced policy change.
There is a conservative group within the church, Roman Catholic Faithful. Here are some statistics from RCF: The general population might be from 2 to 3 percent gay. Within the priesthood, the percentage rises to 30 to 50 percent. Some bishops, who might be gay themselves, choose mostly gay priests.
All priests take vows of celibacy. If the vows were faithfully kept, homosexuality would not be a problem. Gay or straight, both would make comparable sacrifices. Both would serve their flocks equally well.

posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/14/2002 06:49:55 AM

BOSTON (Mass.)
'Betrayal': Covering the Church Crisis
New York Times
By R. SCOTT APPLEBY
Memo to Cardinal Bernard F. Law, Archbishop of Boston: Proceed with caution when choosing -- and publicly denouncing -- your enemies. In 1992, when a scandal erupted over the conduct of James R. Porter, a priest in southeastern Massachusetts who had sexually abused more than 100 children, Cardinal Law claimed that the Porter affair was being deliberately sensationalized as a result of anti-Catholic bias in the secular news media. The media have ''covered this story irresponsibly to paint all the clergy in a negative way,'' the cardinal said. ''The good and dedicated people who serve the church deserve better.''
Ten years later, The Boston Globe has responded -- decisively -- to the accusation of media overkill. Last year The Globe's Spotlight Team set out to discover how many priests in Boston had abused children, and how much the church had known. They found that Porter, while in no way typical, was somewhat more than an aberration, as the cardinal had characterized him: the pattern of serial sexual abuse of children and postpubescent minors had been present in several other truly sensational cases in Boston, Louisiana, New Mexico and elsewhere.
''Betrayal'' weaves a decade's worth of Globe reporting on the scandal in Boston into a more or less coherent narrative, focusing on January to May 2002 and including material not previously published. It provides the fullest account to date of the egregious priestly and episcopal mistakes, sins and crimes that occurred at the epicenter of what almost immediately became a national crisis.

posted by Kathy Shaw on 7/14/2002 06:46:56 AM

AMARILLO (TX)
Amarillo embroiled in Catholic crisis
Diocese must make some changes
Amarillo Globe-News
Editorial: On the one hand, Leroy T. Matthiesen, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Amarillo, said he never knowingly accepted a pedophile priest when he was bishop from 1980 to 1997.
In a letter, he wrote that he didn't accept "priests for ministry whom I knew were not fit for the priesthood."
On the other hand, Matthiesen said he knowingly employed priests who had records of sexual misconduct but had gone through treatment programs for sexual problems. The misconduct involved acts with minors 13 years old and older, he said.