SAN DIEGO (CA) Abuse allegations are true, priest admits
Retired clergyman has been barred from ministry by bishop San
Diego Union-Tribune
By Susan Gembrowski and Sandi Dolbee
Union-Tribune Staff Writers
August 10, 2002
In the ongoing scandal of priests molesting children, San Diego Catholic Bishop
Robert Brom has revealed that a retired priest admitted sexually abusing three
men when they were minors.
Brom has barred that priest from ministry and has asked other victims to come
forward.
The diocese turned over the name of Monsignor Rudolph Galindo to San Diego District
Attorney Paul Pfingst this week.
"We're investigating to see if it's a prosecutable case," Pfingst said, adding
that it will be a priority because there are accusations by more than one victim.
In a letter released yesterday and to be shared with parishioners this weekend,
Brom said the three men contacted the diocese with allegations of childhood sexual
misconduct by Galindo, a priest who retired in 1986.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/10/2002
01:21:36 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (CA) Pastor suspended for abuse complaint San
Francisco Chronicle
Bill Wallace, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Only hours after saying an internal probe had failed to corroborate allegations
that the Rev. Daniel E. Carter sexually molested a teenage girl in the late 1970s,
the San Francisco Archdiocese on Thursday abruptly suspended him pending resolution
of a city investigation of the accusation.
Carter, 51, who was pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Belmont until
he was suspended without pay Thursday, has denied the charge through his attorney
and pledged to fight it in court. Neither he nor his lawyer, Joseph O'Sullivan,
could be reached Friday for comment on his suspension.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/10/2002
01:16:53 PM
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Catholic leader says bishops 'paralyzed' by sex scandals
Official of religious orders decries 'zero tolerance' The Baltimore Sun
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - The president of an association of Roman Catholic religious orders
told his colleagues that American bishops have been "paralyzed in remorse" over
sexual abuse and have been making scapegoats of abusive clergy to regain the public's
trust.
The Rev. Canice Connors, president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men,
said victims' demands have led bishops to abandon the Catholic belief in redemption
for sinners.
The remarks were among the most openly defiant from a U.S. Catholic leader since
clerical sex abuse scandals started hitting the church in waves this year.
Connors made the comments Wednesday night in a closed session at the annual meeting
of the superiors' conference, which represents 15,000 U.S. priests in orders such
as the Jesuits and Benedictines. The text of the speech was released yesterday.
Today, the last day of the meeting, the conference will vote on how a sex abuse
policy adopted by U.S. bishops two months ago in Dallas can be adapted to religious
orders.
SAN DIEGO (CA) Retired San Diego monsignor admits abuse; bishop urges any other victims to
come forward The
Cleveland Plain Dealer
By BEN FOX
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Roman Catholic bishop of San Diego called on people to come
forward if they were abused by a retired monsignor who has allegedly admitted
molesting three boys.
In a letter to be distributed to parishioners this weekend, Bishop Robert Brom
said retired Monsignor Rudolph Galindo acknowledged the truth of allegations of
childhood abuse made recently by three men.
"I am concerned that there are others who may have been harmed by sexual misconduct
on the part of Monsignor Galindo during his various assignments," Brom wrote.
The letter includes a phone number and post office box for victims to contact
church authorities.
Galindo, who retired in 1986, was living in a retirement home in Texas but is
now in an undisclosed psychiatric facility for evaluation, said Bernadeane Carr,
a spokeswoman for the Diocese of San Diego.
CLEVELAND (OH) Diocese wants charity funds separate The
Cleveland Plain Dealer
James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
Bishop Anthony Pilla has written a letter to be read at all Masses in the Catholic
Diocese of Cleveland this weekend in a further attempt to alleviate concerns over
the diversion of charitable contributions.
In the letter, Pilla seeks to assure the 800,000 members of the diocese that Catholic
Charities Corp. is audited annually and that contributions to the agency are used
only to support its services, operations and management.
"We do not plan or intend to assist in paying for legal fees, legal settlements
and the like encumbered by the diocese," Pilla wrote, "that occur outside the
responsibilities of the Catholic Charities system."
Pilla issued the letter in response to a story in The Plain Dealer last week that
presented concerns over the use of charitable money for non-charitable purposes.
The letter contains similar language to one Pilla wrote in June to Catholic Charities'
board of trustees in which the bishop said he would do "everything in [his] power"
to ensure that charity money would be used only for the purposes for which it
was given.
In neither case could Pilla guarantee that charitable contributions would not
be used to pay lawyers' bills or victims' settlements incurred as a result of
priest sex-abuse lawsuits - an assurance that Catholic Charities trustees had
sought at a contentious meeting in May.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/10/2002
11:48:59 AM
WEST PALM BEACH A plan for restoring trust
Ron Zeller talks about the communications plan of the Ecumenical Review Panel.
By Tom Tracy Florida Catholic
This Fall, the Palm Beach Diocesan Ecumenical Review Panel, in response to the
clergy abuse scandal and the resignation this year of Bishop Anthony J. O¹Connell,
will implement its communications plan.
Under the direction of West Palm Beach business attorney and civic leader Ron
Zeller, the Panel¹s communication¹s subcommittee ‹ consisting of both Catholics
and non-Catholics in the community ‹ has commissioned a scientific survey of community
opinions to help the church promote healing in the wake of the crisis.
Moreover, the Panel ‹ which was chaired by state Sen. Phil Lewis ‹ has made recommendations
to diocesan leadership for the future protection of children. Now, Zeller, Panel
members and others will begin building a team of communicators to explain to the
community the highlights of the Panel¹s final report, "Open and Faithful." It
is available at http://www.diocesepb.org.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/10/2002
09:22:49 AM
PHILADELPHIA Leader of orders says policy harsh Dallas
Morning News
By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH / The Dallas Morning News
PHILADELPHIA – The president of an umbrella organization for religious orders
said on Friday that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took too harsh a stance
on clergy child molesters two months ago in Dallas.
The comments of the Rev. Canice Connors seemed to run counter to assurances given
by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men this week that religious orders embraced
the bishops' new policy on sexual abuse by priests. One-third of U.S. priests
belong to religious orders, which are autonomous of dioceses.
OKLAHOMA CITY Archbishop calls Keating 'inaccurate' The
Oklahoman
The Associated Press
The archbishop of Oklahoma City fired new criticism at Gov. Frank Keating on Friday,
saying recent comments by the governor regarding the Roman Catholic Church are
"totally inaccurate" and "divisive."
"I was told about his comments and then I heard Governor Keating wrongly advising
Catholics how to live their faith in response to the current sexual abuse scandal,"
Archbishop Eusebius Beltran said in a statement. "His statements are totally inaccurate,
divisive and contrary to the teachings and beliefs of our Catholic faith."
Beltran issued the statement in response to remarks Keating made to reporters
last week. The governor said Catholics should avoid donating to or attending churches
in dioceses that don't respond to the priest sex-abuse scandal.
"That's a time for the lay community of that diocese to say, 'We are not writing
another check, we are not going to go to Mass in this diocese,'" Keating said.
"In effect a strike, if you wish, a sit-down until things change."
Keating is chairman of an all- lay review board monitoring performance on the
priestly abuse cleanup policy approved by U.S. bishops in June.
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Monks expected to approve modified sex-abuse policy Minneapolis-St.
Paul Star Tribune
Warren Wolfe
Star Tribune
PHILADELPHIA -- Calling the sex-abuse policy approved by bishops in June "the
policy for the whole Catholic Church in America," leaders of 20,500 priests and
brothers in religious orders are expected to approve measures today to adapt it
to their religious orders.
In effect, it brings the remaining one-third of American priests under the one-strike-you're-out
rule, removing from public ministry or contact with children any priest who ever
molested a minor.
However, the 168 leaders at the annual assembly of the Conference of Major Superiors
of Men are expected to depart from the bishops' policy by not including the possibility
of asking the pope to defrock an abuser.
Instead, an offending priest or brother in a religious order would be given a
home and nonministerial work within "the family" of his order, including the opportunity
to say mass within his religious community.
The major superiors' policy would require reporting any new suspected cases to
civil authorities and setting up local and national boards of laypeople to oversee
implementation of the policy, including yearly public reports on how well they
are doing.
BALTIMORE (MD) Blackwell's Fla. accuser, police meet
Another alleged victim to talk to officers Monday Baltimore
Sun
By Allison Klein
Sun Staff
A Florida man who said this week he was repeatedly raped as a teen-ager by the
Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell met with police detectives yesterday to talk about the
Baltimore priest.
Warren Hart, 42, who grew up in Baltimore, said the abuse started in 1975, when
he was 15 years old, and continued for at least two years.
Another man who alleges Blackwell sexually molested him was supposed to meet with
detectives yesterday as well, but the meeting was postponed until Monday, according
to the state's attorney's office.
The second man, whom authorities would not name, brings the total to five men
who have accused the priest of abusing them when they were young.
Blackwell, 56, is being investigated by the state's attorney's office but has
not been charged with a crime.
LOUISVILLE (KY) Court rules for opening Lexington abuse case
Appeals panel rejects diocese's effort to keep irrelevant portions sealed The
Courier-Journal
By Deborah Yetter
dyetter@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A sealed case alleging sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Lexington should be open to the public, even those portions a judge had stricken
as irrelevant, the state Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.
A three-member panel voted 2-1 that the records should be open and the stricken
portions remain part of the court file. The ruling upholds a July 24 order by
Fayette Circuit Judge Mary Noble that unsealed the case.
''We think it's the right decision,'' said Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer for The Courier-Journal,
which had sought the ruling along with the Lexington Herald-Leader. ''We disagree
with the idea that the court file should have been sealed for any period of time.''
But the stricken material that alleges additional misconduct by four priests won't
become public for at least a week. The appeals panel gave the Lexington Diocese
until Friday to appeal its decision to the state Supreme Court.
Tom Shaughnessy, a spokesman for the diocese, said yesterday that he didn't know
whether lawyers would appeal the case and that he needed time to review the opinion
before commenting.
ST. PETERSBURG (FL) Accuser requests no bail for ex-priest St.
Petersburg Times
By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
A day after police charged former Episcopal priest Richard A. Pollard with molesting
a boy more than 25 years ago, the man who accused him of that abuse appeared in
court to make sure Pollard stays behind bars.
For his first court hearing, Pollard, 73, appeared in court via video from the
Pinellas County Jail. When Pollard's name was called, the Tarpon Springs man shot
from his seat in the courtroom so that he could have an opportunity to address
Circuit Judge Lauren C. Laughlin about bail.
The man first gave his name, which is being withheld by the Times.
"I am the victim, one of several," he said.
"I ask that you deny bond to Mr. Pollard," he said. "He admitted to me on tape,
in the presence of law enforcement, to his crimes."
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/10/2002
08:22:52 AM
LARGO (FL) Judge: Priest can't keep talks secret
The ruling focuses on the Rev. Robert Schaeufele's discussions with church officials
after he was accused of abuse. St.
Petersburg Times
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer
LARGO -- A Catholic priest charged with sexually abusing boys in his parish cannot
keep his discussions with church officials secret from prosecutors, a judge ruled
Friday.
The Pinellas-Pasco judge said that a "spiritual counsel" privilege did not apply
to the Rev. Robert Schaeufele's discussions with church officials after he was
accused of sexual abuse.
Schaeufele (pronounced SHOY-flee), 54, met with two members of a church response
team on April 15, soon after he was accused of abuse. He resigned from his church
shortly thereafter.
Judge Nelly Khouzam said in a five-page ruling that the privilege holds only if
a person is seeking spiritual counsel and advice from a member of the clergy and
the conversation is not intended to be disclosed to any third party.
WASHINGTON (DC) Justice Delayed Brings Vindication, Not Peace
Victim Remains Troubled as Priest Steps Down Washington
Post
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Michael Bland waited a long time for vindication. But when it finally arrived
yesterday, there was no sweetness to it.
When the nation's Roman Catholic bishops listened to sexual abuse victims in Dallas
in mid-June, one of the most troubling stories came from Bland, a former priest
in the Chicago-based Order Friar Servants of Mary, known as the Servites.
In 1994, nearly seven years after ordination, Bland revealed to superiors that
he had been sexually abused as a teenager by an older member of the same order.
He was quickly called to Rome to discuss the case. But after he refused to reconcile
with his alleged abuser, the Servites just as quickly closed ranks against him.
"The priesthood lost me, but kept the perpetrator," Bland told the bishops in
Dallas, noting that the alleged abuser had recently been promoted to full professor
and vice dean at a major Catholic university.
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Bishops' Policy on Abuse Questioned
Religious Order Leaders Voice Doubts but Will Obey Washington
Post
By Hanna Rosin
Washington Post Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 9 -- Leaders of Roman Catholic religious orders said today
that they would abide by the U.S. bishops' zero-tolerance policy toward sexually
abusive priests but also openly questioned the new dictate, saying it "scapegoats"
the abusers.
Members of religious orders, such as the Jesuits and Franciscans, make up about
a third of the nation's priests and operate autonomously from dioceses. Their
leaders, meeting here to discuss the pedophilia crisis in the church, said they
would submit to the bishops' new get-tough charter, with minor changes.
"The bishops have spoken and we will abide by the policy," said the Rev. Ted Keating,
executive director of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. "But the policy
we follow may have more nuances."
Details of what they decide will come on Saturday, as the meeting of nearly 200
priests continues here.
WESTBROOK (CT) Former Priest Accused Of Abuse
Man's Lawsuit Says He Was Molested As Teen Hartford
Courant
By MARC WIZNIA, Courant Staff Writer
A Westbrook man has claimed in a lawsuit that he was sexually molested by his
parish priest when he was a teenager.
Michael Nelligan's suit claims former priest Bruno Primavera, who now lives in
New Britain, repeatedly abused him when he was a parishioner at St. Mark the Evangelist
in Westbrook in 1977 and 1978.
Nelligan, 38, was 14 at the time.
According to the suit, Primavera abused Nelligan by "kissing him on the lips"
and "touching and fondling" his genitalia, among other sexual actions. The assaults
often occurred at the church, the suit claims.
The suit does not reveal specifically how Nelligan and Primavera came to be alone
during those times, but does say that Primavera was acting as a chaperone during
some of the assaults.
The suit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown, names Primavera, former
Norwich Bishop Daniel Reilly and the Diocese of Norwich as defendants.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/10/2002
08:00:25 AM
RICHMOND (VA) For local Catholics, healing requires full disclosure The Virginian-Pilot
By Roger Chesley
Dear Bishop Walter F. Sullivan:
I'm having trouble with the revelations of the past few months. As one of 200,000-plus
active members of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, I don't know whom to trust,
or what's the ``real'' truth involving sexual abusers among our clergy.
With all due respect, I'm starting to question the credibility of your statements.
Are you being straight with us?
Take these past two weeks, for example. Over that time, you've removed a priest
from the ministry, though you initially discovered -- back in 1994 -- that the
Rev. Julian B. Goodman had sexually abused a student; you've seen more resignations
on the the 10-member Diocesan Sexual Abuse Panel; and you've made comments about
the Rev. John E. Leonard, whom you've reinstated, that weren't exactly a vote
of confidence in him.
Then, I see Friday that another priest in the diocese has stepped down because
of sexual impropriety.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/10/2002
07:55:58 AM
RICHMOND (VA) Petersburg priest expelled for sex abuse The Virginian-Pilot
By STEVEN G. VEGH, The Virginian-Pilot
RICHMOND -- Catholic Bishop Walter F. Sullivan expelled a Petersburg priest Friday
for child sex abuse, two days after forcing the resignation of a onetime Norfolk
priest for the same offense.
The Rev. John P. Blankenship in 1982 abused a 14-year-old boy who was a member
of the church he pastored, Sacred Heart parish in New Bohemia. He admitted the
misconduct after the boy told the diocese in 1988.
The Rev. Pasquale Apuzzo, Sullivan's spokesman, said in a news conference Friday
that the bishop is still reviewing known cases of past abuse involving two other
priests who continue to serve in the Diocese of Richmond. He also is looking into
incidents involving priests who are no longer alive.
Blankenship, 65, was sent by the diocese to St. Luke's Institute, a Catholic psychiatric
hospital in Silver Spring, Md., for seven months and received outpatient therapy
for six more years.
BOSTON (Mass.) Oklahoma governor rankles Boston Archdiocese Worcester
Telegram & Gazette
By Justin Pope
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON-- The official newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese criticized Oklahoma
Gov. Francis A. Keating for urging Catholics to withhold donations or attend Mass
in a different diocese, saying he in effect called on Catholics to “commit a mortal
sin.”
Keating is chairman of an all-lay review board monitoring the U.S. bishops' performance
on the priestly abuse cleanup policy.
In remarks to reporters last week, Keating said Catholics should exercise the
power of the purse, refusing to donate or attend Mass in a diocese where they
see the bishop shunning his moral duty until they see change.
“That's a time for the lay community of that diocese to say we are not writing
another check, we are not going to go to Mass in this diocese,” he said. “In effect
a strike, if you wish, a sit-down until things change.”
An editorial in yesterday's edition of The Pilot, the archdiocese's newspaper
for which Cardinal Bernard F. Law serves as publisher, ripped Keating's remarks.
“His well-known, no-nonsense attitude may play well in the secular media, but
there are certain things that are not admissible in the Church,” the editorial
said.
BOSTON (Mass.) 13 accusers added to sex-abuse lawsuit against archdiocese Worcester
Telegram & Gazette
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON-- Thirteen people are adding their names to a sexual abuse lawsuit against
the Archdiocese of Boston, joining 40 others who allege they were assaulted by
the late Rev. Joseph E. Birmingham.
The additions bring to 53 the number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleging that
Birmingham, who died in 1989, molested them. The 13 new plaintiffs include 12
men and one woman. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was a boy at the time
of the alleged abuse, and subsequently had a sex-change operation.
The motion from lawyers representing Birmingham's alleged victims also names Green
Bay, Wis., Bishop Robert J. Banks and Monsignor Thomas J. Finnegan as new defendants.
Banks served as vicar for administration for the Boston archdiocese from 1984
to 1990, and Finnegan was chancellor under Cardinal Richard Cushing in the 1960s.
The lawsuit has become one of the largest and fastest-growing in the church abuse
scandal against the Boston Archdiocese. The case of former priest John J. Geoghan,
which sparked the current crisis, has 86 plaintiffs.
BOSTON (Mass.) Archdiocese
crisis builds With abuse settlements looming, bankruptcy called real possibility
Lowell
Sun
By JUSTIN POPE
AP Business Writer
BOSTON The Boston Archdiocese is considering bankruptcy as it faces potentially
crippling financial settlements with victims of priest sex abuse an option experts
say could produce more bad publicity than it's worth.
Such a move would also put the Roman Catholic Church in the position of giving
control over some of its finances to a secular bankruptcy court.
"There are all sorts of downsides," said David Skeel, a bankruptcy expert at the
University of Pennsylvania Law School.
"The symbolic resonance would be quite unattractive, of churches trying to evade
their obligations," he said. "And bankruptcy opens the debtor up to extensive
scrutiny. There are all sorts of opportunities to investigate, and that's not
something the Catholic Church would be enthusiastic about."
The archdiocese is facing lawsuits by hundreds of people who say they were abused
by priests. It also is awaiting a decision from a judge over whether it is bound
to a settlement worth up to $30 million with 86 alleged victims of defrocked priest
John Geoghan. The archdiocese pulled out of the deal in May after its finance
council said it was too expensive.
The archdiocese has slashed spending by 40 percent, and acknowledged last week
for the first time it was considering a voluntary bankruptcy filing. An attorney
being consulted on the matter, Daniel Glosband, refused comment as did archdiocese
spokeswoman Donna M. Morrissey.
BOSTON (Mass.) It's a sin to heed Keating, Catholics told Lawrence Eagle-Tribune
From staff and wire reports
BOSTON -- The Boston Archdiocese accused the head of a national lay board reviewing
the clergy sex-abuse scandal of encouraging Catholics to "commit a mortal sin"
by refusing to donate money or attend Sunday Mass.
In widely publicized comments published and broadcast last week, Oklahoma Gov.
Frank Keating said parishioners unhappy with their bishop could attend Mass in
a different diocese or use "the power of the purse" by halting donations in the
those diocese unresponsive to the priest abuse scandals.
"In effect a strike, if you wish," he said. "A sit-down until things change."
But Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrissey said this morning The Pilot's editorial
was written based on an interview Keating gave to Channel 7-WHDH news. In the
interview, Morrissey contends Keating said "boycott Mass," and nothing about going
to a different church.
The Pilot gave Keating two days to respond before the editorial was published,
but he never responded, Morrissey said.
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Catholic Religious Orders Let Abusive Priests Stay The
New York Times
By SAM DILLON
The Roman Catholic religious orders that include a third of the nation's priests
will not expel sexual predators from their ranks, leaders of the orders said yesterday.
But the leaders are debating ways to protect children from abusive priests and
whether the priests should be allowed to wear religious habits as they continue
their ministry.
Meeting in an annual conference in Philadelphia, the leaders of the 125 Catholic
orders said they considered it inappropriate to force sexual abusers from their
communities, which include the Jesuits, Benedictines, Dominicans and more than
100 other service and missionary groups.
The lifelong vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that commit the priests,
monks and brothers to their Catholic communities obligate their religious superiors
to support them financially and to oversee them throughout their lives, even if
they commit sexual crimes, the leaders of the orders said.
The new sexual abuse policy of the Catholic orders, which their leaders have been
shaping this week at the conference, means that their priests are likely to face
less stringent measures than those working under the jurisdiction of the nation's
diocesan bishops.
In a June meeting in Dallas, the bishops adopted a "zero tolerance" policy under
which abusive priests must be removed from ministry and barred from wearing religious
garb. That policy applies to the 30,000 priests who work under the exclusive jurisdiction
of the United States' 194 diocesan bishops, but not to the 15,000 priests who
belong to religious orders, which are headed not by bishops but by major superiors.
WASHINGTON (DC) Priest leaves university after abuse accusation by U.S. panel member Catholic
News Service
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A prominent canon lawyer and former provincial of the Servite
religious order, accused of sexual abuse by a victim who addressed the U.S. bishops
in June, has taken a medical leave of absence from his Canadian university teaching
post and announced plans to seek laicization.
Servite Father John M. Huels has left his positions as vice dean and professor
of canon law at St. Paul University in Ottawa, according to an Aug. 6 statement
from Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais, who serves as chancellor of the school.
The accusation against Father Huels came from Michael J. Bland, a former Servite
priest and a member of the U.S. bishops' National Review Board for sexual abuse
cases.
Archbishop Gervais' statement said he became aware in June of what he called "a
situation" involving Father Huels. Guy Levac, communications director for the
archdiocese, said Father Huels told Archbishop Gervais that he had been guilty
of inappropriate behavior with minors decades earlier and that he was repentant
and contrite.
Bland gave emotional testimony at the U.S. bishops' June meeting in Dallas about
being sexually abused as a teen by a priest, but at the time he declined to identify
his abuser. But he confirmed for Catholic News Service in August that he was speaking
about Father Huels when he described his "perpetrator" to the bishops.
BOSTON (Mass.) She sees VOTF as her chance to help church Boston
Herald
by Joe Fitzgerald
Our conversation began on a tentative note.
``I read you all the time,'' she said, ``so I know you're not going to like this
call.''
And then we talked for 30 minutes.
Janet Chaput, a Sullivan in her salad days growing up on Mission Hill, now a grandmother
living in Arlington, explained she was bothered by what she felt was a dismissive
reference here to the Voice of the Faithful, that lay organization of disillusioned
Catholics forged in response to the crisis engulfing their Church.
What particularly rankled her was the suggestion here that the VOTF is also providing
a convenient shield for dissidents and radicals who were at the Church's throat
long before they ever heard of James Porter or John Geoghan; indeed, the scandal's
been a field day for opportunists.
``I know, and that concerns me, too,'' she said, ``but most of the people I've
met are just like me, extraordinarily ordinary.''
``Then what got you involved?''
``My eighth grandchild's christening, back in January,'' she replied. ``The other
seven were lined up, and all I could think was, `Thank God nothing happened to
any of them.' You know, children watch what you do; you can say a million words
to them, but they watch your actions, too. I decided it wasn't enough that they
see me saying the rosary every day; sometimes you have to get off your fanny and
do something, so I did. I went to a meeting.''
BOSTON (Mass.) A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
Strict church standards Boston
Globe
THE CATHOLIC Church in the United States should speak with one voice against sexual
abuse by the clergy. When leaders of religious orders draft their recommendations
for common policies, they ought to follow the tough standard established in June
by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Conference of Bishops, in a policy that still must be approved by the Vatican,
proposes to remove from ministry all diocesan priests guilty of abuse. The only
exception would be priests who are old or otherwise infirm. These could still
say Mass privately but not present themselves as priests in public.
The president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, however, said on Thursday
that the religious orders will be more lenient to abusers in their ranks. The
Rev. Canice Connors said his organization will recommend that abusers be barred
from public ministry but still be able to hold administrative positions within
religious orders. These orders, such as the Jesuits and the Franciscans, operate
autonomously across the country and are not controlled by the bishops.
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Catholic leader criticizes bishops Boston
Globe
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff
PHILADELPHIA - The head of the national association of Catholic religious orders,
in remarks released yesterday, pointedly criticized America's bishops for adopting
a zero tolerance stance on sexual abuse by priests, accusing the bishops of scapegoating
the abusers and siding with the media, the victims of the priests, and a partially
informed Catholic laity.
The Very Rev. Canice Connors, a Franciscan priest and president of an umbrella
group that represents a third of the 46,000 Catholic priests in the United States,
said ''the predictable outcome'' of the June meeting of bishops in Dallas ''was
a group paralyzed in remorse and shame.''
The heads of the country's religious orders, which operate independently of bishops
and are not necessarily bound by the bishops' child protection charter, have said
they will follow the child protection charter in ''spirit.'' But they also said
they are unwilling to cast abusers out of the ''family'' of the priesthood and
believe it is their duty to find some role for them within the church.
WELLESLEY (Mass.) Abuse alleged at Wellesley seminary Boston
Globe
By Matt Carroll, Globe Staff
WELLESLEY - Today, the Elm Bank estate, nestled in a bend of the Charles River,
is a state park and the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A generation
ago, the setting was no less idyllic for grammar school graduates who came here
to a high school seminary, full of hope they would someday be ordained as Catholic
priests.
Some were. Others, however, left the tiny school after they were sexually abused
by members of the Stigmatine Fathers, the religious order that ran the seminary.
Their accounts describe sexual misbehavior by an extraordinary percentage of the
priests who were entrusted with their care.
The school had only 10 to 15 teachers at any one time, according to the alleged
victims. Yet four men who contacted the Globe said they were molested by five
Stigmatines at the school - four priests and a religious brother - during a six-year
period. One seminarian said he was victimized by three of the priests, and two
of the others said they were each molested by two priests. The men attended the
school between 1955 and 1961.
Officials of the order knew about the sexual abuse at the time but did nothing
to stop it, according to interviews with victims and a document the religious
order turned over to one victim. One Stigmatine priest who tried to stop the abuse
was twice transferred after alerting superiors to what was going on.
''We went there thinking it was a holy institution,'' said John Vellante, who
attended as a freshman in 1958 but left a year later. ''It turned out it was a
hunting lodge, and we were the captured prey.''
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/10/2002
06:50:30 AM RICHMOND (VA) 2nd priest forced to retire Richmond
Times-Dispatch
BY ALBERTA LINDSEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
A 65-year-old prison chaplain from Richmond is the latest priest in the Catholic
Diocese of Richmond forced to retire because of alleged child sexual abuse.
The Richmond diocese has forced two priests to resign because of sexual misconduct
charges in the past three days.
The Rev. John P. Blankenship, (left) chaplain at the Federal Correctional Institution
in Petersburg.
The Rev. Julian Goodman, (right) pastor of Holy Comforter Church in Charlottesville.
The Rev. John P. Blankenship stepped down from his post as a chaplain at the Petersburg
Federal Correctional Center on Thursday and from active priestly ministry, officials
said yesterday.
Blankenship, who served six Virginia churches in his 39 years of ministry, became
the second priest in four days to be forced into retirement by the diocese because
of complaints of sexual improprieties involving children.
And a diocese spokesman said the matter isn't finished; several other cases of
alleged sexual misconduct are being investigated.
In 1982, while pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Prince George County
community of New Bohemia, Blankenship sexually abused a 14-year-old male parishioner,
said the Rev. Pasquale J. Apuzzo, a diocese spokesman, at a news conference yesterday.
Blankenship took responsibility for his actions, apologized to the victim and
later paid for his college education, Apuzzo said.
PHOENIX (AZ) Valley priests being investigated for sexual misconduct The
Arizona Republic
By Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
As many as 20 priests or other employees of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix could
face sexual misconduct charges in an investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney's
Office.
A review of diocesan records has produced at least 15 names so far, diocese attorney
Michael Manning said Friday, and he expects to turn over at least five more.
Manning refused to disclose names but said the records include many priests who
already have been convicted or suspended because of sex-related charges. In addition,
the list likely includes two youth ministers who pleaded guilty on sex-related
charges earlier this year.
"We are doing our best to cooperate," Phoenix Diocese Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien
said in a Thursday interview. "We are hoping for the best."
Hired by the diocese in June to help it respond to a grand jury subpoena, Manning
said seven attorneys, plus former local FBI head James Ahearn, are concentrating
on more than 100 files containing sexual allegations ranging from a claim that
a janitor leered at schoolgirls to charges of sexual abuse by priests.
RICHMOND (VA) Second Va. priest resigns amid sex charges The Virginian-Pilot
Associated Press
RICHMOND -- A Petersburg priest was forced to resign for sexually abusing a male
teenager 20 years ago, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said today.
The Rev. John P. Blankenship resigned as Catholic chaplain at the Federal Correctional
Institution in Petersburg and from active ministry, the diocese said in a statement.
He had served as a priest in the Richmond diocese since his ordination in 1963.
The diocese said that in 1982, while he was pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Prince
George County, Blankenship sexually abused a 14-year-old male. Bishop Walter Sullivan
learned of the abuse in 1988 and put Blankenship on administrative leave, requiring
him to receive psychiatric treatment at Saint Luke's Institute in Silver Spring,
Md., the diocese said.
Sullivan met with Blankenship Tuesday and ordered his resignation effective Friday,
the diocese said.
ANTIOCH (CA) Defrocked East Bay priest sued
Former altar boy, 32, claims Robert Ponciroli molested and battered him Contra Costa Times
By Brian Anderson
A defrocked East Bay priest at the center of sexual abuse investigations in two
cities where he once served has been blamed in a lawsuit filed this week of molesting
an altar boy over the course of a year.
Robert Ponciroli, 65, who is the subject of an Antioch police investigation, exploited,
molested and battered the now 32-year-old man from 1980-81 while at St. Ignatius
Catholic Church in Antioch, lawyers for the unidentified victim said in the lawsuit.
Ponciroli's alleged victim was a trusting altar boy who was assured the conduct
was proper, according to the suit.
What's more, lawyers said in court papers, Catholic church officials knew or at
least should have known of his "dangerous and exploitative propensities."
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/9/2002
01:55:38 PM
OAKLAND (CA) Suits accuse 2 priests of molestation
Damages sought in alleged sexual abuse of children by clerics in Belmont, Antioch Oakland
Tribune
By Josh Richman
STAFF WRITER
A Belmont priest was placed on administrative leave Thursday, two days after a
lawsuit accused him of child molestation and more than four months after the Archdiocese
of San Francisco heard the alleged victim's claims.
The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court claims the Rev.
Daniel Carter -- now pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary -- molested
a girl in the late 1970s while teaching at San Francisco's Notre Dame des Victoires
Parochial School before his 1979 ordination.
Another lawsuit filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court claims the Rev.
Robert Ponciroli, now retired and living in Florida, molested a boy in 1980 and
1981 while he was at St. Ignatius Church in Antioch, one of his many East Bay
assignments in his 30 years as a priest.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/9/2002
01:45:51 PM
WORCESTER (Mass.) Committee reviews case before leave of absence imposed on priest The Catholic Free
Press
By Kevin Luperchio
When a bishop places a priest on administrative leave following sexual abuse allegations,
he is not declaring that priest guilty, according to Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone,
diocesan canon lawyer.
Administrative leave, Msgr. Pedone said, allows the accused priest to deal with
the effects of the allegations while ensuring his parish does not suffer.
“A person’s ability to minister can be negatively impacted (by sexual abuse allegations),”
he said.
Oftentimes the public considers a person guilty just based on an allegation, he
added.
While on leave, priests cannot engage in any public ministry; this includes preaching
and celebrating Masses and sacraments. They can, however, celebrate Masses and
sacraments privately, Msgr. Pedone said.
Contrary to popular belief, priests are not placed on administrative leave solely
because an allegation has been made, he said.
Any allegation against a priest in the diocese is brought before the Pastoral
Care Committee; a lay and clergy advisory panel of legal, medical and religious
experts that investigates allegations of abuse against diocesan employees and
volunteers. Msgr. Pedone is a memebr of that committee.
WORCESTER (Mass.) Parish turns out in support The Catholic Free Press
By Kevin Luperchio and Tanya Connor
WORCESTER – Loyal supporters of Father Joseph A. Coonan gathered at St. John Parish
again Wednesday to form a plan to get their pastor back.
“It was very productive,” said Jonathan Slavinskas, 18. “There are a lot of good
ideas out there.”
Father Coonan, pastor of St. John’s, was removed due to allegations of sexual
misconduct with minors in the 1970s before entering the seminary, according to
a statement by Bishop Reilly released Friday.
The Diocese’s Office for Healing and Prevention had representatives at St. John’s
weekend Masses to give information and answer parishioners’ questions, according
to Patricia O’Leary-Engdahl, director of the office. She said the office also
organized Monday’s healing service. No one from the office attended Wednesday’s
meeting.
Mr. Slavinskas, who organized the parish meeting, began by reading Father Coonan’s
press release to the congregation. The statement reads in part: “I will not let
these false allegations deter me from my mission of helping those in need. In
these times, I believe that many Roman Catholic priests are extremely vulnerable
to false allegations. I intend to defend my name, my character and my integrity,
and I remain committed to helping people.”
WORCESTER (Mass.) Father Coonan placed on leave after allegations The Catholic Free Press
By Kevin Luperchio
WORCESTER – Bishop Reilly placed Father Joseph A. Coonan, pastor of St. John Parish,
on administrative leave Aug. 1 due to allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.
Raymond L. Delisle, diocesan director of communications, said both the diocese
and the Worcester district attorney’s office received allegations of abuse against
Father Coonan. The allegations date back to the 1970s.
In a statement, Father Coonan called the allegations “false and baseless in fact.”
Father Coonan said the incidents are alleged to have occurred in 1977, 12 years
prior to his ordination. At the time, he said, he worked with heroin addicts at
the Webster, Dudley, Oxford Crisis Center.
An alleged victim talked to reporters for the Telegram and Gazette and said the
incident occurred while he was a student at Oxford High School and the then Mr.
Coonan was a teacher there. A phone call made to the man’s home in Oxford was
not returned Thursday.
WORCESTER (Mass.) Bishop calls for healing prayer The Catholic Free Press
Bishop Reilly has asked the parishes in the diocese to pray during the observance
of the Feast of the Assumption next week for the healing of all those injured
by sexual abuse.
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven falls on Thursday.
It is a holy day of obligation. Vigil or advent Masses will be celebrated Wednesday
afternoon and/or evening in many parishes as well as on Thursday.
In a letter to pastors, Bishop Reilly asked that they “incorporate into the celebration
of the Eucharist the Litany for Healng and the Prayer of Healing prepared by the
Bishop’s Committee on the Liturgy.”
In his letter, Bishop Reilly asked that a time of prayer and reparation be observed
“for the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy. … In prayerful communion, let
us all, bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious, and the faithful laypeople
of our diocese make this day a part of our spiritual response to the problem we
are experiencing at the present time.”
HONOLULU (HI) Catholic bishop acts
to restore confidence Honolulu
Star-Bulletin
Editorials
Bishop Francis DiLorenzo acted in the best interests of the Roman Catholic Church's
Honolulu diocese in removing a Maui priest accused of sexual misconduct from public
ministry. The removal was consistent with a policy adopted two months ago by Catholic
bishops in the United States aimed at isolating sexual abusers. The church's religious
orders also need to adopt a policy of strong measures.
The Rev. Joseph Bukoski, 49, was placed on administrative leave from his duties
at a Lahaina church in May because of accusations of sexual misconduct while he
was assigned to a Honolulu church in 1982. While the diocesan Standing Committee
on Sexual Misconduct was reviewing the accusations, a second complaint dating
to his seminary days 25 years ago was lodged against Bukoski.
Diocesan spokesman Patrick Downes said the second complaint "strengthened the
previous recommendation of the standing committee" that Bukoski be permanently
removed. The complaint "was corroborated by other credible people, and, because
of this accumulation of evidence, the bishop found veracity in the second allegation,"
Downes added.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/9/2002
10:16:44 AM
NORWICH (CT) Diocese faces new sex abuse lawsuit Norwich
Bulletin
By BRIAN SCHEID
Norwich Bulletin
NORWICH -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich is facing another civil complaint
of sexual abuse allegedly committed by one of its former priests.
This week, the diocese, former Norwich Bishop Daniel P. Reilly and former Westbrook
priest Bruno Primavera were served with a civil summons claiming Primavera repeatedly
sexually molested and assaulted 14-year-old Michael Nelligan in the late 1970s.
The summons was filed in Middletown Superior Court Aug. 5.
The lawyer representing Nelligan said Thursday that diocesan officials knew of
Primavera's illegal sexual activities and later sent him to a New Mexico treatment
center specializing in treating pedophile priests.
"The church failed to recognize this problem and instead has disregarded it,"
Nelligan's lawyer, Robert Reardon of New London, said. "The church has turned
a blind eye for too long."
In the complaint, Nelligan, now 38 and living in Westbrook and Portland, Maine,
claims he was 14 and a parishioner at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Westbrook
when he met Primavera, who was his parish's priest.
CLEVELAND (OH) Removal of priests urged Yahoo!
News
Akron Beacon Journal
By Colette M. Jenkins, Beacon Journal religion writer
An independent commission established to review the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland's
policy on sexual abuse is recommending that a priest or deacon be permanently
removed from ministry ``for even a single act of sexual abuse of a minor -- past,
present or future.''
That recommendation is in a 25-page preliminary report expected to be released
today.
The report, including appendices, is divided into seven sections dealing with
prevention, reporting, investigation, response, ministry and service, a review
board and communications.
CATONSVILLE (MD) Priest receives probation for false carjacking report
Ex-pastor lied to cover up his night with prostitute Baltimore
Sun
By Dennis O'Brien
Sun Staff
With a group of supporters seated behind him, a Roman Catholic priest was sentenced
to one year of supervised probation yesterday after he admitted in Catonsville
District Court that he filed a false carjacking report to cover up a night spent
with a male prostitute.
The Rev. Steven P. Girard, former pastor of St. Clement I Catholic Church, also
was ordered to complete treatment at a Catholic psychiatric facility in Silver
Spring as a condition of being granted probation before judgment by Judge John
H. Garmer.
Girard's trial was attended by about 10 supporters and parishioners from the 2,000-member
Lansdowne church, where he worked for 15 years before he was forced to resign
this year.
"He's been missed terribly at the church," said Sharon Ellis, a parishioner and
a community supervisor for the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks.
BALTIMORE (MD) Man says Blackwell raped him in mid-'70s
Floridian, 42, speaks out to support Dontee Stokes Baltimore
Sun
By Allison Klein
Sun Staff
A Florida man came forward yesterday and said he was repeatedly raped as a teen-ager
by the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell at the rectory of St. Bernardine Roman Catholic
Church in West Baltimore, where, the man said, he and as many as 10 other youths
would routinely spend the night.
Warren Hart, a native Baltimorean who is now 42 years old, said he is telling
his story publicly to show support for a man he has never met, Dontee Stokes.
Stokes, an alleged victim of Blackwell, told police he shot the priest in May
because Blackwell refused to apologize for molesting him.
"I came here to help Dontee," said Hart, who spoke tearfully to the press yesterday
afternoon at the office of his lawyer, Joanne L. Suder. "When I heard what happened,
I called up Joanne and said, 'This kid is not lying. I can see why he did it.'"
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Religious orders set to adopt milder stance on sex abusers
Officials part with bishops, would not force out clergy Baltimore
Sun
By John Rivera
Sun Staff
PHILADELPHIA - While the U.S. bishops have adopted a get-tough "one-strike-and-you're-
out" policy toward clergy who sexually abuse minors, the leaders of the Roman
Catholic religious orders representing a third of the nation's priests say they
will not force offenders from their fold.
The Conference of Major Superiors of Men, which represents 20,000 priests and
brothers in about 120 religious orders, is meeting here this week behind closed
doors to decide how to carry out the policy approved by the bishops nearly two
months ago in Dallas.
Officials said yesterday that although they will keep sexual abusers away from
minors, forcing their members who have abused children to resign from their religious
orders runs counter to their mission and is not an option.
Selecting bishops The Tidings
By Father Richard P. McBrien
Most Catholics assume that only the pope can appoint a priest to the hierarchy,
or can transfer a bishop from one diocese to another, or can accept his resignation
from office. As a matter of historical fact, these are relatively late developments
- as late as the 19th century, in fact.
From the very beginning of the church's history, pastoral leaders were elected
by the laity and clergy of the various local churches, or dioceses. And this included
even the Bishop of Rome, the pope.
How did the communities decide? Did members of the local church present themselves
as candidates? Was there a kind of political campaign, after which a formal election
would take place?
We do not have precise answers because there is so little that we know about the
organizational structures of the church in those earliest years. We do know that
the faith communities were small by today's standards, and we can perhaps assume
that its members who had an evident capacity for spiritual leadership were easily
recognized.
ST. PETERSBURG (FL) Synod called off over scandal
The yearlong series of meetings was to address the church's future. Now the focus
is on the present. St.
Petersburg Times
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- A historic gathering of area Roman Catholics scheduled to begin
this fall has fallen victim to the church's sexual misconduct scandal and questions
of financial accountability.
The synod, a yearlong series of meetings during which Tampa Bay area Catholics
were to discuss important issues facing the diocese and plan for its future, has
been canceled and may not be rescheduled for another year or two.
Bishop Robert N. Lynch, head of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, made the announcement
Thursday during his daily On The Air program on the diocese radio station, WBVM-FM.
"It was a combined judgment of everyone that with the attention so strongly placed
at the moment on the sexual misconduct of priests and others that if we were going
to get beyond the issues of sex to talk about visioning and forming the church
of the future, this probably wasn't going to be the best time in order to do that,"
Lynch told his audience.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/9/2002
07:49:48 AM
NEW PORT RICHEY (FL) Ex-Episcopal priest faces sex charges
The 73-year-old is arrested after his accuser, now an adult, confronts him while
wearing a wire. St.
Petersburg Times
By ROBERT FARLEY and TAMARA LUSH
While wearing a hidden recorder earlier this week, a 38-year-old man who said
he was molested as a boy
confronted former Episcopal priest Richard Pollard.
What did you do to me, the man asked.
"He not only apologized for all the pain he'd caused, but he admits to sexually
molesting him," said Al Danna, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
On Thursday, agents arrested Pollard at his home at 4601 Floramar Ter. in New
Port Richey. The 73-year-old was charged with eight counts of capital sexual battery.
RICHMOND (VA) Another local priest stepping down over sex abuse The Virginian Pilot
By STEVE STONE, The Virginian-Pilot
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond is expected to announce today that a second
priest with ties to Hampton Roads is giving up his ministry amid allegations of
sexual improprieties.
``Another priest is going to be stepping down,'' said the Rev. Pasquale Apuzzo,
a church spokesman. ``He has been in active ministry until now, and it is an incident
of sexual abuse.''
Apuzzo said the incident dates back more than two decades.
The name of the priest and details about the allegations were not released Thursday
night. A news conference has been scheduled for noon today at diocese headquarters.
On Wednesday, the church announced that a Charlottesville priest, the Rev. Julian
Goodman, had been forced to resign. He reportedly abused a seminary student more
than two decades ago.
ST. LOUIS (MO) Pope removes abusive priest from priesthood St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
By Norm Parish
Of the Post-Dispatch
One of the first of seven St. Louis-area priests removed this year from their
church duties for sexual misconduct has been removed from the priesthood by Pope
John Paul II, St. Louis Archdiocese officials said Wednesday.
Joseph D. Ross, a former priest at St. Cronan Catholic Church in St. Louis who
once pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy during confession,
was removed by the pope at the request of the St. Louis Archdiocese, said Jim
Orso, a spokesman for the archdiocese. Orso said the archdiocese received the
news within the last 10 days.
Archdiocesan officials declined to say whether they have asked the pope to remove
other priests.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops and the archdiocese said they were unsure if Ross
is the first priest to be removed from the priesthood, or laicized, since the
nationwide sex scandal involving children and priests mushroomed in the spring.
Archbishop Justin Rigali petitioned the pope in May to start laicization proceedings
against Ross, at least two months before the U.S. Conference of Bishops' new tougher
policy on ousting priests for sexual misconduct. Under laicization, a priest is
returned to the status of layman and the diocese no longer financially supports
him.
Ross, who has served as a priest in several churches, was assigned to St. Cronan
in 1991 - three years after he pleaded guilty in the sexual abuse incident. The
archdiocese never informed parishioners of Ross' conviction.
ST. PETERSBURG (FL) Priest Who Died In 1984 Accused Of Sexually Abusing Children Tampa Tribune
MICHELLE BEARDEN mbearden@tampatrib.com.
ST. PETERSBURG - A priest who died nearly 20 years ago has been accused of sexually
abusing children while he served at Tampa Bay area churches.
Several individuals have come forward with ``credible accusations'' against the
Rev. Hubert J. Reason, who died of natural causes at age 60 on July 10, 1984,
said diocesan spokeswoman Mary Jo Murphy.
``They requested anonymity,'' Murphy said. ``What they asked for from us is assistance
for healing and reconciliation, and we're providing that.''
RICHMOND (VA) Second Virginia priest to be forced out NBC12 News
Rob Richardson, NBC12 News
RICHMOND, VA, Aug. 8 - One day after forcing a Charlottesville area priest to
resign, Bishop Walter Sullivan will do it again. A second area priest will be
forced to step down tomorrow.
Sources tell NBC12 Bishop Walter Sullivan has already met with the priest. We
can't release his name yet. Sources say there was one victim. And the alleged
abuse occurred at least 20 years ago.
Tomorrow's announcement will be the second resignation this week to rock the Catholic
Church.
his man was the first to resign. Bishop Walter Sullivan asked Father Julian Goodman
to leave after he admitted abusing James Kronzer, a former seminary student.
RICHMOND (VA) Accusers speak out on Catholic Church crisis 13WVEC.com
Reported by: Dale Gauding
Bishop Walter Sullivan is expected to announce Friday that a second priest from
the Richmond Diocese will be relieved of his duties because of sexual abuse.
Father Julian Goodman was forced to resign on Wednesday from his parish in Charlottesville.
But Thor Gormley and Bill Bryant remain disappointed that the man they claim abused
them is still in the pulpit. They say Father John Leonard sexually abused them
back in the 1970's. An investigation led the bishop to reinstate Leonard to his
Richmond-area parish.
Father John Leonard was cleared of any wrongdoing.
"My issue is we want to start moving toward healing, and until we get the truth
out, we really can't start moving in that direction," Gormley said.
Gormley has become the reluctant point man for those who claim they were abused
by Father John Leonard decades ago. Talking at his church in Virginia Beach Thursday,
he reflected on the forced resignation of Father Goodman. "The movement by the
Bishop in asking for the resignation of Goodman is a step in the right direction,
but don't lose focus. What happened with Father Leonard is unacceptable behavior."
Gormley tried to be diplomatic about it.
DALLAS (TX) Catholic Orders Police Abuse, But Slow To Defrock The
Hartford Courant
Combined Wire Services
DALLAS -- Nearly a decade ago, after allegations of sexual abuse first surfaced
at a Franciscan boarding school in California, leaders of that religious order
bowed to demands for an outside investigation. Its conclusion: One-fourth of the
priests and brothers who worked there over a 23-year period had molested students.
Such clusters of clergy offenders have appeared repeatedly at schools, seminaries,
orphanages and other Catholic institutions run by religious orders - dwarfing,
in some cases, anything seen in the country's more scrutinized dioceses.
And some of the nation's largest religious orders have let members suspected of
abuse continue to work in ministry even today.
Despite U.S. bishops' recent adoption of a one-strike-and-you're-out policy, many
of these priests and brothers may keep their collars - because their bosses, who
are meeting this week in Philadelphia, have not supported removing them from the
priesthood.
About 15,000 of the nation's 46,000 priests belong to orders - religious communities
of priests and brothers, such as the Jesuits and Benedictines, that are independent
of dioceses and whose top leaders answer to the Vatican.
BOSTON (Mass.) Priest Indicted in Sex Abuse of Teenage Boy During the 80's The
New York Times
By PAM BELLUCK
BOSTON, Aug. 8 — A Roman Catholic priest was indicted today on two counts of child
rape, accused of paying a boy to have oral sex in the rectory of a Cambridge,
Mass., church.
The priest, the Rev. Paul W. Hurley, 59, is accused of abusing the boy as often
as once a month for about 12 months in 1987 and 1988, said Martha Coakley, the
Middlesex district attorney.
Ms. Coakley said Father Hurley befriended the boy, now 29, in a South Boston church
where he was pastor. When the priest was transferred to the Church of the Blessed
Sacrament in Cambridge, he took the boy there, where he forced him to engage in
oral sex, she said.
WORCESTER (Mass.) 2 more speak out on Coonan Worcester
Telegram & Gazette
By Richard Nangle
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Two more Oxford natives have come forward with details of alleged sexual misconduct
by the Rev. Joseph A. Coonan of St. John Church in Worcester.
They said they have given statements to state police that in the 1970s the former
camp counselor and high school teacher was delving into sexual perversion under
the guise of being a covert government operative.
They say Rev. Coonan urged them to urinate or defecate in his presence.
Bishop Daniel P. Reilly last week placed Rev. Coonan on administrative leave after
being notified by the district attorney's office of reports that the priest sexually
abused more than one minor. Rev. Coonan, through his lawyer, attempted to clarify
the matter, saying the allegations stemmed from his work with heroin addicts in
the 1970s.
In recent days, three of his alleged victims have come forward, however, saying
they knew Rev. Coonan not through drug counseling but as a psychology teacher
or a camp counselor who took his anti-drug message to an extreme.
CAMBRIDGE (Mass.) Cambridge priest indicted: Defense lawyer says accuser is inmate in federal
prison Boston
Herald
by Tom Mashberg
A veteran Cambridge pastor described by former parishioners as kindly and good
with children was indicted yesterday on two counts of child rape dating to 1987-1988.
Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley painted a sordid picture of the Rev.
Paul W. Hurley, 59, of Sandwich, who was removed from Blessed Sacrament Church,
near Central Square, nine months ago and placed on administrative leave by the
Archdiocese of Boston.
Coakley said Hurley lured the alleged victim more than once to his rectory rooms
and offered him cash in exchange for oral sex.
But Hurley's attorney, James J. Coviello, said his client is ``absolutely innocent''
and eager for his day in court. Coviello said the accuser, 29, is a federal inmate
who was sent up in 1999 on armed robbery charges, and whose past includes arrests
for drug offenses.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/9/2002
06:17:16 AM
FORT PIERCE (FL) Catholic school educators learn about abuse Palm
Beach Post
By Elizabeth Clarke, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
August 8, 2002
FORT PIERCE -- Child sexual abusers probably aren't who you think they are.
They aren't strangers to their victims or oddballs in the community. They're usually
heterosexual. They're often educated husbands and fathers. They appear to love
kids.
And they aren't stupid.
Those are a few of the lessons roughly 250 Catholic school employees learned during
a mandatory sexual abuse prevention seminar Wednesday at St. Anastasia Catholic
School. About 600 Palm Beach County principals, teachers, counselors, secretaries,
aides and custodians will attend identical sessions today at St. Paul of the Cross
in North Palm Beach.
"You are one of the first lines of defense," Sister Joan Dawson, superintendent
of schools, told the group. "The safety of these children is in your hands."
PHILADELPHIA (PA) Religious orders won't oust priests
Stance on abuse from bishops' policy Boston
Globe
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff, 8/9/2002
PHILADELPHIA - The leaders of the nation's Catholic religious orders, which count
among their members one-third of all priests in the United States, said yesterday
they are unwilling to cast priests who engage in sexual abuse out of the ''family''
of the clergy, though they would bar them from ministries that involve contact
with children.
Officials of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the umbrella group for
religious orders, meeting here for its annual national conference, said they support
the spirit of a national child protection policy approved by American Catholic
bishops in June. They also stressed their deep regret at the way the clergy sex
abuse crisis has ''scarred the church and raised profound and fundamental questions
about its moral leadership.''
But they said that while they will bar guilty priests from public ministries,
they will, in accordance with the church's tradition of forgiveness and reconciliation,
seek to find administrative or other roles for the offenders within the church.
PORTLAND (ME) Public alerted to suspended priest Portland
Press Herald
By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer
A Virginia-based Roman Catholic religious order recently took the unusual step
of advertising in a northern Maine newspaper to warn readers that a member of
the order lost the right to serve as a priest eight years ago.
According to officials of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, the
Rev. Ernest Justin Hill, 80, cannot hear confessions or celebrate Mass because
he disobeyed orders from his superiors.
Hill was the subject of an allegation of sexual abuse reported to the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Portland in 1999. The conduct allegedly took place in Maine when Hill
was a temporary priest in several churches between 1979 and 1981.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/9/2002
06:08:42 AM
CAMBRIDGE (MA) Priest indicted for alleged abuse in Cambridge Boston.com
By Associated Press
08/08/02
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A Roman Catholic priest was indicted Thursday for allegedly
abusing a 15-year-old boy in the rectory of a Cambridge church in 1987 and 1988.
The Rev. Paul William Hurley, 59, of Sandwich, faces two counts of rape of a child.
He is on administrative leave and restricted from practicing any public ministry,
the Boston Archdiocese said...
Reached at his home, Hurley referred questions to his attorney, James Coviello,
who did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. But Coviello told
WHDH-TV that "we expect that the case will be tried by a jury and he will be found
not guilty and allowed to resume his pastoral duties."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/9/2002
05:43:11 AM
SAN FRANCISCO Woman says S.F. priest molested her in '70s
Woman seeks priest's removal
S.F. suit claims '70s molestation San
Francisco Chronicle
August 9, 2002
San Francisco -- A woman who says she was molested by a Roman Catholic priest
in the late 1970s has called on the Archdiocese of San Francisco to remove the
priest from his pastoral duties.
The woman filed suit against the archdiocese and the Rev. Daniel E. Carter in
San Francisco Superior Court this week, seeking unspecified damages. She said
Carter molested her in 1978 or 1979, when, as a child, she was seeing him for
spiritual guidance at Notre Dame des Victoires Parochial School in San Francisco.
The woman, a San Francisco social worker, is not identified in the lawsuit...
Carter, 51, is the pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Belmont. Through
his attorney, Joseph O'Sullivan, he flatly denied the alleged abuse.
LOUISVILLE (KY) Priest again charged with abuse The
Courier-Journal
By Deborah Yetter and Jason Riley
The Courier-Journal
The Rev. Daniel C. Clark pleaded guilty to molesting children in 1988; new charges
allege recent abuse.
A retired Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing children
in 1988 was arrested yesterday on new charges that he repeatedly sexually abused
two Bullitt County brothers, ages 11 and 12.
The Rev. Daniel C. Clark, 54, was arrested by Shepherdsville police about 11 a.m.
yesterday at the Passionist Monastery on Newburg Road in Louisville. Clark has
lived there since the late 1980s, following his conviction.
Clark is charged with two counts of oral sodomy and two counts of sexual abuse,
according to the arrest warrant. He was placed in the Bullitt County Jail under
a $2 million cash bond and is to be arraigned in Bullitt District Court this morning.
SPRINGFIELD (Mass.) Boy's Death Follows Priest
Alleged Abuse Victims Questioned About A 30-Year-Old Homicide Hartford
Courant
By ROSELYN TANTRAPHOL, Courant Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD -- Suspicion has shadowed the Rev. Richard R. Lavigne since a 13-year-old
Springfield altar boy was found bludgeoned to death on the banks of the Chicopee
River 30 years ago. Now, with seven new sexual abuse lawsuits filed against Lavigne,
his name has surfaced once again in connection with the unsolved killing.
Sandra Tessier, whose 43-year-old son, Andre Tessier, is a plaintiff in one of
the suits against Lavigne, said she recently got the visit she thought would have
come three decades ago, when her family spent a considerable amount of time with
the young priest.
"They aren't interested in the molestation at all," she said of her interview
with Massachusetts state police. "They're interested in the murder."
Danielle J. Barshak, an attorney whose firm is representing Andre Tessier and
six other plaintiffs who have all filed suit since April of this year, said that
at least half of the clients have already spoken to police concerning the death
of Daniel Croteau.
RICHMOND (VA) Abusive priest forcibly retired Richmond
Times-Dispatch
BY MARK BOWES AND ALBERTA LINDSEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS Aug 08, 2002
A Charlottesville priest was removed from the ministry after a man he sexually
abused as a teen in the 1970s demanded that the Catholic Diocese of Richmond publicly
disclose what he first reported in 1994.
The Rev. Julian Goodman, 56, pastor of Holy Comforter Church, was retired from
his priestly duties "effective immediately" after he met Tuesday with the Most
Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, bishop of the Diocese of Richmond.
The diocese said Sullivan asked the priest to retire for sexually abusing James
Kronzer, 40, who now lives in Washington. The abuse occurred over a three-year
period beginning in 1976 when Goodman was a priest and Kronzer was a student at
St. John Vianney Seminary in Goochland County.
The abuse continued for a year after the seminary closed in 1978 and Goodman was
assigned to St. Ann Church in Colonial Heights.
Sullivan's action came five months after he wrote in the March issue of the Catholic
Virginian that priests who abuse children will "never be tolerated, passed over
or excused." Sullivan did not attend yesterday's news conference on the removal,
and at- tempts to reach him last night at his home were unsuccessful.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/8/2002
06:05:47 AMCatholic Orders to Talk Sex Abuse Yahoo!
News
Aug 7
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Two months after American bishops vowed to get tough on molester
priests, another group of U.S. Roman Catholic leaders responsible for thousands
of clergy will address sex abuse, aiming to keep errant men away from children
but in the priesthood.
The Conference of Major Superiors of Men, an association of the heads of religious
orders including the Jesuits and Franciscans, will dedicate part of its annual
meeting in Philadelphia this week to the abuse crisis.
Their approach is expected to differ from that of the bishops, who agreed in June
to remove abusers from all church work — anything from teaching in parochial schools
to serving in a Catholic soup kitchen. The prelates also said they would likely
seek to oust some offenders from the priesthood.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/8/2002
06:05:39 AM
LAFAYETTE (LA) Devotion and Deceit
Over the last decade, more than 100 nuns have been accused of molesting children.
Most victims remain silent, but The Times tracked down two, and the mother of
a third, willing to talk about their journey of recovery.
By Lou Rom The
Times of Acadiana
August 7, 2002
Myra Hidalgo was 14 when her older sister Mona shot herself in the head. During
her second year in college, her 52-year-old mother died of heart problems weeks
after undergoing what was supposed to be a routine angioplasty. Little more than
a year later, her father, heartbroken, shot himself in the heart.
Within the next year, Hidalgo tried to take her own life - three times. First,
she cut her wrists and swallowed a bottle of aspirin. Six months later, she tried
to hang herself. A few months after that, she drank a bottle of pesticides labeled
"fatal if swallowed." That time, she nearly succeeded.
RICHMOND (VA) Va. priest defrocked over abuse The Virginian-Pilot
By STEVEN G. VEGH, The Virginian-Pilot
The Rev. Julian B. Goodman, a Roman Catholic priest who pastored a Norfolk parish
throughout the 1990s, has been permanently barred from the ministry for sexually
abusing a student at a boys high school in Goochland in the 1970s, the diocese
said Wednesday.
Bishop Walter F. Sullivan demanded Goodman's resignation after the victim, James
Kronzer of Washington, D.C., asked the diocese on Monday to make the case public.
Goodman has been the pastor of Holy Comforter Catholic Church in Charlottesville
since 1999.
Sullivan has known about the abuse since 1994, when Kronzer first informed the
Diocese of Richmond of the misconduct that occurred at St. John Vianney Seminary,
where he was a student from 1976 to 1978. The seminary, where Goodman directed
the music program, closed in 1978.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/8/2002
06:01:37 AM Cardinal Law's $10 million mistake Boston
Globe
Opinion By James E. Post
CARDINAL Bernard Law's decision to refuse contributions from a charitable fund
called the ''Voice of Compassion'' is an unwise and costly mistake. Although he
may not intend it, his refusal seems to pour salt into the wounds of a shocked
and embittered Catholic laity.
Judge weighs church lawsuit Boston
Globe
(By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff)
It was either a long-awaited end to years of legal wrangling for 86 alleged sexual
abuse victims of former priest John J. Geoghan or the first flicker of a deal,
snuffed out when enough money could not be found.
Closings argued in church settlement suit Boston
Herald
by Tom Mashberg
Closing arguments yesterday in the lawsuit over a disputed settlement in the John
J. Geoghan clergy abuse case boiled down to whether lawyers for the church misled
the judge herself as to whether the accord was final or preliminary.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/8/2002
06:00:52 AM Too Close for Comfort
Church panels as abuse cops The National
Law Journal
By David Hechler
The National Law Journal
08-06-2002
This was supposed to be the summer of healing for a Catholic church besieged by
a child sexual abuse crisis. And perhaps it will yet prove to be.
But only six weeks after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Dallas,
questions are already being raised about the investigative "review boards" that
the bishops promoted as a centerpiece of their solution.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/8/2002
05:57:56 AM
WORCESTER (Mass.) Coonan gets more support Worcester
Telegram & Gazette
By Richard Nangle
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER-- Two local political leaders, John R. Sharry and Brian O'Connell, have
spearheaded the effort by St. John Church parishioners to reinstate Rev. Joseph
A. Coonan, who was placed on administrative leave last week by Bishop Daniel P.
Reilly because of allegations of sexual misconduct.
Meanwhile, Todd Hammond of Oxford, one of Rev. Coonan's alleged victims, spoke
out yesterday, saying that while he was a student at Oxford High School in the
1970s, Rev. Coonan, then a teacher there, grabbed the youth's genitals during
a ride through Worcester in search of prostitutes.
Mr. Hammond, a landscaper, said he and four others were interviewed by state police
investigating Rev. Coonan several months ago. Mr. Hammond said he and the other
alleged victims are not after money, but simply want Rev. Coonan to acknowledge
being a sexual abuser.
DALLAS (TX) Orders have let abusers remain
But leader predicts ban on public ministry for offenders The
Dallas Morning News
By REESE DUNKLIN and BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
Nearly a decade ago, after sexual-abuse allegations first surfaced at a Franciscan
boarding school in California, leaders of that religious order bowed to demands
for an outside investigation. Its conclusion: One-fourth of the priests and brothers
who worked there over a 23-year period had molested students.
Such clusters of clergy offenders have appeared repeatedly at schools, seminaries,
orphanages and other Catholic institutions run by religious orders – dwarfing,
in some cases, anything seen in the country's more scrutinized dioceses.
And some of the nation's largest religious orders have let members suspected of
abuse continue to work in ministry even today.
Despite U.S. bishops' recent adoption of a one-strike-and-you're-out policy, many
of these priests and brothers may keep their collars – because their bosses, who
are meeting this week in Philadelphia, have not supported removing them from the
priesthood.
ST. PETERSBURG (FL) Lawsuit against diocese temporarily dismissed St. Petersburg TImes
A Pinellas lawsuit filed in April against the Vatican and a former brother at
a Hillsborough school has been temporarily dismissed to allow a party to the suit
time to hire an attorney. The suit was voluntarily dismissed by the plainiff,
Rick Gomez, last week to allow a defendant, Brother William Burke, time to hire
an attorney for an upcoming motion to dismiss by defendants, said lawyer Tom McGowan,
who represents Gomez.
Gomez accuses Burke of molesting him when he was a student at Mary Help of Christians
School in Hillsborough County in 1987, when he was 14.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/8/2002
03:39:09 AM
INDIANAPOLIS (IN) Catholics shaken by clergy scandal confer on reform group Indianapolis Star
By Judith Cebula
Catholics representing 25 central Indiana parishes gathered at a Northside church
Wednesday to learn more about Voice of the Faithful, a reform movement.
About 130 people met at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church to discuss whether
the Boston-based group could be viable here. Concerned about the clergy sexual
abuse scandal, they wanted to know more about the group's pledge to change church
structures to give lay people a greater voice.
Most participants, including Mary Ann Lally Hebel of St. Simon the Apostle Church
in Lawrence Township, were supportive. "I want to hold our bishops and archbishops
accountable for the promises they made in Dallas," she said of the policy against
abuse that bishops adopted in June.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/8/2002
03:28:51 AM
BOSTON (MA) Closings argued in church settlement suit Boston
Herald
by Tom Mashberg
Closing arguments yesterday in the lawsuit over a disputed settlement in the John
J. Geoghan clergy abuse case boiled down to whether lawyers for the church misled
the judge herself as to whether the accord was final or preliminary.
``There was no intent to mislead the court'' on April 12, church lawyers said.
They were referring to a court date at which archdiocesan attorney Wilson D. Rogers
III told Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney that his co-counsel
and father, Wilson D. Rogers Jr., was ``traveling'' to collect the needed signatures
for the $20 million-plus deal. Rogers said he was, in fact, on personal business.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/8/2002
03:15:04 AM
WINDHAM (NH) N.H. priest calls for Cardinal Law's resignation Boston Globe
By Associated Press
A priest member of a panel reviewing sexual misconduct charges against New Hampshire's
Roman Catholic clergy says Cardinal Bernard Law should step down.
"At this point he cannot restore people's trust in him," said Monsignor Donald
Gilbert, pastor of St. Matthew Church.
Gilbert, a priest for 34 years, Tuesday also told The Eagle-Tribune accused Massachusetts
pedophile priests John Geoghan and Paul Shanley are "very blatant criminals,"
who should have been relieved of their pastoral duties.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/8/2002
03:09:22 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. 'Repressed memory' opponent joins bishops panel The Washington
Times
By Larry Witham
The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church has raised the specter of
a new round of emotional debates on repressed memories, which some people claimed
to have "recovered" when making abuse charges.
One of the members of the U.S. bishops panel to police the abuse problem is a
well-known critic of therapists who claim to have evoked recovered memories, suggesting
the bishops are preparing for this debate.
posted by Jayson Landeza on 8/8/2002
03:01:35 AM
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
BOSTON (Mass.) Judge considers deal between church, abuse victims Boston.com
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press
BOSTON -- When the Archdiocese of Boston announced a deal had been reached with
alleged sexual abuse victims of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan, Cardinal Bernard
Law called the agreement "an important step in reaching closure" for the victims.
But just below that quote, in the same news release, were words of caution noting
that the settlement was an "agreement-in-principle" and would not become final
until it was signed by the 86 alleged victims and 16 church officials named as
defendants.
Now a judge must decide whether the agreement -- worth up to $30 million to the
alleged victims -- was a binding contract.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney heard closing arguments Wednesday
on the fifth day of a hearing on a motion by the victims to enforce the deal.
RICHMOND (VA) Former Norfolk priest forced to quit over sex abuse The Virginian-Pilot
Associated Press
RICHMOND -- A Charlottesville priest once assigned to a Norfolk parish was forced
to resign for sexually abusing a seminary student more than two decades ago, the
Catholic Diocese of Richmond said today.
Bishop Walter Sullivan requested and received the resignation of the Rev. Julian
Goodman during a meeting Tuesday, the diocese said in a news release. Goodman
was pastor of Holy Comforter Parish.
The diocese said Goodman sexually abused James Kronzer of Washington, D.C., in
1976-1979 when Kronzer was a freshman and sophomore at St. John Vianney Seminary
in Goochland and subsequently at St. Anne Parish in Colonial Heights, where the
priest served as pastor.
Kronzer did not report the abuse until 1994, when Goodman was pastor at Blessed
Sacrament Parish in Norfolk. Goodman was placed on administrative leave and was
required to undergo therapy.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
06:46:37 PM
DETROIT (MI) Detroit bishop leads call for action
8 clergymen sign letter on priest abuse issue Detroit Free
Press
BY PATRICIA MONTEMURRI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A Detroit Catholic bishop who runs Sacred Heart Major Seminary is one of eight
U.S. bishops behind a call for an extraordinary, nationwide church council to
combat the clergy sex abuse scandal by reaffirming traditional teachings.
Auxiliary Bishop Allen Vigneron, who is rector of the Archdiocese of Detroit's
training college for priests, co-signed a letter that is circulating privately
among the nation's 190-plus bishops.
The eight bishops want their colleagues to meet with priests and lay people in
a so-called plenary council, the last of which occurred in this country in 1884
and gave rise to the Catholic school system.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
06:48:21 AM
CHICAGO (IL) Order-led priests will set abuse policy of their own Chicago
Tribune
By David Heinzmann
Tribune staff reporter
Two months after the U.S. Catholic bishops adopted reforms to address the church's
sex abuse scandal, the leaders of myriad Catholic orders not governed by the bishops
gather this week to tackle the same issues.
Largely lost in the tumult of the June meeting in Dallas was the fact that one-third
of the priests in America would not be directly affected by the reforms.
Now, in a meeting drawing much less attention, the leaders of orders such as the
Franciscans, Jesuits and Dominicans will set about creating their own national
review board and establishing a system for investigating allegations of sexual
abuse.
Roughly 15,000 American priests and brothers belong to orders, which are governed
independently by priests elected to the posts of major superior and provincial.
The orders do not answer directly to bishops.
Critics of the Catholic Church's handling of sexually abusive priests say that
despite the bishops' agreement in Dallas, religious order priests guilty of sexual
abuse may slip under the radar of the zero-tolerance policy and continue on in
the priesthood.
HONOLULU (HI) Bishop cites sex abuse in removal of Maui priest The
Honolulu Advertiser
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
Honolulu Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has permanently removed a Maui priest who
is accused of sexually abusing one or more minors.
The Rev. Joseph Bukoski III has denied charges of sex abuse.
The action means the Rev. Joseph Bukoski III will not be allowed to act as a priest
in the Honolulu Diocese again, said diocese spokesman Patrick Downes. Downes said
the bishop sent Bukoski a letter dated Aug. 1 informing him of his decision, citing
canon law that gives the bishop the authority to make such a move in the best
interest of the church.
"This is not a frivolous decision (on) his part," Downes said. "He is acting because
of the welfare of the church and the Catholic faith. It's a principled decision,
a difficult one. There is no place in the church for a priest who sexually abuses
minors."
PORTSMOUTH (NH) Researchers say what’s known and unknown about abusive priests Foster's
Democrat
By J.M. HIRSCH
Associated Press Writer
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Roman Catholic priests who molest children have an average
of more than eight victims and often are repeating a cycle that began with their
own abuse, academic researchers said Tuesday.
The clergy abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church was the focus of discussion
Tuesday as part of a four-day conference on the victimization of children sponsored
by the University of New Hampshire.
Researchers presented studies on what is known — and more often unknown — about
priests who abuse children and the church culture that for years ignored or covered
up warning signs about abusive clergymen.
Some researchers, such as Thomas Plante, chairman of the psychology department
at Santa Clara University, also attempted to explain the church’s reaction to
the scandal.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
06:15:58 AM
CHARLOTTE (NC) Priest charged with sex abuse Charlotte
Observer
Aug. 6, 2002
KEN GARFIELD AND JAIME LEVY
Staff Writers
A grand jury Monday indicted priest Richard Farwell, who formerly pastored churches
in Salisbury and Lincolnton, on a felony charge that he took indecent liberties
with a Rowan County boy in the mid-1980s.
Farwell is the first N.C. priest to be indicted on a sex-related charge since
an abuse crisis began rocking the Roman Catholic Church earlier this year.
Neither Farwell nor his lawyer could be reached for comment Monday.
HAVERHILL (Mass.) Another St. Monica priest target of suit The Eagle-Tribune
By Jason Tait and Ethan Forman
Staff Writers
A 45-year-old Haverhill man has filed a civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Boston, saying he was molested as a teenager by the Rev. Richard
O. Matte, who was then a priest at St. Monica's Church in Methuen.
Alfred J. Kolifrath, of 84 Woodrow Ave., filed the suit in Lawrence Superior Court
on Friday, requesting $500,000 in damages for severe emotional trauma and negligence
by the archdiocese.
The suit claims Matte sexually assaulted Kolifrath several times in the priest's
car after driving to secluded locations in the early 1970s, and also during a
trip to Montreal in 1973. It said the church knew or should have known that Matte
had a history of molesting boys.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
06:08:17 AM
BOSTON Money and morality intersect, and outrage becomes palpable Baltimore
Sun
Column by Michael Olesker
Aug 6, 2002
BOSTON -- WHEN Cardinal Bernard Law finally testified in open court, he said this
sex abuse problem was all a misunderstanding. The cardinal was talking about money.
His accusers want to talk about morality. At the junction where money and morality
intersect, this city's sense of shame and outrage is palpable.
BOSTON (Mass.) Testimony turns to public statements Boston
Globe
By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff
The two people who became the public faces of the Archdiocese of Boston during
the priest abuse scandal that has engulfed Cardinal Bernard F. Law were questioned
yesterday about the words they used to describe the $15 million to $30 million
settlement agreement with the alleged victims of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan
in the days after it was announced.
Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, a frequent spokesman for Law, was questioned about
an April article in the Globe reporting that at least three members of Law's finance
council were expected to urge Law to abandon the settlement agreement. The article
quoted Coyne as saying that Law still intended to sign the agreement.
''And that was your understanding?'' asked William H. Gordon, a lawyer for the
alleged victims.
''Yes, it was,'' Coyne said.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
06:01:04 AM
SAN JOSE (CA) San Jose diocese sued over alleged molestation in '70s San Jose
Mercury News
By Maya Suryaraman
Mercury News
Two men who say they were molested in the 1970s by a former pastor at St. Martin
of Tours Church in San Jose sued local Roman Catholic Church officials Tuesday
for failing to stop the alleged abuse.
The lawsuit, which does not ask for a specific amount in damages, is believed
to be the first filed against the San Jose diocese alleging that a priest molested
a child.
In the suit, the two men, who are not identified, allege that local Catholic officials
knew that the Rev. Joseph T. Pritchard was abusing boys who attended St. Martin's
church school.
BOSTON (Mass.) Cardinal's deposition transcripts to be released Boston.com
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press
BOSTON -- The long-awaited transcripts of Cardinal Bernard Law's first two days
of testimony in sexual abuse lawsuits against retired priest Paul Shanley will
be released publicly next week, under a ruling issued Tuesday.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney said transcripts of Law's testimony
during a deposition on June 5 and June 7 must be filed with the court on August
13, the same day Law's deposition about Shanley is scheduled to continue.
Sweeney granted the archdiocese's request to postpone the continuation of the
deposition, which had been scheduled to go forward Wednesday.
Attorney Jeffrey Newman, who represents the alleged Shanley victims, said it could
take at least several days to finish Law's deposition.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
05:55:16 AM
VATICAN Pope urges Knights of Columbus to support scandal-rocked U.S. Church San
Francisco Chronicle
August 6, 2002
Pope John Paul II thanked the largest Catholic lay organization in the United
States on Tuesday for its support for the American Church during a "time of painful
purification and great suffering."
The pontiff, while not directly referring to the sexual abuse scandal that has
shaken the Catholic Church in the United States, said: "I take this opportunity
to echo the gratitude expressed by so many bishops and priests for the spiritual
and personal support given to them."
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/7/2002
05:54:29 AM
PORTLAND (ME) How many priests?
Prosecutor won't explain inaccuracy of '18 dead priests' Press
Herald Staff Reporter
A prosecutor refused to resolve a dispute Monday over the number of now dead Roman
Catholic priests who have been accused of sex crimes against children.
Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin would not clarify a statement she made
in a recent court filing, calling the statistic of 18 dead priests accused of
abuse to be inaccurate.
Robbin would not say Monday if the real number was higher, lower or significantly
different from 18, the figure that had been unchallenged since it was released
to the public in May by Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson.
The dispute is relevant to a court fight between the Attorney General's office
and the Blethen Maine Newspapers over the release of the names. The newspaper
has argued that the identities of the dead priests should be revealed under the
state's Freedom of Access Law since they can no longer be part of an active criminal
investigation.
posted by Kathy Shaw on 8/7/2002
05:51:41 AM
AMARILLO (TX) 3 Amarillo Diocese priests resign Amarillo Globe-News
By DON MUNSCH
dmunsch@amarillonet.com
Three more priests in the Diocese of Amarillo have resigned.
The Rev. Ed Graff, 73, who served in churches in Silverton, Turkey and Quitaque;
the Rev. James Hutzler, 58, affiliated with churches in Panhandle and White Deer,
resigned July 19. The Rev. Darryl Birkenfeld, 41, formerly with churches in Stratford
and Cactus, resigned June 30 and has requested to leave the ministry completely.
Cathy Lexa, director of communications for the diocese, said Graff worked for
the diocese since 1992. Hutzler had worked for the diocese since 1980. Birkenfeld
had worked for the diocese since 1988.
Deacon Floyd Ashley of the Diocese of Amarillo said Graff said in his resignation
that he was resigning because of his age. The Globe-News was unable to reach Graff,
and Ashley said he's not sure where Graff is living.
Ashley said he is not sure why Hutzler resigned.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/7/2002
05:45:55 AM
AMARILLO (TX) 2 more Amarillo priests resign
Diocese has lost 5 pastors since new sex-abuse policy OK'd Dallas
Morning News
08/06/2002
By HOLLY BECKA and STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
Two more parish priests in the Diocese of Amarillo have quietly resigned because
of the U.S. Catholic bishops' new sex-abuse policy, diocese officials confirmed
Monday.
The Rev. Jim Hutzler, 58, pastor at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Panhandle,
and the Rev. Ed Graff, 73, most recently pastor of churches in Silverton, Turkey
and Quitaque, resigned about two weeks ago.
posted by Bill Mitchell on 8/7/2002
05:37:03 AM Religious orders may keep abusive priests
Group to discuss plan for restricted roles; bishops back proposal Dallas
Morning News
08/06/2002
By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH / The Dallas Morning News
Clergy from religious orders, who make up one-third of the nation's priests, can
continue working in restricted roles in their communities even if they've sexually
abused minors, under a proposal backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The proposal to be discussed this week in Philadelphia by the Conference of Major
Superiors of Men means that predator priests affiliated with religious communities
are treated less severely than priests under the jurisdiction of bishops and dioceses.
BOSTON Law & disorder in Boston
Catholics in Boston, angry over scandal, say cardinal should go Dallas
Morning News
08/02/2002
By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH / The Dallas Morning News
BOSTON -- Outside the cathedral, protesters lined the sidewalk, carrying signs
bearing their feelings. Cardinal Law must go!
One of them, a Baby Boomer, gripped a bullhorn. He shouted messages that disturbed
the other demonstrators as much as those rushing to Cardinal Bernard Law's Sunday
Mass.
Priests will screw your children!
Your children are safer outside with us!
Mike Gagas surveyed the spectacle from the cathedral steps. He looked inside the
church, then back to the demonstrators as if he'd come to a crossroads.
"My emotions are all across the board," said the 49-year-old Catholic from Norfolk,
Mass. "I want the cardinal to clean up the mess, but I also want a fresh start."
MIAMI Is church property at risk in abuse suits? Miami
Herald
Aug. 04, 2002
BY LISA ARTHUR
larthur@herald.com
The 13 sexual abuse lawsuits pending against the Archdiocese of Miami is a small
number compared to elsewhere in the country. But over the years, even single multimillion
dollar jury awards have driven some dioceses to sell off property and take out
loans to pay victims.
The cases against the Archdiocese of Miami still have formidable legal hurdles
to clear. Church lawyers have been aggressively trying to get a number of the
suits tossed out of court because the allegations are decades old and the time
limit for suing has long elapsed.
One such case was dismissed last month.
But if any of the 13 remaining cases survive legal challenges and a plaintiff
were to prevail, the archdiocese could potentially face hefty fees and settlement
payouts.
MIAMI Sculpting souls: A Kendall priest builds a powerful community of faith through
his activism and his art Miami
Herald
Aug. 03, 2002
BY DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE
dgehrke@herald.com
One of sculptor David Russell's creations sprouts one wing, not the usual two.
Another, a life-size Venus de Milo look-alike, has paint splashed on her sensuous
marble body. Then there's the angel twisted like a pretzel.
All a tad off-center, but joyful and fun.
Just like Russell's real job, the one for which he dons his vestments and preaches
the gospel to 4,000 every weekend at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Kendall.
''Good religion -- like good art -- should be addictive,'' declares the Rev. Russell,
pastor of the suburban church.
While many other Catholic pastors have been embarrassed over the national pedophile
priest scandal, Russell, 64, with 20 years at St. John Neumann, has charged ahead
with his social activism and artwork to build a thriving community there.
COLUMBUS (OH) Bishop picks five to review abuse cases THE
COLUMBUS DISPATCH
August 6, 2002
By Dennis M. Mahoney
Two non-Catholics are among the five people named to review sex-abuse allegations
against priests in the Columbus Diocese, with three cases pending.
Yvette McGee Brown, a former judge in Franklin County Domestic Relations and Juvenile
Court, and Leslie Bostic, retired head of the Buckeye Ranch treatment center for
delinquent boys and girls, will be joined on the board by:
Marilyn Dono, principal of Our Lady of Bethlehem School on the North Side. It
offers preschool through third-grade classes and child care.
Dr. Marian Schuda, vice president of medical affairs at Riverside Methodist Hospitals.
Monsignor David Sorohan, pastor of St. Catharine Catholic Church in Bexley.
VATICAN 7 women 'priests' put under ban Boston
Globe
(By Associated Press)
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has excommunicated seven women who claim to be priests
and refuse to repent, saying yesterday that the group had ''wounded'' the Roman
Catholic Church.
