RENO (NV)
KRNV
July 31, 2005, 09:58 PM
Former Bishop Phillip Straling of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno has been named as a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits in Southern California against priests accused of molesting children.
According to a published report in News 4's news partner the Reno Gazette-Journal, the suits allege Straling should have known that some priests were having sex with children in his former Diocese of San Bernardino but did nothing to stop them. Straling was bishop in San Bernardino from 1978 to 1995 when he moved to Reno.
Straling, who retired in June at age 72, is not accused of sexual abuse himself. Straling declined comment and referred all questions to the San Bernardino diocese.
TOLEDO (OH)
Wired News
Sunday, July 31, 2005 8:12 p.m. ET
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Police helped the Catholic Diocese of Toledo cover up sex abuse allegations for several decades, refusing to investigate or arrest priests suspected of molesting children, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The (Toledo) Blade, relying on interviews with former officers and a review of court and diocese records, found at least five instances since the 1950s of police covering up allegations of abuse.
Four former officers said Police Chief Anthony Bosch, a Catholic who headed the Toledo department from 1956 to 1970, established an unwritten rule that priests could not be arrested.
"You would have been fired," said Gene Fodor, who served on the force between 1960 and 1981.
In some cases that resulted in charges, authorities blocked the release of files to the public. In others, priests were transferred to different churches or sent away for treatment.
HAWAII
The Maui News
By VALERIE MONSON, Staff Writer
WAIHEE – Their voices were rich in song and smiles were bright as the faithful of St. Ann Church gathered Saturday night to commemorate the feast day of their patron saint with the blessing of a new statue.
But it was hard not to hear their hearts breaking as their faith was being tested like never before.
On the other side of town, the man they still call their shepherd – Deacon Ron Gonsalves – was being held in jail on 62 counts of sexual assault against a boy.
“Dear God, all of us at St. Ann are suffering,” parishioner Cathy Riley sang to the heavens during the service when prayers were offered for various intentions. “Bless us, God, bless Deacon Ron and his family, bless the child and his family.”
If the outpouring of aloha at the Feast Day Mass celebration was any indication, Gonsalves’ flock remains as devoted to him as ever, standing firm in his defense. Some of the women who regularly bake bread with him were even talking about showing their support by going to the courtroom for his bail hearing Monday to boost his morale.
“We all love him,” said Agnes Cockett. “He’s such a bighearted, generous person. He has been so good to us, not just to our parish, but to the entire community.”
SPOKANE (WA)
Spokesman-Review
Bill Morlin
Staff writer
July 31, 2005
Three decades ago, while Spokane reveled in its changing skyline and the limelight of hosting a World's Fair, the city frequently was described as a great place to raise a family.
But beneath the surface lurked a dark secret – actually several of them.
Young boys – some from troubled backgrounds and others from prominent families – were being sexually abused by a group of men who were supposed to be role models and authority figures. Growing evidence suggests that people who knew about the abuse did nothing to stop it or report it.
Two attorneys who represent several alleged victims from the era believe there was a pedophile ring operating in Spokane.
Others blame a culture of secrecy, denial and ignorance for allowing revered, male-dominated institutions like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office to ignore abusers in their midst.
"The people and institutions who helped keep these secrets are almost as guilty as the perpetrators," said Seattle attorney Tim Kosnoff, who represents two of at least four men who allege they were passed around among abusers.
"There was definitely a sex ring operating in Spokane, preying on young boys," Kosnoff said, using the FBI's definition of two or more individuals sharing information and victims to make his point.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
LOS ANGELES -- Family members of clergy-molestation victims who committed suicide, along with abuse survivors, will carry a 6-foot casket covered with pictures from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday from the Los Angeles Criminal Courts building to the Los Angeles cathedral.
About 100 people, most members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a confidential support group, are expected.
A memorial service and candlelight vigil are planned.
The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. outside the courthouse, 210 W. Temple St., and at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral, 555 W. Temple St.
Speakers include a woman whose son took his own life, even though the pedophile priest who assaulted him was sent to prison.
CALIFORNIA
Fresno Bee
By DOUG HOAGLAND
THE FRESNO BEE
Last Updated: July 31, 2005, 04:35:35 AM PDT
Barbara Levey said she was glad to hear that a former Merced priest who faced allegations that he used a dating Web site would soon be working with prisons and living in residence at a Fresno church.
"I hope it works out for him," the Merced resident said Saturday. "Hopefully, people will now let go of this and move on."
Jean-Michael Lastiri, who was ousted from St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Merced a year ago, will be director of detention ministry in the eight-county Diocese of Fresno, said Pat Gordon, director of human resources for the diocese.
Gordon declined further comment Friday except to say that Lastiri will be "in residence" at the Shrine of St. Therese, a Catholic church in Fresno's Tower District near downtown. He will live at a rectory on church property, said Monsignor E. James Petersen, pastor at St. Therese.
A priest who is "in residence" at a parish is not assigned there, but sometimes helps celebrate Mass and hears confessions on weekends while working outside the parish during the week.
KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader
By Frank E. Lockwood
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
When three former clients accused him of misconduct and the state ordered him to stop offering marriage and family therapy, the Rev. Robert G. Humphreys didn't get out of the business -- he merely changed his title.
By dropping the word "licensed," and by branding himself a "pastoral counselor," the Southern Baptist preacher found a loophole that he says allows him to stay in business. That dismays clients who say Humphreys made inappropriate sexual comments and revealed their secrets without proper authorization.
While it requires most counselors and therapists to be licensed, Kentucky -- like most states -- does not require pastoral counselors to be licensed.
"It's a technicality," said Humphreys, 69, interim pastor of Lexington's First Baptist Church in the 1980s and a 1962 graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "When you're dealing with the law, I'm not sure that you're dealing with common sense."
Mary Baker, one of Humphreys' accusers, says the state marriage and family therapy licensure board should stop him.
HAWAII
Maui News
WAILUKU – A Maui Catholic deacon charged with sexually abusing a boy had his bail hearing delayed after 2nd Circuit Judge Joel August recused himself Friday from handling further proceedings in the case.
Ron Gonsalves, who was placed on leave last month from his position as administrator of St. Ann Church parish in Waihee, was being held in lieu of $790,000 bail.
The 68-year-old Wailuku resident is charged with 62 counts alleging he sexually abused the boy during a three-year period beginning when the boy was 12 and ending last month. Police said the sexual assaults allegedly occurred at Gonsalves’ home and at the church.
The charges include 32 counts of first-degree sexual assault, alleging sexual penetration, and 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault, alleging sexual contact. A Sept. 26 trial date has been set.
Gonsalves, who was being held at the Maui Community Correctional Center, is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing Monday morning before 2nd Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto.
In court Friday, August said he was recusing himself because of information he had learned but did not give details.
NEVADA
Reno Gazette-Journal
Martha Bellisle RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 7/30/2005 10:15 pm
In response to allegations of sexual abuse by priests, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 created the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The Dallas charter established guidelines and commitments for accountability, healing and helping to prevent additional abuse, according to the organization’s statement. Bishops revised the charter during their annual meeting last month in Chicago.
“The sexual abuse of children and young people by some deacons, priests, and bishops, and the ways in which these crimes and sins were addressed, have caused enormous pain, anger and confusion,” said Monsignor William Fay, general secretary for the USCCB.
“As bishops, we have acknowledged our mistakes and our roles in that suffering and we
NEVADA
Reno Gazette-Journal
Martha Bellisle RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 7/30/2005 10:50 pm
Modified: 7/30/2005 10:59 pm
Reno Catholic leader Bishop Phillip Straling, who retired unexpectedly last month, is a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits in Southern California filed against priests accused of molesting children. In some cases, he is accused of negligence for failing to stop the abuse.
And prosecutors last week seized records from Straling’s former diocese in San Bernardino looking for information on the religious leader’s former aide, Jesus Dominguez, who recently disappeared after being charged with 58 counts of sexual assault.
The lawsuits and lawyers say Straling, while a priest in San Diego and bishop of San Bernardino, might have known that the accused priests were having sex with children but did nothing to stop them. Many believe he played a part in shuffling abusive priests to new parishes where they had access to and sometimes continued to molest children.
After moving to Reno in 1995, Straling transferred at least one accused priest, Robert
UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Caryle Murphy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 31, 2005; Page C01
One spring day last year, Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler and a dozen priests knelt before more than 100 people in a Maryland church. In an act of public atonement to victims of clerical sexual abuse, they recited the confiteor, the traditional Catholic confession of sin. For some in the audience, it was a long-awaited catharsis.
"You have no idea of the healing that came out of that for me," said Edwina Stewart of Frederick, who was sexually abused by a priest 40 years ago. She recalled breaking into tears during Keeler's prayer.
David Fortwengler never has had such a moment. The North Carolina contractor, abused in the late 1960s as an altar boy at Oxon Hill's St. Columba Catholic Church, appreciates that the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is paying for his counseling and that an auxiliary bishop personally apologized to him. But all this has not quite closed his wound.
"It's not a matter of sitting down with a bishop for five minutes and him apologizing and [me] being able to move on -- it's more than that," Fortwengler, 48, said.
JOLIET (IL)
Chicago Daily Herald
By James Fuller
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Saturday, July 30, 2005
The Diocese of Joliet is urging a DuPage County judge to seal the personnel file of a former Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse, setting up a legal battle to force church officials to name both victims and other priests with similar charges.
A Glen Ellyn man in his late 40s identified only as “John Doe” is embroiled in a civil lawsuit against Edward Stefanich. Doe accuses the defrocked priest of repeatedly sexually abusing him between 1969 and 1970. Doe was a 12-year-old student at Christ the King Elementary School in Lombard at the time. Stefanich, now in his late 60s, served six months in jail on a separate aggravated criminal sexual assault charge in 1987, committed while he was a priest.
Doe’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, said the diocese has been bulletproof until his client’s case He said church officials shook off at least half a dozen similar accusations in the last decade because the alleged abuse traced back beyond the statute of limitations for such charges.
“The Diocese of Joliet has yet to be held legally accountable, and this is the first case where any survivor may get a chance to make his sordid story known,” Anderson said. “The bishop and his officials have hid behind statute. Now the wall of deception and deceit has begun to crack.”
NEVADA
Reno Gazette-Journal
Martha Bellisle RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 7/30/2005 10:19 pm
Reno Bishop Phillip Straling lived and worked most of his life among many of the Southern California Catholic priests who are accused in lawsuits as child molesters or are convicted pedophiles. Some of these priests held leadership positions in Straling’s diocese and later ended up in prison for their abuse.
Straling, who retired last month, has declined comment on his relationship with the accused priests and has referred questions to the San Bernardino diocese. Lawsuits also were filed against priests from the San Diego diocese, where Straling served as a priest from 1959 until 1978.
NEVADA
Reno Gazette-Journal
Martha Bellisle RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 7/30/2005 10:17 pm
Prosecutors in Southern California have charged Reno Bishop Phillip Straling’s former aide with 58 counts of child molestation concerning abuse that occurred while Jesus Dominguez was a priest in the San Bernardino, Calif., diocese.
Dominguez, 56, Straling’s assistant during special Masses, is accused of sexually assaulting two boys, ages 16 and 17, in two different parishes in 1988 and 1989, said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Morgan Gire.
He faces 11 counts of engaging in oral copulation with a minor and two counts of sodomy with a minor for the first victim, said Gire. He’s charged with 19 counts of oral copulation with a minor, 13 counts of unlawful sexual penetration and 13 counts of sodomy with a minor with the second victim, the prosecutor said.
Dominguez has disappeared from his Los Angeles residence and is believed to have fled to Mexico, Gire said. If found and convicted, he faces a maximum of more than 44 years in prison, Gire said.
When asked about Dominguez and other accused priests, Straling declined to comment and referred all questions to officials in San Bernardino, where
VERMONT
Times Argus
July 31, 2005
By KEVIN O'CONNOR Staff Writer
The statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington faces at least 10 priest misconduct lawsuits seeking liens on church property that could total up to $30 million.
Jerome O'Neill, chairman of the Burlington Police Commission and a former federal prosecutor, compelled the diocese to settle one case last year for a $150,000 cash payment – the largest such agreement in state history – and another for $120,000.
Now O'Neill has filed civil lawsuits in Burlington's Chittenden Superior Court on behalf of 10 more clients charging four former Vermont priests with child sexual abuse. The lawyer's past cases didn't request specific dollar amounts in damages. But this time, at least three lawsuits are seeking liens on church property – one for $4.5 million, two others for $2.5 million each.
"We expect to seek attachments in the $2.5 million range in all of the cases we have filed, for a total of around $30 million," O'Neill says.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By JOE MAHR
and MITCH WEISS
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
For Sgt. John Connors, it was an urgent request from one of Toledo's most powerful priests.
The veteran police detective was summoned by the Rev. John "Archie" Thomas to Central Catholic High School before classes to talk about a deep secret brewing behind the walls of the diocese headquarters.
Church leaders feared a popular priest known for helping wayward youths - the Rev. Dennis Gray - was raping and molesting boys at the cleric's cottage, and Father Thomas, superintendent of diocesan schools, wanted the officer's advice on what to do.
"He said, 'We've got a problem,' " Mr. Connors recalled of the meeting nearly two decades ago.
The officer said he told the priest to keep Father Gray away from kids, and that was it.
Case closed.
The longtime detective did not file a police report, nor did he initiate an investigation into the man later accused of abusing more than a dozen boys.
MAINE
Portland Press Herald
By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer
In the summer of 1963, Francis McGillicuddy, a young priest and director of a church-run girls camp on Poland's Worthley Pond, noticed something odd about one of the camp's guests, the Monsignor Henry Boltz.
Boltz, a leading figure in Maine's Roman Catholic Church, had befriended a teenage boy from the camp staff. This boy, McGillicuddy observed, accompanied the elderly prelate on shopping trips and to the movies and made long visits inside Boltz's private cabin on the grounds of Camp Pesquasawasis.
McGillicuddy felt something was wrong. He couldn't say what it was, but he wanted to stop it.
"I called the staff together and said the monsignor's cabin was out of bounds," he recalled. "No one was to go down there for any reason."
Within days, Boltz left. For years, McGillicuddy never really knew why.
JOLIET (IL)
Daily Southtown
Sunday, July 31, 2005
By Ted Slowik
Special to the Daily Southtown
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet is again asking a court to bar the release of documents that could shed light on how church officials responded to allegations of clergy sexual abuse.
The diocese is asking a DuPage County judge to issue a protective order that would shield the personnel file of former priest and convicted sex offender Ed Stefanich from public view.
Judge Stephen Culliton is expected to rule on the request Aug. 8.
The diocese is arguing that failure to obtain a protective order would dissuade other victims of clergy sexual abuse from coming forward, and that the privacy of others would be violated.
"The absence of a protective order could have (a) chilling effect and discourage parishioners from logging complaints or writing to the bishop regarding a variety of sensitive issues," diocese attorney James Byrne wrote in a motion.
UNITED STATES
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jim Remsen
Inquirer Faith Life Editor
At a time of heightened national concern about the need to track sex offenders, the Catholic Church in America has begun cutting loose dozens - perhaps hundreds - of priests who have molested children.
The church had already suspended the clerics after finding the child-abuse allegations against them to be credible. Now, as it defrocks them, expelling them from the priesthood, the men are quietly reentering civilian life with only the barest notice to the public, and no ongoing oversight by the church.
Nor is law enforcement certain to be watching them.
In most instances, the statute of limitations in their cases expired years ago. This means they face no prospect of prosecution for past sex offenses.
"As a citizen, I would be concerned and would want to know if such an individual was living on my block," said Capt. John Darby, head of the Philadelphia police Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.
MADISON (WI)
Duluth News Tribune
RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - A Catholic priest's defamation lawsuit against a man who claims the priest abused him as a boy heads to trial in Janesville on Monday.
The case will pit supporters of the priest, the Rev. Gerald Vosen, against advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse who say the lawsuit is retaliation against a victim.
While hundreds of people have sued priests during the Catholic church's sexual abuse crisis over the past few years, observers say it's unusual for a priest to sue - especially when a church investigation has called the allegation in question credible.
Vosen, on administrative leave from his job as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo, and his supporters have disputed the abuse allegation and say they look forward to proving it false in court. The lawsuit names the man and his parents and claims their allegation ruined his reputation.
FRESNO (CA)
KESQ
FRESNO, Calif. A Catholic priest who was removed from a Merced church after he reportedly used a gay dating Web site has been assigned to work with prisons.
Church officials say the Reverend Jean-Michael Lastiri will be director of detention ministry in the eight-county Diocese of Fresno.
Bishop John Steinbock removed Lastiri from the Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in Merced last year and said he was sending him to a treatment center in Maryland because of indications Lastiri had used a totally inappropriate Web page and chat room.
INDIA
NewIndPress.com
Sunday July 31 2005 00:00 IST
THOOTHUKUDI: Police arrested a temple priest on charges of sexually exploiting a 23-year-old devotee in Sernthapoomangalam, near Athoor, here on Saturday.
According to police sources, Ganapathy Kannan (48), a temple priest, sexually abused a female devotee for the past four months, as a result of which the woman became pregnant. However, when the woman told the priest to marry her, he refused.
Hence, the victim lodged a complaint with the Athoor police on Saturday.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Ann McGlynn
A retired Davenport priest pleaded guilty Friday to his fourth count of prostitution since 1998, court documents show.
Monsignor Robert John Walter, 84, was arrested in the early morning hours of May 23, records state. The judge gave him a $1,000 fine and one year of unsupervised probation.
Walter declined comment when contacted Friday by the Quad-City Times.
Walter served at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 916 E. Rusholme St., Davenport. He was the principal of Assumption High School in Davenport from 1962 to 1970, as well as other assignments outside of the Quad-Cities. Ordained in 1945, he retired in 1991.
His first arrest came in July 1998, one of 33 arrested during a police sting near downtown Davenport. During the two-day operation, three female undercover officers, all clad in plain, button-down tops and shorts, lingered on a street corner known as a hotbed for prostitution.
NASHVILLE (TN)
Tennessean
By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer
A Davidson County Judge yesterday quashed subpoenas seeking the release of all financial data from nine Catholic organizations but agreed that plaintiffs in a priest molestation suit should get records detailing the relationships between the businesses and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville.
Lawyers for the businesses, which include two area Catholic high schools, had asked to be left out of the court battle between the victims and the diocese. They argued that the organizations are separate financial entities from the diocese and were not defendants in the suit, scheduled to go to trial in March 2006.
Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Walter Kurtz said the plaintiffs' lawyers were entitled to review evidence showing the links between the organizations and the church. The judge has yet to decide whether that information will be provided to a jury once the trial is under way.
"What we'll do with that (during trial) is a completely different issue," Kurtz told the lawyers.
The plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to see how much the diocese is worth. They want to know if records show that parish properties and some Catholic businesses should be calculated as part of the net worth of the diocese.
INDIA
Express India
Janyala Sreenivas
Ahmedabad, July 29: When holy men are involved in unholy acts, what does the sect do?
Facing embarassment over their sadhus’ involvement in sex scandals and questions galore from angry devotees, various Swaminarayan sects in Gujarat have devised a way out: a code of conduct.
While the Vadtal Lakshminarayan Gadi Sansthan sect has decided to minimise interaction between sadhus and disciples at hostels, the Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, Maninagar, will hold meetings of priests and disciples to ‘purify’ their thoughts twice a week and do away with rooms alloted to separate priests or disciples.
CANADA
London Free Press
APRIL KEMICK, Free Press Reporter 2005-07-30 04:35:58
An 82-year-old retired priest, who worked in the Chatham area, is charged with five sexual offences involving girls more than 30 years ago.
The charges relate to complaints dating back to between 1971 and 1973.
The priest -- now living in Belle River, near Windsor -- at the time was the head pastor at St. Ursula's Roman Catholic Church in Chatham, police said yesterday.
All three female complainants, between ages 10 and 13 at the time, were parishioners at the church, police said.
No one at St. Ursula's or the Roman Catholic diocese could be reached for comment yesterday.
After receiving one complaint a few months ago, police began investigating and two more victims came forward.
Chatham-Kent police are continuing to investigate allegations involving other complainants, which could take some time, police said.
"Historical allegations of sexual assault are complex and time-consuming to investigate," said Insp. George Flikweert.
Charles Henry Sylvestre of Belle River was arrested July 21, police said.
HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com
WAILUKU » James Ronald Gonsalves was the exception among about 50 deacons in the Catholic Diocese of Hawaii.
While most deacons are volunteers, he was hired six years ago to be a full-time paid administrator for a parish on Maui and gained praise for bringing St. Ann Church in Waihee out of debt and more than doubling its membership.
"By all measures he was doing a great job," said diocesan spokesman Patrick Downes.
Recent allegations that Gonsalves repeatedly sexually assaulted a boy over three years have stunned many parishioners who valued his friendship and leadership. And the accusations have once again brought attention to the conduct of clergy in Hawaii -- a diocese where at least three other priests have been accused of molesting male youths.
Gonsalves, 68, pleaded not guilty to 62 charges related to the sexual assault of a boy between June 2003 and last month while the deacon was employed at St. Ann. The charges included 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, which under Hawaii law means forced sexual penetration. The boy was 12 years old when the alleged acts began.
MASSACHUSETTS
The Standard-Times
More than 500 members of the Catholic laity from 200 local affiliates and 32 states recently gathered at the Convention Center in Indianapolis to attend theAbuse Tracker Voice of the Faithful Convocation. The theme was "Accountability Now."
Among the laity attendees were seven members of the SouthCoast affiliate and nine members of the Falmouth affiliate.
One of the highlights of the gathering was the commissioning of members of the newly formedAbuse Tracker Representative Council. Representatives from 13 regions throughout the United States were commissioned thus solidifying the group's national stature.
The Catherine of Sienna Distinguished Lay Person Award was presented to Justice Anne Burke, the former chairwoman of the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops'Abuse Tracker Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People. Illinois Appellate Judge Burke spoke eloquently of the need for greater openness and responsibility within the church. She also advised the group to keep pressure on bishops to ensure financial accountability on church affairs. The laity should be kept informed.
The Rev. Tom Doyle, the first recipient of the Priest of Integrity Award, in 2002 presented the Rev. Monsignor Laurence Breslin of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the 2005 Priest of Integrity Award. The Rev. Monsignor Breslin commended those present for the caring they have demonstrated for the future of their church. He stressed that laity, hierarchy and clergy should be good listeners, be empathetic and strive to change hearts. He noted that a more participatory, less autocratic decision-making process is needed.
ILLINOIS
Herald News
By Ted Slowik
STAFF WRITER
WHEATON — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet is once again asking a court to bar the release of documents that could shed light on how church officials responded to allegations of clergy sexual abuse.
The diocese is asking a DuPage County judge to issue a protective order that would shield the personnel file of former priest and convicted sex offender Ed Stefanich from public view. Judge Stephen Culliton is expected to rule on the request Aug. 8.
The diocese is arguing that failure to obtain a protective order would dissuade other victims of clergy sexual abuse from coming forward, and that the privacy of others would be violated.
"The absence of a protective order could have (a) chilling effect and discourage parishioners from logging complaints or writing to the bishop regarding a variety of sensitive issues," diocese attorney James Byrne wrote in a motion.
Attorneys for a man reportedly abused by Stefanich want the judge to deny the protective order. They say they've proposed releasing the priest's file with the names of reported victims and others blacked out, but the diocese rejected that offer.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
July 30, 2005
A former top administrator for the Davenport Catholic Diocese has been accused of child sex abuse in a lawsuit filed last week.
The diocese on Friday acknowledged that Scott County resident D. Michl Uhde has sued, alleging that beginning in 1957, Monsignor Thomas Feeney sexually abused him while they were on bird-watching outings at Credit Island Park in Davenport.
Feeney died in 1981. He was vicar general, the diocese's top administrator, from 1968 to 1981, according to Craig Levien, the Davenport lawyer who filed the lawsuit.
In a statement, Bishop William Franklin said the diocese had hoped that mediation, rather than expensive, time-consuming lawsuits would be the "best and fairest way to resolve these cases."
Levien, who in October negotiated a $9 million settlement for 37 clients against the diocese, said his client had little choice but to sue.
HAWAII
KGMB
Brooks Baehr – bbaehr@kgmb9.com
Ron Gonsalves, a deacon with the Catholic church, was back in a Wailuku courtroom Friday. He is charged with 62 counts of sexual assault against a teenage boy.
Gonsalves was hoping to have his $790,000 bail reduced, but it didn't happen.
Maui Circuit Judge Joel August took himself off the case and postponed the bail hearing before Gonsalves' defense attorney, Philip Lowenthal, could ask that the bail be lowered.
August didn't explain in court why he recused himself, but Lowenthal's son and law clerk says it has something to do with the fact that Lowenthal and August were long-time law partners.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Sioux City Journal
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- The Roman Catholic diocese of Davenport announced Friday that it has been named in another lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct, this one naming Msgr. Thomas Feeney, a former vicar general of the diocese who died in 1981.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, involves allegations that occurred more than 48 years ago, Bishop William Franklin said in a statement.
Diocese officials are reviewing the complaint. Franklin said the diocese had hoped that mediation, rather than lawsuits, would be the best way to resolve such complaints.
Feeney died July 27, 1981. He was on the faculty at St. Ambrose University in 1937-38; was chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Davenport from 1942 to 1948; served as pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport from 1953 to 1968; and as pastor of St. Anthony's in Davenport from 1968 to 1981. He served as vice chancellor of the diocese in 1941-42; chancellor from 1942 to 1952; and vicar general from 1968 to 1981.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Hilton Head Island Packet
Story by JANUARY HOLMES
The Island Packet
Published Saturday, July 30th, 2005
Michael Cassabon says his happiness is driven by God's love.
And in return for that love, all the 25-year-old wants to do is serve 24 hours a day.
So he's joining the Roman Catholic priesthood.
"My goal is to do God's will -- whatever it is," says Cassabon, who is spending his summer break from seminary in Rome to intern at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Bluffton. "It's my overall goal, my daily goal and also my goal for the next 10 seconds."
The Greenville native feels his calling to the ministry so strongly that he isn't deterred by past scandals or ongoing accusations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
"They are inexcusable," he says of the abuse. "But this is still God's church."
In fact, Cassabon says he and his 150 American seminary classmates in Rome are more determined because of the scandals, feeling that it is their calling to rebuild the honor of their profession.
METUCHEN (NJ)
Courier News
By RICK MALWITZ
Gannett New Jersey
Eugene O'Sullivan, whose past was hidden from the Diocese of Metuchen when he came to serve as a priest in Hillsborough, North Plainfield, East Brunswick and South Brunswick, has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Archdiocese of Boston announced Friday.
When O'Sullivan came to New Jersey, church officials here were told by church officials in Boston that he was a recovering alcoholic. But they were not told he was convicted in Massachusetts of sodomizing a 13-year-old altar boy.
"This was typical of the Boston Archdiocese," said Monsignor Michael Alliegro of St. Bartholomew's Church in East Brunswick, describing the lax attitude of the Boston church in a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
"Now that all this has come forward, it hurts even more, knowing that at the time (O'Sullivan) was only the tip of the iceberg," Alliegro said Friday. "Not only did they flim-flam the pastors, but the bishops as well."
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Times staff
The Catholic Diocese of Davenport announced Friday that it is a defendant in a sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against a priest who died 24 years ago this week.
The lawsuit was filed in Scott County District Court by D. Michl Uhde, and it lists Monsignor Thomas Feeney as a defendant along with the diocese. The suit alleges instances of sexual misconduct that occurred more than 48 years ago.
Further details about the case were unavailable Friday night.
A spokesman for the diocese said officials are reviewing the complaint they received Monday.
Feeney died July 27, 1981, having retired earlier that year. The priest began his career when he was assigned to the faculty of what is now St. Ambrose University in 1937. He served as chaplain of Mercy Hospital, Davenport from 1942 to 1948 and 1953 to 1963, as pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Davenport, from 1953 to 1968 and as pastor of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Davenport, from 1968 to 1981.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | July 30, 2005
Eugene O'Sullivan, believed to be the first Massachusetts priest convicted of sexual abuse more than two decades ago, has been dismissed from the priesthood by the Vatican, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday.
O'Sullivan, who served at a number of parishes in the area, including St. Agnes Church in Arlington, was sentenced to probation in 1984 after he admitted sodomizing a 13-year-old altar boy at St. Ann's Parish in Marshfield. One condition of his probation was that he not be allowed to work with children, but church officials, who had pleaded with a judge for leniency on his behalf, later assigned him priestly duties at four New Jersey parishes.
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley, said church officials had no comment on the matter beyond the fact of O'Sullivan's official removal from the priesthood.
The Vatican has dismissed another priest, Paul E. McDonald, who had served in parishes in Hyde Park and Marlborough, Donilon said.
McDonald was accused of raping boys when he was a priest at St. Joseph Church in Hyde Park in the 1960s. He eventually left the priesthood voluntarily in 1976 after getting a woman pregnant.
LOUISIANA
Court TV
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
Authorities in the small, rural Louisiana town of Ponchatoula were shocked when a local pastor walked into their office in mid-May and allegedly confessed to having sex with children, cats and dogs at his Hosanna Church.
Louis Lamonica allegedly implicated eight other members of his flock, including a deputy sheriff, in "cult-like" rituals involving the rape of as many as 24 young victims, from infants to teens, between 1999 and 2003.
But lawyers for the nine codefendants, ages 24 to 55, say that, not only are their clients innocent but they are the victims of a brainwashing scheme.
"There is absolutely no evidence, medical or otherwise, to suggest that there is any truth to these allegations," said A. Wayne Smith, lawyer for codefendant Allen Pierson, who pleaded not guilty in June to four counts of aggravated rape of a child under 13.
IOWA
Radio Iowa
by Stella Shaffer
A small group went to St. Josephs' Parish south of Dubuque this morning to stage a "sidewalk news conference" over the latest case involving accusations of priest abuse. A man who now lives in Texas has sued the diocese charging a priest molested him in the 1960s. The priest, William Roach, has since died. Steve Theisen with SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, says the diocese is trying to put blame on the victim instead. "They're trying to put the onus on the victim instead of the perp," Theisen says. He says the defense argued that the victim, who was 17 at the time, was not a child. "We think that's very wrong to say that basically fifteen, sixteen and 17-year-old kids are fair game." The lawyers for the Dubuque diocese are also using a novel tactic in trying to deflect the accusation. They're saying that Monsignor Roach was not an employee of the diocese -- that he was an independent contractor.
IOWA
KWWL
Members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests rallied outside St. Joseph's in Key West with a clear message to Archbishop Jerome Hanus and the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
"To not use hardball legal tactics when it comes to fighting the lawsuits." said local group founder Steve Theisen.
The group is unhappy the Archdiocese is fighting a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by NBC News Correspondent Jim Cummins. "W e believe he has every right to defend the Archdiocese and his priests but we do not believe he has the moral right with some of the tactics he is using." added Theisen.
In the documents filed last week, church leaders claim Cummins, who was 17 when the alleged incidents occured in 1962, was actually an adult. They also say Cummins alleged perpetrator Monsignor William Roach, was an independent contractor, not a church employee.
BOSTON (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 3:31 pm EDT July 29, 2005
UPDATED: 3:33 pm EDT July 29, 2005
BOSTON -- The Vatican has defrocked Eugene O'Sullivan, who became the first Massachusetts priest convicted of sexual abuse more than two decades ago, the Boston Archdiocese announced Friday.
In 1984, O'Sullivan was sentenced to probation after he admitted sodomizing a 13-year-old altar boy. A condition of his sentence was that he not be allowed to work with children.
But O'Sullivan was later assigned to four New Jersey parishes. He was recalled to Boston in 1992 after church officials learned of another allegation against him dating back to his time in Massachusetts.
The Vatican's action to defrock O'Sullivan means he may no longer function as a priest in any capacity, except to offer absolution to the dying. Defrocked priests also are cut off from any financial support from the archdiocese.
O'Sullivan served at a number of parishes in the Boston Archdiocese, including St. Agnes Church in Arlington and St. Ann's in Marshfield.
Documents from O'Sullivan's personnel file, made public in 2002, show that that the archdiocese was alerted as early as the 1960s to allegations against him.
A woman wrote in 1964 to then-Cardinal Richard Cushing that O'Sullivan had picked up her 12-year-old son from their summer cottage and took him to the sacristy "under the pretense of checking the altar boy assignments" for St. Ann's parish. Her son was very upset when he returned home and told his parents the priest had reached into his bathing trunks and "touched him repeatedly in the private area." The woman said her son told her the priest had touched him there on previous occasions.
HAWAII
The Maui News
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
WAILUKU – Deacon Ron Gonsalves, who was placed on leave last month from his position as administrator of St. Ann parish in Waihee, has been indicted on 62 charges alleging he sexually abused a boy during a three-year period.
A Sept. 26 trial was set for the 68-year-old Wailuku resident, who was arraigned Thursday in 2nd Circuit Court. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A bail hearing is scheduled today for Gonsalves, who was being held in lieu of $790,000 bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center. He was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in at the Wailuku Police Station.
The indictment alleges that the sexual abuse occurred over a three-year period, beginning when the boy was 12 years old and ending last month, said Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Criminal Investigation Division. He said the sexual assaults allegedly occurred at Gonsalves’ home and at the Waihee church.
Cuomo discussed the indictment before Gonsalves appeared in court and Judge Joel August agreed to seal the indictment against Gonsalves, at the request of both Deputy Prosecutor Robert Rivera and defense attorney Philip Lowenthal.
IOWA
Gazette
Published: 07/29/2005 5:15 PM
By: Associated Press - Associated Press
DAVENPORT, IA - The Roman Catholic diocese of Davenport announced Friday that it has been named in another lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct, this one naming Msgr. Thomas Feeney, a former vicar general of the diocese who died in 1981.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, involves allegations that occurred more than 48 years ago, Bishop William Franklin said in a statement.
Diocese officials are reviewing the complaint. Franklin said the diocese had hoped that mediation, rather than lawsuits, would be the best way to resolve such complaints.
Feeney died July 27, 1981. He was on the faculty at St. Ambrose University in 1937-38; was chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Davenport from 1942 to 1948; served as pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport from 1953 to 1968; and as pastor of St. Anthony's in Davenport from 1968 to 1981. He served as vice chancellor of the diocese in 1941-42; chancellor from 1942 to 1952; and vicar general from 1968 to 1981.
HAWAII
TheHawaiiChannel.com
POSTED: 2:19 pm HST July 29, 2005
WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii --
A Catholic deacon accused of sex abuse appeared in a Maui courtroom Friday for a bail hearing, but due to an unusual twist in the proceedings, James Ronald Gonsalves remains in jail without the hearing.
Police charged Gonsalves with 62 counts of sexual assault against a boy. Officers arrested Gonsalves on Wednesday. He is being held on $790,000 bail.
Gonsalves appeared in Circuit Court Friday morning with his attorney, Philip Lowenthal.
At the start of the hearing, Judge Joel August announced he would recuse himself from the case. August and Lowenthal, one of the state's noted defense attorneys, shared a Wailuku law practice for more than 20 years until August was selected as a judge in 2002.
"Judges are bound by an ethical code. It's called the Code of Judicial Conduct and that states out that judges are supposed to avoid even the mere appearance of an impropriety," Lowenthal said.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
07:13 PM CDT on Friday, July 29, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Catholic Diocese soon will be paying millions more dollars to sexual abuse victims.
This time, however, the abusers in question are former child-care workers, not priests. But otherwise much is familiar: Plaintiffs say church officials ignored "red flags" about suspicious employees, while the defense says those individuals long managed to fool everyone around them.
Now, to avoid the risks of trying lawsuits, the diocese has agreed to pay a total of $2.6 million to three victims of Julio A. Marcos, who worked at St. Pius X's child-care center for much of the 1990s and is now serving a life term in prison.
Plaintiffs' attorneys say they expect to reach similar settlements soon for three more girls Mr. Marcos abused at the Far East Dallas church.
As part of the deals, diocesan officials admit no wrongdoing. Their attorney, Randy Mathis, declined to comment Friday.
HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com
WAILUKU, Maui » A Maui Catholic church deacon has been charged with 62 counts of sexual assault against a boy, an accusation that stunned the tiny rural parish where a bake sale is usually the big news of the month.
James Ronald Gonsalves, 68, deacon of St. Ann Church in Waihee, pleaded not guilty yesterday to the charges, which include 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree attempted sexual assault.
Police said the crimes occurred between June 2002 and last month, starting when the boy was 12. They said some of the assaults occurred in the church.
While parishioners expressed shock at the allegations, many of them also said they supported Gonsalves.
"He's my friend. He's done so much for me. My feeling is that he has done so much for the church that I am willing to overlook the bad that he has done, if he has done anything bad," said Beatrice Dadez.
"We don't know he's guilty until he's proven guilty," she added.
CANADA
Canada.com
Broadcast News
July 29, 2005
WINDSOR, ONT. -- A retired Catholic priest who now lives in Essex County has been charged with several sex-related offences.
Police say the offences occurred in the Chatham-Kent area between 1971 and 1973.
Inspector George Flikweert says police know about three alleged victims, but the investigation continues and they have not ruled out finding more.
Police first started looking into the allegations in late 2004.
Eighty-two-year-old Charles Sylvestre of Belle River faces three counts of indecent assault, one charge of rape and one charge of sexual intercourse with a female under 14.
BOSTON (MA)
KASA
BOSTON The first priest in Massachusetts to be convicted of sexual abuse and a Boston priest have been defrocked by the Vatican.
The Vatican's action means Eugene O'Sullivan and Paul McDonald are no longer allowed to function as priests in any capacity -- except to offer absolution to the dying.
Both are also cut off from any financial support from the Boston archdiocese.
O'Sullivan had been sentenced to probation in 1984 after admitting to sodomizing a 13-year-old boy.
McDonald was accused of sexually abusing several boys in the 1960s.
WHITTIER (CA)
Whittier Daily News
By Tracy Garcia, Staff Writer
WHITTIER -- A group representing alleged victims of abuse by priests is asking St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church parishioners to set up a fund for the son of a priest, officials said Thursday.
Members of SNAP -- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests -- say they plan to distribute leaflets in front of the Whittier church Sunday, extolling parishioners to "take a step of compassion" on behalf of the boy.
SNAP Western Regional Director Mary Grant said members also want to inform parishioners about the circumstances regarding the illegitimate son of the Rev. Jose Arturo Uribe, 47.
Uribe has been transferred to a church in Chicago, according to published reports. He presided over his final Mass at St. Mary on July 17. Uribe is now reportedly on a trip to Mexico. He was not able to be reached by telephone Thursday.
"This is our way to reach out, in a way that we believe that church officials and the parish should be doing," Grant said. "By leafleting, we're educating parishioners and helping heal the hurt that's been done by urging parishioners to reach out to Stephanie and her son."
ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic
Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 29, 2005 12:00 AM
The Irish High Court ruled this week that it would not extradite a Catholic priest to stand trial in Arizona on two felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor.
Patrick Oliver Colleary is accused of having sex with a teenage boy in 1978, while Colleary was a priest at a church in Scottsdale. But he was not charged until 2003, after he had already returned to Ireland.
In a rambling 37-page decision released Wednesday, Judge Phillip O'Sullivan of the Irish High Court noted that the case would probably be thrown out of Irish courts because the charges were filed 25 years after the alleged crimes took place.
He also stated that Arizona's practice of denying bond to certain accused sex offenders violated rights under the Irish Constitution, and that prior newspaper coverage would endanger Colleary's chances of getting a fair trial.
Furthermore, O'Sullivan feared that Colleary would be sent to a Maricopa County jail and kept under inhumane conditions that included wearing pink underwear.
SOUTH AFRICA
Vaal Weekly
SHARPEVILLE. - Action still has not been taken against a Mohlodi Secondary School teacher in Sharpeville who allegedly fondled a female learner at the school premises this year.
The incident was apparently brought to the attention of school authorities after the learner blew the whistle on the teacher.
Vaal Weekly was inundated with calls from anonymous people within the Education Department who demanded that justice prevails.
The anonymous callers accused the regional Education Department in Sedibeng East of trying hard to protect the teacher who further embarrassed the school after its disappointing matric results. ...
The teacher who is also an apostolic church priest is said to still be reporting to work months after the allegations surfaced. The learner is also apparently still going to school.
HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle
By ANDREW TILGHMAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Several members of a small Pentecostal church in Aldine collapsed on a Harris County courthouse floor and wailed unintelligible prayers Thursday after their longtime pastor was convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl more than 10 years ago.
The Rev. Curtis Bass of the International Pentecostal Church was sentenced to 10 years in prison on two charges of indecency with a child. A woman, now 26, testified that he touched her breasts and vagina on two occasions when she was 16 years old in 1994.
"God is still in control," Bass, 53, said to dozens of church members seated in the courtroom after his sentencing. He took off his silver wristwatch before court bailiffs took him away.
Defense witnesses said the former construction worker who went to theology school in Jackson, Miss., was a longtime youth minister known for encouraging teens to participate in the church, which has about 100 members.
"It's sickening, from someone who supposedly does the Lord's work," Assistant District Attorney Robert Freyer told jurors Thursday.
At least three women have lodged sexual abuse complaints against Bass, said deputy investigator Russell Ackley of the Harris County Sheriff's Department.
HOUSTON (TX)
Click 2 Houston
POSTED: 6:52 am CDT July 29, 2005
HOUSTON -- A longtime pastor of a Pentecostal church in Aldine has been convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl in his congregation 10 years ago.
The Rev. Curtis Bass of the International Pentecostal Church was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison on two charges of indecency with a child.
A woman, now 26, testified that he touched her breasts when she was 16 years old in 1994.
"God is still in control," Bass, 53, said to dozens of church members seated in the courtroom after his sentencing.
Defense witnesses described Bass as a longtime youth minister known for encouraging teens to participate in the church, which has about 100 members.
"It's sickening, from someone who supposedly does the Lord's work," Assistant District Attorney Robert Freyer told jurors Thursday.
HAWAII
Honolulu Advertiser
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — A well-regarded Catholic deacon credited by parishioners for reviving a small-town church on Maui pleaded not guilty yesterday to 62 charges that he sexually assaulted a boy for three years.
A Maui grand jury indicted James "Ron" Gonsalves, 68, on 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable by a 20-year prison term; and 32 counts of third-degree sexual assault, which carries a maximum five-year term. He was being held with bail set at $790,000.
Maui police said the incidents allegedly occurred between June 2002 and June 2005, when the youth was ages 12 to 15. Some of the assaults were reported to have occurred at St. Ann Church in Waihe'e, in the Wailuku district.
News of Gonsalves' indictment brought heartbreak and tears to many St. Ann parishioners and cast a pall over tomorrow's celebration of the church's feast day. Church members described their deacon as "big-hearted" and "generous," and said he rescued the struggling parish from the edge of extinction with new programs and fundraising.
HAWAII
KHON
Kirk Fernandes
A church administrator on Maui has been charged with sexual assault. Sixty-eight-year-old James Gonsalves is accused of molesting a boy at his parish over a three-year period.
James R. Gonsalves has been on administrative leave since the allegations surfaced last month.
Gonsalves made a court appearance today and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
As a deacon, he ran the 250-member Saint Ann church, but did not preside over mass because he's not a priest.
A diocese spokesman says the alleged victim's family contacted them last month.
MASSACHUSETTS
Barnstable Patriot
By Richard Elrick
With Rick Santorum, the third ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate leading the right-wing charge, the Democrats may actually have a chance to win back his Pennsylvania Senate seat, and even the White House in 2008.
Earlier this month, Santorum reiterated his bizarre view, as expressed in a 2002 Catholic Online opinion piece, that the liberalism of Boston was responsible for the tragic child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church the last few years. By uttering such inane absurdities, he demonstrates, by blaming the culture of the victims, not only a callous disregard for those young victims, but even more disturbingly, an ignorance of the facts and of the history of the Catholic Church, itself.
What he said exactly was, “When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected” … “it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm.” How ridiculous. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised by such comments. This is the same Republican senator who intruded on brain-dead Terri Schiavo’s deathbed, saying she had been executed, and who said that consensual homosexual behavior by adults was like “man on dog” sex, and that gay marriage “absolutely” threatens his own marriage.
What happened with the Catholic sex abuse scandal had nothing to do with Boston being the bastion of liberalism, other than that it was the first place where actions occurred to stop the abuse. If the esteemed Senator Santorum had researched the issue or had any historical or intellectual understanding of his Church’s background and culture, he would have discovered that the curse of pedophilia has been an affliction of the Catholic Church since the Middle Ages-and before. He would have found that the current history of sexual abuse cases in Boston goes back to the 1950s and 1960s, long before Boston became the great beacon of liberalism it now is. He would also have found that Catholic priest abuse of children has occurred, according to a study commissioned by the national Review Board for the protection of Children and Young People (an arm of the US Conference of Bishops), in greater percentages in such not-so-liberal strongholds as Jackson, Miss., and Belleville, Ill., to say nothing of that beautiful Catholic island of Ireland.
HAWAII
KGMB
Brooks Baehr – bbaehr@kgmb9.com
Parishioners at Saint Ann's Church on Maui are in shock after the head of their parish was arrested on 62 counts of sexual assault.
Deacon James Ron Gonsalves, 68, was behind bars at the Maui Community Correctional Center Thursday night. Gonsalves had been in charge of Saint Ann's for the past six years, but he's been removed from that post and put on leave because of the alleged sexual misconduct.
Saint Ann's has a relatively small congregation of about 230 active parishioners. It didn't have a full time priest, so in 1999 deacon Gonsalves was hired as church administrator.
"A priest would come in on weekends to say mass and to hear confessions, that sort of thing, because a deacon can not do that. But everything else in the parish. he was in charge," said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Catholic diocese of Honolulu.
Downes said church leaders heard late last month that Gonsalves was the subject of sexual abuse allegations.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By TOM HEINEN
theinen@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 28, 2005
Attorneys representing four victims of clergy sexual abuse filed a court appeal Thursday that advocates hope will end the legal impediments that have made it virtually impossible in Wisconsin to sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee or other denominations and churches in such cases.
"We are taking one more big step to protect the children of our state and bring justice for victims of clergy sexual abuse," Peter Isely, Midwest coordinator of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in front of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He said he thinks the appeal will overturn Wisconsin state law.
At issue are two major questions for people abused by clergy as minors: How soon after the abuse must victims sue? And does the Constitution's separation of church and state prevent such suits?
This month, a number of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices indicated in a clergy-abuse decision that they would be willing to deal with those questions given the right case.
SCITUATE (MA)
Boston Globe
By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff | July 29, 2005
The Scituate tax board concluded this week that St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church is no longer a church and thus should pay property taxes, a decision that could cost the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston thousands of dollars in unforeseen tax bills.
The archdiocese, whose properties are exempt from taxes by state law, opposes the ruling. It has been trying to shut down St. Frances, but since October parishioners have been holding a vigil to keep it open. While the Vatican debates the church's fate, the archdiocese has paid no taxes on the 30 acres of choice South Shore real estate nestled among tony houses and seaside bungalows.
On Tuesday, the Scituate Board of Assessors voted 2 to 1 to require the archdiocese to pay $42,000 in taxes annually on St. Frances, determining that the property was worth $4.45 million.
''My feeling is if they decided they no longer want to use it as a church, I would consider it a taxable property," board chairman Fred Avila said yesterday.
The archdiocese, facing a dwindling membership and struggling with financial fallout from the clergy sexual abuse scandal, has closed 62 parishes, with another 14 slated to be closed, while six await word on appeals to the Vatican, including St. Frances. Currently, all properties still owned by the church remain tax-exempt until they are sold.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony's lawyer told a state appellate court Thursday that the church should be allowed to release summaries of the personnel files of more than 100 Roman Catholic priests accused of molesting children.
But an attorney for several accused priests, Donald Steier, argued that making the summaries public would violate the individual clerics' privacy rights, as well as the confidentiality of mediation talks underway to settle 544 claims that the archdiocese failed to protect parishioners from predators.
The summaries would identify accused priests, but not the church officials who critics say transferred or referred the priests for treatment without warning parishioners.
In an unusual twist, Raymond P. Boucher, the lawyer for the alleged victims, joined with church attorney J. Michael Hennigan in urging the release of the summaries. Hennigan argued they would help settle the 3-year-old legal claims.
UNITED STATES
The Oregonian
Friday, July 29, 2005
By MARC MOHAN
BAD RELIGION -- The wide-ranging scandal involving sexual abuse by Catholic priests has appalled millions, both for its immense scope and for the depravity reported by the thousands of victims. It's difficult to even conceptualize the damage done while considering the affair as a whole -- which is why Kirby Dick's documentary "Twist of Faith" is so important. Looking at one instance of alleged abuse, the Oscar-nominated film focuses on Toledo, Ohio, firefighter Tony Comes and his quest for justice and peace of mind 20 years after being allegedly raped by a priest named Dennis Gray.
What gives "Twist of Faith" such power and immediacy is a technique that Dick had used in the documentary "Chain Camera." By providing video cameras for his subjects to film themselves, he achieves a remarkable level of trust with the subjects who are opening up their lives, in this case Comes and his wife. This leads to a level of intimacy rarely seen on movie screens, as Comes bravely allows viewers to see him at his most vulnerable, surely a tough decision for a regular sort of guy who drives a pickup and is a Buccaneers fan.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
The Post-Crescent
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Four people who have accused two priests of abusing them in the 1970s and 1980s filed an appeal Thursday of a judge’s dismissal of their lawsuits against the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The appeal will provide a new legal challenge of a decade-old court ruling that gave religious organizations in Wisconsin blanket immunity from civil claims over their supervision of priests, attorneys for the accusers said.
It could open the door to new civil lawsuits against the church in cases where evidence shows church leaders transferred known sex-offender priests to a new church and didn’t tell the parish about it, attorney Jim Smith said.
“What we are alleging is the church should not enjoy First Amendment protection under these circumstances,” Smith said.
The appeal, filed with the 1st District Court of Appeals, seeks to overturn decisions by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Guolee this year involving three alleged cases of sexual abuse by the late Rev. Siegfried Widera between 1973 and 1976 and one by the Rev. Franklyn Becker in 1982.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— Bishop Robert J. McManus yesterday announced a change in operation for the Office for Healing and Prevention resulting from the resignation of director Patricia O’Leary Engdahl.
Sister Paula Kelleher, S.S.J., currently vicar for religious, will serve as co-director with Frances Nugent, the licensed social worker who is also the victim services coordinator. The office, which was founded three years ago as the clergy sexual abuse scandal raged, started with Ms. Engdahl, a lawyer, as director and Ms. Nugent as the victim services coordinator.
Ms. Engdahl recently took a new job at Anna Maria College in Paxton.
Sister Kelleher will be responsible for training and education involving safe environments and other topics for workers and volunteers for the diocese, the Catholic schools and the 126 parishes. Ms. Nugent will continue in her role of giving support to victims.
Sister Kelleher, a sister of St. Joseph of Springfield, has been vicar for religious here for more than 10 years. She will remain in that role and will continue oversight of the Annual Retirement Fund for Religious.
She is also a member of the diocesan review committee and years ago was one of the contacts for a hot line set up by the diocese where people could report clergy sexual abuse.
“I am grateful to Sister Paula for accepting this important responsibility for our diocese and thereby assisting in the healing ministry we offer through this office. I am confident that her experience will give us the necessary direction to continue to expand our already extensive education efforts as we seek to protect all children and youth in our programs, our schools and in our parishes,” the bishop said.
Raymond L. Delisle, diocesan spokesman, said more than 10,000 people either work or volunteer for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester through parishes, agencies and ministries and have been through background screening with the state, and by law are mandated reporters of suspected child neglect and abuse.
Most have attended mandatory awareness seminars on identifying signs and symptoms of abuse. The diocese also provided “Train the Trainer” classes so parishes have resources available within their communities.
More than 30,000 children and teenagers are enrolled in parish religious education programs, and nearly 10,000 students attend Catholic elementary and secondary schools in Central Massachusetts.
DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver was told at least three times of child sex-abuse allegations against one of its priests but continued to allow him to serve and moved him from parish to parish for years, according to interviews with alleged victims, one of his former superiors and church documents obtained by The Denver Post.
Since the newspaper on Tuesday detailed one allegation against the former priest, 72-year-old Harold Robert White of Denver, seven other men have come to The Post with allegations of being fondled or sexually abused by White in the 1960s.
The men, all of whom are now in their 50s, described being fondled by White in a swimming pool, while driving his car, at church rectories and at a mountain cabin. While some alleged victims kept quiet, others said they alerted parents or church officials as early as the middle to late 1960s, when White was still early in his career as a priest.
In an interview with The Post last week, White said he did not recall the alleged victim who had been interviewed, and he would not answer questions about whether he had ever been accused.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By CLYDE HUGHES
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The Muslim Community Center is attempting to raise $500,000 for bail for its imam who was convicted earlier this month in the rape of a local girl four years ago.
Yusuf Lateef, of the community center, said members believe that Imam Hisham El-Amin, 53, has been falsely accused of raping the daughter of one of the center’s members at various times from June 1, 2000, to Aug. 23, 2001.
El-Amin has been the imam of the Muslim Community Center, 1125 Hamilton St., for at least the last 25 years, members said.
A Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury thought differently. El-Amin’s trial ended July with convictions on two counts of rape.
El-Amin was indicted on the charges Oct. 10, 2003. The case dragged along after a change of defense attorneys and judges.
Prosecutors said the jury relied on the believability of the 16-year-old victim, who was 12 when the incidents occurred, to find El-Amin guilty.
El-Amin, who is being held in the county jail, will be sentenced Aug. 5 by Judge Gary Cook.
ROME
Chiesa
by Sandro Magister
ROMA, July 28, 2005 – On July 19, the Catholic newspaper "Avvenire" published the following note from the general secretariat of the Italian bishops' conference (CEI):
"Following the decree handed down on May 27, 2005, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, notice is hereby given that the following canonical provisions will be applied to Fr. Luigi (Gino) Burresi, of the congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
"1 – revocation of the faculty to hear the confessions of any member of the faithful in any place, as provided in canons 966 and 969 of the code of canon law;
"2 – definitive prohibition against carrying out the ministry of spiritual direction for any of the faithful, whether a layperson, a clergyman, or a consecrated religious;
"3 – revocation of the faculty of preaching, as in canons 764 and 765;
"4 – prohibition against celebrating the sacraments and sacramentals in public;
"5 – prohibition against granting interviews, writing in newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, or on the internet, or participating in radio or television broadcasts on any matter involving Catholic doctrine, morality, or supernatural or mystical phenomena.
"This is made known for the understanding and profit of the faithful."
Practically speaking, the CEI has made it known that Fr. Gino Burresi, founder the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, must leave the ministry and retire to private life.
Among the reasons for the action taken, the decree from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cites abuses in confession and spiritual direction. But Vatican sources have confirmed that to these reasons must be added the accusations of sexual abuse made against Fr. Burresi by some men who were his followers and seminarians during the 1970's and '80's.
AMITE (LA)
TheNewOrleansChannel.com
POSTED: 9:18 am CDT July 28, 2005
UPDATED: 9:26 am CDT July 28, 2005
AMITE, La. -- A suspect in an alleged child-sex ring allegedly based at a now-closed church has been released on bond.
Authorities said Allen Pierson, 46, of Hammond, was released after he posted a $300,000 bond.
Pierson is one of seven members of the Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula indicted on child-rape charges. He faces four counts of aggravated rape of a juvenile.
TEMPE (AZ)
AZCentral.com
The Associated Press
Jul. 28, 2005 09:36 AM
TEMPE- An Irish judge has refused to order extradition for a former Arizona priest accused of molesting an altar boy in 1978.
Judge Phillip O'Sullivan of Ireland's High Court decided not to extradite the Rev. Patrick Colleary because the accusations date back so many years and because Arizona law allows judges to withhold bail for accused sex offenders, according to a written judgment.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was extremely disappointed in the decision. But he will not dismiss the charges unless there is some fundamental change in the case.
Colleary moved to Ireland in early 2003 before a grand jury indicted him on charges he abused a 10- or 11-year-old parishioner at Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe.
ARIZONA
East Valley Tribune
By Gary Grado, Tribune
July 28, 2005
An Irish judge denied the extradition Wednesday of a former Scottsdale priest accused of molesting an altar boy in 1978. Judge Phillip O’Sullivan of Ireland’s High Court based his decision not to extradite the Rev. Patrick Colleary on the age of the case and Arizona’s law that allows judges to withhold bail for accused sex offenders, according to the written judgment.
"I’m extremely disappointed," said Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. "It’s an arrogant decision. It’s interesting because it’s the second time in a week that a foreign country has made clear that it intends to dictate to us how we may bring to justice their citizens when they come here and allegedly commit crimes."
Mexico has indicated it won’t extradite Rodrigo Cervantes Zavala to face trial on charges he killed the uncle and grandparents of his children July 11 near Queen Creek, unless Arizona drops the death penalty, Thomas said.
Colleary’s friend, the Rev. David Myers of Guadalupe, said he spoke with Colleary early Wednesday and he was thankful to God and everyone who helped him.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By STEVE SCHULTZE and MARIE ROHDE
sschultze@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 27, 2005
A Brown County jury convicted a 62-year-old former priest in Green Bay of two felony child sex assault charges Wednesday, in an unusual case involving attacks during counseling sessions at a Catholic parish school in 1988.
Donald J. Buzanowski faces up to 40 years in prison on the convictions for indecently touching a 10-year-old boy at Green Bay's Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic school. Buzanowski at the time was pastor of an associated parish.
The victim, David Schauer, now 27, went to the sessions because of trouble he'd had with a school bully.
"It's nice to be believed," a relieved Schauer said after the verdict Wednesday. "For so long, I felt that I was the only one that something like this ever happened to."
Buzanowski left Green Bay in 1989 for Milwaukee and worked as a drug counselor for Children's Court during most of the 1990s. He served 21 months in federal prison on a 2000 child pornography conviction and was back in Milwaukee as a volunteer for an east side Protestant church after his release in 2002.
Buzanowski's sentencing is Sept. 16.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times
By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer
A Roman Catholic religious order that had until now refused to increase child support payments for a boy fathered by one of its priests pledged Wednesday to provide additional financial support and counseling for the 12-year-old.
Father Thomas Picton, who heads the Denver Province of the Redemptorists, said he would also encourage the Whittier priest, Arturo Uribe, to get counseling to learn how to be a proper father.
"This should never, ever have happened," said Picton, who since March has run the Denver Province, which oversees 200 priests in 31 states. "You don't not take care of the kid."
This month, Stephanie Collopy, the boy's mother, fought unsuccessfully in court for increased child support payments from Uribe.
She argued that, as an unemployed single parent of a child with chronic asthma and other health problems, she needed more than the court-ordered $323 a month paid by the Redemptorists. She also asked that Uribe be ordered to provide health insurance for the boy.
OAK HARBOR (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By CLAUDIA ROWE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The Rev. G. Barry Ashwell, who served for more than two decades in Oak Harbor, is the target of a lawsuit filed Monday by three men who claim that he sexually abused them after making their acquaintance at a youth camp, elementary school and church parish between 1970 and 1985.
The Seattle Archdiocese removed Ashwell from the ministry in 2002, several years after earlier abuse allegations against the priest began to surface. An archdiocese representative did not return a call seeking comment about the new claims.
The lawsuit says that Ashwell met one boy at St. Matthew School in Seattle and molested him during the early 1970s.
Another became acquainted with the priest at Camp Blanchette, run by the Catholic Youth Organization, in 1972, and a third encountered Ashwell at St. Augustine's Parish on Whidbey Island between 1984 and 1985.
SACRAMENTO (CA)
TheKCRAChannel.com
POSTED: 3:36 pm PDT July 27, 2005
UPDATED: 5:06 pm PDT July 27, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Almost exactly one month after the Sacramento Catholic Diocese announced a multimillion-dollar sexual abuse settlement, some victims claim the church is not doing enough to make restitution.
Several victims of clergy sex abuse Wednesday publicly asked the diocese to post the names of priests who are proven sexual offenders on the official church Web site. The victims said their faith is at stake.
"I cannot go into the church and practice the faith I once loved with the conditions that are in right now, with the continual lies and denial," said sexual abuse victim Nancy Sloan.
BURLINGTON (KY)
The Boone Community Recorder
By Paul McKibben Staff Reporter
BURLINGTON - A judge has officially given preliminary approval to a proposed settlement between the Diocese of Covington and victims of clergy abuse.
The deal still needs Judge John Potter's final approval. His order on the preliminary approval was filed last week in Boone Circuit Court.
A hearing has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 9, 2006. Objections to the proposed settlement must be made in writing and filed with the court on or before Dec. 19.
"We're glad that this milestone has been reached," said diocese spokesman Tim Fitzgerald.
GENEVA (IL)
WQAD
GENEVA, Ill. A Kane County Judge has ruled the personnel files of a priest serving eight years in prison for abusing two girls does not have to be turned over for use in a civil lawsuit.
An attorney representing the victims in a civil suit against Mark Campobello and the Catholic Diocese of Rockford asked for the medical records of Campobello and any other diocesan priest accused of sexual misconduct from 1960 to 2004.
Campobello objected to the release of his records, and in a July 22 ruling, Judge F. Keith Brown said the diocese has neither the right nor the obligation to release them without his consent.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Post-Crescent
By Andy Nelesen
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
GREEN BAY — It took a Brown County jury 39 minutes to decide that former priest Donald Buzanowski was not praying with the 10-year-old boy he was counseling at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in 1988.
They decided he was preying on the fifth-grader and convicted him Wednesday of two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child. Buzanowski now faces up to 40 years in prison.
For 27-year-old David Schauer, who has been telling people of the molestation for 15 years, the guilty verdict was a sweet sound.
“For so long I’ve gone without feeling believed, thinking that I was the only one this has ever happened to,” Schauer said. “Knowing they heard what happened and they believed me, it gives me a lot of strength.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle
The arraignment of a Roman Catholic priest charged with third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child has been postponed.
The Rev. Dennis R. Sewar, 54, was scheduled to answer the charges Wednesday in Rochester City Court. But the arraignment was postponed until Tuesday because his lawyer wasn't available.
Sewar faces the misdemeanor charges from an alleged incident that occurred when he was pastor of Church of the Annunciation on Norton Street in northeast Rochester. He was pastor from 1999 to 2001.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Thursday, July 28, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
The judge in the Archdiocese of Portland's bankruptcy has agreed to let former Portland Archbishop William J. Levada skip an August date to answer questions under oath about how the church handles child sexual-abuse allegations.
In return, the newly named No. 3 official in the Roman Catholic Church must personally guarantee that he'll make himself available in January to undergo questioning by lawyers for priest sex-abuse plaintiffs in Oregon. In addition, he must agree not to claim diplomatic immunity as a high-ranking official of the Vatican.
Levada has until Tuesday to respond. Otherwise, his deposition in Hayward, Calif., is expected to proceed as scheduled Aug. 12, five days before he resigns as Archbishop of San Francisco and moves to Rome.
BARABOO (WI)
Baraboo News Republic
Brian Bridgeford
BARABOO - Baraboo priest Father Gerald Vosen will defend his reputation against sexual abuse charges when his defamation lawsuit against a Janesville man and his family goes to court next week.
Vosen, former pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church, is scheduled to be in Rock County Circuit Court in Janesville Monday for the civil action against Peter L. Arnold and his parents, Leland and Nancy Arnold. According to court documents, they told church authorities in 2003 that Vosen abused Peter when he was 11 and 12 years old while Vosen was pastor at Janesville's St. John Vianney Catholic Parish in 1989-1991.
Vosen's supporters will gather at the church's new parking lot on East and Second streets at 8 a.m. Monday, said Kathy Siberz, a parish member. They will car pool to Janesville for the trial, she said.
"Certainly, anyone who would like to support father is welcome to join us," she said. "This is just a few of us who support Father Vosen and want to clear his name and who believe him."
EVANSTON (IL)
Evanston Review
BY BOB SEIDENBERG
CITY EDITOR
The media's constant penchant to look for conflict in stories sometimes drives religious people to be frustrated with the media and feel that journalists aren't covering the most important issues, Cardinal Francis George and other religious leaders said Monday during a symposium in Evanston.
Cardinal George and several other religious leaders served as presenters at the symposium on religion and the press at Northwestern University. The gathering was co-sponsored by the Sheil Catholic Center and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
Meanwhile, a number of journalists who regularly cover religion, including NBC News 5's Mary Ann Ahern and Evanston resident Robert McClory, a former Roman Catholic priest and professor emeritus at Medill, served on the media panel, asking questions in between and after the presentations. ...
Similarly, on the sexual abuse scandal involving priests, the media necessarily reported the story about the abuses, which Cardinal George called "deeply perverse" and a "betrayal" to church members.
He said some rumors, though, were accepted as true, and the great efforts of the Roman Catholic church to help victims often went unreported.
The church and other faiths are centuries old, and have a different relationship with their followers than secular institutions, he said.
Perhaps, "we (religion and the press) simply have to live with that (the difference) ... and do the best with it" we can, said the cardinal.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Duluth News Tribune
Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. - A jury found a former priest guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting a a 10-year-old boy in 1988.
Jurors deliberated for about an hour before concluding Donald Buzanowski was guilty of two counts of assaulting David Schauer, now 27, when Schauer was a fifth-grader at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School.
Schauer testified he was pulled out of class in the fall of 1988 and sent to see Buzanowski, 62, for counseling. When the session ended, Buzanowski grabbed his arm, drew him over his lap and began fondling him, Schauer said.
Buzanowski is accused of touching the boy on different occasions, fondling him over his clothes and kissing him on the lips.
Each encounter ended with Buzanowski escorting Schauer to the door and parting with the words: "This is just between you and me," Schauer said.
CINCINNATI (OH)
The Catholic Telegraph
By Eileen Connelly, OSU
ARCHDIOCESE — With the hope it will serve as an educational tool, promote dialogue in area parishes and raise awareness of the organization’s three-fold mission, the Cincinnati affiliate of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) has released a new DVD entitled "Faithful Voices."
According to Bob Schoettinger, who serves on the local affiliate’s outreach committee, the group believed there was a need for a "real, human presentation," of the experiences of survivors of clerical abuse, along with VOTF’s mission. Working together with David DeWitt, a recent high-school graduate and parishioner at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, the two set out to accomplish this.
The project took nine months and involved every aspect of production, said DeWitt, including interviews with priests, VOTF members and abuse survivors. "Watching the people we interviewed, hearing the emotion in their voices and seeing the tears in their eyes was powerful," he said. "I think the DVD will make people aware of the reality of the problem and that it’s something we should all be concerned about."
The production also clarifies VOTF’s mission and purpose, Schoettinger explained, which is to support the survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and shape structural change within the church.
NEWARK (NJ)
The Star-Ledger
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The nation's Roman Catholic bishops agreed three years ago that the church must be transparent about sex abuse by its clergy, and yet the Newark Archdiocese continues to protect the identities of priests who have been credibly accused of sexually assaulting minors.
The Newark Archdiocese is the only Roman Catholic diocese in New Jersey that does not identify such men unless the priest is a pastor or a reporter asks about a specific priest.
The failure of this approach was underscored recently when the Rev. Gerald Ruane, who is not a pastor but who had been ordered not to present himself as a priest, was found concelebrating Mass in Morris County. Ruane, the archdiocese determined, had been credibly accused of sexual abuse. He agreed to retire and not to wear priestly vestments or to present himself as a priest in public.
But clerics at St. Joseph's Shrine in Stirling, where Ruane said Mass on Holy Thursday, knew nothing of the order, nor had they any way of knowing about it. Dressed as a priest, Ruane also gave a television interview while in Rome following the death of Pope John Paul II, and until recently, he sold books and tapes through a Catholic publisher.
A spokesman for the archdiocese said its privacy policy was predicated on a desire to protect the reputations of accused priests. Ruane was never criminally charged. The statute of limitations had long expired, but the archdiocese, after an investigation, concluded it didn't want him representing himself in public as a priest.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Catholic Courier
(Publication Date: 07-27-2005)
Originally scheduled to take place this morning (July 27), the arraignment of Father Dennis R. Sewar, a diocesan priest currently on administrative leave, has been postponed until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, in Rochester City Court.
Investigator Joseph Dominick, spokesman for the Rochester Police Department, said Father Sewar was arrested at his home in Henrietta July 22 and charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class B misdemeanor, and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor.
PORTLAND (ME)
Portland Press Herald
By DAVID HENCH, Portland Press Herald Writer
Advocates for victims of sexual abuse by clergy demonstrated outside the chancery of the Portland Diocese on Tuesday, calling on the state's bishop to publicize the names of priests who have been accused of abuse.
The group of 15 included relatives of abuse victims and Boston-area activists. The group delivered a letter asking Bishop Richard Malone to release the names of 33 clergy who were accused of sexual misconduct with children. The group said disclosure of the priests' names would alert the communities where those priests now live.
"These people need to be identified because other kids have been abused," said Pauline Salvucci of Westbrook.
"There's no excuse for hiding these people anymore," said Rick Webb of Wellesley, Mass., who helped start Speak Truth to Power, an advocacy group.
The diocese July 8 released the names of nine deceased priests who would likely have been removed from active ministry based on the allegations against them. The release followed a lawsuit by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram that compelled the state to release the names of 25 deceased clergy who had been accused.
DENVER (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
July 27, 2005
A Denver-based province of Catholic priests has agreed to continue child support for a 12-year-old boy fathered by one of its own.
"We want to do more than the letter of the law to provide for the needs of this boy," said the Rev. Thomas Picton, leader of the province of Redemptorist priests based in Denver. The province has jurisdiction over 31 states.
Since the mid-1990s, the Redemptorist Province has been quietly paying support for a son born of a consensual relationship between a man who is now a priest, the Rev. Arturo Uribe, and a woman he met in Oregon before he became a priest, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
However, it was only on Sunday, when the story broke, that Uribe's parish of more than 1,200 families in Whittier, Calif., learned of the situation.
Picton said the newspaper account of the child-support proceeding, held earlier this month in an Oregon court, was unexpected. Uribe, who had already left for a previously scheduled trip to his native Mexico, composed a statement that was read at Sunday's Masses.
COLUMBUS (OH)
Canton Repository
By PAUL E. KOSTYU Copley Columbus Bureau chief
COLUMBUS — Sex and money.
That’s the crux of the accusations that could cost Dennis Bliss his counseling license in Ohio.
The Plain Township man was fired by Nova Behavioral Health after he was accused of inappropriate behavior and relationships with clients. Nova is losing millions in tax funding because the Stark County Community Mental Health Board concluded Nova didn’t do enough to protect its clients from Bliss.
Now Bliss faces the loss of his license amidst accusations that he engaged in oral sex, made threats to keep clients quiet and filed falsified bills for counseling.
Bliss said Tuesday the accusations are false and he wants a hearing to prove it.
The Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Board notified Bliss of the charges in a letter sent Friday. He has 30 days to request a hearing. He faces revocation or suspension of his license or other disciplinary action.
Bliss, a suspended Catholic priest, said he is out of work and has applied for unemployment benefits.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
IN A blatant show of arrogance, the Toledo Catholic Diocese just doesn't get it. It has allowed a priest who served 21 months in prison for possessing child pornography to move back into a church-owned apartment near Corpus Christi University Parish. There's more: The diocese continued to keep him on the payroll while he was incarcerated.
That's a slap in the face to parishioners who have been asked to believe the church isn't coddling molesters.
State law allows authorities to force convicted sex offenders to move when they live within 1,000 feet of a school. So it logically follows that Stephen G. Rogers, former Central Catholic High School religion teacher and associate pastor, shouldn't live a mere 100 yards from the Dorr Street church that caters to University of Toledo students and hosts events for young children.
This case didn't accidently slip through the cracks. Both Toledo Diocese Bishop Leonard Blair and federal law enforcement officials signed off on the move. The feds conducted a raid and seized a large volume of child pornography from the apartment in 2002. Lord knows why the bishop approved the move, and the public has a right to know why federal officials didn't deny it.
At a time when the diocese was facing dire financial problems, it kept Rogers on the payroll while he was in prison. Although he is still a priest unless the Vatican decides to laicize him, he cannot represent himself as a priest, celebrate Mass, or serve anyone else the sacraments.
ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM
Chalonda Roberts (Rochester, NY) 07/25/05 -- A priest from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester will be in court on Wednesday.
The Rev. Dennis Sewar was arrested at his home in Henrietta this past weekend, charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
The alleged abuse took place between August of 1999 and 2001 while Sewar was a priest at the Church Of The Annunciation in Rochester.
Most recently, he was a priest at St. John's the Evangelist in Spencerport. He has been on sabbatical since January 2005 and on administrative leave since June 14.
After receiving information related to the sexual abuse charges, the Diocese immediately asked police to investigate following the guidelines of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Charter to Protect Children and Young People.
CALIFORNIA
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
By Associated Press
An advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy called on the Los Angeles Archdiocese on Tuesday not to appeal an order to release records on two priests who are being investigated by grand juries.
An appellate panel on Monday upheld an earlier decision that certain subpoenaed records regarding alleged child molestation by the priests should be turned over to a grand jury.
Now the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is asking the Archdiocese to comply with the 2nd District Court of Appeal's decision and release the documents rather than continue to appeal the ruling.
"Just once, it would be so healing and refreshing to see (Cardinal Roger) Mahony turn down a chance to fight for continued secrecy,' said Mary Grant, SNAP's western regional director.
SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Times
Two lawsuits were filed Monday by four men against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, claiming child sexual abuse by two priests.
In a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, three men accused the Rev. Barry Ashwell of abusing them at various times between 1970 and 1985.
Ashwell, who has faced previous allegations, was placed on administrative leave several years ago. His status as an active priest is pending before the Vatican. In December 2004, the archdiocese reached a settlement in one case involving him. Ashwell has denied previous allegations and could not be reached for comment.
In a lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court, one man accused the Rev. Reinard Beaver of abusing him around 1986 and 1987, when the priest served as a military chaplain at Fort Lewis. The suit also names the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Press-Gazette
By Andy Nelesen
anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com
David Schauer sat silently in the witness chair and watched the second hand of his watch sweep 360 degrees.
It marked off one minute — the span of time that a former priest and school counselor is accused of fondling Schauer during one episode in 1988.
He said it seemed like an eternity then. It felt no shorter now.
Donald Buzanowski, 62, is accused of molesting Schauer on two other occasions, while Schauer was a fifth-grader at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay. Buzanowski’s trial on charges of first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 began Tuesday in Brown County Circuit Court. A jury of six men and six women will decide the case.
DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput faxed letters Tuesday to 11 parishes across Colorado where a priest accused of child molestation formerly served, asking parishioners to come forward with information about child sexual abuse.
In response to a report Tuesday in The Denver Post detailing the allegation of abuse, Chaput also issued a statement detailing the steps the church has taken to protect children.
A 49-year-old Southern California man, Brandon Trask, notified the archdiocese this year that Harold Robert White had molested him in the early 1970s when White was pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Minturn, a small Eagle County town.
The 72-year-old White, who lives in a Denver retirement community, has said he does not remember Trask or the alleged abuse.
In the letters sent Tuesday to the 11 parishes where White served between 1960 and 1993, Chaput reiterates previous statements that White has been out of active ministry since 1993 and was laicized, or removed from clerical status, by the Vatican last year. Chaput also includes the years White served at the specific parish he is addressing.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - A lawyer asked a judge Tuesday to restore Cleveland's Roman Catholic bishop as a defendant in a suit as legal challenges and criticism against the bishop mount over his handling of a defamation case and sexual abuse cases.
Lawyer William Crosby argued that the decision to dismiss Bishop Anthony Pilla as a defendant in the defamation case was wrong because documents were withheld from Judge Janet Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Christopher Kodger and his parents, Suzan and Donald Kodger, have sued the diocese, accusing the diocese of falsely stating in 2002 that they supported the reassignment of the Rev. James Mulica. Christopher Kodger said the priest sexually abused him when he was a child.
Pilla on July 19 testified in a deposition that he twice reassigned Mulica. Pilla said the decision was made after Mulica had been treated for an alcohol problem at a treatment center for Catholic clergy.
In January, Burnside dismissed Pilla as a defendant on grounds that there was no evidence to support the family's claims against him. A motion filed Tuesday seeks to set aside that order and make Pilla a defendant again.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
On the eve of crucial settlement talks, lawyers for nearly 70 priest sexual-abuse plaintiffs say intractable differences with the Archdiocese of Portland are threatening the court-ordered mediations.
"Over the last week or so," plaintiffs' lawyer David Slader said in a Tuesday hearing on the stalemate, "I feel like a bride who showed up at the wedding, and the groom had brought a girlfriend along and had a different idea of what commitment was."
In a Tuesday letter to the judge overseeing the archdiocese bankruptcy, the church's attorney Thomas V. Dulcich contended that the plaintiffs' lawyers, after many months of discussion, had, in essence, caught them off-guard with new demands.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:10:58 EDT
A Roman Catholic diocese in Newfoundland issued a formal apology Monday for the sexual abuse inflicted on dozens of boys by one of its priests.
But the lawyer representing the victims says it's 16 years too late.
Father Kevin Bennett was convicted in 1990 of sexually abusing 36 boys while he worked in the St. George's diocese, largely in communities on the island's south coast. He served four years in prison.
Bishop Douglas Crosby issued the apology and said he regrets the court battle over the abuse took so long.
Greg Stack, who represents the victims, says it's a skimpy apology, given evidence at Bennett's trial that the bishops of the day were aware of the abuse and did nothing about it.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Beacon Journal
M.R. KROPKO
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - A lawyer on Tuesday asked a judge to restore Cleveland's Roman Catholic bishop as a defendant in a lawsuit as legal challenges and criticism against the bishop mount over his handling of a defamation case and sexual abuse cases.
Lawyer William Crosby argued that the decision to dismiss Bishop Anthony Pilla as a defendant in the defamation case was wrong because documents were withheld from Judge Janet Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Christopher Kodger and his parents, Suzan and Donald Kodger, have sued the diocese, accusing the diocese of falsely stating in 2002 that they supported the reassignment of the Rev. James Mulica. Christopher Kodger said the priest sexually abused him when he was a child.
Pilla on July 19 testified in a deposition that he twice reassigned Mulica. Pilla said the decision was made after Mulica had been treated for an alcohol problem at a treatment center for Catholic clergy.
In January, Burnside dismissed Pilla as a defendant on grounds that there was no evidence to support the family's claims against him. A motion filed Tuesday seeks to set aside that order and make Pilla a defendant again.
AUSTRALIA
Queensland Sunday Mail
By David King
27jul05
JOHN Andrew Ellis says he was a high-flying lawyer at Baker&McKenzie when memories of childhood sexual abuse resurfaced and ruined his career.
The former equity partner lost his job in May last year after his partners found he was unable to manage staff.
Mr Ellis says this problem stemmed directly from 12 years of sexual abuse inflicted by a now deceased Catholic priest, Aidan Duggan.
But the church argues it cannot be held liable for any damages claim because Duggan was not employed by the Sydney Archdiocese. Rather, priests have "a contract with God" and not with their employer.
Mr Ellis's lawyers launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday in a bid to extend the statute of limitations on the alleged abuse and sue the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney for damages and loss of income.
IRELAND
One in Four
A former Marist Brother and teacher, jailed in March for eight years for 180 counts of indecent assault on six schoolboys, was recovering in hospital last night after his neck was slashed by a fellow inmate.
Christopher Cosgrove (62) of Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris, Co Mayo, was attacked at Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, at 10.30am by a prisoner who had fashioned a weapon using a blade and another implement.
Cosgrove suffered a wound to his neck and was taken for treatment to Roscommon County Hospital. He received a number of stitches and was held for observation overnight.
Gardaí were informed about the attack and visited the prison yesterday to interview eyewitnesses. The inmate who carried out the attack has been identified.
CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC
POSTED: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:29:19 AM
UPDATED: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:31:24 AM
CLEVELAND -- A local attorney is promising to make what he's calling a major announcement about Bishop Anthony Pilla Tuesday.
Pilla is being accused of perjury, following last week's deposition on sexual abuse cases in the Diocese.
The Kodger family says a priest sexually abused their son and that they were not consulted before Pilla put the priest back in the diocese.
ROME
National
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
A recent decree by a Vatican congregation removing the well-known founder of a religious order from active ministry could indicate how Pope Benedict XVI will handle the sexual abuse crisis.
The action also may provide some hint of how the Vatican could handle other high profile cases of a similar nature, including one involving the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, a worldwide religious order.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the decree May 27 in the case of 73-year-old Italian Fr. Gino Burresi, founder of a religious order called the Congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. ...
The May 27 decree against Burresi is the culmination of a long ecclesiastical battle. Accusations of sexual misconduct with seminarians first emerged in June 1988, at which time Burresi was removed from San Vittorino and sent first to an Oblate residence in Austria, and then to Tuscany. The Oblates conducted a lengthy investigation. In the end, 11 accusations surfaced, though no canonical process against Burresi was launched. These accusations generally involved sexual contact between Burresi and young adult seminarians, not minors.
Sexual misconduct, however, is not the primary charge. On May 10, 2002, a tribunal within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded a penal process against Burresi that had been launched in 1997, five years after his split with the Oblates. The process resulted in a decree signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and his secretary Tarcisio Bertone, today the cardinal of Genoa. That decree, similar to the one issued on May 27, was never applied because the criminal process on which it was based had been annulled by a 10-year statute of limitations in canon law.
IRELAND
One in Four
The Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) has fixed December 1st for the hearing of an application by a former nun, Nora Wall, for a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice arising from her quashed conviction for rape.
The DPP has already told the appeal court he will not be contesting the application. However, the court will still have to decide whether a certificate should be granted. If Ms Wall secures a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice, this will entitle her to pursue a claim for damages against the State.
In November 1999, the DPP accepted "fully and ungrudgingly" that Ms Wall and Paul "Pablo" McCabe were entitled to be presumed innocent of all charges brought against them. The court was also told on that occasion that the DPP regretted "the errors which occurred in relation to the handling of this case by the prosecution".
The court had quashed the convictions of both Ms Wall and Mr McCabe in July 1999, following a number of errors in their trial in June 1999.
OHIO
The Marietta Times
By Justin McIntosh, jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
The return last week of a former Marietta and St. John’s priest convicted of sexually abusing a minor is drawing reactions from local church officials and an advocate for those sexually abused by priests.
Anthony T. Jablonowski, 68, of 800 Strahler Road, Waterford, registered as a sexually oriented offender Thursday at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office after being released from prison in Wyoming where he was convicted of sexual abuse against a minor. The address he listed as his new residence is the same one listed for the religious order called Carmelite Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, which he founded 14 years ago.
A statement released Monday by the bishop of the Diocese of Steubenville, which oversees the Catholic church in Washington County, said Jablonowski was to have no association with CMMI or reside on its property. The statement also said CMMI has no official status in the church because it is a lay association.
Judy Jones, the Steubenville Diocese/eastern Ohio region leader of the Survivors' Network of those Abused, said Monday she was surprised Jablonowski was released from prison already and shocked even further that he was back at CMMI.
NEWARK (NJ)
Star-Ledger
Monday, July 25, 2005
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff
When the Newark Archdiocese determined in 2003 that the Rev. Gerald Ruane had been credibly accused of sex abuse, it accepted his retirement and quietly banned him from presenting himself as a priest in public. The diocese also banned him from wearing clerical garb.
So this spring, his accuser, Michael Iatesta, was outraged to learn Ruane had just concelebrated Mass in front of more than 100 people at a Catholic shrine in Morris County and appeared in his priestly vestments on a television interview from Rome after the death of Pope John Paul II.
The archdiocese privately reprimanded Ruane, but has not changed what critics call a potentially dangerous practice that allows many credibly accused priests to benefit from a cover of confidentiality. Often, critics say, that lets them act as priests even when they have been barred from ministry.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Sioux City Journal
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- The Catholic Diocese of Davenport is facing claims from six men who say they were sexually abused by priests in the 1960s and 1970s, including Lawrence Soens, former bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, according to an attorney for the men.
The attorney, Craig Levien, is handling mediation of the claims, which he said were brought in the past month.
They are among the first brought against the diocese since it paid $9 million to settle 37 civil claims in October. Part of that earlier settlement's non-monetary terms requires future claimants to pursue mediation before filing lawsuits.
David Montgomery, a spokesman for the diocese, said there have been a few other claims brought to the diocese since the settlement, but "there hasn't been a flood."
A new lawsuit was filed by a man who accuses the Rev. Lawrence D. Soens of abusing him in the early 1960s. Soens later became the bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City.
AUSTRALIA
ABC
The Supreme Court has been told the Catholic Church cannot be sued for the alleged actions of a priest because the priest had a contract with God, rather than the church.
John Andrew Ellis alleges that between 1975 and 1986 he was repeatedly abused by Aidan Duggan, who was an assistant priest at the Bass Hill parish, where Mr Ellis was an altar boy.
He is asking the court to extend the time in which he is allowed to take legal action, despite the death of Mr Duggan last year.
Mr Ellis' lawyer, David Begg, says his client is not disputing the argument by the church that Mr Duggan was not one of its employees.
"We ask the rhetorical question, is effectively the church immune from suit," he said.
Mr Ellis says he has only recently realised the impact of the alleged abuse.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
A state appellate court ordered Cardinal Roger M. Mahony on Monday to comply with grand jury subpoenas seeking the internal church records of two former Roman Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children.
It was the second time in a year that a court has told Mahony to turn over the records.
A three-judge panel from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles rejected the archdiocese's argument that it was constitutionally protected from having to disclose documents from priest personnel files.
"While it is true the right to religious freedom holds a special place in our history and culture, there also must be an accommodation by religious believers and institutions to the rules of civil society, particularly when the state's compelling interest in protecting children is in question," Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey Klein wrote in a 49-page opinion. Justices Walter Croskey and Patti Kitching concurred.
MINTURN (CO)
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
Minturn - He is 49 years old now, with thinning hair, a goatee and an art career on the West Coast. But a drive through the town where he grew up brings childhood back to Brandon Trask: picking blueberries by the river, Sunday Mass at the old yellow church, the priest who lived across the street and touched him like a priest shouldn't.
In the early 1970s, when he was in his early teens, Trask said, the Rev. Harold Robert White invited him to the famous mineral pool in Glenwood Springs.
The boy figured it was a group outing. But driving off in the priest's black Mustang, it was just the two of them.
In the chest-deep water, Trask alleged, the priest reached into his swim trunks and molested him, holding the boy back when he tried to swim away.
Returning that night to this Eagle County town, White led the boy into his bedroom in the church rectory and molested him again, Trask alleged.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
July 26, 2005
The names of two deceased priests that the Davenport Catholic Diocese refused to disclose have been made public by men who recently submitted claims of child sexual abuse against the diocese.
The Rev. Herman Bongers, a diocesan priest, and the Rev. Raymond C. Kalter, a priest of the Redemptorist order, may be among the 25 priests the Davenport Diocese has reported as having credible reports of abuse against them, according to the claimants' attorney.
The Davenport Diocese has been forthcoming about the number of abuse allegations it has received and has released the names of living priests with credible allegations of abuse against them. However, it has been Bishop William Franklin's policy not to name deceased priests because the men cannot defend themselves against the charges and because diocesan officials who could confirm or deny the reports are also dead.
The disclosure came from Craig Levien, a Davenport attorney who in October negotiated a $9 million settlement for 37 clients against the Davenport Diocese. Levien last week submitted six new claims of sexual abuse by clergy to the diocese for mediation. They include allegations from
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— A spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Camden, N.J., said yesterday the diocese paid for counseling for the woman who has asked College of the Holy Cross officials to rename the Millard Art Center because, she alleges, the center is named in honor of a priest who sexually abused her during her childhood in New Jersey.
Andrew Walton, spokesman for the diocese, said Patricia A. Cahill of Lancaster, Pa., came to them two or three years ago and made her allegation of abuse against her uncle, the Rev. Daniel F.M. Millard, who died in 1973.
Mr. Walton said the diocese responded to the allegation by paying $6,000 for counseling for the alleged abuse.
Diocesan policy, he said, on receiving an allegation involving sexual abuse of a minor by clergy is to report the allegation to law enforcement and then to remove the priest from service.
In this case, the priest had been dead for many years, he said.
Holy Cross administrators last week said that the college takes very seriously allegations of sexual abuse.
However, they declined to change the name of the art center because family members adamantly dispute the allegation and oppose the name change.
The brother of Rev. Millard, the late Charles E.F. Millard Sr., a former Holy Cross trustee, was a major contributor to the art center and was a college benefactor.
Ms. Cahill said she wanted the college to either rename the art center or at least to remove the bronze plaque that bears the priest’s name and likeness.
She alleges that she was sexually abused by Rev. Millard from ages 5 to 13.
Children of Charles Millard have said there was never any hint of wrongdoing by their uncle and have questioned Ms. Cahill’s motives for bringing up the allegations some 40 years after the abuse was supposed to have occurred.
Two Catholic priests in New Jersey, the Rev. Robert M. Hoatson and the Rev. Kenneth E. Lasch, a canon lawyer, said they know Ms. Cahill and believe her account.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle
Marketta Gregory
Staff writer
(July 26, 2005) — A Spencerport priest accused of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Rochester City Court.
The Rev. Dennis Sewar, 54, will be arraigned on charges of third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors. The charges stem from an alleged incident when Sewar was pastor of Church of the Annunciation in northeast Rochester, where he was pastor from 1999 to 2001.
No other details about the case or the accusation against Sewar were available Monday.
He most recently was pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Spencerport. He had also served at St. Helen Church in Gates, Church of the Assumption in Fairport, St. James Church in Irondequoit and St. Mary Church in Waterloo. Plus, he taught at Good Shepherd Catholic School in Henrietta.
Sewar had been on sabbatical since January, but it was unrelated to any allegations, said Michael Tedesco, a spokesman for the diocese. Sabbaticals are routine, and any priest can apply to take one after seven years of service. They usually last three to five months and must incorporate vacation, retreat and education. Sewar's sabbatical included time spent at a university in England.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Monterey Herald
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A state appellate court has ordered Cardinal Roger Mahony to turn over internal church records of two former priests accused of sexually abusing children to a grand jury.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a previous judge's decision that the church documents involving allegations of clergy sexual abuse should be released to the grand jury. The three-judge panel rejected arguments by the Los Angeles Archdiocese that it was constitutionally protected from having to disclose documents from Roman Catholic priest personnel files.
"While it is true the right to religious freedom holds a special place in our history and culture, there also must be an accommodation by religious believers and institutions to the rules of civil society, particularly when the state's compelling interest in protecting children is in question," Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey Klein wrote in a 49-page opinion. Justices Walter Croskey and Patti Kitching concurred.
Prosecutors were encouraged by the panel's ruling.
ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM
(Rochester, NY) 07/25/05 - Bishop Matthew Clark said he is deeply disturbed by the allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in Henrietta.
In a statement released by the Rochester Catholic Diocese, leaders said the Rev. Dennis Sewar has been on administrative leave since June 14th.
The bishop shared his concerns about the allegations saying, “We continue to keep the safety and protection of children and vulnerable adults among our highest priorities and remain committed to working with the proper authorities in the prompt investigation of any behavior that is contrary to our policies."
MARIETTA (OH)
News and Sentinel
Staff Report
MARIETTA - In the last four weeks, two individuals adjudicated as sexual predators and four individuals adjudicated as sexually-oriented offenders registered their whereabouts with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
A sexual predator is an adult, or juvenile age 14 or older, who a judge has determined is likely to engage in future sexually oriented offenses and must register as such until death, officials said. A sexually oriented offender is an adult, or juvenile age 14 or older, who has been found guilty of or pleaded to committing a sexually oriented offense, but who has not been designated as a sexual predator or habitual sex offender. They must register for life or 10 years unless a judge removes this classification for juvenile offenders. ...
One of the offenders, Anthony Jablonowski, was a priest at St. Anthony Catholic Church, part of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and later was a priest with the Diocese of Steubenville. He was transferred in 1991 to start a new religious order called the Carmelite Missionaries of Mary Immaculate in Waterford, Ohio.
Jablonowski agreed to a deal in April 2004 whereby charges of felonious restraint and third-degree sexual assault would not be filed in exchange for a no contest plea to taking indecent liberties with a teenager. He was later sentenced to 15 months to seven years in prison.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
Spero News
Monday, July 25, 2005
by Tita Parham
The Rev. Eric Young was suspended from his duties as pastor of Fort Caroline United Methodist Church in Jacksonville in response to allegations that he used a computer at the church to access web sites featuring child pornography.
Those allegations led to a two-week police investigation and Young's arrest July 8 on a state felony charge of possessing child pornography.
The Rev. Rick Neal, Young's superintendent, filed a formal complaint against Young with Florida Conference Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker July 11.
"I have a responsibility to care for children. I have a responsibility to the church and pastor," Neal said. "In that list, children come first, and after taking into consideration many factors, I felt a formal complaint and request for suspension was warranted."
ROCHESTER (NY)
WHEC
The Catholic Diocese of Rochester released a statement Sunday about a local priest facing sexual abuse charges. Rochester police arrested Reverend Dennis Sewar last Friday at his home in Henrietta. Reverend Sewar is facing third degree sexual abuse charges. Police said the alleged incidents happened at the Church of the Annunciation sometime between August 1999 and August 2001.
Bishop Matthew Clark said, "I am deeply disturbed by these allegations." He also said he hopes these allegations don't diminish the progress the church has made over the past three years with it's Safe Environment Program.
News 10NBC went to the churches where Reverend Sewar served to talk with parishioners. Dan Statt is a parishioner and was shocked when he heard of the allegations. That was also the reaction of several of the parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Church, in Spencerport. Dennis Statt also said "It doesn't surprise me. There are bad apples no matter where you go. I still support my faith and you just gotta get past all this."
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Todd Ruger
Six men have brought new claims of sexual abuse by priests in the 1960s and 1970s to the Catholic Diocese of Davenport in the past month for mediation, their attorney said.
They are among the first claims brought to the diocese since it paid $9 million to settle 37 civil claims in October, and include two priests not previously named by the diocese and believed to be deceased, attorney Craig Levien said.
Part of that settlement's non-monetary terms requires future claimants to attempt to mediate the claims instead of filing lawsuits.
David Montgomery of the diocese said there have been a few other claims brought to the diocese since the settlement, but "there hasn't been a flood."
Four of the new claims are against three priests who already have faced similar suits and who Bishop William Franklin already asked the Vatican to remove from the priesthood due to credible allegations.
CALIFORNIA
The Press-Enterprise
11:34 PM PDT on Sunday, July 24, 2005
By MICHAEL FISHER / The Press-Enterprise
David wrestles with memories of reverence and revulsion, love and loathing when he discusses the Catholic clergymen who mentored him and those he claims repeatedly molested him nearly 40 years ago.
Now in his 50s, the Riverside man fondly remembers the priests at Boys Town of the Desert in Banning whose compassion and guidance still resonate with him decades later. But he bristles at the thought of two religious brothers he says molested him during the two years he spent confined at the residential-care facility for troubled and wayward boys.
"I remember laying in bed at night with my blankets pulled up to my neck, waiting for Brother Thomas to come in. I mean, where do you run when he's in charge of you?" said David, who asked that his last name not be used. "I was 11 years old. I was molested by the people that were supposed to be looking out for my safety."
Amid the wave of litigation accusing Catholic leaders nationwide of shielding sexually-abusive clergy, David is among five men suing the San Diego Diocese, claiming they were molested during the 1960s by staff at the Boys Town in Banning. The now-demolished school was modeled after the storied Nebraska institution made famous in the 1938 Spencer Tracy film.
UNITED STATES
FindLaw
By MARCI HAMILTON
hamilton02@aol.com
Monday, Jul. 25, 2005
In two recent cases involving clergy abuse - in Wisconsin and New Hampshire -- state Supreme Court rulings left victims out in the cold. Neither decision made new law, but that is why they are worth noting: The law in this area is desperately in need of amendment, if we are to prevent children from being sexually victimized in the future, and provide remedies to those who have already been traumatized by abuse. (Full disclosure, I represented the victims in each of these cases.)
As I have discussed in previous columns (such as this recent one), the legal system has fallen well short of doing justice to the victims of clergy abuse. Why? In part the explanation is that, as I document in my recent book, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law -- Americans are naïve when it comes to the actions of religious individuals and institutions.
Many of us find it very hard to accept even clear proof that these individuals and institutions have done wrong. This attitude, while understandable - we want to look up to our clergy and houses of worship - must change. The proof is there, and it is irrefutable. We cannot ignore it. Yet until recently, courts, in particular, have been slow to hold religious institutions accountable for the harm they have done.
In this column, I will explain the ramifications of the Wisconsin and New Hampshire decisions, and the way the state legislatures ought to amend their laws, in the wake of these decisions.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Star-Gazette
July 25, 2005
By DIANA LOUISE CARTER
Gannett News Service
ROCHESTER - A Roman Catholic priest in the Rochester Diocese was charged last week with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, the diocese said Sunday.
Rochester police said they arrested the Rev. Dennis Sewar, 54, most recently pastor of a suburban Rochester church, on Friday. The misdemeanor charges were filed in connection with a 1999 incident when Sewar was pastor of Church of the Annunciation in northeast Rochester, police said.
Sewar, a priest since 1983, was not assigned to any diocesan church at the time of his arrest, the diocese said Sunday in a news release. He was on sabbatical from January until June 14, when he was placed on administrative leave, the diocese said.
Diocesan spokesman Michael Tedesco said the diocese learned of the allegations in April and the Rochester Police Department was immediately notified. He said the sabbatical had nothing to do with the allegations.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle
Diana Louise Carter
Staff Writer
(July 25, 2005) — A priest charged with sexual abuse on Friday had been on sabbatical for months before the allegation emerged earlier this year.
Rochester police charged the Rev. Dennis Sewar, 54, who most recently was pastor of a Spencerport church, with a class B misdemeanor, sexual abuse in the third degree; and a class A misdemeanor, endangering the welfare of a child. The charges apparently stem from an incident in 1999 when Sewar was pastor of Church of the Annunciation in northeast Rochester.
A statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester said Sewar has been on administrative leave — meaning he cannot engage in public ministry — since June 14, after the abuse claim reached the diocese in April. A diocese spokesman said the allegation was turned over to the Rochester Police Department immediately.
"I am deeply disturbed by these allegations," said Bishop Matthew Clark in a statement Sunday. "I sincerely hope that they do not diminish in the eyes of our faithful the great progress made over the last three years," Clark said, referring to efforts by the local diocese to investigate reports of abuse and offer counseling to any victims of abuse.
ROCHESTER (NY)
WROC
7/24/2005 6:30 PM
(Joylynn Whitfield, WROC-TV)
Father Dennis Sewar, 54, was arrested and charged Friday with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
The alleged sex abuse happened between August 1999 and August 2001 while Father Sewar served at the Annunciation Church in Rochester.
Parishoners the church Sewar last pastored were shocked by the news,
"Very shocked and very stunned, because you just wouldn't think anything like this could happen to this man," said Jean Syracusa.
In a written statement from the Catholic Diocese of Rochester, Bishop Matthew Clark said, "I am deeply disturbed by these allegations...After receiving information related to alleged inappropriate behavior on Rev. Sewar's part, the Diocese of Rochester immediately asked local authorities to investigate."
HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com
A Maui man has been removed from the position of administrator of St. Ann Church in Waihee while officials investigate an allegation that he sexually abused a minor.
"The diocese has been in contact with the police, who confirm they are investigating," said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Honolulu diocese. He said the alleged abuse occurred recently but declined to give further information.
The man, who is a deacon, was put on administrative leave June 22. Besides being removed from the paid managerial position that he held for six years, he is not allowed to perform any kind of public ministry, Downes said.
The Rev. Gary Secor, who heads the diocesan Standing Committee on Sexual Misconduct, went to Maui last weekend to discuss the situation with parishioners in the small parish outside of Wailuku.
He told them that the former administrator has declined to speak to diocese officials about the matter, Downes said.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Plain Dealer
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Frank Bentayou
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ask any experienced fund-raiser, and the story's the same: Building confidence and trust means everything when you go to the well year after year.
The Cleveland Catholic Diocese is trying to bolster both qualities as it moves toward a more transparent, better informed budgeting process, according to John Maimone, chief financial officer.
The eight-county diocese, representing some 800,000 Catholics, still stings from a 2004 financial scandal.
It also made more than $14 million in payouts for settlements and legal costs in response to priests' sexual abuse of children.
Though many abuse charges surfaced only in recent years, reported events go back more than half a century.
The diocese took a step toward managing fiscal credibility, it announced recently, appointing three new professional members to the finance council that advises Maimone and Bishop Anthony Pilla on budgets.
MESA (AZ)
KOLD
MESA, Ariz. For the past three years, a former Catholic priest has refused to leave his native Ireland to face two felony counts in Arizona of sexual conduct with a minor.
Now his lawyers contend Arizona doesn't meet Ireland's standards of justice.
They say in court papers that if the former Scottsdale priest is returned to Arizona, he'd be subject to no bail and harsh jail conditions _ things considered unfair in Ireland.
His lawyers also argue that Colleary could never get a fair trial because his case is so old.
Colleary moved to his native country in 2003 before a grand jury returned an indictment alleging he sexually abused an altar boy in 1978 at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe.
ARIZONA
East Valley Tribune
By Gary Grado, Tribune
July 24, 2005
Arizona doesn’t meet Ireland’s standards of justice, say lawyers fighting the extradition of a former Scottsdale priest who stands accused of molesting an altar boy.
They contend that if Patrick Colleary is returned to Maricopa County, then he would be subject to no bail, defending himself in an antiquated case and harsh jail conditions, all of which are unfair in Ireland, states an April 16 written submission to Ireland’s High Court.
Ireland cannot force its citizens to stand trial in a country whose laws wouldn’t be tolerated under the Irish Constitution, the document states.
A judge is scheduled to issue a ruling Wednesday, said Robert Eagar, one of Colleary’s Dublin lawyers.
Colleary, former associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, moved to his native country in 2003 before a grand jury returned an indictment alleging he sexually abused a boy in 1978 at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe.
Colleary is one of three priests living abroad who were indicted after a yearlong investigation into sexual misconduct at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.
SCRANTON (PA)
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 23, 2005
An update (slightly edited) from Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond of the College of St. Justin Martyr (http://www.saintjustinmartyr.org/news/notices.html) regarding the suppressed group of Catholic clerics known as the Society of St. John (www.ssjohn.org):
"The suppressed Society of St. John has redesigned the homepage of its web site in hopes of continuing to defraud unsuspecting Catholic donors. In fact, the SSJ is once again seeking to reinvent itself so that it can rise phoenix-like from the ashes of its own self-destruction.
PORTLAND (OR)
Lost Angeles Times
By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. — Single and unemployed, Stephanie Collopy asked a Portland judge this month to order her son's father to increase her child support and to add their chronically ill boy to his health insurance plan.
Sitting on the witness stand in a white button-down shirt, gray slacks and blue blazer with a small gold cross on the lapel, Arturo Uribe — the 12-year-old boy's father — had an unusual defense: He is a Roman Catholic priest.
Uribe, who was a seminarian when he fathered the boy during a consensual affair with Collopy, had taken a vow of poverty and therefore had no money to support his son, he told the court. Now pastor of the 4,000-family St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Whittier, Uribe had never seen the boy, who was born in 1993.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Lexington Herald-Leader
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUISVILLE - Class-action status is being sought in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse at a Roman Catholic orphanage in Jefferson County over a 50-year period.
Attorney William McMurry said he wants to expand the suit beyond the current 50 plaintiffs because he thinks there are at least several hundred other victims. Judge Denise Clayton will consider the request at a hearing Monday.
A class-action designation would allow victims to make a claim without being publicly identified and would lead to advertising that would notify former orphanage residents who might live across the country and might not know of the litigation or of their rights, McMurry said.
McMurry, with attorney Ann Oldfather, represented 243 plaintiffs who settled with the Archdiocese of Louisville for $25.7 million in 2003 over sexual abuse by parish priests and others.
The suit filed last year against the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the Archdiocese of Louisville's Catholic Charities alleges sexual abuse and other physical abuse during about 50 years, primarily at three orphanages.
NEW YORK
Editor & Publisher
By E&P Staff
Published: July 23, 2005 4:30 PM ET
NEW YORK Jim Cummins, a longtime NBC News correspondent, has accused the Catholic archdiocese in Iowa of covering up sexual abuse he suffered while an altar boy.
He has been chief of NBC News' Southwest Bureau, based in Dallas, since 1989.
Cummins said he was abused by three priests in 1962, in Cedar Rapids, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Iowa. He filed the lawsuit last year, but it only became known this week when the archdiocese, in filing its response, identified him as an NBC correspondent.
The archdiocese denied the allegations and asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. It said even if the charges were true, the lawsuit was filed long after the statute of limitations — which is two years in Iowa — had passed.
Cummins, 60, declined to comment Friday, but agreed to publication of his name, the Dallas Morning News (which usually refuses to print names in such cases) reported.
WAIHEE (HI)
The Maui News
WAIHEE – Deacon Ron Gonsalves, who was administrator of St. Ann parish in Waihee, has been placed on administrative leave while officials investigate an allegation involving sexual abuse of a minor, a Hawaii Catholic Diocese spokesman said Friday.
While he has been on leave since June 22, Gonsalves “cannot act in the ministry of the deacon,” said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, which oversees all of the churches in Hawaii.
He said Father Peter Dumag has been appointed temporary administrator of the Waihee parish.
Father Gary Secor, delegate for clergy for the diocese, was on Maui last weekend to speak to parishioners of the small Waihee parish about Gonsalves’ leave and to answer questions, Downes said.
He said diocesan officials had learned from various sources that Gonsalves was under investigation by Maui police for an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.
Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the police Criminal Investigation Division confirmed that police are conducting an investigation of Gonsalves.
ROCHESTER (NY)
WHEC
7/23/05
A local priest is facing sexual abuse charges involving a teenager. Rochester police tell us 54 -year-old Father Dennis Sewar was arrested Friday afternoon at his home in Henrietta. Rochester police tell NEWS 10NBC Sewar was arrested for sex abuse in the third degree. He was released with an appearance ticket. NEWS 10NBC went to Sewar's home on Parkerhouse Road in Henrietta.
Neighbors tell NEWS 10NBC Sewar has lived in the same house with his mother all his life. Rochester police would only tell us the arrest stems from a sex abuse allegation that happened while Sewar was a priest at Church of the Annunciation in Rochester. So far the allegation involves one a teenager and a sex abuse crime between 1999 and 2001. NEWS 10NBC spoke to some neighbors of Sewar's who say they're surprised and concerned. NEWS 10NBC called the Rochester Catholic Diocese but didn't hear back in time for our newscast.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Demorat & Chronicle
Rochester police arrested the Rev. Dennis Sewar, 54, on Friday, charging him with third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said the Roman Catholic priest was issued an appearance ticket and released.
According to the Diocese of Rochester’s Catholic Courier, Sewar has been placed on indefinite leave at his own request. Bishop Matthew H. Clark granted the leave, effective June 28.
Sewar most recently served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Spencerport, where he had worked since 2003. He was ordained in 1983.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Caitlin Liu, Times Staff Writer
Prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges Friday against a man who handcuffed himself to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony's chair during a recent Sunday Mass to protest the archdiocese's handling of the priest sex abuse scandal.
Victim advocates said they were outraged by the charges against James C. Robertson, who contends he was abused.
Robertson, 58, of Mount Washington, has sued the church, alleging he was molested by two Catholic brothers at a Gardena high school during the 1960s. He faces up to 1½ years in jail and $2,000 in fines on charges of trespassing and disrupting a religious service.
"It's unbelievable," said Steven Sanchez, the Los Angeles director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "For the last five or six decades, priests have gone and confessed to Cardinal Mahony or his predecessors that they were molesting kids, and all this time, Cardinal Mahony and his predecessors could not find the LAPD's phone number … until [Robertson] makes a silent protest."
MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
BY MARICELLA MIRANDA
Pioneer Press
A Hennepin County jury on Friday convicted a former Catholic priest from St. Paul of sexual misconduct with two female parishioners.
John Joseph Bussmann, 51, was found guilty of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office. The jury convicted him after a one-week trial and a half-day of deliberations. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said consent was not a defense in this case because the incidents happened while Bussmann was religiously counseling the victims.
Bussmann's defense attorney denied that the incidents happened during an ongoing religious counseling relationship. Bussmann, who was a priest at St. Walburga Catholic Church in Hassan, Minn., and St. Martin's Catholic Church in Rogers, Minn., did not testify at the trial.
One victim reported to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in March 2003 that Bussmann had sex with her about nine times from September 2002 to March 2003 at the church rectory, in his car, in her home and at his St. Paul condominium, prosecutors said. He allegedly told her God had put the two of them together.
Authorities found documents at Bussmann's condominium indicating he possibly had a sexual relationship with another female parishioner, prosecutors said in a statement Friday. The woman told investigators she and Bussmann had sex at least four times. Bussmann allegedly told the victim her recently deceased mother wanted them to be together.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Contra Costa Times
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Misdemeanor charges were filed against a man who handcuffed himself to Cardinal Roger Mahony's chair during a mass last month to protest the church's handling of child molestation cases involving priests.
James C. Robertson, 58, had filed a lawsuit in state court against the Los Angeles Archdiocese on allegations that he was molested by a priest as a minor.
City prosecutors Friday filed charges of trespassing and disrupting a religious service. If convicted, Robertson faces up to one year in jail and $2,000 in fines.
"It's really about making sure that the rights of the people who want to worship are respected," said archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg.
DES MOINES (IA)
WHO
Des Moines, July 22nd, 2005- A Des Moines youth pastor is in jail, accused of violating a court order. Damion Armond Rutues is accused of sexually abusing two girls he met at church.
The 26-year-old is being held without bail on charges of lascivious acts with a child and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. Rutues was first arrested back in November when two girls said he touched them inappropriately at his home and at a church office. He will go to trial in August.
CANADA
CNW Telbec
CORNER BROOK, NL, July 22 /CNW/ - Ernst & Young Inc., on behalf of the
Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. George's and in its capacity as
trustee, today paid $1.9 million to creditors of the Corporation.
On July 5, 2005 the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador approved
the Corporation's proposal that the creditors of the Roman Catholic Episcopal
Corporation of St. George's had approved overwhelmingly on May 25, 2005.
Total payments under the settlement agreement will amount to in excess of
$13.1 million.
In 1990 Kevin Bennett, then a priest of the Diocese of St. George's, was
sentenced for the sexual abuse of 36 young men over a period of almost 20
years and served four years in prison. Since that time a number of victims
launched civil suits at a total claimed value in excess of $50 million. In
March 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada found the Corporation directly and
vicariously liable.
On March 8, 2005 the Corporation filed a Notice of Intention to file a
proposal pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which effected a
"stay of proceedings" in civil actions against the Corporation. The intent of
the filing was to provide the Corporation with adequate time to develop a
proposal to its creditors offering a better compensation plan than would be
available if the Corporation were forced to declare bankruptcy.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
10:52 PM CDT on Friday, July 22, 2005
By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
Jim Cummins, a Dallas-based correspondent for NBC News, has accused a Catholic archdiocese in Iowa of covering up two instances of sexual abuse that happened to him almost 43 years ago.
Mr. Cummins, 60, has sued the archdiocese of Dubuque. The suit, filed in federal court in Iowa last year, does not identify him as a network newsman. This week, however, the archdiocese filed its written response denying the allegations and identifying Mr. Cummins as an NBC correspondent.
An Iowa newspaper, The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, reported the professional connection last year, but until this week it remained largely unknown outside Iowa.
Mr. Cummins, reached at work in Dallas on Friday, declined to comment. His lawyer in Iowa, Chad Swanson, would say only that he planned to rebut the denials from the archdiocese.
The Dallas Morning News generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but Mr. Cummins agreed to publication of his name.
The archdiocese said Mr. Cummins' charges, even if true, were filed long after the statute of limitations has passed. In its legal response, it said archdiocese officials knew nothing about Mr. Cummins' claims until last year, when he filed suit. It asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.
Mr. Cummins, chief of NBC News' Southwest Bureau, was an altar boy and high school basketball star in Cedar Rapids. In the summer of 1962, when he was 17, he was abused by three priests, he said in his lawsuit.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, July 23, 2005
By James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday defended the observations on women and work in his new book, and stood by his controversial remarks linking Boston's supposedly liberal climate to the scandal of priests and sexual abuse.
Santorum, R-Pa., who faces a likely challenge next year from Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., revisited those topics, lightning rods for criticism in recent weeks, as he embarked on a series of appearances to promote "It Takes a Family," his newly published work, which combines a critique of liberal orthodoxy with a call for conservative solutions to the challenges of poverty.
On Monday, the senator is scheduled to appear on the "Today" show, Fox News and, perhaps most improbably, "The Daily Show," with Jon Stewart, on Comedy Central.
OHIO
The Marietta Times
By Justin McIntosh, jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
The former Marietta and St. John’s priest convicted of sexual liberties with a minor in Wyoming has returned to Washington County and the religious community he formed 14 years ago.
Anthony T. Jablonowski, 68, of 800 Strahler Road, Waterford, registered as a sexually oriented offender Thursday at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Five other sexual offenders have also recently registered, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office report on the issue made public Friday.
Sheriff Larry Mincks said a sexually oriented offender is a first time sexual offender who must register with local law enforcement for the length of their classification, which Mincks said can run from 10 years to a lifetime. Jablonowski was designated as a lifetime sexually oriented offender.
ILLINOIS
Daily Herald
By Tona Kunz
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Saturday, July 23, 2005
The mental health records of a former Geneva priest won’t become leverage in a civil suit against him for sexual abuse.
An attorney for the two women suing Mark Campobello and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford had sought the medical records. The women hope to find references to evaluations and treatment referrals related to the sexual abuse, which would show what the diocese knew about the abuse and when.
Although Kane County Judge F. Keith Brown found the diocese had records of treatment referrals made after the diocese became concerned with Campobello’s conduct, the judge deemed the records unusable in civil lawsuits. The conduct of concern was not identified.
Brown ruled that all of the records he was provided by the diocese were either irrelevant to the civil suits or protected by the state’s health confidentiality act.
Key to the confidentiality protection is the fact that Campobello has objected to the release of the documents. The diocese, which acted as a go-between for Campobello and the medical providers, does not have the right, nor can it be forced, to turn over the records over Campobello’s objections, Brown ruled.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
July 23, 2005
Advocates for the victims of priest abuse on Friday criticized the Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque for hardball tactics in asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an NBC news correspondent.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque has asked a federal judge to dismiss James Cummins' lawsuit, saying he was 17 and not a child when the abuse allegedly occurred. In the process, the archdiocese identifies Cummins, of Dallas, Texas, as an NBC news correspondent and bureau chief.
Cummins sued the Rev. William Roach and the archdiocese last year using his real name, but he did not include any other identifying information in his petition.
Steve Theisen, a co-founder of North East Iowa Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in an e-mail Friday, said Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus' "arguments are appalling."
"Hanus may have a legal right to defend the archdiocese like this and to blame the victim. But what he's doing is shameful. Catholics should be embarrassed and outraged by this," wrote Theisen of Hudson.
Archdiocese officials could not be reached Friday afternoon for comment.
KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal
By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Class-action status is being sought for a lawsuit filed by about 50 people who allege they were abused as children while living at Roman Catholic orphanages in Jefferson County.
In a filing in Jefferson Circuit Court, attorney William McMurry said he's seeking to expand the suit because he and his plaintiffs believe there are at least several hundred other victims.
Judge Denise Clayton will consider the request at a hearing Monday.
A class-action designation would allow victims to make a claim without being publicly identified, as they would be if they filed their own suit. It also would lead to advertising that would notify former orphanage residents -- who may live across the country and not know of the litigation -- of their rights, McMurry said.
McMurry, working with attorney Ann Oldfather, represented 243 plaintiffs who settled with the Archdiocese of Louisville for $25.7 million in 2003 over sexual abuse by parish priests and others.
DALLAS (TX)
AZCentral.com
Associated Press
Jul. 23, 2005 12:00 AM
DALLAS - An NBC News correspondent has accused the Catholic archdiocese in Iowa of covering up sexual abuse he suffered while an altar boy.
Jim Cummins said he was abused by three priests in 1962, when he was 17, while an altar boy in Cedar Rapids, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Iowa.
In a written response this week, the archdiocese denied the allegations and asked that the lawsuit be dismissed, the Dallas Morning News said.
The archdiocese said even if the charges were true, the lawsuit was filed long after the statute of limitations, which is two years in Iowa, had passed.
Cummins filed the lawsuit last year, but it only became widely known this week when the archdiocese filed its response and identified Cummins as an NBC correspondent.
PORTLAND (OR)
Canton Repository
By JULIA SILVERMAN Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday joined together an estimated 389,000 Roman Catholic parishioners in western Oregon as defendants in a massive lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by priests.
The action by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris is unusual because typically plaintiffs, not defendants, organize as a class in civil cases.
But in this instance, lawyers for members of 124 parishes will argue that parishioners — not the archdiocese — own $600 million in church assets and property. If their argument succeeds, it would make the assets off-limits to plaintiffs.
More than 240 abuse claims are pending against the Archdiocese of Portland, seeking at least $400 million in damages. More than 100 cases have been settled, while others are headed to mediation.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
Local6.com
POSTED: 12:56 pm EDT July 22, 2005
UPDATED: 2:19 pm EDT July 22, 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The state has suspended the licenses of two church-affiliated day care centers.
Former director Joshua Palin is charged with molesting ten children, some of them during what investigators say were twisted games of Truth or Dare.
At the centers, children were allegedly sexually assaulted and forced to eat worms, pick each other's noses and smell each other's feet during employee-led games of "Truth or Dare."
Former director Joshua Palin is charged with molesting ten children, some of them during what investigators say were twisted games of Truth or Dare. He is the son of the affiliated church's pastor.
Palin was originally charged last month with molesting two girls. He's being held on bond.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
An organization representing survivors of pedophile priests met with Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., Thursday to ask his help in getting the Justice Department to investigate the Catholic Church.
The request comes in the wake of a controversy over a column Santorum wrote in 2002 blaming the Catholic sex scandal on Boston liberals. Members of the the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) feel the comments were hurtful to them, but want to use the controversy to try to convince Santorum to join them in trying to get law enforcement to hold the church accountable, just as teachers and others in position of authority over children.
Tammy Lerner of Lowhill Township is director of the Pennsylvania chapter of SNAP. She and two national SNAP officials met with Santorum and also planned to meet with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who used the U.S. Senate floor as his podium to criticize Santorum for his comments
Santorum, who is up for re-election in Pennsylvania next year, wrote a column for a Catholic Web site in 2002 saying that promoting alternative lifestyles feeds such aberrant behavior as priests molesting children.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture," Santorum wrote, "When the culture is sick, every element of it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm," Santorum said.
Santorum, who is Catholic, refused to retract the statement when asked about it by a Boston Globe reporter.
TUCSON (AZ)
The Day
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Published on 7/22/2005
Tucson, Ariz. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson was the second in the nation to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of sex abuse claims against priests, and now it looks to be the first one to emerge.
But whether it now will serve as a model for similar negotiations in other dioceses, as Bishop Gerald Kicanas hopes, is an open question.
At least in the short term, it seems unlikely to have much impact on two more acrimonious diocesan bankruptcies playing out in Portland, Ore., and Spokane, Wash., according to bankruptcy experts and other specialists who have followed the sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic church. And the leader of a major victim's advocacy group expressed disappointment with the settlement.
Still, Sam Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va., said the Tucson case shows what's possible if all sides are determined to reach a deal.
“Everybody had an eye on the ball, which is important,” he said. “The eye has not been on the ball in the other cases.”
TUCSON (AZ)
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 22, 2005
An alleged abuse victim in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson has filed a complaint with the State Bar of Arizona against an attorney representing other alleged abuse victims.
In the complaint, Brian Francis O'Connor alleges that attorney Ivan Abrams has "acted in an unprofessional and unethical manner." Abrams has been involved in a RICO case that was featured in the following article: http://www.cruxnews.com/rose/rose-23july04.html.
The following is Abrams' "unofficial" response to O'Connor (slightly edited):
"Proving that his professions of peace and love and a time for good will are hollow, alleged victim of priestly abuse Brian Francis O'Connor filed a complaint against me (Ivan Abrams) with the State Bar of Arizona, alleging that I acted in an unprofessional and unethical manner when I filed one of my many objections to the actions of the Debtor, certain counsel, and the Tort Claimants' Committee in the almost-concluded Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.
CALIFORNIA
Daily Bulletin
By Brad A. Greenberg, Staff Writer
A support group for people abused by priests said Thursday that a secret agreement between the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the Diocese of San Bernardino was "tantamount to the FBI striking a deal with Al Capone."
In a scathing letter to District Attorney Grover Trask, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, accused Trask of helping to protect a former Chino priest charged with 58 counts of sexual abuse. (Read the complete letter)
"We strongly suspect that the diocese's secret deal is another attempt to manipulate and undermine your credibility and efforts to locate, arrest, and prosecute Fr. Jessie Dominguez and other molesters," the letter from SNAP stated.
Both sides said Thursday the agreement will not inhibit the apprehension and prosecution of defrocked priest Jesus A. Dominguez, who investigators believe fled to Mexico.
The agreement was related to Dominguez's personnel file, which Riverside County investigators seized Jan. 25 from diocesan headquarters in San Bernardino.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Boston Globe
By Associated Press | July 22, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Senator Rick Santorum assured abuse victims yesterday that he would look into why the Justice Department has yet to respond to their request for an investigation of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The meeting between Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican who is Roman Catholic, and three members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests was scheduled after some of its members expressed outrage over a column he wrote in 2002.
''When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected," Santorum wrote in the column. ''While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts criticized the column on the Senate floor last week.
The three SNAP members said Santorum stood by his comments, but they were pleased he agreed to contact the Justice Department. ''It's hard to say until we see what happens next," said Peter Isely, a member of the group's national board.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
John Salveson
is the local spokesman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
By now, you're probably familar with U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's comments about the Roman Catholic clergy sex-abuse scandal:
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Santorum's remarks reflect a profound misunderstanding of this scandal. Those of us who were abused by a trusted, often loved, clergy member could describe in exacting detail the first time we were violated - but few of us knew or cared whether the assailant was a liberal or a conservative.
We weren't considering the societal currents that led priests to force us into oral sex. We were terrified, violated and abandoned. And then, if we went to the church for help, we were lied to, berated and abandoned. Our church leaders chose, and mostly still choose, to protect the child rapists in their midst rather than helping the child victims.
Two reasons prompt this response to Santorum's comments. The first is a sincere desire to educate the senator and his colleagues about the truly important points of this issue. Toward that end, we invite him to attend a meeting of clergy sex-abuse survivors to learn about their experiences.
BRIDGEPORT (CT)
The Connecticut Post
DANIEL TEPFER dtepfer@ctpost.com
BRIDGEPORT — A Superior Court jury on Thursday awarded $5 million to a former city man who claimed to have been sexually abused by a landscaper at St. Theresa's Church in Trumbull more than 30 years ago.
Michael Powel, 47, broke into tears and hugged his lawyer, Helen McGonigle, as Judge Edward F. Stodolink read the verdict.
But the award against landscaper Carlo Fabbozzi may end up being only a moral victory. Fabbozzi, 78, who lives at 3900 Park Ave., did not appear for the trial. The defense table was noticeably empty as McGonigle presented her case to the jury.
With no defense, it took the jury of four men and two women less than an hour to find Fabbozzi responsible for injuring Powel and award him economic damages of $2 million and punitive damages of $3 million.
Attempts to reach Fabbozzi at his home Thursday were unsuccessful.
"I did this for the children, to make sure no one else is hurt like I was hurt," said Powel who fought a four-year battle for vindication of his allegations. "That's what it's all about."
WASHINGTON (DC)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 7:33 am EDT July 22, 2005
UPDATED: 7:36 am EDT July 22, 2005
WASHINGTON -- A key Pennsylvania senator assured a group of advocates Thursday he would look into why the Justice Department has yet to respond to their request for an investigation of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The meeting between Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and three members of the Survivors Networks of those Abused by Priests was arranged after some members expressed outrage over a column Santorum wrote.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., criticized the 2002 column in a rare personal attack on Santorum last week on the Senate floor. The column linked Boston's liberalism to the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church.
The three members said Santorum stood by his comments, but they were pleased he agreed to contact the Justice Department.
"It's hard to say until we see what happens next," said Peter Isely, a national board member for the group.
Tammy Lerner, a member from New Tripoli, Pa., said they did not ask Santorum for an apology. Instead, they asked for help in affecting change that would lead to more prosecutions, she said.
"He made a commitment to doing that," Lerner said.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— The College of the Holy Cross will not change the name of the Millard Art Center on campus, a college spokeswoman said yesterday.
Patricia A. Cahill, a Lancaster, Pa., resident and the niece of the late Rev. Daniel E.F. Millard, a 1947 Holy Cross graduate for whom the building is named, alleged in an interview this week that her uncle sexually abused her when she was between the ages of 5 and 13. She said the abuse occurred during the 1950s while she was growing up in New Jersey.
The art center, which opened in 1993, was built in Rev. Millard’s honor through a bequest from his brother, the late Charles Millard Sr., who served as a college trustee. Marylou Millard Ferrara, Charles Millard’s daughter, said this week that she and her seven siblings never saw any hint of sexual misconduct by her uncle and they don’t believe Ms. Cahill’s accusations.
Ellen M. Ryder, college spokeswoman, said the college understands “that any allegation of sexual abuse must be taken seriously. We have been in touch with Ms. Cahill and members of the family of Charlie Millard, who donated the funds to renovate and name the art center.
“The family disputes the claim and opposes the name change,” Ms. Ryder added. “Given what we know in this case, the name of the campus building will not be changed.”
Two Catholic priests said yesterday they know Ms. Cahill and believe her.
Holy Cross should live up to its “honored name” and hear Ms. Cahill’s case, said the Rev. Kenneth E. Lasch of New Jersey, a church canon lawyer who has been a consultant to Ms. Cahill. “I am confident in the truthfulness of Patricia Cahill’s testimony.”
The Rev. Robert M. Hoatson, also of New Jersey, founder and president of Rescue & Recovery International Inc., said he also believes Ms. Cahill’s allegations.
“She has bravely confronted the effects of her abuse …” the priest said.
WASHINGTON
NBC 11
POSTED: 11:13 am PDT July 21, 2005
A former youth pastor wanted on child pornography charges in Washington state has been arrested in California.
The FBI said agents arrested James Cannel, 45, Tuesday night while he was attending a party at a San Mateo home.
Cannel was arrested in February by Seattle police who said he used the Internet to try to arrange a sexual encounter with an undercover officer posing as a 12-year-old boy.
Cannel, who had been a youth pastor at a Selah church, fled after his federal indictment in May.
CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC
POSTED: Thursday, July 21, 2005 11:58:00 AM
UPDATED: Thursday, July 21, 2005 12:13:37 PM
CLEVELAND -- The attorney for the family suing the Cleveland Diocese for defamation is now accusing Bishop Pilla of perjury.
The Kodger family says their son was sexually abused by a priest and they were not consulted before the bishop put Father James Mulica back in the diocese.
A May 17th letter from Father Edward Weist addressed to Bishop Pilla indicates the Kodger family was consulted before the diocese let Father Mulica return to ministry.
Pilla said in testimony that he doesn’t recall the letter.
PHOENIX (AZ)
East Valley Tribune
By Gary Grado, Tribune
July 21, 2005
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a Chandler man who claimed a priest molested him in 1978.
Tucson attorney Kim Williamson, who represents Mark Kennedy, said there will be no admission of wrongdoing by the diocese, which is typical in lawsuit settlements.
The diocese has been paying for Kennedy’s counseling for the past two years and agreed to pay for another two years or $10,000, whichever comes first, Williamson said.
"He’s happy with the result and happy that he can feel good about the diocese," Williamson said.
Diocese attorney Mike Haran said the settlement was for less than it would have cost to try the case, but that Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted is most concerned about healing and reconciliation.
The two sides just need to sign the agreement and file paperwork with the court, the attorneys said.
CINCINNATI (OH)
The Catholic Telegraph
ARCHDIOCESE —Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters announced criminal indictments against Raymond Larger, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, on July 13. The six-count indictment against Larger is comprised of three counts that include sexual battery and gross sexual imposition on a minor and three counts of rape of the same minor during the years 1995-1997, while Larger was pastor of St. James Parish in White Oak.
The alleged victim was a student at St. James School during that period; he is now 21.
Larger, 54, was released on $25,000 bond and has been placed on administrative leave by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk effective July 13. Administrative leave is the strongest action that a diocesan bishop can take on his own authority. It means that a priest is not permitted to use the titles "Reverend" or "Father" to refer to himself as a priest, to administer the sacraments or to wear clerical garb. Further action by the archdiocese must await the outcome of the secular legal process.
A native of Sidney who was ordained in 1977, Larger was pastor at St. James for 11 years. He then was named pastor of Our Lady of Visitation Church in 2002 but resigned the pastorate in 2003 when he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of public indecency in a Dayton public park. Following a period of administrative leave, psychiatric evaluation and a year of legal probation, Larger was returned to active ministry in May 2004 with residence at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains. He has been involved with work on the Futures Implementation project of the archdiocese and has assisted at various parishes as needed on weekends.
WISCONSIN
The Capital Times
By Pat Schneider
July 21, 2005
Christopher Leonard defied the secrecy of the Catholic Church Wednesday, talking openly about the priest sexual abuse that church officials wanted him to speak of only behind closed doors.
Leonard, 43, said he was sexually abused by the Rev. Kenneth Klubertanz in Janesville in 1975.
Now living in Missouri, Leonard was in Madison to testify at a closed canonical trial by the Diocese of Madison adjudicating accusations of sexual abuse against Klubertanz.
Klubertanz has denied the allegations.
Leonard spoke at a news conference arranged through Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), and took the opportunity to advocate for legislation that would provide a one-year window during which victims of clergy sex abuse could bring lawsuits in claims for which the legal deadline for filing has passed.
MADISON (WI)
Janesville Gazette
(Published Thursday, July 21, 2005 10:50:39 AM CDT)
By Sid Schwartz
Gazette Staff
MADISON-A former Janesville man who in March told The Janesville Gazette he was sexually abused by a priest as a child testified Wednesday against the priest in a church trial.
"We'll have to wait and see what happens out of the trial," Christopher Leonard said after testifying Wednesday afternoon.
He said he was sworn to secrecy about his testimony.
"I was under oath. I have to respect that," he said.
"But I can say that there wasn't anything that I told you that I probably didn't testify to."
In March, Leonard told the Gazette that in 1975 the Rev. Kenneth Klubertanz, then a priest at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Janesville, took him camping in northern Wisconsin. While they bathed naked in a lake, Leonard said, Klubertanz sexually assaulted him.
CALIFORNIA
The Salinas Californian
By VICTOR CALDERON
The Salinas Californian
A national support group for victims of clergy molestation and abuse has formed a chapter on the Central Coast, responding to what they say is a lack of significant outreach to victims by the Diocese of Monterey.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has formed a self-help support group, the 10th chapter located in California.
"By starting a support group here, we hope victims can feel comfortable in coming forward to report a crime," Terri Austin, director of the Central Coast chapter, said Wednesday.
Mary Grant, western regional director for the nonprofit SNAP, said a chapter is started when survivors meet others like themselves in their area and join to form a support group. Grant estimates there are hundreds of clergy-abuse survivors on the Central Coast but said the exact number is unclear because victims have difficulty reporting such crimes.
"We want to let victims know they're not alone," she said. "We felt the diocese (of Monterey) hasn't done enough outreach to victims of clergy abuse."
The Diocese of Monterey encompasses Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and San Luis Obispo counties.
CINCINNATI (OH0
Dayton Daily News
By the Dayton Daily News
A man whose claims of childhood abuse led to the indictment of the Rev. Raymond Larger is seeking unspecified damages in a civil lawsuit filed against the priest and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Ken Lawson, one of the man's attorneys, said his client was abused several times between December 1995 — when he was 11 — and August 1997.
A Hamilton County grand jury on July 14 indicted Larger on six counts of child abuse stemming from the allegations.
The man said the abuse occurred when Larger was a priest and pastor at St. James Parish in White Oak.
The man, identified as John Doe, was an altar boy.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
The Kansas City Star
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - Three years after being charged with sodomizing a teenage boy in the late 1970s, a St. Louis Catholic priest may be heading to court.
Circuit Judge Donald McCullin on Wednesday refused to dismiss the felony count of forcible sodomy against the Rev. Thomas Graham.
The charge has led to pleadings all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court on whether the statute of limitations bars a charge filed so late. The state Supreme Court in December upheld an appeals court decision that it does not.
The case is widely seen by Missouri prosecutors as a test to see how well the sodomy charge can be used to convict child molesters decades after their alleged crimes. Standard child molestation laws require charges to be filed relatively quickly.
Graham, 70, is accused of performing oral sex on a boy in his early teens at the rectory of St. Louis' Old Cathedral. The charge says it happened between mid-January 1975 and the end of 1978.
CALIFORNIA
The Press-Enterprise
11:06 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 20, 2005
The Press-Enterprise
Riverside County prosecutors decided Wednesday not to discuss details of an agreement they reached with the Diocese of San Bernardino over a defrocked priest's personnel file, which was seized by authorities in January.
The decision not to release details came during a meeting of Riverside County district attorney's officials, spokeswoman Ingrid Wyatt said. Diocesan officials did not participate in the meeting, she said.
The Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the million-member diocese, encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said the diocese is also not discussing the accord.
The file, which remains sealed before a Riverside County judge, was confiscated Jan. 25 when authorities served a search warrant at the diocese's San Bernardino headquarters as part of their investigation into Jesús Armando Dominguez, a former priest now facing 58 child-molestation charges.
IRELAND
The Post
21/07/2005 - 8:24:30 AM
The Diocese of Ferns has reportedly reached a €200,000 settlement with a man who was sexually abused while a student priest in Wexford town.
Reports this morning said the payment was made earlier this year to a local priest who alleges he was abused by Fr Donal Collins, the former president of St Peter's seminary in Wexford.
Fr Collins was jailed for a year in 1999 for sexually assaulting four boys in the 1970s.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Marie Szaniszlo
Thursday, July 21, 2005 - Updated: 02:19 AM EST
The Catholic League yesterday blasted a proposed referendum on the operations of the Boston archdiocese.
``The real purpose of this is to intimidate the Archdiocese of Boston by having an arm of the state whip the public into a frenzy about matters they have no constitutional business sticking their noses into,'' League President William Donohue said.
City councilors Jerry P. McDermott, James M. Kelly and Paul Scapicchio want the Nov. 8 ballot to include a nonbinding question asking voters whether they agree that the archdiocese has failed to work with the city's neighborhoods to mitigate the impact of Catholic parish and school closings.
The councilors proposed the nonbinding question last week in the wake of Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley's decision to close more than 60 of the archdiocese's 357 parishes due to a shortage of priests, changing demographics and a financial crisis brought on largely by a drop in donations as a result of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal.
FLORIDA
Gainesville Sun
The Associated Press
July 21. 2005 6:01AM
GREEN COVE SPRINGS - The former director of a church-affiliated day care center has been charged with molesting 10 children, some of them during what investigators said was a twisted game of "Truth or Dare."
Joshua Palin, 25, was originally charged last month with molesting two girls, ages 12 and 13, at his Jacksonville home.
The additional charges were added this week after Clay County sheriff's investigators interviewed children who attended the Kid's Palace centers in Orange Park and at Doctors Lake.
The centers, which were licensed for 176 children, were operated by Faith Ministries, a church at which Palin's father is pastor. They were closed June 15.
The new charges accuse Palin of using games of "Truth or Dare" between June 1, 2004, and June 7 of this year to molest youngsters at the centers.
"Truth or Dare" is played by having one person ask another: "Truth or dare?" If the person answers "truth," they are asked an embarrassing question. If the response is "dare," they are asked to do something embarrassing.
Palin is charged with "daring" children age 5 to 14 to fondle him or each other or to perform oral sex on each other.
KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader
By Bruce Schreiner
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A judge's written order yesterday gave plaintiffs' lawyers the go-ahead to advertise terms of a potential $120 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and alleged victims of sexual abuse.
Judge John W. Potter's order, issued in Boone County Circuit Court in Burlington, came in a class-action lawsuit accusing the Northern Kentucky diocese of a decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse by priests. The order formalized his preliminary approval of the proposed settlement.
"We're moving forward," plaintiffs' attorney Stan Chesley said.
Potter, a retired circuit court judge from Louisville, also agreed to expand potential plaintiffs to include those allegedly abused before 1956 or allegedly victimized by lay employees of the diocese.
"It's what both the plaintiffs and the defendants want, which is to be inclusive of everyone," Chesley said in a phone interview.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
The Standard-Times
By DAVID KIBBE, Standard-Times staff writer
Renee P. Dupuis of New Bedford, the first assistant district attorney for Bristol County, was nominated by Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday to become associate justice of the Juvenile Court in Suffolk County.
Dupuis, who has been at the Bristol County District Attorney's Office since 1986, has prosecuted more than 30 murder trials. She was previously the director of the office's Sexual Assault/Child Abuse Unit and was chief trial counsel. ...
Last year, Dupuis prosecuted a civil commitment case against pedophile priest James R. Porter to keep him in prison after his original sentence expired, arguing he was a danger to the community. Porter died behind bars at the age of 70.
Walsh said Dupuis' experience in the Sexual Assault/Child Abuse Unit, which she led for about 10 years, made her particularly well suited for the Juvenile Court bench.
CANADA
London Free Press
CP 2005-07-21 01:16:24
SUDBURY -- A London man told a news conference yesterday how he was allegedly controlled, brutalized and raped by a priest when he was a boy in the northeastern Ontario town of Warren.
"I'm not lying down any more in bed saying I want to die," Robert Berube said of his determination to heal, hold the church accountable and help other victims.
Father Jean-Claude Etienne has been dead for nearly eight years, but the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie could still end up paying for his alleged sexual abuse and assault of Berube more than 30 years ago.
London-based law firm Ledroit Beckett has filed a statement of claim seeking $3.1 million in damages as compensation for the suffering Etienne allegedly inflicted on Berube.
The diocese has not yet filed a statement of defence in the case.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Beacon Journal
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer
Three women who allege they were abused in the mid-1960s by a priest at Akron's now-closed St. Mary High School criticized Bishop Anthony M. Pilla on Wednesday for not keeping his promises.
The women -- Colleen Hager of Charlotte, N.C.; Terri Heinzen of Russellville, Ark., and Sharon Barrett of Akron -- held a news conference outside the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland to disclose details of a settlement they reached with diocesan officials two years ago.
They said Pilla failed to apologize and make disclosures about the priest whom they accused of sex abuse.
``Just as much as we werenaive back in the 1960s when we were molested, we were naive to believe that Bishop Pilla would give us the apology that he promised,'' said Barrett, 58, of Akron. ``The diocese promised us in 2003 that they would give us a public apology and send us a written letter of apology, and they never did.
``I just don't think it's right that this priest is able to hide because the diocese won't make his name public,'' Barrett said. ``It makes me angry to know that there are priests out there who have caused so much pain and the diocese is covering for them, just to save face.''
CLEVELAND (OH)
The News-Herald
A day after testifying in a sex abuse-related case, Bishop Anthony Pilla was criticized by three women who say he broke promises he made after they accused a former priest of abusing them 40 years ago.
They said Pilla and the diocese did not apologize and make disclosures about the priest who they say abused them.
The timing of their comments on a sidewalk outside of the diocese headquarters at St. John Cathedral was a coincidence to Pilla's testimony Tuesday in a civil case, said Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn.-based lawyer for the women.
He said they planned to go public about a month ago and picked the day and location without realizing the bishop was involved in another sex abuse case requiring his testimony.
On Tuesday, Pilla testified in a defamation case against the Cleveland diocese that he twice reassigned a priest who allegedly sexually assaulted a child.
By GREGORY BROWN
Staff Writer
WATERVILLE (ME)
Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- With sex out of the way the conversation tacked towards religion last night at Steve's restaurant.
During the second of three "Theology on Tap" sessions Bishop Richard Malone of the Portland Diocese entertained a group of roughly 70 Catholics all between 18 and 40 and all seeking answers about the actual faith they follow.
Between hauls of glasses filled with ale and lager, individuals approached the bishop, introduced themselves and later let loose. ...
During his address, Malone quoted author James Joyce to describe the sheer magnitude of the church, referenced Flannery O'Connor's words to describe how the world looks through a Catholic lens, and turned to the dissents of Sigmund Freud to explain the instances of sexual abuse by priests that have rocked the church recently.
"I don't often quote Freud," Malone joked. "But I believe something he said holds true in regards to the horrible acts within the church: that every man, under the right circumstances, can do anything."
CLEVELAND (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - A day after testifying in a sex abuse-related case, Bishop Anthony Pilla was criticized by three women who say he broke promises he made after they accused a former priest of abusing them 40 years ago.
They said Pilla and the diocese did not apologize and make disclosures about the priest who they say abused them.
The timing of their comments on a sidewalk outside of the diocese headquarters at St. John Cathedral was a coincidence to Pilla's testimony Tuesday in a civil case, said Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn.-based lawyer for the women. He said they planned to go public about a month ago and picked the day and location without realizing the bishop was involved in another sex-abuse case requiring his testimony.
Anderson said the women are among five he represented in a private mediation hearing that resulted in a settlement in 2003.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Plain Dealer
Thursday, July 21, 2005
James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
Critics from separate priest sexual-abuse cases launched independent attacks on Bishop Anthony Pilla Wednesday.
In the morning, attorney William Crosby, who questioned the bishop for six hours Tuesday for a defamation lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Cleveland, wrote to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason asking him to investigate Pilla for possible perjury charges.
Later, three women from Ak ron stood on the steps of St. John Cathe dral and ac cused Pilla of breaking his promises to them and of covering up for a former priest who they claim raped them in the mid-1960s.
The women's lawyer, Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., said it was a coincidence that their announcement came on the same day as Crosby's request for a criminal investigation of the bishop. He said the women have accused John Jacoby, a former religion teacher at St. Mary High School, of rape.
Jacoby, 77, is married and lives in St. Petersburg, Fla. He left the diocese and the priesthood in 1982. He was never charged with a crime. He could not be reached for comment.
COVINGTON (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Jim Hannah
Enquirer staff writer
COVINGTON - A judge gave another nod to a proposed settlement in the nation's only class- action suit alleging sexual abuse by priests.
Special Judge John Potter of Louisville this time put his approval of the proposal in writing.
The Covington Diocese and lawyers for sexual-abuse victims, who claim sexual abuse was covered up for 50 years, were waiting for that before they began advertising nationally to ask any further victims to come forward.
Friday, an ad announcing the proposal will be published in USA Today. In the days that follow, ads will appear in newspapers across Kentucky, on television and radio, and in the diocese's own newspaper.
The advertisements will ask anyone who has ever been abused by an employee of the Covington Diocese to send in a confidential form. Anyone choosing to submit a claim must return the form by Nov. 10.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
THE Diocese of Ferns has made a settlement of more than €200,000 to a Catholic priest who was sexually abused while a student at St Peter's seminary in Wexford town.
The revelation is the latest to rock the diocese which is bracing itself for a damning report on the series of sex scandals to be published later this year.
The Irish Independent has learned that the payment was made earlier this year to a priest of the diocese who alleges he was abused by Fr Donal Collins, the former president of St Peter's, while he was a student there.
Fr Collins was sentenced to four years imprisonment, with three years suspended, by a court in 1999 for indecent assault and gross indecency on four boys. These episodes occurred in the 1970s. He served one year in prison and was dismissed by Pope John Paul II from the clerical state.
CLEVELAND (OH)
NewsNet5
POSTED: 4:39 pm EDT July 20, 2005
CLEVELAND -- An attorney representing the family the defamation lawsuit against the Cleveland Catholic Diocese is asking that Bishop Anthony Pilla be taken in front of a grand jury.
Bill Crosby, who represents the Kodger family, sent letters Wednesday to Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason which he says show that Pilla perjured himself during his testimony Tuesday.
The defamation lawsuit centers around a statement from the diocese which said the Rev. James Mulica, who was accused of abusing the Kodgers' son 24 years ago, was moved to another church with the permission of the boy's family.
But the Kodger family says they never gave such permission to place the priest near other children.
During testimony, Pilla acknowledged that after completing treatment the priest was placed at parishes with schools.
The diocese could not be reached for comment.
Crosby plans on taking the transcript from Tuesday's testimony to the prosecutor's office by the beginning of next week.
CALIFORNIA
Adventist Today
Adventist Today previously reported that a lawsuit against Monterey Academy alleging molestations involving two teachers and five former students had been settled out of court with a judgment of 3.5 million dollars. However, the church admitted no guilt.
The following is a statement recently released by the Central California Conference:
The Central California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and Monterey Bay Academy, a secondary boarding school operated by the Conference near Watsonville, California, have been investigating allegations contained in lawsuits filed by five male students who attended Monterey Bay Academy from the early to mid 1980s. The five alleged that while they were students at the Academy, they were supplied with alcohol and drugs, and were victims of sexual improprieties by one or both of former Monterey Bay Academy teachers, Lowell Nelson and Ronald Wittlake.
Because of the pending lawsuits, the Academy and Conference were advised by their legal counsel not to discuss the matter. However, both the Academy and the Conference have stated that at the conclusion of the case, they would provide a report on their investigation into the allegations.
UNITED STATES
Church Central
by Rebecca Barnes, editor 20 Jul 2005
In an average year approximately 3,500 churches respond to allegations of sexual misconduct in church programs involving children or youth, according to James Cobble Jr., executive director of Christian Ministry Resources and publisher of the Church Law & Tax Report.
And in a year when sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Church in the United States topped $1 billion in settlement costs, it was anything but average. With all the media attention, more churches, denominations and the Catholic Church itself are implementing changes to prevent the problem.
Prevention policies
New standards for Catholic Church workers in Cleveland, Ohio took effect July 1 to set ethical boundaries for the nearly 50,000 volunteers and church employees who serve the region’s nearly 1 million Catholics. The new standards warn counselors against hugging clients and mandate that child sponsors have more than one chaperone on any trip.
"It’s part of our commitment to integrity in ministry … and to challenge the society we live in to do the same," the Rev. Lawrence Jurcak, diocesan vicar for clergy and religious, told Religion News Service.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
WKYT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. A judge gave plaintiffs' lawyers the go-ahead today to advertise terms of a potential 120 (m) million dollar settlement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and alleged victims of sexual abuse.
Judge John W. Potter's written order was issued in Boone County Circuit Court in Burlington. It came in a class-action lawsuit accusing the northern Kentucky diocese of a decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse by priests.
The order formalized his preliminary approval of the proposed settlement.
Potter also agreed to expand potential plaintiffs to include those allegedly abused before 1956 or allegedly victimized by lay employees of the diocese.
COVINGTON (KY)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Jim Hannah
Enquirer staff writer
COVINGTON – The judge presiding over the nation’s only class-action suit alleging sexual abuse by priests gave yet another nod to a proposed settlement.
This time Special Judge John Potter of Louisville put his approval of the agreement in writing.
It was what the Covington Diocese and lawyers for sexual abuse victims were waiting for before they begin the process to compensate victims.
Starting Friday, an advertisement announcing the much-touted settlement plan will be published in USA Today. That advertisement will be followed with the same announcement in newspapers across Kentucky, including the Kentucky Enquirer.
There will be additional radio and television spots.
The advertising blitz is to inform potential victims of the settlement fund. Anyone choosing to submit a claim to the fund will be required to submit a confidential form by Nov. 10.
Objections to the compensation fund must be submitted to the court in writing by Dec. 19.
AUSTRALIA
Geelong Info
Thursday, July 21
JEFF WHALLEY
ST MARY of the Angels parish priest Father Kevin Dillon believes new child protection screening laws are the most realistic way of dealing with an horrific problem.
Fr Dillon said the laws would hopefully help end the ``shameful misuse of trust'' which led to cases of abuse in the past.
Up to 670,000 Victorians will face police checks under the tough new legislation introduced to State Parliament yesterday.
Workers who undertake unsupervised contact with children will be affected by the changes.
Workers at churches, child care centres, children's hospital wards, foster carers, clubs and associations will be affected.
Fr Dillon said that such a remedy was called for as the problem affected many levels of society.
CLEVELAND (OH)
WCCO
(AP) Cleveland, Ohio A day after testifying in a sex abuse-related case, Bishop Anthony Pilla was criticized by three women who say he broke promises he made after they accused a former priest of abusing them 40 years ago.
They said Pilla and the diocese did not apologize and make disclosures about the priest who they say abused them.
The timing of their comments on a sidewalk outside of the diocese headquarters at St. John Cathedral was a coincidence to Pilla's testimony Tuesday in a civil case, said Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn.-based lawyer for the women. He said they planned to go public about a month ago and picked the day and location without realizing the bishop was involved in another sex abuse case requiring his testimony.
Anderson said the women are among five he represented in a private mediation hearing that resulted in a settlement in 2003.
He and the women would not disclose how much money was involved, but Anderson said a series of letters after the settlement committed Pilla and the diocese to apologize to the victims, full disclosure about the priest, participation in a healing Mass and a chance for the victims to help the diocese with abuse prevention.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Defender
by Morgan Lord
July 20, 2005
An advocate group of sexual abuse victims filed a complaint Tuesday accusing Chicago police of complicity in abuse of its members by a Chicago priest more than 10 years ago.
Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said the complaint accuses some police officers of involvement in the supposed silencing of eight South Side boys who were molested by their Catholic priest, Father Victor Stewart, in 1992.
After the molestation incidents, eight of the boys were picked up by the police, threatened and held without the consent of their parents, according to Blaine and the victims. They were told not to speak to anyone about what happened.
"The boys' innocence was shattered by their priest, and the actions of the Chicago Police Department led the victims to feel further guilt and shame," Blaine said, speaking outside police headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. "The officers should have informed the parents."
This complaint is the first such abuse charge that moves beyond the accusations against the Archdiocese of Chicago to the police.
ARIZONA
News-Sun
Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas
Bishop of Tucson
The confirmation of the Diocese of Tucson's Chapter 11 reorganization plan marks the end of one of the saddest of times in the diocese's history.
Who would have believed that any priest would abuse a child? Who would have believed that leaders in the church could have failed to protect children?
Yet, the reality is that in the past 50 years children have experienced a terrible betrayal of trust. This betrayal is inexcusable, indefensible and calls again for a public apology and a firm resolve to do whatever humanly is possible to see this does not happen again.
As Bishop of Tucson, I again make this public apology. I express the firm resolve that this diocese will do whatever is humanly possible to reduce the risk that a child could be abused at a parish or school, at home and even in the larger community.
NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record
On Sunday, Record staffer Steve Israel brought one of the area's more appalling stories to a close. His column detailed the anguish and courage of a local man who, at age 11, had been sexually abused by his parish priest and who had decided, 20 years later, that he could no longer be a partner to the Catholic Church's coverup of his and dozens of other cases of abuse by its priests. The man called Israel in 1996 and, with the promise of confidentiality, told him his story.
Israel's column Sunday emphasized the importance of that pledge of anonymity in allowing this newspaper to bring the tale of sexual abuse and coverup to the public's attention. There is no underestimating the significance of that pledge, for this newspaper and others that published similar stories of abuse of boys by priests in their areas. When social institutions that are supposed to protect and defend the innocent not only fail in that responsibility but also enlist the innocents, through cash and coercion, in a conspiracy of denial, there must be a place of trust for the victims to go to unburden themselves. Newspapers can be that place.
But reading Israel's column also brought back feelings of anger and resentment at the church for its hypocrisy in dealing with the issue and the lengths to which it went to deny or delay dealing with the abusers.
The column was prompted by the fact that the Archdiocese of New York had just released a list of priests it had defrocked. Among them was Francis Stinner, who had served as a parish priest at St. Mary's Church in Port Jervis and taught at John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen. Stinner was the man Israel's caller said had sexually abused him and at least a dozen other boys while serving as their priest.
SPRINGFIELD (MO)
SJ-R.com
By CHRIS DETTRO
STAFF WRITER
Published Wednesday, July 20, 2005
The two Springfield teens who admitted beating a Catholic priest in Douglas Park on Dec. 21 were sentenced to 30 months in prison Tuesday.
Jamie E. Gibson, 17, and Ryan Boyle, 16, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on May 23. Boyle, although only 15 when he committed the crime, was prosecuted as an adult. He will serve his sentence in a state Department of Corrections juvenile facility until he turns 17.
The two hit and kicked the Rev. Eugene Costa, 54, more than 20 times in the head during an encounter after closing hours in the park four days before Christmas.
A Springfield Park District police officer came across Costa's car near the Douglas Park band shell about 10:30 p.m. Costa was found near the vehicle, severely beaten.
A Crime Stoppers tip led authorities to Gibson and Boyle. Gibson told police he and Boyle had cut through the park and stopped near a bench to smoke a cigarette. An older man, later identified as Costa, walked up to them, started talking and eventually offered Gibson $50 for sex acts, police said Gibson told them.
CLEVELAND (OH)
The Dispatch
By JOE MILICIA
Associated Press Writer
Bishop Anthony M. Pilla testified Tuesday in a defamation case against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland that he twice reassigned a priest who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor.
Pilla said the decision was made after the priest, the Rev. James Mulica, had been treated for an alcohol problem at a treatment center for Catholic clergy.
"I was told that the mental experts at Guest House had indicated that Father Mulica could be reassigned to ministry without any restrictions," Pilla said.
The bishop said he did not inform either parish about the priest's past. He added that he did not know if subordinates might have.
The statements came in a 4 1/2-hour deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed against the diocese by alleged victim Christopher Kodger and his parents. They accuse the diocese of falsely stating in 2002 that they supported Mulica's reassignment. The deposition was released by the court.
CALIFORNIA
Lodi News-Sentinel
By By Jennifer GarzaScripps-McClatchy News Service
Last updated: Tuesday, Jul 19, 2005 - 06:56:00 am PDT
Joseph George stood on the Sacramento courthouse steps, watching as the media swarmed around his clients.
The attorney, who represented all 33 plaintiffs who settled for $35 million with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento last month, was clearly enjoying the moment. He handed out news releases and dispensed sound bites like a pro.
Joseph GeorgeThe psychologist-turned-lawyer who couldn't get a job as a trial attorney when he started 20 years ago will make millions from the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and has become known as the local specialist in religious abuse cases. He also is representing six clients suing the Stockton Diocese. Those cases are in litigation.
For the past three years, George has worked on the cases with an almost religious devotion. He says he sold his assets, went heavily into debt to finance the lawsuits and continued working even after a near-fatal cycling accident.
His efforts have paid off: George's portion of the Sacramento settlement will come to about $3.5 million, after splitting legal fees with co-counsel. He said the plaintiffs will receive about 55 percent of the total ($19.25 million).
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Todd Ruger
A former priest with the Catholic Diocese of Davenport apparently has missed his chance to appeal a $1.9 million civil judgment in a lawsuit alleging he sexually abused his nephew years ago.
A district court judge on June 17 denied a motion for a new trial by James Janssen, 83, starting a clock that gave him 30 days to appeal a case watched by attorneys as a legal bellwether for similar lawsuits in Iowa.
At the end of the day Monday, no appeal had been filed.
"We're satisfied that there is now a finality," said Craig Levien, attorney for plaintiff James Wells and other men who filed sexual abuse lawsuits against Janssen. "It's vindication for the victims who stood up and told their stories."
Janssen, who was an active priest in the diocese from 1948-1990, could not be reached for comment Tuesday by the Quad-City Times. A woman identifying herself as Janssen's sister answered the door at the residence Janssen gave for himself at the trial and said Janssen had moved.
His attorney, Edward Wehr, refused to comment Tuesday, citing his withdrawal from the similar lawsuits pending against Janssen and his long-standing policy of not commenting about the case to the Times.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Plain Dealer
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
Nearing the end of six hours of sworn testimony, Bishop Anthony Pilla shrugged his shoulders and smiled Tuesday:
"I'm sorry, I'm getting a little tired," Pilla said, according to a video recording of the bishop taken in a closed-door session at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center.
A lawyer representing a sex-abuse victim and his parents subpoenaed the bishop to submit to questioning in connection with a libel lawsuit the family brought against the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
At the heart of the lawsuit is a 1981 sexual assault by the Rev. F. James Mulica, pastor of the Chapel of the Divine Word in Kirtland, against a then-14-year-old boy named Christopher Kodger. The diocese paid the victim $45,000 and agreed to keep Mulica away from children.
But within four years, Mulica was reassigned to St. Jude Church in Elyria, and later to Holy Redeemer Church in Cleveland -- both of which had schools.
ARIZONA
East Valley Tribune
By Lawn Griffiths, Tribune
July 19, 2005
A former Phoenix priest, accused of child molestations dating back to 1979, was arrested Saturday in Rome by Italian police.
Joseph J. Henn, 56, was under house arrest at the headquarters of his Salvatorian order near St. Peter’s Square, according to his attorney speaking to News24.com, an international news service. The attorney said it would be up to an Italian court to work out extradition of Henn.
Henn, who served St. Mark’s Catholic Parish, 400 N. 30th St., from 1978 to 1982, was indicted in July 2003 in Maricopa County as part of a major investigation of child sexual abuse by priests going back to the 1970s. He is accused of molesting three boys, ages 11, 13 and 15, from June 1979 to June 1981. At the time, former Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley said he believed Henn was in Rome.
"We haven’t received any notification from the State Department that anything has happened," county attorney spokesman Bill FitzGerald said Monday. "We can’t do anything without them. It has to go nation to nation.
"If the information is true, then we are one step closer to Mr. Henn being returned to Arizona to face charges" he said.
CLEVELAND (OH)
WKYC
Reported by Dave Summers
POSTED: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 5:56:57 PM
UPDATED: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 6:22:22 PM
CLEVELAND -- The court ordered Bishop Anthony Pilla to report to the Justice Center to answer questions about what he knew of sexual abuse cases in the Cleveland Diocese.
The deposition focuses on what Pilla knew about claims of abuse 21 years ago at a Kirtland church.
A former priest at Divine Word Church was accused of molesting 14-year-old Christopher Kodger
The Cleveland Catholic Diocese and Pilla are being sued for the truth of what was known and what was done about Father James Mulica (pictured). The suit wants to know was this complaint swept under the rug and Mulica reassigned by church administrators?
Tuesday, such questions were put to Pilla.
Pilla seemed calm and collected for a staged photo opportunity outside a common pleas courtroom. Inside, it may not have been so comfortable.
WASHINGTON (DC)
The Patriot-News
Sunday, July 17, 2005
BY BRETT LIEBERMAN
Of Our Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Patricia Anne Cahill was 5 when a priest near her Ridgewood, N.J., home began molesting her.
The sexual abuse continued until she was 13.
"The nun that I went to for help and guidance when I was 15, she took me under her wing and into her bed," Cahill said.
"Nobody stopped her then and nobody takes any responsibility in the communities and congregations," Cahill said.
Now 52, and the co-leader of an abuse victims' support group chapter in Lancaster, Cahill was angry when she heard last week that Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., blamed "liberalism" for the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal.
"I'm irate over it," said Cahill, who lives in Lancaster County.
GREECE
Religion in the News
by Andrew Walsh
The cassock does not make the priest” is an old Greek proverb that has been confirmed in spades during a year marked by a gaudy explosion of scandal in the Greek Orthodox Church. “Holygate,” as some Athens journalists have called it, has rocked the church in Greece as well as the Holy Land, where Orthodox Christianity has had a strong presence for at least 1,500 years.
Since February, the head-lines in Greece have been dominated by reports of shady secret land deals, the system-atic bribery of judges, poly-morphous sexual misconduct, drug -dealing, and an almost infinite variety of embezzlements by very senior bishops and priests. Indeed, one Greek commentator estimated on May 26 that about half of the Greek state church’s 86 diocesan bishops stand accused of crimes or breaches of ecclesiastical discipline of one degree or another.
The scandals caused the dismissal of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and may yet claim the Archbishop of Athens. They have certainly damaged the standing of what had been Europe’s most entrenched and privileged state church.
“The Greek public can only watch dumbfounded as the country’s bishops humiliate themselves on television, tossing barbs at each other and trading accusations of forgery, blackmail, dissolute living, even drug trafficking,” Kathimerini (The Daily), the conservative Athens daily that is Greece’s closest approach to a newspaper of record, editorialized on February 1.
About 95 percent of Greeks are baptized Orthodox Christians and, hitherto, few Greeks thought it possible or desirable to disentangle the twin strands of Hellenism and Orthodoxy.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Post
By Mark Hansel
Post staff reporter
A man whose claims of childhood abuse led to the indictment of a local priest is seeking unspecified damages in a civil suit filed against his alleged abuser and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Ken Lawson, one of the man's attorneys, said his client was abused several times between December 1995, when he was 11 years old, and August 1997.
Thursday a Hamilton County grand jury indicted Rev. Raymond Larger on six counts of child abuse stemming from the allegations.
Lawson, who said the boy was sodomized and forced to perform oral sex, was told that failure to comply was a sin because the priest was a messenger of God. He said the boy was further victimized because his mother was dying of cancer at the time and he was very vulnerable.
The alleged abuse occurred when Larger was a priest and pastor at St. James Parish in White Oak and the man, identified only as John Doe, was an altar boy.
ROME
The Dallas Morning News
07:45 PM CDT on Monday, July 18, 2005
By REESE DUNKLIN / The Dallas Morning News
Italian authorities have arrested a fugitive American priest who eluded criminal charges for two years by living with his Catholic superiors a block from the Vatican.
The Rev. Joseph Henn was placed under house arrest at the world headquarters of his Salvatorian religious order over the weekend, said Father John Gorman, one of his U.S.-based bosses.
The priest's lawyer and psychiatrist are urging him to challenge extradition, Father Gorman said. The order opposes that advice, he said, but will still let Father Henn remain at the headquarters – as it has since 2003 when he first refused to go back to Phoenix and face the 13 molestation charges against him.
"We can't force him [to return] nor can we throw him out on the street," Father Gorman said.
The Dallas Morning News located Father Henn in Rome last year as part of a series examining how priests move from country to country to stay ahead of sex-abuse allegations, often with church help. Father Henn was one of several accused clerics, some of them fugitives and ex-cons, that The News found living and working in the shadow of the Vatican.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Anthony Spangler
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - Trial has been set for Jan. 30 for Bishop Terry Hornbuckle, who is accused of raping five members of Agape Christian Fellowship in Arlington.
Hornbuckle, 43, of Colleyville, the church's senior pastor, has been indicted on six charges of sexual assault, a charge of tampering with a witness, a charge of retaliation against a witness and a drug possession charge.
In four cases, he is accused of drugging women before assaulting them.
ROME
The Arizona Republic
Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 19, 2005 12:00 AM
A fugitive Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting three Valley boys was placed on house arrest by Italian authorities in Rome, moving him a step closer to a potential trial.
The Rev. Joseph Henn, 56, was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in 2003 but has refused to return to the United States to face trial. He has been living at the Salvatorian order's headquarters.
"Just this morning, I heard that Father Henn was placed on house arrest," said the Rev. John Gorman, the order's director of personnel at its U.S. headquarters in Milwaukee. "It is the position of our society that he return to the U.S." advertisement
But Gorman said the order could not force Henn to return. And Michele Gentiloni, Henn's Italian attorney, was quoted by the Catholic News Service as saying the priest was placed on house arrest Saturday because he refused to cooperate with extradition.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
A Roman Catholic priest and former high school teacher who served 21 months in prison is back in the same church-owned apartment at Toledo's Corpus Christi University Parish where federal agents seized child pornography in a raid in December, 2002.
Stephen G. Rogers, 57, listed the apartment at 2963 Dorr St. as his residence after getting out of prison May 5 and registering as a sexually oriented offender with the Lucas County sheriff's department.
The apartment behind Corpus Christi University Parish, across from the University of Toledo, is owned by the Toledo diocese but is a private residence and not a tax-exempt church rectory, said Sally Oberski, director of communications for the diocese. She said Rogers' rental agreement was approved by Bishop Leonard Blair and federal law-enforcement officials.
"Upon his release in May … Stephen Rogers complied with all of the necessary requirements for registering as a sexually oriented offender," Ms. Oberski said in a statement.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Des Moines Register
The Concerned Catholics of the Davenport Diocese will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas More Church.
The group will address concerns expressed at the June 24-25 Weekend of Hope and Understanding conference. Two main areas include working to get the diocese to release the names of deceased priests with credible allegations of abuse and developing a process for meaningful lay Catholic input in the selection of the next bishop.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer
A former altar boy claimed in a civil lawsuit Monday that a Cincinnati priest raped him repeatedly for years, and church leaders did nothing to protect him.
The suit, which accuses the Rev. Raymond Larger of sexual abuse, was filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court just days after a grand jury indicted the priest on criminal charges of rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition in connection with the same accuser.
The 54-year-old Larger, who has been suspended, has vehemently denied the charges.
The case could be a crucial test for the church - and for alleged victims - because it involves an accuser who had sought money through a $3 million victims' compensation fund established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
The 134 people who signed up for the fund were required to sign a waiver prohibiting them from pursuing legal action against the church.
As the first challenge to that waiver, Monday's lawsuit could affect accusers who were denied compensation through the fund as well as those who may have been unsatisfied with the compensation they received.
SACRAMENTO (CA)
Tracy Press
Published on Tuesday, July 19, 2005, in the Tracy Press.
SACRAMENTO — Joseph George stood on the Sacramento courthouse steps, watching as the media swarmed around his clients.
The attorney, who represented all 33 plaintiffs who settled for $35 million with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento last month, was clearly enjoying the moment.
The psychologist-turned-lawyer who couldn’t get a job as a trial attorney when he started 20 years ago will make millions from the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and has become known as the local specialist in religious abuse cases. He also is representing six clients suing the Stockton Diocese.
For the past three years, George has worked on the cases with an almost religious devotion. He says he sold his assets, went heavily into debt to finance the lawsuits and continued working even after a near-fatal cycling accident.
His efforts have paid off: George’s portion of the Sacramento settlement will come to about $3.5 million, after splitting legal fees with co-counsel. He said the plaintiffs will receive about 55 percent of the total ($19.25 million).
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Kathleen A. Shaw TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER— A Lancaster, Pa., woman has asked officials at the College of the Holy Cross to rename the Millard Art Center, alleging that the priest it was dedicated to was a pedophile.
Patricia A. Cahill told the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., college president, that the late Rev. Daniel F.M. Millard, who was her uncle, sexually abused her as a child. Rev. Millard, who died about 30 years ago, was a 1947 graduate of Holy Cross.
Ms. Cahill, 52, said yesterday that she was sexually abused by the priest, who at the time weighed 500 pounds, from the time she was 5 until she was 13. She said the abuse occurred at home and in Catholic churches in New Jersey.
Marylou Millard Ferrara, daughter of Rev. Millard’s brother, Charles E.F. Millard, said last night that her cousin’s allegations are completely untrue. She said that after she learned of the accusations she contacted her seven brothers and sisters, who all agreed that Ms. Cahill’s complaint was baseless.
“The family is quite sympathetic (to Ms. Cahill), but we believe this is a matter best addressed in a psychiatrist’s office, not in a newspaper,” said Mrs. Ferrara, a Hopewell, N.J., resident. “It’s a very sad situation.”
She said she is about five years younger than her cousin and that she never saw or heard of anything suspicious concerning her uncle’s relationship with Ms. Cahill. She was 15 or 16 years old when Rev. Millard died, she said.
Ms. Cahill said she reported the abuse to the Camden, N.J., Diocese within the last three years and met with diocesan officials. No action was taken by the diocese, Ms. Cahill said.
Ms. Cahill said in a telephone interview yesterday that she questioned Bishop Joseph Gallante, of the Camden Diocese, on whether he considered Rev. Millard to be a priest “from the waist up” and to be her uncle “from the waist down.”
“We have no reason to question what she is saying.” said Ellen M. Ryder, spokeswoman for Holy Cross. College administrators are taking her request “very seriously,” Ms. Ryder said yesterday. She added that there have been discussions, but no decisions have been made regarding the art center.
Mrs. Ferrara, however, said it was Rev. McFarland who yesterday informed her of her cousin’s allegations. The college president strongly suggested that very little credence was being given to the complaint, she said.
Rev. McFarland could not be contacted for comment last night.
The Millard Art Center was dedicated in 1993 and the building contains a bronze plaque bearing the name and a likeness of Rev. Millard. A major benefactor was Mrs. Ferrara’s father, Charles Millard of the class of 1954. The former president, CEO and chairman of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York died in 2003 after a lengthy term as a Holy Cross trustee. Holy Cross Magazine, in marking his death, noted that Mr. Millard was a “generous benefactor” to the college.
Ms. Cahill said other allegations of sexual abuse involving Rev. Millard have been made, but she declined to discuss them. In a July 8 letter to Rev. McFarland she referred to Rev. Millard as “a serial pedophile.”
She said in the interview that Charles Millard wanted the building dedicated to his brother because in traditional Catholic families it was an honor to have a family member in the priesthood.
“One of the first things that I wish to be addressed is the bronze plaque at the entrance of the Millard Art Center that prominently displays the caricature of Father Millard. This plaque should never have been installed and must never again be viewed by Holy Cross students, staff and supporters who claim to pursue the ideals of Catholic education in the Jesuit tradition,” Ms. Cahill told the college president. She also asked that the name of the building be changed.
Ms. Cahill said she remained silent about the abuse for years, but finally has decided to start speaking about it. She said she is helped by her “support network” of friends and others who have helped her come to grips with what happened.
When the girl decided to seek help, she went to a member of the Sisters of Charity who also allegedly abused her. The religious order made an out-of-court settlement with Ms. Cahill.
ROME
AZCentral.com
Associated Press
Jul. 18, 2005 08:10 AM
ROME - Italian police have arrested a Roman Catholic priest wanted on child molestation charges in Arizona.
The Rev. Joseph Henn was indicted in Phoenix in 2003.
Henn's lawyer says the priest was arrested on a court order Saturday and is under house arrest at the headquarters of his Salvatorian order in Rome.
ROME
Catholic News Service
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- A U.S. priest belonging to the Salvatorian order was arrested in Rome July 16 following a request by the U.S. Justice Department that he be extradited to face child molestation charges in Arizona.
Italian authorities placed Father Joseph J. Henn, 56, under house arrest at the headquarters of the Society of the Divine Savior because he refused to cooperate with the extradition request, said Michele Gentiloni, the priest's Italian lawyer.
Gentiloni told Catholic News Service July 18 that the terms of Father Henn's house arrest -- that he may leave the order's headquarters only to see his lawyer or his doctor -- are the same conditions imposed on him two years ago by his Salvatorian superiors in Rome.
The lawyer said Father Henn has been living at the Salvatorian headquarters near St. Peter's Basilica "for seven or eight years."
PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has settled an additional 50 sexual abuse claims, totaling $2 million, since reaching a $14.3 million settlement with about three dozen people in 2002.
The settlements have been taking place quietly and outside of court, with the diocese offering payments of $10,000 to $50,000 for those presenting valid claims, The Providence Journal reported Monday.
“It certainly, for me, is the most personally draining experience I’ve ever had in my life,” said Monsignor Paul D. Theroux, the bishop’s chief of staff. “I’ve said to some priest friends, ‘Believe me, if we could just finish it, be all over, no one would be happier than I.”
WASHINGTON (DC)
The Express-Times
Sunday, July 17, 2005
By BILL CAHIR
The Express-Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Catholics in Pennsylvania, including priests and survivors of sex abuse by clergymen, this week rebuked U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum for claiming a "sick" and "infected" culture of liberalism had encouraged priests in Boston to sexually molest hundreds of children in Massachusetts.
Survivors of sex abuse and some Pennsylvania Catholics claimed Santorum, R-Pa., should not have blamed Boston's progressive climate for contributing to a priesthood sex scandal that prompted Cardinal Bernard Law to resign and forced the Archdiocese of Boston to strike an $85 million settlement with 541 victims. The nationwide scandal, sparked by newspaper investigations and lawsuits, ultimately cost the church more than $1 billion.
"I feel very sorry for the good people of Boston and so many others who have been hurt by the political ramblings of the junior senator from Pennsylvania," Father Tom Aleksa of St. John and St. Anthony Parish in Tidioute, Pa., wrote in an e-mail note.
OHIO
WCPO
Reported and Web Produced by:
Laure Quinlivan
Photographed by: Phil Drechsler
Updated: 07/18/05 16:59:43
AN ALLEGED VICTIM OF PRIEST SEXUAL ABUSE FILES A CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TODAY.
THE I-TEAM'S LAURE QUINLIVAN FIRST REPORTED LAST WEEK ON HOW THE ARCHBISHOP HANDLED FATHER RAY LARGER WHEN PARISHONERS COMPLAINED ABOUT HIM, AND SHE JOINS US NOW WITH THE LATEST DETAILS.
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YES, BUT LONG BEFORE HE GOT THOSE COMPLAINTS ON LARGER, THE PRIEST WAS ALLEGEDLY ABUSING A YOUNG BOY, ACCORDING TO THIS LAWSUIT. IT'S FILED AGAINST LARGER AND THE ARCHDIOCESE.... BY A MALE VICTIM NOW 21 YEARS OLD...
A GRAND JURY INDICTED FATHER LARGER LAST WEEK ON SIX COUNTS OF ABUSE, INCLUDING RAPE. THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE MID-90'S AT SAINT JAMES CHURCH IN WHITE OAK, WHERE LARGER WAS PASTOR. A 13 YEAR OLD BOY, ONE OF HIS PARISHONERS, HAD A MOTHER DYING OF CANCER. FATHER LARGER BEGAN COUNSELING, THEN ALLEGEDLY ABUSING THE BOY FOR A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS.
MISSOURI
KMOV
10:55 PM CDT on Saturday, July 16, 2005
An accused pedophile priest that recently moved to University City from Iowa remains a threat to the area, the victim's group Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests said Saturday.
William Wiebler has attempted to bring children into his apartment, luring them with cookies, group members said citing complaints from neighbors. SNAP distributed pamphlets featuring photos of William Wiebler to the area on Saturday.
According to SNAP, the bishop of Davenport sent Wiebler to St. Louis to live in a church-run treatment center in Jefferson County. He walked out without completing his treatment and moved to University City a few months ago.
Wiebler lives in an apartment on the 800 block of Leland near a school and a daycare center.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis has made numerous calls to the Archdiocese of Davenport, Iowa, urging it to bring Wiebler back to his home state, a spokesperson said. The St. Louis archdiocese said it is not responsible for Wiebler since he is from a different diocese.
AZUSA (CA)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
By Robert Iafolla , Correspondent
AZUSA -- Members of a support group for people molested by priests handed out leaflets Sunday outside St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church in an effort to educate parishioners about clergy abuse.
The group distributed about 450 leaflets, which included an invitation to a July 31 memorial service at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles to honor victims of clergy abuse who have committed suicide.
"We believe if Catholics understand the effects of abuse on victims, they'd take more steps to reach out to victims and stop the cycle of abuse,' said Mary Grant, regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
In addition to St. Frances in Azusa, SNAP members handed out fliers at five other Catholic churches in Los Angeles and Orange counties on Sunday, according to SNAP.
SIOUX FALLS (SD)
Sioux City Journal
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A lawsuit against an American Indian school in Chamberlain has been dismissed.
The lawsuit, which claimed 20 former students were mentally, physically, emotionally and sexually abused while attending the school, was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice, said Adam Horowitz, a Miami lawyer.
That means the lawsuit likely will be refiled with an amended complaint and the addition of another defendant, said Horowitz, one of the former students' attorneys. One addition will be the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese, he said.
The original lawsuit was against the St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain and two entities associated with the school.
The 20 former students are from six different states, and include 14 from South Dakota. They said they were regularly beaten and sexually assaulted in the 1950s through the '70s. Some former students said they were stripped, beaten and humiliated. One person said she was sexually molested by a priest.
ROME
News 24
18/07/2005 12:58 - (SA)
Rome - Italian police have arrested an American Roman Catholic priest wanted on child molestation charges in Arizona, the cleric's lawyer said on Monday.
The Rev. Joseph Henn was arrested on a court order on Saturday and is now under house arrest at the headquarters of his Salvatorian order, near St Peter's Square, said attorney Michele Gentiloni Severj.
Henn, who had worked in the Diocese of Phoenix, was indicted on child molestation charges in 2003 in Arizona.
The order refused to comment, directing queries to Henn's superior in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A woman who answered the phone said Henn was not available.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal
01:00 AM EDT on Monday, July 18, 2005
BY JENNIFER LEVITZ
Journal Staff Writer
When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence reached a $14.3-million settlement with some three dozen people in 2002, it appeared that the priest-abuse scandal was over in Rhode Island.
It's not.
Since that much-heralded resolution, which followed 10 years of fierce litigation, the diocese has quietly reached out-of-court settlements on another 50 sexual-abuse claims, for a total of $2 million, a diocesan official confirmed last week.
The diocese, in fact, has set up a formal process to hear new claims; validate them; and offer payments of $10,000 to $50,000, said Monsignor Paul D. Theroux, the bishop's chief of staff.
Those with legitimate claims can either accept $25,000 or enter arbitration. Those who choose arbitration -- and most do -- sit across from the monsignor and tell their accounts.
"It certainly, for me, is the most personally draining experience I've ever had in my life," said Monsignor Theroux, who is tall and gentle-spoken, and has been a priest for 28 years. "I've said to some priest friends, 'believe me, if we could just finish it, be all over, no one would be happier than I.' "
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Nancy Phillips
Inquirer Staff Writer
Two more women have come forward to accuse a retired Center City priest of sexually abusing them when they were minors.
The women, who are sisters, say Msgr. Philip J. Dowling assaulted them decades ago when he was their family's parish priest at Corpus Christi Church in North Philadelphia.
Dowling, 76, the former pastor of St. Patrick Parish near Rittenhouse Square, was suspended in March after two other women - also sisters - told The Inquirer he had abused them for years, beginning in the 1960s when they were preteens.
In an interview, Dowling admitted he had "crossed the bound" by repeatedly touching one of the girls in an "inappropriate" sexual manner, but he denied abusing her sister, as both women allege.
He said his actions were an aberration in an otherwise stellar career. "It's been 40-some years ago, and it's the only situation like that that ever occurred in my life," Dowling said.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News
IS PHILLY NEXT?
DOES SEN. Rick Santorum not want to get re-elected?
We ask because lately the commonwealth's junior senator has been acting kinda, well, dorky.
For a few differing views on this, we direct you to our op-ed page.
But for our money, and maybe it's that liberal bias that blinds us to Santorum's strengths and leads to priests' becoming pedophiles, the senator has been saying and doing things that are at odds with logic, facts, common sense and the basic views of this somewhat- conservative, but oftentimes liberal, state that he proports to represent.
For instance, to the good people of Boston, as far as we know, no one around Philadelphia is blaming your fair city for the sex scandal that engulfed the Catholic Church.
But Santorum did in a 2002 column to a Catholic publication, saying "it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
And instead of backing off such a dumb remark, Santorum last week embraced it, telling the Boston Globe that Beantown's "sexual freedom" led to the scandal. "The basic liberal attitude in that area... has an impact on people's behavior," he said.
LA CROSSE (WI)
Duluth News Tribune
Associated Press
LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Catholic Diocese of La Crosse has paid the least amount of money to victims of clergy sexual abuse over the past five decades among Wisconsin's five dioceses, a newspaper reported.
The La Crosse Diocese spent $15,800 on counseling for people who made 58 sexual abuse allegations against 28 diocesan clergy members, according to the Wausau Daily Herald.
The diocese, which has more than 200,000 Catholics, substantiated 31 of those allegations involving 10 clergy members.
La Crosse Diocese spokesman Ben Nguyen said none of the substantiated allegations resulted in lawsuits against the diocese, which prefers not to negotiate legal settlements.
"We've never entered into any type of settlement. We have always met with the people to get to the truth of the matter," he said.
MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald
BY ALEXANDRA ALTER AND JAY WEAVER
aalter@herald.com
When the Rev. Alvaro Guichard became pastor of St. Francis de Sales in 1984, South Beach was one of the poorest areas in Miami Beach. The neighborhood consisted of mostly low-income Hispanic immigrants.
During his nearly 20 years as pastor, Guichard, a former political prisoner in Cuba, opened the church's doors to the poor and welcomed refugees from the Mariel boatlift.
''He was very good with all the people,'' said Silvia Concha, a parishioner since 1988 and a former parish secretary.
But Guichard -- publicly disgraced by allegations that he sexually abused five boys in the 1970s and early 1980s -- now spends time writing letters of protest to the Miami-Dade state attorney's office, the Archdiocese of Miami and the Vatican that he is innocent.
In May 2002, the archdiocese suspended Guichard as the pastor of St. Francis after charges of sexual abuse emerged.
LA CROSSE (WI)
Marshfield News Herald
By Elizabeth Putnam
Central WIsconsin Sunday
Victims of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse have received far less money from the Catholic Church during the past five decades than any other Wisconsin diocese or archdiocese, according to a Central Wisconsin Sunday review of abuse statistics from the state's four Catholic dioceses and one archdiocese.
Central Wisconsin Sunday found that from 1950 to 2002 the La Crosse Diocese, which includes Adams, Portage and Wood counties, spent $15,800 on counseling stemming from 58 sexual abuse allegations against 28 diocesan clergy members.
Thirty-one of those allegations, involving 10 clergymen, have been substantiated.
"Assistance has been made available in appropriate circumstances based upon need, not culpability of the diocese or whether the allegation is substantiated," according to a La Crosse Diocese report released in January 2004.
UNITED STATES
The Salt Lake Tribune
By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
After a 1953 raid to crack down on plural marriage turned into a public relations disaster, a polygamous community on the Utah-Arizona border went largely unnoticed for the next half-century.
Not anymore. In the past two years, authorities in both states have become ever more aggressive in investigating and prosecuting alleged crimes in the closed society of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
By design, it's a cooperative effort. In the past several months, eight Colorado City men have been charged with marrying underage girls. A Utah judge has taken away the power of trustees of an FLDS trust fund for allegedly failing to protect the assets. And Arizona is investigating the Colorado City Unified School District's finances.
Most prominently, FLDS President Warren Jeffs - already the subject of lawsuits by disaffected former followers - was charged in June with child sexual abuse for sanctifying a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a married 28-year-old man. A federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution came a few weeks later.
MAINE
Portland Press Herald
By JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald Writer
Larry Gray arrived at St. Maximilian Kolbe in Scarborough to sing with the choir July 3 when the priest greeted him and pointed out an unusual insert in the church bulletin.
The bulletin contained the names of nine priests, all now dead, accused of sexually abusing children in Maine decades ago. One of those listed was the Rev. James Vallely, the priest Gray reported as having sexually abused him repeatedly when he was an altar boy growing up on Portland's West End in the 1950s.
Circulating the list - both in church bulletins across the state and in a news release - was an unprecedented step for Maine's Roman Catholic Church. The Diocese of Portland has generally protected the privacy of accused priests. It opposed legal efforts that opened up state records on a total of 25 dead priests and church officials.
The decision to identify nine of those priests reflects the continuing pressure on the U.S. church for more openness as more victims come forward, courts issue rulings and the Vatican defrocks accused priests a handful at a time.
IRELAND
The Times
Dearbhail McDonald
A CLINICAL psychologist who helped the Dublin football team to All-Ireland victory in 1995 has been approached by the Catholic church to help “steel” parish priests in advance of a damning report into clerical sex abuse.
Tom Moriarty, a clinical and sports psychologist who has also provided motivational counselling for the Tyrone and Wexford teams, has been asked by Eamon Walsh, the bishop of Ferns, to support priests in advance of publication of the report.
Led by Frank Murphy, a retired Supreme Court judge, the Ferns inquiry is the first state investigation into the Catholic church’s handling of clerical sex abuse allegations. Due to be published later this year, it is expected to reignite widespread public anger at the church’s handling of clerical sex abuse scandals.
Moriarty’s services, outlining his availability to counsel stressed priests, were advertised recently in an internal church newsletter. Yesterday Moriarty said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss his client base. The psychiatrist also works with companies who want to improve productivity, or to reduce stress-related absenteeism.
SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Republican
Sunday, July 17, 2005
By BILL ZAJAC
wzajac@repub.com
A local leader of the Voice of the Faithful says that the lay Catholic reform group has strengthened its resolve to push for both tougher laws involving sex crimes against children and greater financial disclosure by the church.
John M. Bowen, who heads the East Longmeadow affiliate of the Voice of the Faithful, said last week that the group's recent national convention in Indianapolis showed that it has matured into a national agent for church reform from a Boston-based organization concerned with just clergy sexual abuse.
"It was an energizing experience to know there are people from the West Coast and the South and Midwest who are concerned with the same issues as we are," said Bowen, who returned yesterday with his wife, Mary Lou, from the three-day convention.
The group will continue to push for support for Massachusetts legislation that seeks to abolish the criminal and civil statute of limitations for sex crimes against children. Several bills seek to extend, but not abolish, the limitations.
Bowen hopes that the Most. Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, will support abolition of the statute of limitations.
IRELAND
Scotsman
CATHERINE DEVENEY
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
IN THE watery sunshine of a Dublin late afternoon, Father Steve Gilhooley is directing me by mobile phone to the bar where we are to meet. I turn a corner and there it is, a busy sprawl of tables on the pavement outside, chairs scraping on the stone as people come and go. But which is the Catholic priest?
A man in jeans and a denim shirt smiles, waves. Even sitting, he gives an impression of height, of security-guard solidity. A pint of Guinness sits in front of him. He doesn't look like a priest, even one who is poised to resign. But that would imply that you can tell a priest just by looking, which is a dangerous assumption to make.
A black suit, a collar, an air of piety: the uniform requirements of men of the cloth. But a church collar deserves no automatic respect. We have seen them marched through our courts in recent years, the men who used that uniform to hide the empty kernel of their own hearts beneath, men who abused children. As a parish priest in Currie, Balerno and Ratho, in Midlothian, Gilhooley never liked clerical collars. They told you what a man was, not who he was.
Gilhooley is not fooled by priestly uniform. At his junior seminary in Cumbria, the outwardly pious enforced a regime of physical and sexual abuse. For Gilhooley, now 42, the sexual abuse was less serious than for some other students, but it was there and the repercussions were intense. Several of his contemporaries would later attempt, or actually commit, suicide. For Gilhooley, the issue would erupt volcanically, the molten lava of suppressed childhood memories suddenly cascading into adulthood with devastating consequences. He underwent therapy, was advised to write down his experiences, and the result was the publication in 2001 of a searing memoir called The Pyjama Parade. The title was a reference to the weekly caning of young boys in their pyjamas.
When the book was published, it was against a backdrop of worldwide abuse cases involving the Catholic Church. America. Australia. Ireland. Britain. At first, the Church's reaction was to close ranks, attempting to protect its image at the expense of the victims' feelings. But Steve Gilhooley was an insider, a priest. That, though, didn't prevent vitriolic attacks for daring to bring the Church into disrepute. "One of the reasons I stood up and published was because I was listening to all these poor people saying they had been abused and then been called gold-diggers. One of the reasons I came out was to stand beside these people and say, 'No, they are telling the truth.' And then they went for me too."
WASHINGTON (DC)
Boston Globe
By Thomas Oliphant, Globe Columnist | July 17, 2005
WASHINGTON
IN THE END, I've decided, after a decade of absurdities, Rick Santorum is not funny, just weird.
The Pennsylvania senator's latest outburst of cruel insensitivity -- imagining some tie between the ''culture" of Boston and the behavior of priest-rapists -- is garden variety demagoguery.
I'm glad he has been denounced and called to account by Senator Edward Kennedy and Representatives Ed Markey and Barney Frank, but I worry that the condemnation of Santorum's bizarre behavior may elevate his comments to a level of seriousness that is not merited.
The same concern should prompt decent people everywhere to battle against the constant attempts by President Bush and his architect, Karl Rove, to politicize the terrorist attacks on this country nearly four years ago. Making preposterous assertions about how those of differing ideologies and politics reacted trivializes the loss of those whose family members and other loved ones perished in the attacks. Given the fresh nature of these wounds, this kind of gutter politics is cruel.
It's no different with those who suffered the extreme trauma of sexual abuse as young people from authority figures who took hideous advantage of their vulnerability. Their extreme pain, and their families' pain, is ongoing and deep, in large part because their suffering has yet to result in justice. Playing politics with it is beyond obscene.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Tom Ferrick Jr.
Inquirer Columnist
When it comes to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, you have to wonder about the Wacko Factor.
That's my name for that nagging suspicion among voters that an elected official is a little... well... wacky.
In politics, to be seen as a wacko is nearly always fatal. If it happens to Santorum in the 2006 election, my bet is that the coroner will rule it a suicide.
Make that an assisted suicide.
For all intents and purposes, the Republican incumbent's campaign against Democrat Bob Casey Jr. has already begun. Opposition research is in full throttle. Every Santorum statement, past and present, is being unearthed, scrutinized, publicized and criticized.
A case in point: the contretemps Wednesday over Santorum's comments, posted on a Catholic Web site in 2002, about the priest sex-abuse scandal in Boston.
"While it is no excuse for this scandal," Santorum wrote, "it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald
BY ALEXANDRA ALTER
aalter@herald.com
Father Albert Cutié wears his black hair slicked forward with a dollop of hair gel. He has sharp blue eyes that fix on you with the practiced familiarity of a politician, and a flawless face that's beamed into 24 million homes in 22 countries.
Cutié is known as Padre Alberto -- the chatty, telegenic priest and public face of the Archdiocese of Miami.
Now he's taking on a more vital role. For the first time in his 10 years as a priest, Cutié, 36, is heading his own church, a historic parish in the heart of South Beach whose longtime pastor was suspended amid sexual-abuse charges.
Since June 1, Cutié has been running St. Francis de Sales, a parish that occupies a prime piece of real estate in South Beach, the domain of jet-setters, clubbers and sun-seeking tourists. Cutié, whose modern-day confessional has been a radio studio on Northwest 28th Street, views South Beach as a ripe mission field: ``I see St. Francis as a spiritual oasis on Alton Road. People think of South Beach and they think party, alcohol, bars, clubs. They don't think church.''
WASHINGTON (DC)
The Express-Times
Sunday, July 17, 2005
The Express-Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Catholics in Pennsylvania, including priests and survivors of sex abuse by clergymen, this week rebuked U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum for claiming a "sick" and "infected" culture of liberalism had encouraged priests in Boston to sexually molest hundreds of children in Massachusetts.
Survivors of sex abuse and some Pennsylvania Catholics claimed Santorum, R-Pa., should not have blamed Boston's progressive climate for contributing to a priesthood sex scandal that prompted Cardinal Bernard Law to resign and forced the Archdiocese of Boston to strike an $85 million settlement with 541 victims. The nationwide scandal, sparked by newspaper investigations and lawsuits, ultimately cost the church more than $1 billion.
"I feel very sorry for the good people of Boston and so many others who have been hurt by the political ramblings of the junior senator from Pennsylvania," Father Tom Aleksa of St. John and St. Anthony Parish in Tidioute, Pa., wrote in an e-mail note.
"I am a Catholic priest ordained for over 30 years and I am a pro-life Democrat. The horrible actions of a few priests who made very bad choices were neither caused by a `liberal' gene nor a geographic proximity to Boston," he added.
Tammy Lerner of Allentown -- spokeswoman for the Lehigh Valley chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) -- is not Catholic. However, as a survivor of sex abuse in her family's church, a non-denominational parish, she described Santorum's attack upon the people of Boston as misguided.
TENNESSEE
Tennessean
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
Members of an organization that supports victims of sexual abuse by priests demanded yesterday that the Diocese of Nashville remove priests who are accused of sexual abuse from church and release their names.
They said it would create a more welcoming atmosphere for victims to come forward.
A diocese spokesman said no priest credibly accused of sexual molestation is serving here and that the diocese has made an effort for years to counsel and work with victims.
Members of the Tennessee chapter of The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) gathered here yesterday for their first statewide conference to brainstorm how to stop what they perceive as stonewalling by various dioceses and how to persuade abuse victims to tell their stories.
"These are crimes that have been committed against innocent children, teens and vulnerable adults," Susan Vance, SNAP's co-director, said as she stood outside the diocese's office here.
UNITED STATES
NewsMax.com
Saturday, July 16, 2005 12:25 p.m. EDT
Senator Rick Santorum is firing back at Senate libertine Ted Kennedy, after Kennedy complained about the Pennsylvania conservative's comments linking the priest sex abuse scandal to Boston's notorious liberalism.
"I don't think Ted Kennedy lecturing me on the teachings of the church and how the church should handle these problems is something I'm going to take particularly seriously," Santorum said during a conference call with Catholic media.
According to Pennsylvania's Patriot News, Santorum also questioned Kennedy's following of church doctrine and said he is unaware of Kennedy or Sen. John Kerry getting involved to address the church's problem.
Kennedy spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner fired back, telling the Patriot News: "If Senator Santorum wants to try to change the subject and make personal attacks on Senator Kennedy and his faith, then that says more about Senator Santorum than it does about Senator Kennedy.
UNITED STATES
OpinionEditorials.com
July 16, 2005
Craig R. S. Frassati
Once again, good old Teddy Kennedy has put his foot in it. In an attack on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Kennedy accused Sen. Rick Santorum of being insensitive for a column he wrote in July 2002. The column in Catholic Online stated that promoting alternative lifestyles feeds such aberrant behavior as priests molesting children.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture," Santorum wrote. "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
In his speech, the Massachusetts Democrat called for Santorum to retract his remarks and apologize to the people of Boston and Massachusetts and the nation. "The people of Boston are to blame for the clergy sexual abuse? That is an irresponsible, insensitive and inexcusable thing to say," said Kennedy.
Teddy arrogantly lambasted Santorum within the eminent forum of the Senate on an article written 3 years ago. This, of course, begs the question: Why?
PLAINVILLE (CT)
NBC 30
POSTED: 5:17 pm EDT July 15, 2005
UPDATED: 11:14 pm EDT July 15, 2005
PLAINVILLE, Conn. -- The pastor of a church where a man accused of assaulting a 6-year-old child used to teach Sunday School said no crimes took place at the church, NBC 30 Connecticut News reported.
"I guarantee you nothing happened in this church to any child," said the Rev. Thomas Benson, pastor of the First Bible Baptist Church.
Benson said he is outraged to learn that Paul Arnett, 26, is charged with 11 counts of engaging in sexual contact with a 6-year-old child -- a child he was visiting in the Lake George, N.Y., area.
There is no indication that anyone at the church was molested by the man, NBC 30 Connecticut News reported.
"It was oral sex and sexual touching," said Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan, who also said she is worried that Arnett may have assaulted more children while he was a Sunday School teacher in Connecticut.
SAVANNAH (GA)
Savannah Morning News
Kelly Cramer
912.652.0360
kelly.cramer@savannahnow.com
The child molestation trial of a self-proclaimed pastor who prosecutors say often prayed and read the Bible to his victims after sexually assaulting them began Wednesday.
Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Greg McConnell said in his opening statement that an associate pastor at St. Luke's Baptist Church, James Simpson, encouraged the four girls to attend church and sing in the choir over the six years he was molesting them.
"The evidence will show that when his wife got sick with Alzheimer's, while she was dying, his relationship with the girls changed," McConnell said.
In October 2003, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Simpson, 69, of the 700 block of East 39th Street, on 19 counts of child molestation and sexual acts. The indictment charges a single count each of aggravated sexual battery and statutory rape, three counts of aggravated child molestation and four counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes.
SAVANNAH (GA)
WTOC
The fate of a Savannah pastor accused of molesting four girls is in the hands of a Chatham County jury. James Simpson has been on trial this week charged with 19 counts of child molestation and sexual acts.
Police say Simpson molested the girls between 1997 to 2003 while he was the associate pastor at St. Luke's Baptist Church. Police say he encouraged the four girls to sing in the church choir.
GEORGIA
WSAV
April Davis
WSAV News 3
Thursday, July 14, 2005
The trial has begun in Chatham County for a 69-year-old pastor accused of molesting 4 girls. James Simpson is charged with 19 counts of child molestation and sexual acts. The prosecution says while he was an associate pastor at Saint Luke's Baptist Church, he encouraged the 4 girls to go to church and sing in the choir. Police say he molested the girls from 1997 until 2003.
GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News
A Chatham County jury will continue deliberations at 9 a.m. Monday about a Savannah man charged with molesting four girls over six years.
The jury was excused Friday for the weekend.
Prosecutors had said James Simpson often prayed and read Scriptures with the girls after assaulting them. During the period he was molesting them, he reportedly also encouraged the four girls to attend church and sing in the choir.
In October 2003, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Simpson, 69, of the 700 block of East 39th Street, on 19 counts of child molestation and sexual acts. The indictment charges a single count each of aggravated sexual battery and statutory rape, three counts of aggravated child molestation and four counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
Boston.com
By Denise Lavoie, AP Legal Affairs Writer | July 15, 2005
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. --A priest accused of molesting a girl beginning when she was 9 years old in the 1960s pleaded guilty Friday and was ordered to serve two years in prison after his victim said in court that the priest had robbed her of her childhood.
New Bedford Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson also ordered the Rev. Donald Bowen to serve 10 years of probation after his prison sentence, because of what the judge said was the 67-year-old's "minimization" of what he had done.
Bowen pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and one count of unnatural and lascivious acts on a child under 16.
The abuse took place between 1965 and 1971 while Bowen served at St. Mary's parish in Norton. Prosecutors said he fondled the girl and forced her to perform oral sex on him from the time she was nine until she was 16.
The statute of limitations doesn't apply to Bowen's case because he left the state for decades. He went Bolivia in 1972 and worked as a missionary there at the Society of St. James mission until charges were filed in 2002 and he was returned to the United States.
DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press
July 15, 2005, 3:30 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- A Roman Catholic priest convicted of sexual misconduct didn't violate his probation by possessing two books that Florida authorities considered sexually explicit, a judge ruled Friday.
The Rev. Edward Olszewski, 72, is a former Detroit priest now living in Key Largo, Fla., and serving three years probation. He was convicted in December 2002 of molesting a Detroit youth in the 1970s.
Authorities arrested the Olszewski after probation officers doing a routine sweep found the books. But Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Diane Hathaway said the books weren't sexually explicit and didn't violate Olszewski's probation.
The terms of his probation state that he cannot own obscene or pornographic material. One of the books was a sex manual that had photographs of a man and a woman engaged in sex acts, said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County sheriff's department.
DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press
July 16, 2005
IN COURT
The Rev. Edward Olszewski, 72, a Catholic priest sentenced to three years of probation in 2003 for molesting a Detroit youth in the 1970s, is moving back to Michigan from Florida.
On Friday, Wayne County Circuit Judge Diane Hathaway ordered the priest be listed in Michigan's sex-offender registry and said he must remain in the state until his probation ends Jan. 30.
Olszewski was arrested in late June at his Key Largo, Fla., home for possessing two books on sexuality that investigators said violated the conditions of his probation. Hathaway ordered the priest to stay in Michigan, but she continued his probation rather than sending him to prison.
NEW YORK
Law.com
John Caher
New York Law Journal
07-18-2005
The New York Court of Appeals so rarely reverses itself that when it does, observers take notice. Such is the case with two clergy abuse matters now pending before the court.
Earlier this month, after denying leave in a 30-year-old alleged sexual abuse case, the court reversed itself and agreed to hear the appeal of Zumpano v. Quinn. That decision followed another, Boyle v. Smith, where the court -- subsequent to the initial leave denial in Zumpano -- granted leave in a case involving claims by 42 men and women who contend they were abused by a dozen priests in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
There is no way to determine what was on the judges' minds when they granted leave in Boyle and reversed themselves in Zumpano, but the motion papers do at least show what the plaintiffs argued in their successful bids. In both cases, plaintiffs counsel focused on the doctrine of equitable estoppel and an exception to the statute of limitations where it is alleged that the wrongdoing of the defendant caused the plaintiff to refrain from timely filing.
In Zumpano, for instance, counsel Frank Policelli of Utica, N.Y., contends that his client's mental illness is directly attributable to the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of a Syracuse, N.Y., diocese priest. He claims the defendant held such psychological power over John Zumpano that there was no way the victim could have sought legal relief earlier.
NEW YORK
WNYT
QUEENSBURY, July 15
By MARK MULHOLLAND Saratoga-North Country News Chief
A church youth leader from Connecticut is accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl from Warren County.
According to police Paul Arnett, a youth supervisor at a Baptist church in Plainville, Conn., had sexual contact with the child at a home in Hague in October and December 2004.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Union Leader
By NANCY MEERSMAN
Union Leader Staff
CONCORD — The state Supreme Court ruled, 3-1, yesterday that two girls who were molested by their father cannot sue the Wilton Jehovah’s Witness congregation and the church’s governing body for allegedly concealing the abuse from authorities.
The high court said although the criminal statutes require the Jehovah’s Witnesses to report to police any sex abuse against children, they cannot be held liable in civil court if they do not report it.
Justice Linda S. Dalianis, in a dissenting opinion, concluded that the church did have a common law duty to the victims.
She pointed out that the children’s mother made approximately a dozen complaints to church elders and they instructed her not to report it to authorities and advised her to “be silent about the abuse and to be a better wife.”
QUEENSBURY (NY)
The Bristol Press
Special to The Bristol Press 07/16/2005
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. -- Police in Hague, N.Y. arrested Plainville Sunday school teacher Paul Arnette, 26, Friday on charges of child molestation.
Staff in the Warren County’s District Attorney’s office confirmed Arnett’s arrest and said he is charged with nine felonies of engaging in illegal sexual contact with a minor victim and one misdemeanor.
The charges include first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
Arnette apparently was on vacation in Lake George, N.Y. when the alleged molestation occurred last fall.
Arnette teaches Sunday school at the First Bible Baptist Church. The church follows the belief that the authorized King James version of the Bible is the absolute word of God. Calls to the church were not returned.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua Telegraph
By ALBERT McKEON, Telegraph Staff
mckeona@telegraph-nh.com
Published: Saturday, Jul. 16, 2005
In a decision that examined secular obligations for those with religious commitments, the state Supreme Court ruled that a church cannot be sued for failing to protect children from parental abuse.
Two sisters had sought damages from the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Wilton and the national Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, charging local church elders did not notify civil authorities about the abuse Paul Berry had inflicted on them as youths.
But the state’s highest court on Friday sided with a lower court in dismissing their suit. The Supreme Court ruled that although the elders had a moral obligation to intervene, they had no common law duty.
“Unfortunately the church has been told it is not responsible,” attorney Marci Hamilton, who represented the sisters, said in a telephone interview from Pennsylvania.
TEXAS
Midland Reporter Telegram
Bob Campbell
Midland Reporter Telegram
07/16/2005
An eight-man, four-woman jury late Friday afternoon found a 48-year-old Missouri minister guilty of all four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 1989-92 sexual abuse of his then 9 to 12-year-old step-daughter.
The jurors deliberated 2 1/2 hours to reach their verdicts and reconvened at 8 p.m. to consider punishment for the Rev. Eddie Wells of Matthews, Mo. After hearing another round of attorneys' arguments, they considered the case for another 50 minutes and sentenced him to 50 years on each count.
Judge Jody Gilles set sentencing for 4 p.m. Wednesday, at which time he could either make the sentences concurrent or "stake them in some way."
Ascertaining that the panel's guilty verdict was unanimous, Gilles at 6:30 p.m. slowly intoned each count, which alleged various sex acts committed on the girl while Wells and his second wife and family lived in Midland, and concluded, "guilty."
GREEN BAY (WI)
Press-Gazette
By Andy Nelesen
anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com
A letter in which a former Catholic priest confessed to molesting more than 14 boys between 1969 and 1988 cannot be shown to jurors hearing allegations that the man molested a 10-year-old boy in 1988.
Donald Buzanow-ski, 62, is expected to stand trial later this month on two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly fondling a boy while Buzanowski was a counselor at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay during the late 1980s.
Brown County Circuit Court Judge J.D. McKay on Friday upheld his decision to bar Buzanowski’s letter to a Protestant pastor, citing the vagueness of the letter. Prosecutors had asked the letter be admitted as evidence of other bad acts.
McKay in April ruled that the letter to the pastor could not be included as evidence because it could be considered confidential communication between clergy and penitent.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
The Sun Chronicle
NEW BEDFORD -- Decades after sexually abusing a young girl for seven years while he was a Catholic priest serving in Norton, Donald Bowen was taken from a courthouse in shackles Friday, sentenced to two years in jail.
The now 67-year-old bespectacled and balding man pleaded guilty in New Bedford Superior Court to two sexual molestation charges but not before first denying forcing the girl to perform a sex act and then minimizing the crime by saying he `` rarely'' had done so.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
Boston Globe
By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | July 16, 2005
NEW BEDFORD -- No matter how much Catherine Murphy tried to blot him out, she said, he was there in every attempt she made at intimacy. Her first date, her college beaux, her husband on her wedding night -- all their faces blurred, and the only person she could see was the man she called ''the monster priest."
The Rev. Donald Bowen's sexual abuse of her, which began when she was 9 years old, affected Murphy throughout her life, she said. She was treated for anorexia in college. She contemplated suicide as a young mother. She eventually divorced her husband after years of sabotaging their relationship because she felt so worthless.
''I can trace all of the problems in my adult life to this man," Murphy, now 50, said at a sentencing hearing for Bowen yesterday in New Bedford Superior Court. ''I used to pray for someone to come and deliver me from this nightmare. But then I would think, who would believe me?"
Bowen, 67, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14 and performing lewd and lascivious acts on a person under 16.
BOSTON (MA)
AlterNet
By Michael Blanding, AlterNet. Posted July 16, 2005.
We, the depraved citizens of Boston, would like to thank Sen. Santorum for recognizing our city as the modern-day Gomorrah that it is, and pointing out all the ways that Boston has led to the moral decline of the nation. Tools
Dear Sen. Santorum,
On behalf of the depraved, morally relativistic citizenry of Boston, I just wanted to thank you for finally giving us the credit that we deserve. In fact, I was just taking a break from some man-on-dog sex with my Weimaraner, Hank, when I read your comments about our moral cesspit of a city. You called Boston a sick culture that sanctions alternative lifestyles, and said it was no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm of the Catholic priest child sex abuse scandal of a few years back.
NEVADA
Lahontan Valley News
July 16, 2005
By Montie Pierce
The Catholic Church has taken some pretty devastating hits as of late, and it's not over yet, as the tip of the iceberg is just emerging. What is turning out to be the largest, most heinous era of child molestation and abuse is bringing protests and lawsuits to parishes and dioceses throughout the world. The prevalence of this seems to be in the United States, but let's not fool ourselves - this isn't just a "continental" scourge.
A great deal of media exposure seems to have picked up speed in the light of Pope John Paul's death. We were forced to absorb almost three weeks' worth of MSNBC and other news channels interviewing every person who ever shook hands with or said "hello" to this man: One week during his suffering, another week after his death, several days preceding his funeral, and still another three or four days after he was entombed.
Almost immediately after the funeral, MSNBC, CNN and others began the public relations drive to make him a saint - even though this is decided by the College of Cardinals some time after the funeral, by Vatican law. ...
So, why sainthood? That's a hard one to figure, but I think I can come up with some reasons why Pope John Paul should NOT be made a Saint. His tenure IS marked however, with the revelation of the largest, and by that I mean worldwide, sexual and child abuse scandal in the history of modern man.
Not only that, but the dear, kind old pontiff was a central figure in relegating this to a degree of non-importance, disguising, and also a direct covering-up by the Vatican. Pope John Paul was "at the helm" of this shameful exercise by supposedly the most Holy of the Holy. Let's put it this way: Watergate had Richard Nixon; UN-Holygate had Pope John Paul.
Heads of dioceses facing dozens of sexual abuse charges, and facing charges of "knowing about it, but ignoring it" were "rescued" by the pontiff - they were given "plumb" jobs in the Vatican to keep them out of prisons. The Archbishop of the Boston Diocese, as depicted in the true-to-life movie, "Our Fathers," would have, had he gone to trial, faced up to 30 years in prison. Instead he made the "leap Of faith" from Boston all the way to the Vatican, where he is today, hiding behind the papal robes.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
The Herald News
Gregg M. Miliote, Herald News Staff Reporter 07/16/2005
NEW BEDFORD -- After hearing an astoundingly emotional impact statement from the victim, and later determining that Father Donald Bowen is still minimizing his behavior, Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson sentenced the Diocese of Fall River retired priest to two years behind bars and 10 years of probation Friday.
Bowen, 67, an Attleboro native, pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with indecent assault and battery of a person under 14 and unnatural and lascivious acts on a person under 16.
The plea came three years after he was indicted and more than three decades after he systematically ruined the life of a young Bristol County girl by consistently forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
The victim, Catherine Murphy, 50, was in court Friday and tore through a lengthy impact statement that left many of her supportive friends and family members in tears. She gave reporters permission to use her name.
UNITED STATES
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 15, 2005
A commentary regarding the clergy sex abuse scandal, written by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in 2002, has caused considerable consternation in recent days, culminating with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and other Massachusetts Democrats calling for Santorum to apologize for his statements.
What's all the fuss about? The "offensive" statements are contained in the following paragraph of Santorum's commentary:
"It is startling that those in the media and academia appear most disturbed by this aberrant behavior, since they have zealously promoted moral relativism by sanctioning 'private' moral matters such as alternative lifestyles. Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
(Santorum's commentary can be read in its entirety here: http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=30)
In defense of Santorum, his commentary was written and posted when the scandal first exploded, which just happened to be in Boston. Most people, including perhaps the senator, did not yet realize the scope of the scandal. Of course, we now know that several other U.S. dioceses have had problems very similar to that of the Archdiocese of Boston. In fact, at least in terms of settlement money for abuse victims, there are two dioceses — Covington, Ky. and Orange County, Calif. — that have surpassed Boston. And we're still waiting to hear about the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON (DC)
National
By Joe Feuerherd
Why is the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee posting a list of the most egregious Catholic clergy sex abuse cases on its Web site? What does this have to do with returning control of the Senate to the Democrats?
More than you'd think.
Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is the controversial conservative incumbent in what will be the most hotly contested Senate race of 2006. Three years ago, in July 2002, he penned a column for Catholic Online, a conservative Web site. "The most obvious change must occur within American seminaries, many of which demonstrate the same brand of cultural liberalism plaguing our secular universities," wrote Santorum.
"When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected," he continued. "While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Santorum's formula -- cultural liberalism leads to child rape -- was largely ignored at the time. No brouhaha. No headlines.
Given the context in which Santorum wrote (the U.S. bishops, meeting in Dallas, had just established theirAbuse Tracker Review Board to investigate the crisis and promoted a "one strike and you're out policy" for clerical abusers) it's not surprising that even the provocative words of a prominent senator were ignored. There was a lot being said about priest-molesters and their protectors at the time, much of it half-baked, most of it lost in the cacophony of voices chiming in on the hot topic of the day.
All that changed this week.
FALL RIVER (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 7:29 am EDT July 15, 2005
UPDATED: 7:44 am EDT July 15, 2005
FALL RIVER, Mass. -- A priest accused of molesting a young girl beginning when she was 9 years old is expected to plead guilty Friday.
The alleged abuse by the Rev. Donald Bowen took place between 1965 and 1971 while he served at St. Mary's parish in Norton, Mass.
Bowen is scheduled to appear in Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River.
The statute of limitations doesn't apply to Bowen's case because he left the state for decades. He was located in Bolivia in 2002 after charges were filed against him.
UNITED STATES
Spirit Daily
By Michael H. Brown
Many years ago I was speaking at a church in Seattle and the priest impressed me as a very devout man. He also seemed very "with it." Did I have issues with him? I had issues with him. I never did get expense money to get back to the airport, or any form of compensation, and most egregiously of all, he pulled me out of a restaurant when I was only halfway through one of the best steaks of my life.
I'm only kidding, of course, although what I write about today, and about him, is not a laughing matter. The other day I was looking through something called the "clergy abuse tracker," and there he was, in articles saying that due to allegations of abuse, he was now banned, at age 72, from ministry.
He is certainly not the only priest I've met who has been charged with sexual misconduct. I have spoken at other parishes where clerics have been accused; I had one bless my own home; another was a house guest; I have run across them at various conferences.
Are they all guilty? I'm sure many are. Perhaps the majority. There is little doubt that a satanic spirit swept over the priesthood and caused dastardly temptation. We're always amazed at the extent of the sex-abuse crisis. It is a low point in the entire history of the Church. To compromise the innocence of a youngster is all but unforgivable, and there is no downplaying it.
But I started having second thoughts about that one in Seattle.
MASSACHUSETTS
The Salem News
By Alan Lupo
I am a religious guy, so I am about to utter a prayer:
"Dear Lord, thank you very much that Rick Santorum is not one of the senators representing Massachusetts, and that he instead represents Pennsylvania."
I would add, "God save the people of Pennsylvania from this rabid right-winger."
Santorum, who has managed to become the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, has a history of mouthing loony tunes with some not-so-merry melodies. A couple of years ago, when asked to explain his loathing of gays, he suggested that homosexual acts were in the same class of behavior as polygamy, adultery and sex with animals.
Well, here he goes again, this time contending that the Catholic priest pedophile scandal somehow had its roots in Boston's "liberalism" and our lax attitude towards "sexual license."
Who knew?
Well, actually my former Boston Globe colleagues who broke the pedophile scandal seem to know stuff, and the stuff they uncovered bears no resemblance to what's described in the meanderings of ridiculous Rick.
WORCESTER (MA)
The Catholic Free Press
By Tanya Connor
The woman who directed the diocese’s response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis has changed jobs – but not her ministry. And it is a ministry in which she wants to continue offering healing prayer.
Patricia O’Leary Engdahl finished her job as director of the diocesan Office for Healing and Prevention July 1. Monday she is to begin work as director of Anna Maria College’s Molly Bish Center for the Protection of Children and the Elderly. The diocese has not announced a successor for her position.
“I guess I see this as a natural progression of what I was doing,” Mrs. Engdahl said. Working for the diocese in dealing with child abuse, she saw a tremendous need for education and advocacy and measures to protect children concretely, she said.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
The Sun Chronicle
NEW BEDFORD -- The case against a retired Catholic priest charged with sexually abusing a Norton girl over a seven-year period decades ago could end today.
Donald Bowen, 67, is scheduled to appear in New Bedford Superior Court for a `` change of plea'' hearing, during which he is expected to plead guilty to abusing the girl starting when she was 9, and ending when she was about 16.
The alleged abuse occurred while Bowen was a clergyman at St. Mary's Parish in Norton.
TUCSON (AZ)
Case Grande Valley Newspapers
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press July 14, 2005
TUCSON - The successful completion this week of the Tucson Roman Catholic diocese's bankruptcy case was a triumph of negotiation and compromise over contention.
It could serve as a potential model, but it's unlikely to have much impact on two more acrimonious diocesan bankruptcies playing out in the West, according to bankruptcy experts and other specialists who have followed the sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic church nationwide.
The effect of the Tucson case, which gives some abuse victims at least $600,000, on ongoing bankruptcy cases involving the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., and the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., is not obvious, said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va.
"The cases are different, even though they start with a seemingly common thread," Gerdano said. "They're proceeding very differently."
In Tucson, he said, the diocese proactively put some money on the table and "indicated a willingness to get to a plan" as part of a negotiating process typical in Chapter 11 reorganization cases.
UNITED STATES
MichNews.com
By Michael J. Gaynor
MichNews.com
Jul 14, 2005
Who do the secular extremist Democrats dread most?
Apparently Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania.
What's the evidence?
First, the Democrats are preparing to run William Casey, their token pro-lifer, against him.
Hey, it's the Democrats' best chance to beat Senator Santorum.
Second, Senator Ted Kennedy, the so-called "liberal lion" and "conscience of the Senate," is targeting Senator Santorum, on the Senate floor yet, about a 2002 article.
If you check the featured authors at www.catholiconline.com, you will find Senator Santorum listed and you can access each of four articles by him posted there.
MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
By David Unze
dunze@stcloudtimes.com
A former parishioner has sued St. Cloud Diocese and former priest Donald Rieder, accusing him of sexually abusing her in 1973.
The allegations in a civil complaint filed in Stearns County District Court first became public in December 2002 when another victim sued Rieder. That case resulted in a $500,000 settlement to the victim, who accused Rieder of abusing her in the early 1990s while she was a parishioner at St. John Cantius Church in St. Cloud.
The allegations in the new lawsuit, filed by a woman identified in court papers as Jane Doe 54, concern abuse the victim said happened in 1973 while Rieder was pastor at St. Louis Church in Paynesville. The allegations are old enough they fall outside the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims in criminal court.
But the victim's lawyer accused the diocese of committing "fraudulent concealment" of information from the victim about Rieder. That concealment should extend the statute of limitations, Jeff Anderson said. Had the diocese told Jane Doe 54 or her family about a sexual abuse complaint it had received in the early 1960s about Rieder, Jane Doe 54 "would have acted differently," the complaint said.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Scot Lehigh | July 15, 2005
ON WEDNESDAY, US Senator Rick Santorum had to answer a fundamental question. Is he a man or is he a mouse?
So how did the Pennsylvania Republican decide the issue? Well, here's an audio clue: Squeak, squeak.
The back story: Three years ago, Santorum suggested that Boston's liberalism was to blame for the pedophile scandal rocking the Catholic Church.
Here's what he wrote in an online column back in 2002 -- comments unnoticed back then, but that recently burst into the headlines: ''When the culture is sick, every element of it becomes infected. . . . it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Now, Santorum is an ideologue much given to admonishments about the dire consequences of a tolerant culture. He is, for example, one who frets that if states can't prosecute homosexuals for consensual sexual activity that occurs in the privacy of their own homes, the very foundations of Western civilization will crumble. In April of 2003, he warned that if the US Supreme Court didn't uphold a Texas sodomy law under review, ''then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." It's absurd, of course, to equate decriminalizing sodomy with permitting incest or establishing the right to marry multiple partners. This, then, is a man unable to draw important intellectual distinctions.
VERMONT
Rutland Herald
July 15, 2005
Sen. Rick Santorum is a famously conservative Republican senator from Pennsylvania, which might lead one to think he believes that criminals ought to be held accountable for their actions and that excusing misconduct because of background or social environment amounts to bleeding-heart liberalism.
If you believed that about Santorum, you would be wrong. Santorum believes the incidents of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston area are the fault of Harvard and MIT and the cultural liberalism of Massachusetts. His comments represent a kind of bleeding-heart conservatism, exemplified several years ago when Newt Gingrich, then speaker of the House, said that when Susan Smith of South Carolina murdered her two children, it was the fault of liberals.
Santorum's comments first appeared on a Catholic Web site in 2002. He said, "It is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm" about clergy sexual abuse. Earlier this week, he defended his remarks, saying it was the "basic liberal attitude" in Boston that created an environment that led to the abuse of children.
In Santorum's world, it is not the fault of the priests. It is the fault of the priests' environment. Pity the poor priests, who were lured into pedophilia by the liberal region in which they had to work.
This line of thinking is ludicrous in many ways, as well as insulting and simple-minded. Let us count the ways.
One, sexual abuse as well as other social problems, such as spouse abuse and divorce, are generally higher in the poor, conservative areas of the South than in more affluent regions with more educated populations.
Two, Massachusetts is a state that caught its abusive priests and is doing something about it. That is not liberal permissiveness. It is toughness on crime.
SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Republican
Friday, July 15, 2005
By BILL ZAJAC
wzajac@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Friends of a Springfield diocesan priest removed from ministry over a sexual abuse complaint have created a fund to defray the cleric's legal and living expenses.
An undated letter seeking financial support for the Rev. Michael H. Devlin has been sent to friends, including lay people and religious, according to people who have received the letter.
Devlin was removed from ministry by the diocese last year after an allegation that he abused a child for four years starting 33 years ago was deemed credible by the diocese's Review Board, the panel that investigates accusations of clergy misconduct.
A lawsuit was filed earlier this year by his accuser, Daniel B. Daley, a 45-year-old Air Force veteran.
Barbara A. Joseph of Williamstown, one of nine friends who signed the letter seeking support for the "Michael H. Devlin Irrevocable Trust," said she helped start the fund to support a longtime friend.
"He says he is innocent, and we believe him," said Joseph, who signed the letter with her husband, Dr. Thomas J. Joseph.
Daley, who said he was abused by Devlin when he was brought by his parents to the priest at age 11 or 12 for counseling, said the fund's creation is upsetting.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Sentinel
By Rich Lewis, July 14, 2005
Hide your children and your dogs.
I'm from Boston.
Boo.
OK, so I've lived in Carlisle for the past 25 years. And I'm not exactly from Boston, but one of its grubby suburbs.
But I did inhale Boston air for 22 years, went to a Catholic high school in Boston, and then to college in the next town over.
So I am undoubtedly incurably infected by the morality-degrading virus that makes the capital of Massachusetts unsafe for decent Americans.
At least Rick Santorum thinks so.
As you may have heard, the junior senator from Pennsylvania is under fire this week for refusing to repudiate comments he made a few years ago blaming the "liberalism" of Boston for the pedophile scandal there involving Catholic priests.
"It is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm," Santorum wrote in July 2002.
We now know the abuse was a national problem and involved cities from Philadelphia to Louisville to Tucson to Los Angeles. It just happened to blow up first in Boston.
So you'd think Santorum would have reconsidered his attack on that city.
But no.
On Tuesday, Santorum told Boston Globe reporter Susan Milligan that he stood by his original comments. He pointed to the city's "sexual license" and "sexual freedom" and concluded: "If you have a world view that I'm describing (about Boston) ... that affirms alternative views of sexuality, that can lead to a lot of people taking it the wrong way."
So, Boston's Catholic priests saw all those college students making out on the banks of the Charles River and thought to themselves, "Yahoo, this means we can fondle the altar boys"?
Do you really believe that?
COVINGTON (KY)
The Cincinnati Post
By Paul A. Long
Post staff reporter
The Diocese of Covington's demand that its insurance carrier pay at least two-thirds of its $120 million settlement with victims of priest sexual abuse is in line with other settlements around the United States, according to lawyers familiar with the issue and a review of other agreements.
But the diocese's decision to sue for that money is unusual, although not unprecedented.
The $120 million proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the diocese calls for at least $80 million to come from insurance companies that have covered the diocese over the past 50 years.
Although that includes several companies, the main one appears to be Catholic Mutual Group, which has its headquarters in Omaha, Neb.
The company - a self-insurance fund that is part of the Catholic Church - has said it was not invited to the negotiations where a final settlement was reached.
But both the Covington Diocese and those who have sued it dispute that, saying the company refused to participate and arbitrarily said it would deny or limit coverage.
INDIA
Express India
Rajkot, July 14: Controversy doesn’t seem to leave sadhus of Swaminarayan sect. A former student of Khambha Swaminarayan Gurukul has accused three sadhus of sodomy. And, though the incident came to light over the weekend, a police complaint was filed only on Thursday.
Nilesh Radadiya (14) a student of Bharti Ashram of Junagadh Swaminarayan Gurukul has alleged that three sadhus Radha Raman Swami, Mahapurush Swami and Vishnu Swami of Kambha gurukul where he earlier studied had sexually abused him several times between January and April this year. Nilesh alleged that he was often called to Radha Raman Swami’s room and sodomised by the three.
While the boy’s family says that they had received threats against filing the complaint, police say that earlier, Nilesh and his father Ramji Radadiya denied that he was ever sodomised. The three accused are absconding.
Junagadh District Superintendent of Police BD Vaghela said, “No case was filed earlier as the father and son stated that no such thing ever happened.” According to details available, Nilesh, bleeding from the genitals, was admitted to a private hospital by Bharti Ashram priest Vishwambhar Swami. Doctors there told Swami that Nilesh suffered internal injuries caused by sexual abuse. When Nilesh told Vishwambhar Swami that he had been sodomised by the three sadhus, the priest took him to Junagadh A Division police station on Monday to file a complaint. But there, Nilesh and his father denied all the charges. The accused were summoned too but were allowed to go following the Radadiyas’ statement, police said.
CALIFORNIA
ABC 30
July 13, 2005 — A North Valley church used it's newsletter to find victims of abuse by a priest already in prison.
The Merced County Sheriff's Department is asking for help in identifying local cases of abuse by Father Thomas Purcell.
Father Purcell worked at a Planada Church during the mid 1990's.
The investigation was sparked by a call from a man who says he was molested during a sleep-over at Sacred Hearth Catholic Church.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Margaret Ramirez
Tribune religion reporter
Published July 14, 2005
African-American men who were sexually abused as children by a Roman Catholic priest demanded Wednesday that church officials take steps to find other victims who may be suffering in silence.
Rev. Victor Stewart, who died in 1994 at age 54, abused at least 22 boys during the 1980s, some as young as 7, according to an attorney for the accusers.
Fourteen of the men have reached settlements totaling $3 million with the Archdiocese of Chicago, said attorney Phillip Aaron of Seattle. Settlements are pending for eight more victims, he said.
Stewart, an African-American priest, worked at two South Side parishes--St. Charles Lwanga, now closed, and St. Ailbe--as pastor, principal and basketball coach, victims said.
Archdiocese spokesman Jim Dwyer confirmed that church officials had reached a settlement with Stewart's accusers but declined to provide details. Their claims were determined to be credible, he said.
Speaking out publicly for the first time Wednesday, several victims said Stewart preyed on families who were struggling financially, showering the children with gifts and then abusing them.
Monty Murphy, 35, said that when he told his younger brother, Reggie, two years ago about the abuse, he learned the priest had molested them both.
CHICAGO (IL)
ABC 7
July 14, 2005 — Ten men who say a priest abused them and other African American boys in two South Side Chicago parishes during the 1980s now want church officials to seek out other victims.
Seattle attorney Phillip Aaron says 14 men have reached settlements totaling three (M) million dollars with the Archdiocese of Chicago over abuse allegations against the Reverend Victor Stewart.
Stewart died in 1994. An archdiocese spokesman confirms that the church has settled with the men after determining their claims were believable. But the archdiocese will not make efforts to find other victims.
AMITE (LA)
Times-Picayune
7/14/2005, 8:03 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
AMITE, La. (AP) — A $350,000 bond has been set for a former law officer accused of participating in the sexual abuse of children centered around a Ponchatoula church.
An attorney for Christopher Labat, an ex-Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputy charged with aggravated rape, said he will ask later for a lower bond. Lawyer Gary Jordan said Wednesday that if Labat can post bond, he will be placed under house arrest and banned from contacting alleged victims.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
In times of political turmoil, worldwide human tragedies and religious scandals severe enough to rock the very foundation of religious organizations, wise and dedicated spiritual leaders are much more than public spokesmen reciting homilies.
When they take seriously their jobs, their missions, they become a blessing -- not only to their flocks but to all the people of their communities, regardless of their faiths.
That is how Bishop Joseph Delaney is being remembered today by Roman Catholics and non-Catholics alike throughout North Texas. ...
Although some of his decisions during the sexual abuse scandals in the church have drawn criticism, Delaney generally was praised for his handling of the reported episodes in the diocese and for implementing safeguards against any future abuses of minors.
His is a life worthy of celebration, for many in his flock and the broader community saw him as a good shepherd -- a man who lived his faith of being a servant to God and humanity.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
GUEST COLUMN OPINION BY GERALD F. KICANAS
The confirmation of the Diocese of Tucson's Chapter 11 reorganization plan marks the end of one of the saddest of times in the diocese's history.
Who would have believed any priest would abuse a child? Who would have believed leaders in the church could have failed to protect children?
Yet, the reality is that, in the past 50 years, children have experienced a terrible betrayal of trust. This betrayal is inexcusable and indefensible and calls again for a public apology and a firm resolve to do whatever humanly is possible to see to it that this does not happen again.
As bishop of Tucson, I again make this public apology. I express the firm resolve that this diocese will do whatever is humanly possible to reduce the risk that a child could be abused at a parish or school, at home and even in the larger community.
Under the oversight of the Federal Bankruptcy Court and the competent guidance of Judge James Marlar, those who were abused or who suffered injury from abuse by clergy or other persons working for the diocese, parishes or schools have had an opportunity to file a claim and have that claim considered.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Carrie Budoff
Inquirer Staff Writer
Sen. Rick Santorum's words are giving him trouble. Again.
This time, the reemergence of three-year-old comments linking Boston liberalism with the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals has Beantown, victim advocates, and Democrats in Congress boiling.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected," Santorum (R., Pa.), the No. 3 Senate leader, wrote for Catholic Online in July 2002. "While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
The column, recently picked up by newspaper columnists and circulated on the Internet, prompted Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.) to demand an apology yesterday from the two-term senator.
"Outrageous and offensive comments," Kennedy boomed from the Senate floor. "Boston-bashing might be in vogue with some Republicans, but Rick Santorum's statements are beyond the pale."
Santorum wouldn't budge. As he has done other times he has upset the political left, Santorum flicked aside the criticism yesterday.
WISCONSIN
Pioneer Press
BY JR ROSS
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — The Milwaukee Archdiocese cannot be sued by a man who claims he was abused by one of its priests 40 years ago because church leaders had no reason at the time to believe the priest was a child molester, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Still, advocates for victims of clergy abuse hailed the decision as a victory because the court did not use the lawsuit to reaffirm a 1995 decision that gave religious organizations in Wisconsin blanket immunity from civil claims over their hiring practices.
Peter Isley, Midwest director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the court's silence on the issue was an invitation for others to file new lawsuits challenging the decade-old decision.
"This decision does not help children right now in the state of Wisconsin. But for those who have been harmed, it opens the door for them to get moving," Isley said.
Identified in court papers only as John Doe 67F, the alleged victim claimed the archdiocese was negligent in its supervision of the Rev. George Nuedling, who he claims was moved from parish to parish even though church leaders had knowledge he had abused children.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer
A grand jury indicted a Cincinnati priest Wednesday on charges of sexually abusing a boy in his church office several times from 1995 to 1997.
The Rev. Raymond Larger, who was then pastor of St. James parish in White Oak, faces charges of rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition. He could be sentenced to more than 30 years in prison if he is convicted.
Larger, 54, was sentenced to a year of probation in 2003 after a conviction for soliciting sex from a male police officer in a Dayton park. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati allowed him to return to work at the archdiocese's office downtown last year.
The archdiocese suspended him after the indictment Wednesday, but Larger released a statement denying the charges.
"I have never had inappropriate behavior with the accuser or with any minor," said Larger, who is free after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond. "As I stand before God, my conscience is clear and clean.
"I have done nothing wrong."
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
July 14, 2005
SENATOR RICK Santorum can't be serious when he says that localized liberalism has something to do with the sexual abuse scandal that convulsed the Archdiocese of Boston. But he repeated his three-year-old calumny this week, so a few facts are in order.
It's true that the percentage of priests implicated in sexual abuse cases since 1950 was higher in Boston than in any other US diocese. That 7 percent figure, reported by the archdiocese, significantly exceeded the national average of 4 percent. This figure comes from a study commissioned by theAbuse Tracker Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, an arm of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
There's an attitude in Boston ''that is very open to sexual freedom," Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, said this week.
Boston does indeed have a liberal reputation, but what does that have to do with sexual abuse? The archdioceses in San Francisco and New York reported sexual abuse figures of 1.4 percent and 1.19 percent. If liberalism were a factor, surely it would have manifested itself in higher rates for those bastions of the left.
In a report last year, theAbuse Tracker Review Board found other culprits in Boston. ''The picture that emerged was that of a diocese with a cadre of predator priests and a hierarchy that simply refused to confront them and stop them," it said. Perhaps it was the particular culture of the bishops and priests in the archdiocese, not the political climate of the broader society, that caused the scandal to fester here so long.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, July 14, 2005
By Maeve Reston, Post-GazetteAbuse Tracker Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry lambasted Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday for writing that the Catholic Church's pedophile scandal was centered in Boston in part because of the city's morally permissive culture.
The Massachusetts Democrats demanded an apology from their Republican colleague for a column he wrote in 2002 for the Web site Catholics Online, which has gained new life in recent weeks after resurfacing on Web blogs and in a Monday Boston Globe column.
Santorum argued that while he was sickened and repulsed by the priest abuse scandal, it could create an opportunity to purge America's Catholic seminaries of the "cultural liberalism" that had infected them and to emphasize fidelity to the church's teachings.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture," Santorum wrote in the passage that Kennedy denounced yesterday. "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
By LINDA MAN The Kansas City Star
A youth minister for a south Kansas City church was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a church member’s underage daughter.
Phillip Boleyn II, 25, of Raymore, was charged with four counts of statutory rape, three counts of child molestation and two counts of statutory sodomy. Authorities allege the relationship spanned from January 2003 to May 2005.
Boleyn was a youth minister with Christian Life Church, 7005 E. 102nd St. Officials at the church could not be reached for comment.
According to court documents, the victim told Kansas City police that Boleyn began kissing and fondling her when she was in her early teens. During the next two years or so, the contact progressed to oral sex and then intercourse.
The victim told police that they had sex at her house, in his office, in the crawl space at church and in the women’s restroom, the documents said. She told police that Boleyn had said that he wanted to marry her when she turned 18.
UNITED STATES
Deseret Morning News
By Geoffrey Fattah
Deseret Morning News
The elusive leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints now has a bounty on his head.
Utah and Arizona officials announced Wednesday a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Warren Jeffs on two counts of felony child sex abuse for allegedly arranging, and performing, the marriage of a 16-year-old girl to a man who was already married.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff publicly challenged Jeffs to turn himself in peacefully and face justice.
"I just think he thinks he's above the law — he's a coward," Shurtleff said. He then addressed Jeffs directly, "If you think it's constitutional what you're doing, hey, come in and face justice."
Jeffs has not been seen in public for almost two years. His last reported sighting was in the town of Colorado City, Ariz., just before many of his followers moved to Eldorado, Texas, and began construction of several buildings, including multi-family housing. It was also at that time that Jeffs drove out several members of his group.
NEW YORK
Long Island Press
Lauren Wolfe 07/14/2005 12:01 am
The La Salle Military Academy in Suffolk County closed down in 2001. Its land morphed into St. John's University's Oakdale campus, but its legacy is now one tainted by allegations of a priest's sexual abuse.
In March, a Roman Catholic priest named Rev. R. Thomas McConaghy was removed from his position as pastor at the Sacred Heart Church in Norwich, Conn., where he had worked since 1981. McConaghy is under investigation by church officials for allegedly molesting a student at La Salle Academy, where he was commandant in the 1970s. The victim reported the abuse to the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
Now, three months after McConaghy's removal from the Connecticut parish, Long Island Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is calling for the Diocese of Rockville Centre to publicly discuss this latest accusation. The lay organization has sent a letter to Bishop William Murphy requesting that he publish all pertinent information on the case in the Long Island Catholic, as well as in church bulletins and on the diocesan website.
Also, the group would like Murphy to actively seek out the Christian Brothers, the Roman Catholic religious-teaching congregation that founded the academy (which is unassociated with the diocese) in 1883, and contact former students with the information on McConaghy.
NORTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | July 14, 2005
In a rare case of a clergyman facing criminal charges for alleged sexual misconduct that occurred decades ago, a priest who served a Norton parish is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to charges that he raped and molested a local girl beginning when she was 9 years old.
Bristol County prosecutors allege that the Rev. Donald Bowen raped the girl over a seven-year period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he was stationed at St. Mary's Parish.
Under the statute of limitations for rape cases, prosecutors would have ordinarily been barred from bringing charges when the victim came forward to authorities in the late 1990s, but Bowen froze the clock by moving to Bolivia to pursue missionary work in 1972. Bowen, 67, left active ministry and returned to Massachusetts in 2002 after learning that charges had been filed against him.
Bristol District Attorney Paul F. Walsh confirmed the scheduled plea hearing yesterday and said that prosecutors would ''absolutely be recommending jail time, no matter what," for Bowen.
''I think this guy should go to jail for what he did to a little girl," Walsh said. ''If these abuses occurred more recently, he would be facing multiple counts of rape and he would be looking at serious jail time."
CINCINNATI (OH)
Dayton Daily News
By Kimball Perry
Cincinnati Post
CINCINNATI | The Rev. Raymond Larger, the former pastor of White Oak's St. James Parish convicted in 2003 of public indecency at a public park in Dayton, was indicted on new charges Wednesday by a Hamilton County grand jury.
He was indicted for three counts of rape, two counts of sexual battery and a count of sexual touching, charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 41 ½ years.
Larger is accused of befriending a 12-year-old boy, who now is 21, and engaging in sex with him in 1995 through 1997 — at a time when the boy's mother was battling cancer.
Larger turned himself in after the indictment was announced and, through his attorney, insisted he'd done nothing illegal.
"This allegation is completely false. There is absolutely no truth to it. I have never had inappropriate behavior with the accuser or with any minor. As I stand before God, my conscience is clear and clean. I have done nothing wrong. I am confident that I will be fully vindicated and I will do all in my power to bring forth the truth," Larger's statement noted.
In the Dayton case, Larger, a Roman Catholic priest, resigned as pastor of Our Lady of Visitation Church in Greene Twp., Hamilton County, and had been on administrative leave since Aug. 5, 2003, after neighborhood activists near Dayton's Triangle Park reported his arrest to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Larger was arrested July 23, 2003, after approaching an undercover officer for sex, fondling him and then exposing himself. Larger was fined and placed on probation. He received counseling during his leave, and his treating psychologist advised that he be returned to active ministry, the archdiocese said.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Contra Costa Times
JOE KAY
Associated Press
CINCINNATI - A Roman Catholic priest already convicted of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer was indicted Wednesday on charges he raped a boy while he was a church pastor in the 1990s.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati placed the Rev. Raymond Larger, 54, on administrative leave following the indictment by a Hamilton County grand jury. Prosecutors said the victim came forward earlier this year.
It's the second time that Larger has faced sex charges.
In 2003, Larger pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of public indecency and soliciting sex from a male undercover officer in a Dayton park. The archdiocese returned him to active duty last year over the objection of a support group for victims of clergy abuse.
The archdiocese said in a statement Wednesday that the boy was allegedly raped in the 1990s but didn't notify the church.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
BY CARRIE BUDOFF
Knight Ridder Newspapers
PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - Sen. Rick Santorum's words are giving him trouble. Again.
This time, the reemergence of three-year-old comments linking Boston liberalism with the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals has Beantown, victim advocates, and Democrats in Congress boiling.
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected," Santorum, R-Pa., the No. 3 Senate leader, wrote for Catholic Online in July 2002. "While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
The column, recently picked up by newspaper columnists and circulated on the Internet, prompted Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., to demand an apology Wednesday from the two-term senator.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 14, 2005; Page A02
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) led a phalanx of Massachusetts politicians yesterday in demanding that the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, apologize for blaming the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal on "liberalism" in Boston.
In an indignant, unusually personal speech on the Senate floor, Kennedy said that "Boston-bashing might be in vogue with some Republicans, but Rick Santorum's statements are beyond the pale."
Other Massachusetts Democrats quickly piled on. Rep. Edward J. Markey said Santorum should apologize for maligning "the courageous Boston parishioners who finally stood up to decades of an international Catholic Church coverup."
Sen. John F. Kerry said the families of Massachusetts soldiers who have died in Iraq "know more about the mainstream American values of Massachusetts than Rick Santorum ever will."
Rep. Barney Frank called Santorum a "jerk."
EL CAJON (CA)
North County Times
By: North County Times wire services
EL CAJON -- An elementary school principal and minister accused of repeatedly molesting a young male relative pleaded innocent Tuesday to nine counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14.
Dennis M. McKeown, 41, was taken into custody Friday morning as he was leaving his home on Baltimore Drive in La Mesa to go to work, according to La Mesa police Lt. Allen White.
McKeown, head administrator for King/Chavez Academy of Excellence Charter School in San Diego, allegedly engaged in sex acts with the boy during family visits to the defendant's house in late 2002 and early 2003, White said. ...
A preliminary hearing for McKeown -- a minister with Universal Life Church -- was scheduled for Aug. 2.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
JOE KAY
Associated Press
CINCINNATI - A Roman Catholic priest already convicted of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer was indicted Wednesday on charges he raped a boy while he was a church pastor in the 1990s.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati placed the Rev. Raymond Larger, 54, on administrative leave following the indictment by a Hamilton County grand jury. Prosecutors said the victim came forward earlier this year.
It's the second time that Larger has faced sex charges.
In 2003, Larger pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of public indecency and soliciting sex from a male undercover officer in a Dayton park. The archdiocese returned him to active duty last year over the objection of a support group for victims of clergy abuse.
The archdiocese said in a statement Wednesday that the boy was allegedly raped in the 1990s but didn't notify the church.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist | July 12, 2005
Today, I'd like to take a few moments to express profound thanks to Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the third-ranking Republican in the US Senate. In fact, all Bostonians should thank him for sharing his incredible wisdom and insight about this city and its depraved ways.
Specifically, here's what Santorum wrote about the church pedophile scandal on a religious website called Catholic Online. ''When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
So thank you, senator, for setting us straight about the problems with the clergy. Thank you for letting us know that all those pedophilic priests and the church leaders who covered up their crimes are the fault of every Bostonian.
Who knew that the president of Harvard, the people at the Museum of Science, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino were to blame for Cardinal Bernard F. Law's decision to move predatory priests from one parish to another? Here's who knew: Senator Rick Santorum.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Eyewitness News
WASHINGTON A conservative U-S senator is reiterating comments he made three years ago linking the clergy sex abuse scandal to liberal attitudes in Boston.
In an interview yesterday with The Boston Globe, Republican Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania said "alternative views of sexuality" in the city helped foster an environment in which the sexual abuse of children could occur.
The remarks echo ones made by Santorum on a Catholic Web site during the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal. In those widely criticized comments, Santorum said he wasn't surprised that Boston -- which he described as "a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism" was at the center of the scandal.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
The Catholic Telegraph
INDIANAPOLIS — Msgr. Lawrence Breslin, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, received the Voice of the Faithful Priest of Integrity Award July 10 at VOTF's national convocation. The award, which has been given annually since the group's founding three years ago, underscore's the group's stated goal to support priests of integrity.
"Msgr. Breslin has provided a model of leadership for all Catholics — ordained and unordained alike — to follow," said Jim Post, VOTF president. "He courageously named a fellow priest, who admitted the abuse, thereby placing the interest of the innocent victim ahead of a brother priest...Msgr. Breslin has demonstrated a commitment to truth and to bringing sunlight to the Catholic Church."
Kristine Ward, a Dayton resident and vice president of VOTF, noted that "We live in a time of crisis. We seek true reform. Models of exemplary leadership are needed as torchbearers of light in our church. Msgr. Breslin has been a bright light in the darkness of this tragedy."
Also honored at the convocation was Justice Anne Burke, who received the first St. Catherine of Siena Distinguished Lay Person Award. As interim chairwoman of theAbuse Tracker Review Board, Burke oversaw the study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice that measured the nature and scope of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States. She also was instrumental in influencing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ decision to maintain the audits mandated by the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that measured the implementation of child safety protection policies in all dioceses across the country.
WASHINGTON (DC)
American Chronicle
By Newswire Services
July 13, 2005
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., seems to be standing by his statement connecting Boston's ''liberalism" with the Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal.
Responding to remarks made three years ago, Santorum, a leader among Christian conservatives, told the Boston Globe in a Tuesday interview: " I was just saying that there's an attitude that is very open to sexual freedom that is more predominant" in Boston.
When told the scandal had occurred across the country, Santorum told the Globe that "at the time (in 2002), there was an indication that there was more of a problem there" in Boston.
Massachusetts political leaders ridiculed Santorum's suggestion that priests were driven to abuse children by the city's liberal culture.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Centre Daily Times
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a rare personal attack on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy called Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum self-righteous and insensitive for his remarks linking Boston's liberal reputation to the clergy sex abuse scandal.
In recent days, Santorum has refused to back down from comments he made in a 2002 column, in which he said promoting alternative lifestyles spawns aberrant behavior, such as priests molesting children. He went on to say that it was not surprising that liberal Boston was at the center of the scandal.
"The people of Boston are to blame for the clergy sexual abuse? That is an irresponsible, insensitive and inexcusable thing to say," said Kennedy, D-Mass., in a speech from the Senate chamber.
Kennedy called for Santorum to apologize to the people of Boston and Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, Santorum spokesman Robert Traynham said the Pennsylvania senator recognizes that the church abuse scandal was not just in Boston, but all over the country.
He said Santorum "was speaking to a broader cultural argument about the need for everyone to take these issues very, very seriously."
MADISON (WI)
WRAL
POSTED: 2:29 pm EDT July 13, 2005
UPDATED: 2:29 pm EDT July 13, 2005
MADISON, Wis. -- A man who claims he was abused by a priest in the 1960s cannot sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee because there is no proof church leaders knew the priest was a child molester at the time, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The plaintiff, identified in court papers only as John Doe 67F, had accused the Roman Catholic archdiocese of negligence in its supervision of the Rev. George Nuedling, who died in 1994. He claimed church leaders moved him from parish to parish even though they knew he had abused children.
However, the court ruled there was no proof church leaders had reason to believe Nuedling was abusing children from 1960 to 1962, when Doe claims he was abused.
Since the justices ruled the suit could not continue, they refused to review their 1995 decision giving religious organizations immunity from civil suits over their hiring practices.
Though the court was unanimous in dismissing the suit, three justices said they believed the 1995 decision should be reversed to allow such suits in the future.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
World Peace Herald
By United Press International
Published July 13, 2005
MILWAUKEE -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday there's no proof the Archdiocese of Milwaukee knew the late Rev. George Nuedling was abusing children.
The ruling means a plaintiff identified as John Doe 67F cannot sue the archdiocese over allegations Nuedling abused him from 1960-62. The man, whose name is being concealed, claims the archdiocese knew about the molestation and moved Nuedling to a different parish, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
John Doe 67F was one of 10 people who filed civil lawsuits against the archdiocese and a St. John the Evangelist Church in Twin Lakes, Wis., in 2002 for ignoring abuse by Nuedling over a 20-year period.
WISCONSIN
The Capital Times
By Pat Schneider
July 13, 2005
The Wisconsin Supreme Court today unanimously barred a claim of negligence against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in a case of alleged priest sex abuse, but a majority of justices opened the door to revisit, in some future case, the past court decisions that abuse survivors say have closed the courthouse doors to them for a decade.
In a strongly worded concurrence, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley admonished the court majority for dodging the First Amendment and statute of limitation issues that have kept clergy sex abuse claims out of Wisconsin courts since a series of high court rulings in the mid-1990s.
"For the benefit of the lower courts and future litigants, I address the questions left unanswered by the majority," Bradley said in concurring opinion joined by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and in part by Justice Patience Roggensack. Bradley argues that the court's past rulings do not bar negligence claims against the Catholic Church in allegations of priest sex abuse against children.
In a second concurrence, Justice Louis Butler, with Justice Patrick Crooks joining, said the court does not normally decide constitutional questions if the case can be resolved on other grounds. "These questions have not been resolved, and will have to be addressed in possible future litigation," Butler wrote.
SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Weekly
By An SF Weekly Investigation by Ron Russell
Published: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
During the 2002 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas -- at the height of public outrage over the clergy sex-abuse scandal -- San Francisco Archbishop William J. Levada projected himself as a reformer on the abuse issue, chastising some fellow bishops for not doing enough to remove miscreant priests from their domains.
In the end, the conference voted to remove from ministry any priest who had sexually abused a minor, even if the abuse occurred far in the past. Afterward, however, the late Pope John Paul II felt the bishops' reforms were too severe and appointed Levada to help reconcile them with Vatican policy. The archbishop, in turn, asked Father Gregory Ingels, a prominent canon lawyer and a longtime Levada favorite, to help write the guidelines for a "zero tolerance" sex-abuse policy that the pope could later sign off on.
In this ironic way, American bishops now follow a program for dealing with sex-abuse complaints that was significantly influenced by two men:
A Catholic priest and lawyer who has had two serious sexual-abuse cases filed against him -- one of which the church recently agreed to settle by paying an alleged victim $2.7 million.
And an archbishop who has helped shield the lawyer/priest for nine years -- and who has now been appointed to what many consider to be the Roman Catholic Church's second most powerful position.
IOWA
WOI
DES MOINES, Iowa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque faces another lawsuit over allegedly sexual abuse by a priest.
In a lawsuit filed this week in U-S District Court in Cedar Rapids, a woman claims she was sexually abused by the Reverend Patrick McElliott in 1964 when he was a pastor of St. Patrick parish in Colesburg.
McElliott died in 1987.
Four earlier lawsuits named McElliott, alleging he abused girls while at St. John's school in Waterloo and at St. Patrick in 1963.
CALIFORNIA
The Press-Enterprise
11:39 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 12, 2005
By MICHAEL FISHER / The Press-Enterprise
Tuesday's scheduled courtroom arguments between the Diocese of San Bernardino and prosecutors seeking to review a defrocked priest's personnel file never materialized after the two sides apparently struck an undisclosed deal.
"Pursuant to our agreement, we have no comment," the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the million-member diocese, said Tuesday.
Both he and Riverside County prosecutors declined to elaborate.
Prosecutors and the Inland diocese have been locked in a legal fight over the personnel file of Jesús Armando Dominguez, charged with 58 counts of child molestation for allegedly sexually abusing two teenage boys at Catholic churches in Coachella and Perris in the late 1980s.
Court records from Tuesday indicate that the diocese and prosecutors have reached an accord, but Riverside County Superior Court Judge Russell Schooling ordered that agreement sealed.
MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By TOM HEINEN
theinen@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 12, 2005
On the eve of a critical state Supreme Court decision, sexual abuse survivors accused the Milwaukee Archdiocese on Tuesday of using intimidation to discourage future lawsuits by trying to have three anonymous plaintiffs identified in public court records of cases that were being dismissed.
An archdiocesan spokeswoman denied any intent to make the names public, saying Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan remained committed to working with and hearing from survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
The flare-up was fanned by a news conference the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests held in front of the main entrance to archdiocesan offices at the Cousins Center in St. Francis.
"I just found about this yesterday," a tearful Sharon Tarantino, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse and a member of the archdiocese's Community Advisory Board on sexual abuse, said after the news conference. "It's almost like everything we have discussed during the meetings has been a lie."
Archdiocesan spokeswoman Kathleen Hohl issued a statement Tuesday saying the archdiocese never asked for public disclosure of the names of victims or survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
CINCINNATI (OH)
WCPO
Reported by: 9News
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
7/12/2005 8:30:08 PM
Channel 9's I-Team has learned Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters will meet with victims of priest sexual abuse Wednesday to share results of his six-month investigation.
Deters has been reviewing the plea deal former Hamilton County prosecutor Mike Allen made with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
The archdiocese plead to several counts of failing to report crimes, but no individuals were held responsible.
Since then, the I-Team's Laure Quinlivan has reported how Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk allowed former Elder teacher Charlie Kaufhold to leave Elder quietly after learning Kaufhold had sexually abused students.
The I-Team showed documents from the mid-80's that prove the Archbishop moved around former Elder teacher Father David Kelley, after learning he abused students.
NEW BRUNSWICK (NJ)
Courier News
BY CHAD WEIHRAUCH
Staff writer
NEW BRUNSWICK -- The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Tuesday it investigated a sexual abuse claim made against a North Plainfield priest but did not prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired.
The Diocese of Metuchen announced over the weekend it has removed the Rev. John Casey, 47, as pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield, while it looks into the allegations. The accusation involves a charge made by a minor from a time 18 years ago, when Casey was parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle parish in New Brunswick.
On Tuesday, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure declined to comment on specifics but said the diocese had approached the county prosecutor's office -- as a matter of church policy -- and police then investigated.
She would not comment on the age or sex of the alleged victim or on the exact nature of the reported crime. But she said that for more serious sexual abuse crimes -- aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault -- there is no statute of limitations, according to a 1996 state law.
NEW BEDFORD (MA)
The Herald News
Gregg M. Miliote, Herald News Staff Reporter07/13/2005
NEW BEDFORD -- The Diocese of Fall River priest accused of raping a young Bristol County girl on numerous occasions more than three decades ago will likely plead guilty to a three-year-old indictment Friday in Bristol County Superior Court.
Father Donald Bowen, 67, is charged with indecent assault and battery of a person under 14 on several occasions and unnatural and lascivious acts on a person under 16 on several occasions. Each charge carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.
Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh, who found a loophole in the commonwealth’s statute of limitations laws leading to the 2002 indictment, confirmed Tuesday that Bowen is scheduled to appear for a change of plea hearing Friday morning.
Walsh, though, could not comment on the specifics of any plea agreement.
"It’s an ethical violation to discuss the possibility or the potential agreement on a plea, because it could hinder the defendant’s right to a fair trial if he changes his mind about pleading out," Walsh said. "But, I can tell you we will absolutely be recommending jail time no matter what."
The alleged abuses occurred between 1965 and 1971 while Bowen was serving as a pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Norton.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
By SHERYL KORNMAN
skornman@tucsoncitizen.com
Although a federal judge approved the Diocese of Tucson's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan Monday, the case will continue.
A plan to pay known victims of sexual abuse by priests was accepted by Judge James Marlar. But several pending settlements and objections to decisions by a claimants' panel remain to be heard in bankruptcy court.
The public hearing is at 10 a.m. Aug. 23 in federal bankruptcy court, 38 S. Scott Ave., Suite 204.
Details of the sex abuse claims are sealed by the court to protect the privacy of claimants.
Also, six cases of alleged sexual abuse by diocesan clergy are headed for trial in U.S. District Court, said Susan Boswell, lead bankruptcy attorney for the diocese. The claimants had the option of requesting a trial.
DUBUQUE (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 13, 2005
A lawsuit was filed Monday against the Archdiocese of Dubuque, bringing to 16 the number of cases pending in federal and state courts in Iowa alleging sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, a woman identified only as Jane Doe III alleges she was sexually abused by the Rev. Patrick McElliott in 1964 when the priest was pastor of St. Patrick parish in Colesburg. McElliott died in 1987.
Four earlier lawsuits named McElliott, alleging he abused girls while at St. John's school in Waterloo and at St. Patrick in 1963.
The lawsuit claims that the diocese was aware of the abuse and did nothing to warn Catholic families of the danger of the abuse or to remove McElliott from ministry.
Officials from the Dubuque Diocese did not return phone calls asking for comment.
NEW BRUNSWICK (NJ)
Asbury Park Press
Published in the Asbury Park Press 07/13/05
NEW BRUNSWICK: The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Tuesday it investigated a sexual abuse claim made against a North Plainfield priest, but did not prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired.
The Diocese of Metuchen announced over the weekend it has removed the Rev. John Casey, 47, as pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield while it looks into the allegations.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - Bishop Joseph P. Delaney, the reserved leader of the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese who reached across racial lines to foster a more inclusive church, was found dead at home Tuesday morning. He was 70.
He served nearly 24 years as the second bishop of the Fort Worth Diocese. He was the first in the area to institute Masses in Spanish. He responded head-on to a shortage of priests. And he was forced to grapple with the nationwide sexual abuse crisis when it hit close to home.
Bishop Delaney was a private, introspective and intellectual man. He was known for a dogged work ethic -- he went to his office Monday to check his mail -- that turned to frustration as he grew weaker from a 2003 bout with pancreatic cancer. Though the cancer was in remission, he suffered from its aftereffects and had to have surgery last year.
Bishop Delaney had planned to attend today's ordination of his successor, Monsignor Kevin W. Vann of the Diocese of Springfield, Ill. Vann, named coadjutor bishop by Pope Benedict XVI in May, will be ordained as bishop at 6 p.m. today at Texas Christian University's Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. ...
Others said Bishop Delaney's handling of sex abuse cases in the diocese will also be part of his legacy.
In April, the diocese agreed to pay $4.15 million to settle a lawsuit with two men who said they were abused by the Rev. Thomas Teczar when they were children in Ranger during the early 1990s.
The two men said they believe that Bishop Delaney knew that the priest was a risk when he hired him. Bishop Delaney said in May that, in hindsight, he regretted bringing Teczar to the diocese.
NEW YORK
The Journal News
(Original publication: July 13, 2005)
Latest revelations from the Archdiocese of New York carry on, rather than clarify, hallmarks of the Catholic clergy abuse scandal: secret, dragged-out resolution efforts, leaving in their wake unresolved conflict, and due-process concerns for priests and the public alike.
Parishoners of several Westchester, Rockland or Putnam Catholic parishes know only a little more today than they did three years ago about why many of their priests were removed from duties due to sexual misconduct allegations involving minors.
Six from the archdiocese have been defrocked by the Vatican; a seventh priest was assigned to live out his life in prayer and penance, it was announced late last week.
While there have been some criminal cases of often decades-old clergy abuse adjudicated since the scandal broke nationally about five years ago, the public remains largely in the dark about allegations against individual priests and whether victims have been fairly treated.
OREGON
The Oregonian
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
TUCSON
Dogged by sexual-abuse lawsuits since 1997, the Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., in September became the second U.S. diocese to plunge into bankruptcy.
It soon will become the first to emerge.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Marlar on Monday approved the diocese's plan to make $22.2 million available for settlements. Seventy-seven claims asserting sex abuse by priests have been approved or are pending.
Individual settlements will range from $100,000 to $600,000, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The key to the case has been the claimants' agreement to ignore the controversial issue of parish property ownership. In return for avoiding litigation that could drag on for five to 10 years, the claimants were able to negotiate a plan that would pay them promptly.
Also, unlike Portland and Spokane, the Tucson diocese will not have to worry about future claims filed by men and women who realize they've been abused but haven't yet connected the abuse to adult injuries such as emotional and mental problems. Instead, future claimants are restricted to minors whose parents or guardians haven't filed claims on their behalf or people who don't recall the abuse because of repressed memory.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny: Broached the subject of bankruptcy in a June 2003 letter to parishioners, noting that such an action would be "a very last resort." Before the bankruptcy filing, Vlazny sought the advice and support of his staff, clergy advisers, finance council and lawyers. "None of these people has signaled that we went the wrong way, and I certainly don't feel that way."
Former Portland Archbishop William J. Levada: One of the Roman Catholic Church's foremost authorities on child sexual-abuse policies, he is being sought to testify in the bankruptcy case. Levada, who served from 1986 to 1995 in Portland, will be asked about the Portland archdiocese's practices and policies for handling accusations of clergy sex abuse.
The Rev. Maurice Grammond: Died in 2002. He had been accused of molesting more than 50 boys over a 20-year period, more than any other accused priest in the Archdiocese of Portland. In 1991, Levada, then archbishop, suspended Grammond for refusing to cooperate after Levada learned of the accusations. In 2000, the archdiocese settled with 25 accusers. Two more Grammond claims, including one that sought more than $135 million in damages before the bankruptcy filing, will be mediated next month.
NORTH PLAINFIELD (NJ)
Courier News
By CHAD WEIHRAUCH
Staff Writer
NORTH PLAINFIELD -- The pastor at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church has been removed after an accusation he sexually abused a minor nearly two decades ago while serving at a parish in New Brunswick.
No criminal charges have been filed against the Rev. John Casey, 47, who has been at St. Joseph in North Plainfield since 1991. The allegation arose from a period 18 years ago, when Casey worked as the parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in New Brunswick.
According to the Diocese of Metuchen, authorities recently investigated the sex abuse claim against Casey but concluded the statute of limitations had run out, meaning no criminal case could proceed.
Still, the church indicated a probe had found there may be some substance to the accusation, leading to his removal.
Casey is the 19th priest in the diocese to be involved in a sexual abuse allegation since the diocese was established in 1981.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
July 11, 2005 - 11:18AM
Convicted child sex offender William Kamm has urged followers to pray for his accusers to be converted "to the truth".
Kamm, 55 - known as Little Pebble - was found guilty on Friday of four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one of aggravated sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl on the NSW South Coast more than a decade ago.
Kamm remains on bail awaiting sentencing, and he posted a message on his website over the weekend saying it was a difficult time for the Order of St Charbel, based at Cambewarra near Nowra.
"Pray for those that charged me, pray for their conversion to the truth," Kamm's statement said.
"One day the public will know the truth of this case and see the gross injustice."
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
First Coast News
By First Coast News Staff
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The United Methodist Church is speaking out about a local pastor accused of having child pornography on his computer.
Eric Young, 58, was arrested at his home Friday. Young was the lead pastor of Fort Caroline United Methodist Church in Jacksonville.
"No one wants to see this kind of thing happen in the church," said Dr. Richard Neal, District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church.
"This is where folks go for comfort and help, but if something is hindering that, then we need to deal with it -- and we will," he said.
NORTH PLAINFIELD (NJ)
philly.com
Associated Press
NORTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. - The pastor of a Roman Catholic church has been removed after a church inquiry into allegations he sexually abused a minor 18 years ago.
In a letter read over the weekend to parishioners of St. Joseph's Church, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski said the Rev. John Casey has been removed from his post and all active church ministry. He is accused of molesting a minor when he served as a parochial vicar at St. Peter The Apostle Church in New Brunswick.
The bishop noted that Casey denies the allegation.
Bootkoski said the diocese conducted its own investigation after law enforcement authorities determined that the statute of limitations for the alleged crime had expired.
"It was the conclusion of the professional investigator and the Diocesan Review Board, and it is my own conclusion, that the charges are not without merit," the bishop wrote.
SEATTLE (WA)
The Spokesman-Review
Gene Johnson
Associated Press
July 12, 2005
SEATTLE – A once-prominent Seattle priest who retired in 2002 has been removed from ministry because of credible child sex abuse allegations against him, Catholic Archbishop Alexander Brunett announced Monday.
No details about the allegations have been made public.
James Gandrau, 72, whose name has not previously surfaced in connection with sex abuse allegations, served as the editor of the Catholic Northwest Progress — the Seattle Archdiocese's newspaper — for nearly two decades, from 1960-77. He was also a close friend of Archbishop Thomas Connolly, who died in 1991.
Brunett said Monday that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith had approved his decision to remove Gandrau from ministry, making it final.
Gandrau is the fifth priest in the archdiocese to be removed from ministry over child sex abuse accusations, Brunett said. Brunett has recommended the removal of five others, but is waiting to hear back from the Vatican on those cases.
IRELAND
Eircom.net
From:The Irish Independent
Tuesday, 12th July, 2005
THE archdioceses of Armagh and Tuam have used two separate meetings of priests to prepare them for the potentially explosive outcry and damaging effect on priestly morale that may accompany publication of the Ferns report.
The Ferns report, an investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Ferns diocese undertaken by the State, is thought likely to be published in the autumn when the Dail reconvenes.
One participant at the Tuam meeting said that the basic intention was to tell priests to "steel yourselves".
In addition to Ferns, the Stewardship Trust, the fund established by the bishops to compensate clerical abuse victims and run the Church's child protection office, was discussed.
A spokesman for Archbishop Sean Brady, who organised the gatherings, said the meetings were arranged following a promise the bishops made at their quarterly meeting in March to consult with priests and laity about the sources of funding for the Stewardship Trust.
He said the Ferns report was also discussed in the context of how the report might affect the "pastoral relationships" of priests with their parishioners.
The feeling among bishops is that publication of the report could re-ignite public anger at the Church's handling of the scandals.
TUCSON (AZ)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
TUCSON, Ariz.— A judge approved a reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson on Monday, paving the way for it to become the first in the nation to emerge from bankruptcy.
Under the plan approved by Judge James Marlar, the diocese agreed to make available $22.2 million for settlements in claims of sex abuse by priests and church workers.
The abuse cases drove the diocese to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last September shortly after the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., became the first in the nation to do so. Creditors could begin receiving payments in 60 days.
"I hope that today's decision by Judge Marlar will bring peace to those who have been harmed," said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas. "This diocese will never forget what happened to them, and we will do everything in our power to see to it that it does not happen again."
The pool to pay abuse victims' claims includes $14.8 million from insurers. Parishes will contribute $2 million; the diocese will provide $5.58 million of the settlement amount - all but $300,000 of that coming from a May auction of real estate holdings, said the Rev. Albert Schiafano.
TUCSON (AZ)
KOLD
by Mark Poepsel, KOLD News-13 Reporter
posted 7/11/2005
A bankruptcy judge has approved the reorganization plan for the Diocese Tucson, allowing it to become the first in the country to emerge from bankruptcy.
Judge James Marlar approved the plan. Victims/survivors can begin receiving payments in 60 days.
Victims already voted to accept the plan.
"I have a sense of relief, not relief as washing of hands. You can never forget what happened, but now we can go on with the mission of the church," said Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas.
The agreement will spread 22 million dollars in assets from insurance settlements, church property that was sold off and contributions from parishes to dozens of victims.
NEWARK (NJ)
The New York Times
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: July 12, 2005
NEWARK, July 11 - A Roman Catholic priest was removed from his church over the weekend in response to an accusation that he sexually abused a child 18 years ago.
The Diocese of Metuchen took the action against the Rev. John Casey, the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in North Plainfield, after an internal investigation. The bishop of Metuchen, Paul G. Bootkoski, announced the news on Saturday night in a letter he read to members of the church, in a community southwest of Newark.
"Perhaps the most difficult thing I have been called upon to do as your bishop is to inform a parish that its pastor has been accused of wrongful conduct," the bishop began.
Father Casey could not be reached for comment, but the bishop's letter indicated that he had denied the accusation.
Church officials said that the diocese first learned of the allegation in December and immediately contacted law enforcement authorities. But because the statute of limitations had expired, church officials said, prosecutors would not look into the case, leaving it up to the church to investigate. A board made up of church officials and child abuse experts interviewed Father Casey, the accuser and several others and concluded that Father Casey might have abused the child. "The charges are not without merit," the bishop wrote.
SEATTLE (WA)
KOMO
July 11, 2005
By KOMO Staff & News Services
SEATTLE - A once-prominent Seattle priest who retired in 2002 has been removed from ministry because of credible child sex abuse allegations against him, Catholic Archbishop Alexander Brunett announced Monday.
No details about the allegations have been made public.
James Gandrau, 72, whose name has not previously surfaced in connection with sex abuse allegations, served as the editor of the Catholic Northwest Progress - the Seattle Archdiocese's newspaper - for nearly two decades, from 1960-77. He was also a close friend of Archbishop Thomas Connolly, who died in 1991.
Brunett said Monday that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith had approved his decision to remove Gandrau from ministry, making it final. Gandrau is the fifth priest in the archdiocese to be removed from ministry over child sex abuse accusations, Brunett said. Brunett has recommended the removal of five others, but is waiting to hear back from the Vatican on those cases.
PATERSON (NJ)
Star-Ledger
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff
A New Mexico man will receive $50,000 and four years of counseling from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson as settlement over allegations he was sexually abused by two priests when he was a child, the man said yesterday.
Steve Rabi, 57, of Albuquerque, claimed in a lawsuit filed a year ago that the priests, the Rev. Joseph W. Molloy and the Rev. Francis X. Dennehy, both of whom are now deceased, abused him over the course of three years during the late 1950s and early 1960s at St. Nicholas Church in Passaic.
Rabi's lawyer, Greg Gianforcaro, confirmed the settlement, which was awarded last month. A diocesan spokeswoman was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Rabi, who formerly lived in Passaic, came forward with the allegations in 2002, reporting them to the diocese about two months after the clergy sex abuse scandal gained attention nationally that year.
Under the settlement, Rabi will meet with Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli, who has led the diocese for one year. The bishop at the time of the alleged abuse was James A. McNulty, who is deceased.
SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By ATHIMA CHANSANCHAI AND CLAUDIA ROWE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
An edict from the Vatican allowed the Archdiocese of Seattle yesterday to move forward on allegations of child sexual abuse and permanently bar retired priest James Gandrau from ministry.
Gandrau, 72, former pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Ballard and St. Monica Catholic Church on Mercer Island, was one of 13 priests investigated by an independent panel of judges, lawyers and child sexual abuse experts two years ago. He is the fifth priest in the archdiocese to be removed from ministry because of allegations of molesting minors.
Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett released a statement that said: "The Archdiocese of Seattle regrets any harm to the victims of child sexual abuse by a member of the clergy or any of its employees. We released information today regarding the case of James Gandrau in accordance with our policies to promote healing."
Gandrau declined to comment yesterday, referring calls to his attorney, Thomas Frey.
SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Times
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter
The Rev. James Gandrau, a retired longtime local priest and former editor of the Seattle Roman Catholic Archdiocese's newspaper, has been permanently barred from ministry after allegations of child sexual abuse were found to be credible, the archdiocese announced yesterday.
Gandrau, 72, served in five parishes in the archdiocese from 1958 to 2002.
He is the fifth local priest to be barred from ministry by the Vatican since U.S. bishops passed a policy three years ago that says priests with a single credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor cannot remain in active ministry.
The archdiocese's press statement did not say how many victims came forward, nor did it include any details of the allegations. Spokesman Greg Magnoni said church officials would not comment further.
Thomas Frey, Gandrau's attorney, said the statement "involves allegations that were made 30 years ago, and Father Gandrau categorically denies ever having molested any child."
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
By mid-September, about 50 checks ranging from $15,000 to $600,000 will be in the mail to victims of sexual abuse by clergy members in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. More than $22 million has been set aside to cover claims.
A federal bankruptcy judge yesterday approved the diocese's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan after a nearly daylong hearing.
Initially, about $10 million will be paid to 45 victims and to five of their relatives. Five settlements with other victims are pending.
The plan approved by Judge James Marlar will set up a fund for victims who may come forward later. About a dozen are expected to come forward.
The historic action by Marlar makes the diocese the first in the nation to emerge from bankruptcy after a pedophilia scandal.
The plan calls for the diocese's 74 parishes to contribute $2 million to the settlement fund, which totals about $22.2 million.
NEW JERSEY
Home News Tribune
07/12/05
By CHAD WEIHRAUCH
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
The pastor at a Roman Catholic church in North Plainfield has been removed after an accusation he sexually abused a minor nearly two decades ago while serving at a parish in New Brunswick.
No criminal charges have been filed against the Rev. John Casey, 47, who has been at St. Joseph R.C. Church in North Plainfield since 1991. The allegation arose from a period 18 years ago, when Casey worked as the parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in New Brunswick.
According to the Diocese of Metuchen, authorities recently investigated the sex-abuse claim against Casey but concluded the statute of limitations had run out, meaning no criminal case could proceed.
Still, the church indicated a probe had found there may be some substance to the accusation, leading to his removal.
Casey is the 19th priest to be involved in a sexual-abuse allegation since the diocese was established in 1981.
FLORIDA
Newsday
By Mark I. Pinsky
Sentinel Staff Writer
July 12, 2005
The Catholic dioceses of Orlando and St. Augustine have agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle lawsuits by three men who say they were sexually abused as altar boys more than 30 years ago.
In their complaint, the three men alleged that two Central Florida priests, Vernon Uhran and Hubert Reason, abused them at summer camp at the San Pedro Retreat Center in Winter Park and at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs.
Through their lawyers, the three victims declined to comment on the settlement. However, the lawsuit alleged that all of the incidents occurred in the 1960s at the church rectory, at the camp, and in hotel rooms during recruiting trips for the camps.
On May 1, Orlando Bishop Thomas Wenski brought the accusations to the attention of three Central Florida parishes where the priests had served: St. Mary Magdalen; Church of the Resurrection in Lakeland; and St. Theresa Catholic Church in Belleview, in Marion County. Wenski urged any parishioners who had information about the two men to come forward.
RAYTOWN (MO)
TheKansasCityChannel.com
POSTED: 12:50 pm CDT July 11, 2005
UPDATED: 1:13 pm CDT July 11, 2005
RAYTOWN, Mo. -- A new lawsuit alleges sex abuse against a man who used to minister at a local church.
KMBC's Dan Weinbaum reported that an intern in her 20s claims she got pregnant as a result of the sexual abuse by the church's former singles minister.
Weinbaum said the pastor in question is Mark Brooks, son of Paul Brooks, who is the head pastor of First Baptist Church of Raytown. Paul Brooks and the church are also named in the lawsuit.
All parties involved are not talking, although the lawsuit was addressed briefly at recent services.
ORLANDO (FL)
Local6.com
POSTED: 4:45 pm EDT July 11, 2005
UPDATED: 5:19 pm EDT July 11, 2005
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Diocese of Orlando and the Diocese of St. Augustine have been ordered to pay one of the largest settlements in state history in connection with several clergy sexual abuse cases, according to Local 6 News.
The $1.5 million settlement is on behalf of three victims who accused Vernon Uhran and Herbert Reason of sexually abusing them when they were children more than 30 years ago, Local 6 News reported.
Both Uhran and Herbert Reason were priests at Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Fla., where some of the abuse allegedly occurred, Local 6 News reported.
Reason served at the church from 1959 to 1965 then moved to Diocese of St. Petersburg. He died in 1984.
Church officials said they have reason to believe that information the victims provided is true, according to the Local 6 News report.
"There was a betrayal of trust and we believe this betrayal of trust should be helped for the victims as much as possible," Orlando Diocese spokeswoman Carol Brinati.
SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, July 10, 2005
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay $16 million to 12 people who were molested by a San Jose priest during the 1970s, a move that largely resolves one of Northern California's most notorious cases of clergy sexual abuse.
Attorneys announced the settlement for victims of the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard on Friday. A clergy abuse trial involving two of Pritchard's victims had been set to begin Monday in San Francisco Superior Court.
The settlement is similar to one reached last month with 10 other plaintiffs who said they were molested by Pritchard when he was a priest at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose.
"This brings to a close one of the worst chapters in San Francisco Archdiocese clergy abuse," said Rick Simons, a Hayward attorney who represented the plaintiffs. "With the exposure of Father Pritchard and his appalling history, we see hopefully a chapter that never gets reopened."
"No amount of money could give me back the things this man took away from me," said one of the plaintiffs, Dennis Kavenaugh, 47, of San Jose. "It wasn't about the money. It was about someone finally saying this happened, and what can we do to make sure it doesn't happen again."
TUCSON (AZ)
AZCentral.com
By Arthur H. Rotstein
The Associated Press
Jul. 11, 2005 02:00 PM
TUCSON- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson will have $22.2 million available to settle sex abuse claims, including $14.8 million from its insurers, a church official testified Monday during a bankruptcy hearing.
The Rev. Albert Schiafano said the diocese's parishes will contribute $2 million and the diocese will provide $5.58 million of the settlement amount, all but $300,000 of that coming from a May auction of real estate holdings. The diocese generated $2 million more than anticipated in the real estate sale.
Schiafano testified Monday as Judge James Marlar began a confirmation hearing on the diocese's settlement and reorganization plan. Creditors already have voted to accept the plan, but Marlar must give his approval to the reorganization. advertisement
A total of 77 claims asserting sexual abuse by priests in the diocese have been approved or are pending, while 27 claims have been disallowed.
As a condition of the insurance companies' agreeing to settle, the diocese's parishes needed to contribute money. By doing so, the parishes agreed not to pursue separate claims against the insurers. The diocese contends that the parishes are not part of its estate assets, but they would not be protected unless they contributed to the settlement.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
The Courier-Journal
By Ken Kusmer
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Catholic lay reform group Voice of the Faithful approved draft resolutions yesterday calling for tougher laws against abusive priests and the bishops who have protected them and for greater financial transparency in the church.
Nearly 600 local organizers approved nine draft resolutions that also called for, among other things, the election of bishops by representatives of a dioceses' laity and clergy, greater collaboration between clergy and laity, and a lay voice in diocesan and U.S. church decisions.
Bishops, who hold ultimate decision-making power in their dioceses and the U.S. church, likely will reject most of the proposals contained in the resolutions.
And some of the proposals are outside their control, such as the resolution to "promote legislation that protects children and holds bishops accountable for their failure to protect their children."
"The message was we've got to be a stronger voice on the statutes of limitations," Jim Post, president of the Newton, Mass.-based group, said after the meeting.
KANSAS
The Wichita Eagle
BY STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle
Joe told no one for more than 30 years. Instead, he was "suffocating," as he put it, "on my stench of shame."
He was convinced it was somehow his fault that his parish priest had molested him over three years as he entered his teens in the early 1970s.
He believed he was guilty of an offense "even God could not forgive."
He contacted the Catholic Diocese of Wichita two years ago to tell them of his abuse only because "I wanted to be counted" among the number of children abused by priests, he said.
But what he thought would be a one-visit means of validating the abuse became a doorway to healing.
As a result, Joe will be there tonight for the first meeting of Reclaim, an ecumenical peer support group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The eight-week program is intended to serve as a catalyst for abuse survivors who want help on their journey of healing, said Joyce Webb, clinical director of Community Counseling Services, a program of Catholic Charities.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star
By Robert King
robert.king@indystar.com
One proposal wanted a push for laws that would allow Roman Catholic bishops to be prosecuted if they are a party to the cover-up of a priest sexual-abuse case.
Another suggested that people in the pews stop putting money in the collection plates unless bishops open up the church's financial books.
And one proposal recommended that, after 1,500 years of papal control, the authority for choosing bishops should be returned to regular Catholic churchgoers.
Voice of the Faithful, born three years ago as a grassroots response to the priest sex-abuse scandal, showed this weekend that it still possesses a sometimes angry voice of dissent within the Catholic community.
But the gathering of the group's leaders from around the country also tried to show that the movement isn't just a Boston phenomenon and that it will be a force the church must reckon with for some time to come.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By KEN KUSMER
Associated Press Writer
INDIANAPOLIS— The Catholic lay reform group Voice of the Faithful approved draft resolutions Sunday calling for tougher laws against abusive priests and the bishops who have protected them.
In the conclusion to the grass-roots movement's first national meeting in three years, nearly 600 local organizers also approved a draft resolution that calls for greater financial transparency in the church.
Bishops, who hold ultimate decision-making power in their dioceses and the church, are likely to reject most of the proposals the group approved.
However, some of the proposals are outside their control, such as the resolution to "promote legislation that protects children and holds bishops accountable for their failure to protect their children."
"The message was we've got to be a stronger voice on the statutes of limitations," said Jim Post, president of the Newton, Mass.-based group.
Other resolutions that won approval called for the election of bishops by representatives of dioceses' laity and clergy, greater collaboration between clergy and laity and an increased lay voice in diocesan and U.S. church decisions.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Sun
07/10/2005
TUCSON (AP) -- Creditors voted to approve the bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, meaning the diocese could soon emerge from bankruptcy.
An overwhelming majority of the creditors eligible to vote on the Chapter 11 plan approved it, according to a ballot report filed Friday by diocesan attorney Susan Boswell.
The majority of creditors in a credit class or creditors representing two-thirds of the money owed must vote yes for the plan to move forward.
But the diocese had indicated it would not move forward with the plan regardless unless the most critical class of creditors -- people who were allegedly sexually abused by local clergy -- cast a majority of votes in favor of the plan.
Boswell's report said 84 percent of the 76 alleged abuse victim creditors who cast valid ballots voted to accept it.
ALBANY (NY)
Capital News 9
7/10/2005 2:56 PM
By: Capital News 9 web staff
For the seventh week in a row, advocates for victims of alleged clergy abuse have gathered in front of the Holy Cross Church in Albany.
The protestors are members of the group SNAP, or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. They're calling for the removal of Father Daniel Maher.
A lawsuit has been filed against the diocese, Bishop Howard Hubbard and Father Maher alleging, among other things, continued endangerment of children.
SNAP Co-Director Mark Lyman said, "We're here to support the victims. We've been here for seven weeks. We'll be here for seven more, or however long it takes."
Albany Roman Catholic Diocese Spokesman Ken Goldfarb declined comment on this case, but said any and all allegations of misconduct are investigated. If they're found to be true, he said that priest will be removed.
AUSTRALIA
Illawarra Mercury
By MEGAN LEVY
July 9, 2005
THE NSW Board of Studies will investigate a private school established by a Nowra doomsday cult after cult leader William Kamm was convicted of sexual assault.
Acting NSW Education Minister David Campbell said the investigation would review the safety of the students at St Joseph's School after Kamm's conviction on Friday.
It will also examine the school's registration, which entitles it to hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding.
"In light of these convictions, the Board of Studies will undertake an independent investigation of St Joseph's School," Mr Campbell said.
"We need to ensure that the school is a safe environment and that the students are properly protected."
vertisement
However Kamm's followers say the school, which operates inside the Order of St Charbel's Cambewarra compound and has about 30 students enrolled, is independent of Kamm.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Andrew West
July 11, 2005
IF you saw Phillip Aspinall in the street - without his purple shirtfront and pectoral cross, but with his unkempt hair, squinting eyes and glasses - you might mistake him for a computer programmer.
That's because Archbishop Aspinall began his working life tapping in data for the Tasmanian education department. He didn't last long, so strong wasthe lure of religious life. Two decades later, he is the new leader of Australia's four million Anglicans, elected on Saturday as primate of the Australian church.
At 45, he is the youngest man to have held the job, a factor that does not surprise his old friend Robert Forsyth, the Anglican bishop of South Sydney. "He has a gravity and presence that belies his age," says Forsyth, as if to hint that Aspinall has always been prematurely middle-aged.
The Australian public better knows Aspinall, as the man who in effect brought down former governor-general Peter Hollingworth in 2003. It was Aspinall, then still a relatively new prelate of Brisbane, who set up an official inquiry into the church's handling of sexual abuse allegations, including during the period when Hollingworth was archbishop.
The inquiry's finding that Hollingworth had allowed a confessed pedophile priest, John Elliot, to remain in the ministry so long as he avoided contact with children, ended Hollingworth's vice-regal career.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
Orlando Sentinel
The Associated Press
Posted July 10, 2005
JACKSONVILLE -- A pastor was arrested on charges he downloaded child pornography using his church's Internet connection, authorities said.
The Rev. Eric Michel Young of Fort Caroline United Methodist Church in Jacksonville was arrested Friday and charged with possessing a photo or representation that includes sexual conduct by a child younger than 18, officials said.
The arrest followed a two-week investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Secret Service.
WALES
ic Wales
Jul 10 2005
Lucy Ballinger, Wales on Sunday
A WELSH monk who had his convictions quashed for sexually abusing schoolboys will face a retrial police said yesterday.
Roman Catholic priest John Michael Kinsey, 47, of Whitchurch, Cardiff, was jailed for five years at Worcester Crown Court last March after being found guilty of indecently assaulting three teenagers over two years while training to become a monk at Belmont Abbey in Hereford.
Now he has been released on bail to his parents' address in Cardiff following the ruling to quash his convictions at London's Criminal Appeal Court this week.
CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Southtown
Sunday, July 10, 2005
By Tara Kadioglu
Staff writer
Sentencing was delayed Friday for Lloyd Jones, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and church youth leader who pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Jones had taught at Kennedy High School in Chicago's Garfield Ridge community since November 1992.
Judge Carla Alessio-Goode said she needed the defense to show her a sexual offender report by someone certified by the state's sex offender management board before she could sentence Jones.
Jones, 43, of Naperville, has been out of the Will County jail, on $300,000 bail. He was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor in Will County last August, after he had been charged a couple weeks before with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse in DuPage County.
The DuPage County case involved a 14-year-old boy. Jones pleaded innocent in that case on Sept. 7, according to Laura Pollostrini, spokeswoman for the DuPage County state's attorney.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | July 10, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS -- Leaders of Voice of the Faithful, the national lay Catholic reform organization founded in a Wellesley church basement three years ago, gathered for the first time outside the Northeast yesterday and vowed to intensify their push for greater financial disclosure by the church and increased lay involvement in the administration of the nation's largest religious denomination.
The organization has claimed victories in a series of steps by bishops nationally and locally to consult with laypeople about management of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. And many of the members interviewed here, as well as scholars who have studied the group, say the organization has played an important role in keeping in the Catholic Church adherents who might otherwise have left in frustration.
Many of the nearly 600 Voice of the Faithful affiliate leaders who traveled to Indiana from 33 states to attend this weekend's gathering said that creating a support structure for concerned Catholics has been the organization's greatest accomplishment.
''After the crisis broke, . . . I was seriously considering going elsewhere," said Evelyn Mercantini, 56, a corporate meeting planner from Reston, Va. ''I had even gone church shopping, but a friend told me about Voice of the Faithful, and it was exactly what I was looking for."
Yet the group has also faded somewhat from the public spotlight since its founding at the height of the clergy abuse scandal and is still kept at arm's length by many bishops. It has also faced staff turnover as it has spent much of the last year reorganizing its leadership structures to shift power away from Boston.
SAN JOSE (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Brandon Bailey
KNIGHT RIDDER
SAN JOSE - Closing a major chapter in one of the Bay Area's most notorious cases of clergy sexual abuse, the Roman Catholic church will pay more than $16 million to 12 men who were molested in the 1970s by a popular San Jose priest.
The agreement came as attorneys were preparing for a trial this week, in which one of the men was expected to testify that the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard abused him at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose -- and in the rectory of a Los Altos church after Pritchard moved to a new assignment there. More trials were scheduled to follow.
While the settlement works out to an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff, attorneys said the individual amounts varied and would not be disclosed. It is roughly comparable to a similar agreement reached last month with 10 other plaintiffs who said they also were molested by Pritchard when he was pastor at St. Martin of Tours.
"It was a particularly appalling case. So many families, friends and neighbors in this very loyal and hard-working parish were damaged by Pritchard," said Richard Simons, an attorney for plaintiffs in the settlement announced Friday.
UNITED STATES
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By TOM HEINEN
theinen@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 9, 2005
Two cities separated by a river symbolize the potential impact of a soon-to-be-released state Supreme Court decision on the ability of people sexually abused as minors by clergy to sue churches.
On the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, a judge last week gave preliminary approval to the settlement of a class-action lawsuit in the Covington Diocese that could reach a national-record $120 million for clergy sexual abuse.
Ad campaigns soon will reach out to people victimized in the diocese, which until 1988 covered the eastern half of the state. The diocese is moving its offices from a building on a 300-acre site that it might sell.
On the river's Ohio side, a $3.2 million compensation fund was distributed this year by the Cincinnati Archdiocese to 117 people who said priests sexually abused them. Upset by the fund's size, some victims declined to participate.
The fund - which ended up equal to about $27,300 per victim - was created in exchange for the county prosecutor dropping a criminal investigation. The archdiocese was fined $10,000.
Since the mid-1990s, two Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings have virtually halted lawsuits here by clergy abuse victims. Oral arguments were heard this year on a case challenging those rulings, and the court is expected to rule this month.
PHOENIX (AZ)
AZCentral.com
Jul. 10, 2005 12:00 AM
Since Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted took over the Phoenix Diocese in December 2003, at least 11 priests have been removed from their posts or resigned. Besides the five who signed the Phoenix Declaration, the priests include:
• The Rev. Michael Minogue, who resigned in June. The diocese said health reasons were behind his departure from the Sun City West parish, Our Lady of Lourdes/Prince of Peace.
A subsequent letter from Olmsted to parishioners said that when Minogue returned from sick leave, "he needs to resolve another serious matter . . . an allegation of sexual harassment." The accuser is the same individual who accused the Rev. Ken Van de Ven, a declaration signer, of sexual harassment. Minogue, who is close friends with Van de Ven, denied the allegations.
"This is kind of a serious misunderstanding by the diocese, and I hope when their investigation is complete, I will be exonerated," Minogue said.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Stephanie Innes
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
As lawyers negotiated a morass of numbers and deals in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson's bankruptcy reorganization during the last nine months, those at the center of the case were mostly silent.
Now that the case is coming to a close, many of the people who say they were abused as children by local clergy members feel a sense of vindication and freedom.
Fifty-four who say they were affected by the sexual-abuse crisis are scheduled to receive initial payments of $15,000 to $600,000 for incidents that took place as far back as the 1950s and as recently as 2002. The money for settlements is expected to come from insurance, parish contributions and real estate sales.
A majority of creditors approved the diocese's bankruptcy plan Friday. Confirmation hearings begin Monday. Pending approval from federal bankruptcy Judge James M. Marlar, Tucson will become the first Catholic diocese in the country to complete a Chapter 11 reorganization, possibly this month.
"I have finally been heard as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse," said 36-year-old Troy Gray, who says he was molested by the Rev. Kevin Barmasse, who led youth groups at local Catholic churches in the 1980s.
SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Chicago Tribune
Published July 10, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- The archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle a dozen lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by a once-popular priest.
The agreements that attorneys announced Friday came days before the first of several planned trials was to begin on alleged abuses by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard.
The attorneys said the individual settlement amounts varied and would not be disclosed.
AUSTRALIA
612 ABC
Sunday, 10 July 2005. 08:23 (AEST)Sunday, 10 July 2005. 08:23 (ACST)Sunday, 10 July 2005. 09:23 (AEDT)Sunday, 10 July 2005. 06:23 (AWST)
Advocates for the victims of child abuse say they are surprised the Anglican Church has appointed the Archbishop of Brisbane as its new head.
In 2003, the Hobart-born Archbishop Phillip Aspinall vigorously rejected an allegation he had arranged for a young Tasmanian man to share a bed with a priest in the 1980s.
Police have never pursued the allegation, relating to the time Archbishop Aspinall was a church youth group leader.
But Steve Fisher of Survivors Investigating Child Sexual Abuse questions his suitability to be the church's new head.
"The elevation of Dr Aspinall says the church really still, to a certain degree, have their heads in the sand," he said.
CALIFORNIA
The Conservative Voice
Saturday, July 09, 2005 07:51:10 PM
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle a dozen lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by a once-popular priest.
Attorneys announced the agreements Friday, days before the first of several planned trials was to begin with plaintiffs alleging they were abused by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard.
The settlement works out to an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff, but attorneys said the individual amounts varied and would not be disclosed.
The settlement is roughly comparable to a similar agreement reached last month with 10 other plaintiffs who said they were molested by Pritchard when he was pastor at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose.
"Money can't make up for what this guy did to us," said one of the men, Dennis Kavanaugh, 47.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
The Conservative Voice
Saturday, July 09, 2005 07:49:21 PM
The chairman of the Catholic lay reform group Voice of the Faithful predicted Saturday that the clergy sexual abuse scandal will eventually cost U.S. dioceses $2 billion to $3 billion.
Speaking at the first national meeting of the group in three years, David Castaldi urged leaders of local affiliates to press their bishops for better financial reporting as individual dioceses post large payouts to abuse victims, lawyers and others.
The Associated Press reported last month that the costs to the church so far totaled slightly more than $1 billion for abuse cases that date back decades. The projection by Castaldi indicates that direct costs could rise twice as high.
Boston, where the scandal first erupted more than three years ago before spreading nationwide, reached an $85 million settlement with 552 people in 2003. The Diocese of Orange, Calif., settled 90 abuse claims for $100 million last December, followed by last month's settlement of $120 million by the Diocese of Covington, Ky.
"That record will not last," said Castaldi, who is also a former chancellor and chief financial officer for the Boston Archdiocese.
HITCHCOCK (TX)
The Daily News
By Scott E. Williams
The Daily News
Published July 9, 2005
HITCHCOCK — Any church services Jonathan Tyrone Anderson attends in the next several years will be in a prison chapel.
Jurors in the 405th State District Court found Anderson, a Texas City resident and associate pastor at Faith Community Church, guilty of molesting two girls from 2000 to 2002. The verdict came shortly after 2 p.m. Friday.
Anderson’s wife sobbed as defense attorney Ray Castro asked visiting Judge Henry Dalehite to poll each juror to confirm the verdict.
The victims, ages 15 and 17, are sisters. About three hours after the guilty verdict, the jury sentenced Anderson to 15 years in prison for each of the two indecency charges. The sentences run concurrently.
Anderson denied ever touching either child, but prosecutor Mo Ibrahim told jurors in closing arguments Friday morning that they had no reason to lie. He noted that the girls did not tell their mother about the abuse until 2003, a year after the family had moved to Dallas.
NEW YORK
The Journal News
By GARY STERN
gstern@thejournalnews.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: July 9, 2005)
Six Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of New York have been defrocked by the Vatican for sexually abusing minors, becoming the first accused priests in the region to have their fates decided since the scandal of 2002.
A seventh priest who was not defrocked was assigned to live out his life in prayer and penance.
The priests, five of whom served at some point in Westchester, Rockland or Putnam counties, all had their cases heard by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the archdiocese announced yesterday in the July edition of Catholic New York, its official publication.
About two dozen cases of alleged abuse by priests have been awaiting a final ruling by the Vatican. There is no timetable for when the Vatican might rule on outstanding cases, said Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the archdiocese.
"At this point, these are all of the cases that we have received an answer about," he said.
NEW YORK
Staten Island Advance
Saturday, July 09, 2005
By DOUG AUER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
Four former Staten Island priests have been defrocked by the Roman Catholic Church, along with two other priests of the Archdiocese of New York.
The decision, handed down by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, strips the priests of their titles and abilities. Those defrocked also lose all pension and financial support from the Roman Catholic Church.
Two of the four defrocked Island priests had previously been convicted of sex abuse in state criminal courts. The names of those defrocked appear in the current Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper. Cardinal Edward Egan had previously promised to name those permanently removed from the church.
Patrick Quigley, ordained in 1981, had previously pleaded guilty in 1994 to a misdemeanor charge after admitting he had offered three young boys money for oral sex in Haverstraw Village in Rockland County.
The incidents took place within an hour and the teens, none of whom knew Quigley was a priest, declined his offers, prosecutors said.
According to Advance archives, Quigley once served as the parochial vicar at St. Christopher's R.C. Church in Grant City and held a variety of other posts on the Island, including six years at St. Teresa's Church, Castleton Corners and a teaching job at St. Joseph-by-the-Sea High School, Huguenot. He had also served in Manhattan.
ILLINOIS
The Herald News
By Ted Slowik
STAFF WRITER
OTTAWA — After a child has been sexually abused, when should that person realize the lasting harm caused by those wrongful acts?
That's the question a three-judge panel must decide as the 3rd District Appellate Court considers the lawsuits of five men against a priest, a former priest, Bishop Joseph Imesch and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet.
At various times in the past three decades, state law has said the answer to the question is anywhere from when the child reaches 20 years to 38 years or older. The five men were all in their mid-30s when they filed suits in 2002.
A Will County judge dismissed the lawsuits last year, ruling too much time had elapsed since the alleged abuses occurred for the men to pursue legal action. The appellate court's ruling is expected within three months.
Joliet resident Brian Softcheck and two others allege they were sexually abused by the Rev. Lawrence Mullins when they were altar boys ranging in age from 9 to 13 between 1978 and 1980 at the Cathedral of St. Raymond.
WASHINGTON
King County Journal
2005-07-09
by Nicholas K. Geranios
Associated Press
The bankruptcy filing of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane raises the prospect that some or all of the 82 parishes could be sold to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests.
It could also prompt Catholic schools to close; Catholic cemeteries to be sold and the bodies disinterred; and charities tied to the Catholic church to scale back their work.
That has outraged some Catholics who wonder why they must pay for the depredations of a few pedophile priests.
``Do 90,000 innocent people deserve to be punished for the sins of those few,'' said Robert Hailey, co-chairman of an association of parishes in the Spokane Diocese. ``These people and their ancestors put their sweat and their money into building the churches and schools that you see in parishes today.''
At a key hearing last week that has national implications, attorneys for victims tried to convince a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that individual parishes within the Spokane Diocese -- along with some other Catholic institutions -- should be included in the pool of money available to victims.
NEW YORK
Hudson Valley News
The Archdiocese of New York has defrocked six priests who at one time in their priesthood served parishioners in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, New York Newsday reported.
The decisions came from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.
Two of the six had been convicted of sex abuse in the courts. The newspaper said Patrick Quigley pleaded guilty in 1994 to admitting that he offered several young boys money for sex in Haverstraw. He had served in parishes, among other locations, in Rockland County.
Daniel Calabrese also pleaded guilty in 1992 to charges that he had a sexual encounter with a teenager after he got the boy drunk in a Poughkeepsie rectory, according to the newspaper. He had also served in a parish in Congers.
Among the other defrocked priests identified by Newsday were Kenneth Jesselli, who served in parishes in Westchester County; Ralph LaBelle, who served in Putnam County; and Francis Stinner, who served in parishes in Orange, Sullivan and Westchester counties.
TUCSON (AZ)
Fox 11
06:19 PM MST on Friday, July 8, 2005
Arizona Daily Star
Creditors in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case have voted to accept the plan, meaning the Tucson diocese next week could become the first Catholic diocese in the country to complete a bankruptcy reorganization.
According to a ballot report filed with the bankruptcy court by diocesan attorney Susan Boswell on Friday afternoon, an overwhelming majority of the creditors eligible to vote for the plan gave it a nod of approval. At least 51 percent of creditors in a credit class or creditors representing two-thirds of the amount of money owed in a credit class must vote yes in order for the plan to move forward.
But as a gesture of goodwill, the diocese had indicated it would not move forward with the plan unless the most critical class of creditors, representing people who say they were abused as children by local clergy, gave a majority of yes votes. Boswell's report showed 84 percent of the 77 tort creditors who cast ballots voted to accept the plan and 12 percent voted to reject it.
Now all that's required for the plan to be approved is confirmation by federal bankruptcy Judge James M. Marlar. The confirmation process begins at 10 a.m. Monday.
OHIO
Marietta Times
By Justin McIntosh, jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
The Noble County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation into whether a Marietta man was sexually molested by two Roman Catholic clergymen in Harriettsville 38 years ago.
The investigation began after the victim came forward to the sheriff’s office with a statement on June 26 about the alleged abuse, claiming he was molested in the summer of 1967 at the St. Henry’s Catholic Church parish house when he was 9 years old.
According to the voluntary statement, the incident alleged was first reported to the Steubenville Diocese in February 2004. A spokesman for the diocese said that the diocese acted on the report by sending a letter dated March 15, 2004, to the Noble County Prosecutor’s Office.
However, past and current officials with the Noble County prosecutor’s office say they never received anything on the subject.
NEW YORK
Poughkeepsie Journal
By Gary Stern
The Journal News
A former Poughkeepsie priest convicted of sodomizing a teenage boy more than a decade ago has been defrocked by the Vatican.
Daniel Calabrese and five other Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of New York have been defrocked for sexually abusing minors. They are the first accused priests in the region to have their fates decided since the scandal of 2002.
The former priest at St. Mary's Church in Poughkeepsie pleaded guilty to third-degree sodomy in 1992 and was removed from ministry. In recent years, he has been living in New Mexico.
Calabrese admitted having oral sex with the teenager after giving him vodka in the St. Mary's parish rectory on March 7, 1992.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
George Sanchez, 34, who says he was molested by a priest when he was 12, is among those whose lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson have pushed it into bankruptcy.
George Sanchez says he was 12 when he was sexually molested by the Rev. Julian Sanz during confession in the priest's office.
It changed his life forever.
For many years, Sanchez repressed the memory of what happened inside Sacred Heart Church in Douglas, where he was a devout Catholic.
The Tucson man's lawsuit claiming sexual abuse by the clergyman of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson is among cases that pushed the diocese into U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the fall.
Sanchez, 34, is a client of Tucson attorney Lynne Cadigan.
Her full-court press - with credible accusations of abuse by priests - against the diocese since the late 1990s put Sanchez where he is today, about to be awarded a financial settlement from the diocese for the injury he suffered.
His is among the civil damage cases that were headed for Pima County Superior Court last summer when Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas considered options and chose to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
MAINE
Portland Press Herald
By JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald Writer
The state Attorney General's Office on Friday released the names of three additional Roman Catholic priests and one nun - all deceased - who were accused of sexually abusing children in five communities around Maine more than 30 years ago.
More than 20 pages of investigative records describe the allegations, although the names of victims and witnesses are blacked out.
In the cases of the nun and two of the priests, a single accuser came forward within the past 16 months to report abuse that occurred in the 1930s or 1940s.
The nun's case is the only one in which a nun has been accused of sexually abusing children in Maine, according to the Attorney General's Office.
The third priest is accused by two women of groping and kissing them when they were girls about 35 years ago in York County, and by a man who said the priest would ask altar boys to strip naked while preparing for Mass at a parish in central Maine. That priest also was accused in the 1950s of keeping girls at his house until 3 a.m., but he denied doing anything inappropriate, according to church records cited in the documents.
CALIFORNIA
Mercury News
By Brandon Bailey
Mercury News
Closing a major chapter in one of the Bay Area's most notorious cases of clergy sexual abuse, the Roman Catholic church will pay more than $16 million to 12 men who were molested in the 1970s by a popular San Jose priest.
The agreement came as attorneys were preparing for a trial next week, in which one of the men was expected to testify that the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard abused him at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose -- and in the rectory of a Los Altos church after Pritchard moved to a new assignment there. More trials were scheduled to follow.
While the settlement works out to an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff, attorneys said the individual amounts varied and would not be disclosed. It is roughly comparable to a similar agreement reached last month with 10 other plaintiffs who said they also were molested by Pritchard when he was pastor at St. Martin of Tours.
``It was a particularly appalling case. So many families, friends and neighbors in this very loyal and hard-working parish were damaged by Pritchard,'' said Richard Simons, an attorney for plaintiffs in the settlement announced Friday.
AUGUSTA (ME)
Foster's Daily Democrat
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine attorney general's office released additional documents Friday relating to allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic religious personnel, bringing the number of deceased individuals subject to allegations to 25.
"We are now certain that office released more than 100 pages of documents relating to allegations of sexual abuse of minors involving 21 deceased Roman Catholic clergy.
The documents had been screened to eliminate names of alleged victims and witnesses. They included diocesan records, investigative reports and other material.
The documents were made public in response to an April ruling by the Maine supreme court. In that split decision, the court ruled 4-3 that the attorney general must release the files to Blethen Maine Newspapers, owner of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel newspapers.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
The career of William "Little Pebble" Kamm, a religious leader who claimed direct communication with the Virgin Mary, veered off course yesterday when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
The diminutive man who emerged 22 years ago as a "seer" in a worldwide Mary-worship cult and established a community of followers at Cambewarra on the South Coast was convicted of the offences dating from 1993.
In the Downing Centre yesterday, Kamm, 55, sat impassively as the jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for nearly three days - guilty on four counts of aggravated indecent assault and aggravated sexual assault.
The trial judge, John Williams, accepted submissions by Kamm's counsel, Greg Stanton, that Kamm should be allowed continuing bail because he would not be sentenced until September 12.
AUSTRALIA
The Daily Telegraph
By NICOLETTE CASELLA
July 9, 2005
HE told followers he was a messiah who had "personal contact" with the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
But a jury yesterday found he was in fact a sexual pervert who manipulated a 15-year-old girl into believing she had been chosen by Mary to be one of his "queens" so he could take advantage of her.
After three days of deliberations, a jury found William Kamm, 55 – known by his followers as The Little Pebble – guilty of committing five sexual offences against Gabrielle O'Shaughnessy in 1993 when her family lived at his Order of St Charbel commune near Nowra.
As the verdicts were read out before a packed courtroom – mostly Little Pebble supporters – the self-styled seer showed no emotion.
Ms O'Shaughnessy, 27, shed tears of relief.
During the three-week trial, the court heard Kamm told Ms O'Shaughnessy, who yesterday agreed to be named, she had been chosen to bear him 17 children in the "new era".
AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser
09jul05
AN Australian religious sect leader was convicted yesterday of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl he had chosen to become one of his holy consorts.
William Kamm, 55, was found guilty by New South Wales District Court of four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one of aggravated sexual intercourse for offences dating back to 1993.
The assaults happened when the girl was living within Kamm's 'community', south of Sydney.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
WJXX
By Jackelyn Barnard
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The lead pastor of a First Coast Church is under arrest, accused of downloading child pornography on the church's computer.
Friday afternoon, JSO vice made a surprise visit to Eric Young's Northside home.
Young, 58, is the lead pastor of Ft. Caroline United Methodist Church.
Church members, who did not want us to share their names, tell us Young has been the pastor of the church for about a year.
They say about three weeks ago, Young was put on leave suddenly.
First Coast News has learned, in mid-June, Bellsouth alerted the Church that someone was visting porn websites.
OREGON
KGW
07/08/2005
Associated Press
The embattled director of the Morning Star Boys' Ranch will take a temporary leave of absence after a newspaper published allegations of past physical abuse at the home for troubled boys.
The Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, a 73-year-old Roman Catholic priest, said he would go on leave because of stress-related health problems.
During his leave, Morning Star's board of directors will bring in an independent investigator to look into the state-licensed facility's policies and procedures, said board president Bob Durgan.
Ranch spokeswoman P.J. Watters said the results will be made public.
In his first interview since The Spokesman-Review detailed allegations of physical abuse by Weitensteiner, the priest on Thursday apologized to former residents who said his corporal punishment left them bruised and injured. ...
Weitensteiner also conceded that in the 1970s, James West and a fellow sheriff's deputy who killed himself amid allegations of child molestation could have removed boys for outings without registering their names in ranch log books.
West is now Spokane's mayor. On May 5, the Spokane newspaper began publishing a series detailing chat room and e-mail conversations West had with someone he thought was an 18-year-old high school boy, who he encouraged to apply for an internship in his office. The recipient was, in fact, a computer expert hired by the newspaper. Two men have also accused West of molesting them when they were boys.
West, who has acknowledged having affairs with adult men, has denied the molestations and has not been charged with a crime.
NEW YORK
New York Newsday
BY CAROL EISENBERG
STAFF WRITER
July 9, 2005
Six priests in the Archdiocese of New York, including one who tried to pay boys for sex, and a second who plied a boy with vodka and had oral sex with him, have been defrocked by the Roman Catholic Church.
Defrocking a priest is the most severe penalty the Roman Catholic Church can impose, and means he cannot act as a priest, and loses all pension and financial support.
The decisions by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome -- the final arbiter of an accused priest's fate -- were published in this week's Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, where Cardinal Edward Egan had promised to name those permanently removed from ministry.
Two of the six defrocked men had already been convicted of sex abuse in state criminal courts: Patrick Quigley pleaded guilty in 1994 to a misdemeanor charge after admitting he had offered several young boys money for sex in Haverstraw Village in Rockland County. Quigley had served in parishes in Staten Island, Manhattan and Rockland County.
Daniel Calabrese, 44, pleaded guilty in 1992 to charges he had performed oral sex on a teenager after getting him drunk on vodka in a Poughkeepsie rectory. Calabrese had served in parishes in Congers, Staten Island and Poughkeepsie.
Besides Quigley and Calabrese, the other defrocked men are:
David Carson, ordained in 1984, who had served parishes in Staten Island and Congers, with his final assignment as chaplain with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in Bath.
Kenneth A. Jesselli, ordained in 1984, who had served in parishes in Westchester, the Bronx and Yonkers.
Ralph W. LaBelle, ordained in 1978, who had served parishes in Staten Island, the Bronx and Putnam County.
Francis J. Stinner, ordained in 1967, who had served in parishes and high schools in Orange, Sullivan and Westchester Counties.
A seventh man, the Rev. Alfred Gallant, 69, who had served in Orange County was assigned to "a life of prayer and penance" -- a penalty reserved for priests who are sick or elderly.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By KEN KUSMER
Associated Press Writer
INDIANAPOLIS— Voice of the Faithful brought together organizers from across the country for its first national meeting in nearly three years Friday, determined to take steps that it hopes will enlist more Roman Catholics in its mission to give non-clergy a greater role in the church.
Leaders of the meeting expected about 500 organizers from local affiliates of the lay Catholic reform group to attend the three-day meeting at the Indiana Convention Center. It's the group's first national gathering since more than 4,000 people attended a meeting in Boston, the center of the priest sexual abuse scandal that gave rise to the organization.
Since then, Voice's membership has remained generally flat with a claimed roll of about 30,000 people, and one of the group's goals going into the Indianapolis meeting was to grow its ranks. Among the workshops offered Friday was one on recruiting.
The focus of the meeting, titled "The Laity Speak: Accountability Now," was to search for ways to gain greater financial transparency within the church and build accountability among both bishops and lay persons in the some 67 million member U.S. church. Working groups were to tackle those topics Saturday and present recommendations on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Voice of the Faithful was set to honor Illinois appeals court Judge Anne Burke, a former chairwoman of theAbuse Tracker Review Board, the lay watchdog panel that U.S. bishops created amid the sexual abuse scandal. Burke, who will receive Voice's first distinguished lay person award, also was scheduled to speak on bishops' accountability on Saturday.
AUSTRALIA
Illawarra Mercury
July 9, 2005
He was a cult prophet, spreading messages about the end of the world. She was a dreamy young schoolgirl, lured by his promises that she would be his queen in a fairytale land. But the fantasy was cut short when he molested her.
By REBECCA SENESCALL
THE end of the world was coming, William Kamm said. The Virgin Mary had told him so.
On the 13th day of each month messages from heaven came to Kamm, on his Order of St Charbel property at Cambewarra, from a God who promised to strike a sinful world with earthquakes, plagues and tidal waves.
But Kamm and his followers would be safe, because God had chosen Kamm to be "the new Abraham", to take from his followers 12 queens and 72 princesses who would spawn a pure race to live in the new world.
As the news spread among the Order of St Charbel community, parents began to pray that their daughters would be among Kamm's 84 "mystical wives". Girls and young women talked excitedly about the chance of becoming "someone special in God's eyes".
The relationship between each girl and Kamm was a spiritual union, they believed. There was to be no sex - Kamm would merely embrace them and they would fall pregnant miraculously.
So when a 15-year-old girl was chosen in 1993 as one of Kamm's queens, her parents were honoured and had not a hint of worry.
At the start of Kamm's Sydney District Court trial three weeks ago, the girl revealed to the jury what she had kept secret for years: that she had been kissed and fondled by Kamm, and that once, in his car, he had put his hand under her skirt and masturbated her.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Tidings
LOS ANGELES --- The law firm representing the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has established a new website, www.la-clergycases.com, to provide comprehensive information and analysis about the resolution of clergy sexual abuse as a legal issue.
The website contains white papers and other background on the positions taken by the Archdiocese, and also features an electronic library with various legal and other documents. Another feature of the site is a section that reviews news coverage of the issues involved, pointing out "what the local media get wrong," said J. Michael Hennigan of Hennigan, Bennett & Dorman, which represents the Archdiocese.
Hennigan said legal issues stemming from the clergy sexual abuse scandal are complicated and often misunderstood.
BOSTON (MA)
KTLA
By Elizabeth Mehren
Times Staff Writer
July 8, 2005
BOSTON -- The priests came from three states, converging on a suburban park one Sunday to conduct an outdoor Mass. Wearing white vestments with rainbow-hued stoles, they led the worshippers in prayer and song. They stuck closely to traditional Roman Catholic liturgy.
But as they raised their arms in blessing, the five men revealed unmistakable proof of defiance: All wore wedding bands.
These men, who still consider themselves Roman Catholic priests, have wives, children — and unflinching commitments to their 2,000-year-old faith. As married priests, they say, they are not heretical anomalies but, instead, are following a model set by priests and popes in the earliest days of their church. They are part of a growing national network of thousands of deeply religious men who believe marriage does not compromise their ability to serve as spiritual ministers. ...
More and more rank-and-file Catholics, whose respect for church hierarchy was shattered by the clerical sex-abuse scandal, are accepting married priests and seeking their services.
Boston College theology professor Stephen Pope said the abuse crisis made Catholics question not only the teachings of the church, but also "the credibility of the teachers." The disaffection is so strong, Pope said, that "a lot of average Catholics today would be open to married priests because they think the priests would understand their plights more readily than a celibate priest."
UTICA (NY)
Newsday
July 8, 2005, 12:08 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. -- The state's highest court has reversed itself and will review a lower court's dismissal of a $150 million lawsuit brought by a man who claims he was sexually abused by a prominent Roman Catholic priest as a young boy during the 1960s.
John Zumpano's civil lawsuit against the Rev. James Quinn was dismissed in November 2003 by a state Supreme Court judge, who ruled too many years had passed to pursue the allegations. The dismissal was upheld in December by a state appellate court. In May, the Court of Appeals said it would not consider Zumpano's case.
But Wednesday, the high court decided it will review the dismissal to determine if it should be upheld or reversed.
Zumpano claims he was sexually abused by Quinn from 1963 to 1970 while a student at St. Agnes Church's grammar school and Notre Dame High School, both in Utica. The lawsuit also named the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse as a defendant, contending that church leaders were aware of the abuse and did nothing.
SANTA ANA (CA)
Contra Costa Times
Associated Press
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A woman who claims she was sexually abused by her former driver education teacher at a Roman Catholic high school has filed suit against the Orange County diocese and the instructor.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, is the first brought against the diocese since it settled some 90 clergy abuse cases for $100 million in December 2004. The plaintiff, now 25, is referred to only as "Jane C.R. Doe" in the court papers.
The lawsuit accuses lay teacher Jeffrey Andrade, 44, of molesting the girl from 1995 to 1997, starting when she was 16. It also alleges the diocese "engaged in a pattern and practice of hiring sexual abusers as faculty and staff administration," saying the school has employed at least 10 alleged molesters since 1976.
"What happened to my client is part and parcel of acceptance in the diocese of adults sexually accessing minors and using positions of trust and authority to do it," said John Manly, a Mater Dei graduate who represented a number of the plaintiffs in the December settlement.
BRITAIN
The Tablet
Elena Curti
After last week’s record award by the High Court of £650,000 to a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, many fear that the compensation claim floodgates will open in the UK as wide as they have in the United States
Somewhere in Northern Ireland lives a man whose mental state is so fragile that he cannot earn a living or care for himself. The man, known only as Mr A, lives in sheltered accommodation and suffers from schizophrenia. Last week the High Court in Manchester concluded that his condition was attributable to the sexual abuse he suffered from the age of seven as victim of a priest. The compensation he was given came to more than £600,000 – a record award against the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom.
Last week’s case was the first time such a claim against the Church was settled in the High Court, and the judgement is likely to have implications for the kind of awards payable in similar cases in future. In particular, it appears to be following a pattern established in the United States where the number of claimants and the sums awarded to them have climbed steadily. So far, three states haven’t been able to meet the sums required and have declared themselves bankrupt.
Meanwhile in Canada, St George’s Diocese in Newfoundland is selling property, appealing for donations and may have to close parishes to compensate 39 victims of a paedophile priest. The claimants were sexually assaulted by Fr Kevin Bennett. Bennett, a diocesan priest, was convicted of sexually assaulting dozens of boys, and last year the Supreme Court of Canada found St George’s both directly and vicariously liable for his actions.
AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph
July 7, 2005
THE jury deliberating on sexual assault charges against a religious leader known as The Little Pebble is "making progress" and expects to reach a verdict, the NSW District Court was told today.
After nearly two-and-a-half days of considering allegations against 55-year-old William Kamm, Judge John Williams today asked the jury if there was any prospect of reaching a verdict by today or tomorrow.
"We're making progress," the jury foreman told the court.
"We are not ready yet (to give a verdict) but I believe we will."
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Friday, July 08, 2005
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris gave the green light Thursday to a clergy sexual-abuse plaintiffs' lawyer who is seeking testimony from former Portland Archbishop William J. Levada.
The lawyer, Erin K. Olson, and other plaintiffs' attorneys want to question Levada about the handling of child sex-abuse allegations by the Archdiocese of Portland. In particular, they want to discover whether archdiocese officials engaged in a pattern of behavior that enabled priests to continue abusing victims.
Olson said after the hearing she will begin taking steps to subpoena Levada, who next month is leaving his position as archbishop of San Francisco to become the leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faithful at the Vatican.
Thomas V. Dulcich, a lawyer for the Archdiocese of Portland, told Perris on Thursday his client doesn't object to Levada's deposition. However, he said, the questioning should be limited to the archbishop's actions in Portland from 1986 to 1995.
REDWOOD CITY (CA)
San Mateo County Times
By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER
REDWOOD CITY — A teacher at Redwood Baptist School is accused of having a sexual tryst with a former 16-year-old student, the District Attorney's Office reported Thursday.
Joan Marie Marquez-Sladky, 27, is alleged to have had intercourse with the student — referred to in court documents as John Doe to protect his identity — on four separate occasions between December 2003 and January 2004.
Sladky was arrested Wednesday on a $175,000 felony warrant and was arraigned in Superior Court, where she pleaded not guilty.
The affair came to light more than one year ago when Sladky confided in another teacher, prosecutor Melissa McKowan said.
AUSTRALIA
Catholic News
Ballarat police in Victoria have charged former Wimmera priest Gerald Ridsdale with a further 63 charges of sexual abuse.
The Wimmera Mail-Time reports that Gerald Francis Ridsdale, 71, is serving 18 years´ jail for 46 sex offences against 21 children aged between nine and 15 and is due for parole in October 2009.
A mention hearing for the new charges will be on July 27 in Ballarat.
Ballarat Criminal Investigation Unit detective Kevin Carson said the charges related to alleged incidents that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s and involved nine victims.
UTICA (NY)
The Observer-Dispatch
Fri, Jul 8, 2005
ROCCO LaDUCA
Observer-Dispatch
UTICA - The state's highest court reversed its earlier decision and ruled this week it would hear arguments regarding allegations a Catholic priest sexually abused a youth in Utica more than 30 years ago.
In late 2003, a state Supreme Court judge dismissed a $150 million civil lawsuit against the Rev. James Quinn, ruling too many years had passed to pursue allegations the priest sexually abused John Zumpano while he was a youth during the 1960s.
On Wednesday, the state Court of Appeals decided it will review the dismissal to determine if it should be upheld or reversed.
Zumpano's attorney, Frank Policelli, said Thursday he is arguing the 10-year statute of limitations should not apply in this case. If the alleged sexual abuse did in fact occur, he said, then perhaps a young Zumpano would have been too traumatized to file charges in a timely manner.
"Zumpano did not bring his action when he should have because the abuse caused him to become mentally incapable to protect and safeguard his legal rights," Policelli said of the allegations.
PATERSON (NJ)
Star-Ledger
Friday, July 08, 2005
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff
Bishop Arthur Serratelli, installed as head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson a year ago, put his personal stamp on his administration yesterday by replacing two longtime top church officials.
Naming a new vicar general, the highest-ranking diocese position after bishop, Serratelli replaced Monsignor Herbert Tillyer, a 31-year veteran administrator, with Monsignor James Mahoney, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham.
Serratelli also replaced Monsignor John Hart, who had been chancellor of the diocese since 1998, with Sister Mary Edward Spohrer, the provincial of the North American Eastern Province of the Sisters of Christian Charity.
Tillyer and Hart had served under Bishop Frank Rodimer, Serratelli's predecessor for 27 years. Among their other duties, they helped manage the diocese's response to the clergy sex abuse scandal. In a prepared statement, Serratelli praised their work yesterday.
"Both Monsignor Tillyer and Monsignor Hart served during an especially difficult time over the past several years in working with the many aspects of clerical sexual abuse of children," Serratelli wrote. "Few will ever know the full extent of their work and their great concern for all the victims as well as the rights of those accused."
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times
By Jeff Gottlieb, Times Staff Writer
A former student at Mater Dei in Santa Ana has sued the Roman Catholic high school and her former driver education teacher, saying he molested her for two years in the mid-1990s, starting when she was 16.
Her attorney, John C. Manly, said the girl reported the incidents at the time to police in Westminster, where the defendant lives, but no charges were filed.
Defendant Jeffrey Andrade, 44, said he was unaware of the suit. He said police had investigated the case and "didn't find anything."
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, charges that Mater Dei and the Bishop of Orange "engaged in a pattern and practice of hiring sexual abusers as faculty and staff administration" at Mater Dei. It says that since 1976 the high school has hired at least 10 people who sexually abused students.
"What happened to my client is part and parcel of acceptance in the diocese of adults sexually accessing minors and using positions of trust and authority to do it," said Manly, a Mater Dei graduate who has filed several abuse lawsuits against Catholic churches.
The suit does not ask for a specific amount of dollar damages.
NEW JERSEY
Gloucester County Times
Friday, July 08, 2005
By Matthew Ralph
mralph@sjnewsco.com
DEPTFORD TWP. -- When Rev. David Sicoli interviewed for an adjunct professor post at Gloucester County College last year, he never mentioned that he had left a Catholic church he pastored in South Philadelphia in July 2004 amidst allegations of sexual abuse.
Unaware of his background, college officials never asked why he left Holy Spirit Parish and never contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia seeking a reference.
Three men from Bucks County, Pa., sued the priest and the Philadelphia Archdiocese last year alleging Sicoli molested them and supplied them with alcohol at his Sea Isle City beach house and at a location in Wildwood between 1979 and 1983. The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that the state's two-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits prohibited the victims from filing suit, but the victims' attorney Jay Abramowitch is appealing the ruling.
"We did a criminal background check and it came up negative," said Dominick Burzichelli, vice president of human resources at GCC. "Because this was just an allegation and a civil suit, this wouldn't have come up anywhere."
Burzichelli learned of the allegations against Sicoli Tuesday when contacted by a reporter from the Bucks County Courier-Times. Sicoli taught an ethics class in the spring and was "penciled-in" to teach again this fall.
INDIANAPOLIS
Akron Beacon Journal
KEN KUSMER
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - The Catholic lay reform group Voice of the Faithful is holding a national meeting to create a lasting strategy for involvement in the church, three years after the clergy sex abuse scandal fueled the group's calls for change.
For three days beginning Friday, about 500 leaders from some 200 of the organization's local affiliates will attend workshops on recruiting, strategy, keeping parishes open and supporting abuse victims.
It is the group's first national meeting in nearly three years.
The steps are needed to transform the 30,000-member organization from a cause fueled by anger into a mature advocate for worshippers, observers say.
"Anger gets you part way, but it does not sustain you," said Jim Post, the group's president. "What sustains (members) is love of the church, the belief that the church is worth fighting for, an institution with a moral mission."
NEW JERSEY
Times
Thursday, July 07, 2005
By the Times staff
gcnews@sjnewsco.com
DEPTFORD TWP. -- A Catholic priest who taught ethics at Gloucester County College has stepped down in the wake of a child sexual abuse lawsuit, according to a published report.
The Bucks County Courier Times reported in its Tuesday editions that The Rev. David Sicoli quit hours after the paper informed the school of the suit. GCC supervisor Carol Kebles told the paper "We had no idea" the lawsuit had been filed.
The Courier Times reported the suit was filed last year by three Bucks County men, who claimed Sicoli had supplied them with alcohol and molested them during sleepovers at his Sea Isle City beach house and a Wildwood location between 1979 and 1983. The suit also claimed the Philadelphia Archdiocese, for which Sicoli was a pastor, covered up the abuse.
Nick Burzichelli, vice president of human resources at GCC, told the paper Sicoli informed a college official he would not return in the fall after the official contacted him about the suit.
VIRGINIA
The Connection
By Ken Moore
July 6, 2005
Rafael Arteaga, an associate pastor charged with forcible sodomy of a 4-year-old girl, will be evaluated to determine his competency to stand trial.
"They are killing me with poison. I'll be dead when I come back," Arteaga said in English, as he was led, handcuffed, out of Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Friday, July 1.
"I didn't know the food was that bad," said a sheriff's deputy, after Arteaga was out of the courtroom.
But Arteaga did not appear to be joking, and his defense attorneys, Karin Kissiah and Jeff Overand, requested that their 58-year-old client have a psychological evaluation. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Ben'Ary had no objection.
"We have to get this resolved before we go forward," Ben'Ary said, during the hearing before Judge Teena D. Grodner which lasted less than 10 minutes.
Fairfax County Police arrested Arteaga, an associate pastor at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, in Springfield, on Monday, June 13.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
BY BRETT TROXLER
2theadvocate.com Staff
btroxler@wbrz.com
From a report by News 2's Claire Hatty
Six of the nine suspects in an alleged Ponchatoula sex ring are expected to make their pleas to a state judge in court on Thursday.
Two weeks ago seven of the suspects were indicted on aggravated rape charges after accusations of sexually abusing children under the age of 13. The six scheduled to appear on Thursday are Patricia Pierson, Robin Lamonica, Austin Trey Bernard III, Paul Fontenot, Allen Pierson and former sheriff's deputy Christopher Labat.
On Wednesday Louis Lamonica was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated rape.
During bond hearings last week a Tangipahoa Parish detective testified that during a span of two years some victims were raped two or three times a week. Investigators believed some of the rapes happened at the Hosanna church building in Ponchatoula.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
BY BRETT TROXLER
2theadvocate.com Staff
btroxler@wbrz.com
From a report by News 2's Claire Hatty
Six of the nine suspects in an alleged Ponchatoula sex ring are expected to make their pleas to a state judge in court on Thursday.
Two weeks ago seven of the suspects were indicted on aggravated rape charges after accusations of sexually abusing children under the age of 13. The six scheduled to appear on Thursday are Patricia Pierson, Robin Lamonica, Austin Trey Bernard III, Paul Fontenot, Allen Pierson and former sheriff's deputy Christopher Labat.
On Wednesday Louis Lamonica was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated rape.
During bond hearings last week a Tangipahoa Parish detective testified that during a span of two years some victims were raped two or three times a week. Investigators believed some of the rapes happened at the Hosanna church building in Ponchatoula.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
BY BRETT TROXLER
2theadvocate.com Staff
btroxler@wbrz.com
From a report by News 2's Claire Hatty
Six of the nine suspects in an alleged Ponchatoula sex ring are expected to make their pleas to a state judge in court on Thursday.
Two weeks ago seven of the suspects were indicted on aggravated rape charges after accusations of sexually abusing children under the age of 13. The six scheduled to appear on Thursday are Patricia Pierson, Robin Lamonica, Austin Trey Bernard III, Paul Fontenot, Allen Pierson and former sheriff's deputy Christopher Labat.
On Wednesday Louis Lamonica was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated rape.
During bond hearings last week a Tangipahoa Parish detective testified that during a span of two years some victims were raped two or three times a week. Investigators believed some of the rapes happened at the Hosanna church building in Ponchatoula.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
BY BRETT TROXLER
2theadvocate.com Staff
btroxler@wbrz.com
From a report by News 2's Claire Hatty
Six of the nine suspects in an alleged Ponchatoula sex ring are expected to make their pleas to a state judge in court on Thursday.
Two weeks ago seven of the suspects were indicted on aggravated rape charges after accusations of sexually abusing children under the age of 13. The six scheduled to appear on Thursday are Patricia Pierson, Robin Lamonica, Austin Trey Bernard III, Paul Fontenot, Allen Pierson and former sheriff's deputy Christopher Labat.
On Wednesday Louis Lamonica was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to six counts of aggravated rape.
During bond hearings last week a Tangipahoa Parish detective testified that during a span of two years some victims were raped two or three times a week. Investigators believed some of the rapes happened at the Hosanna church building in Ponchatoula.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
THE Bishop of Ferns has asked church leaders to pray for "a positive outcome" to the first state inquiry into diocesan handling of clerical sex abuse allegations.
The Ferns inquiry, led by Mr Justice Frank Murphy, was set up by the Government after the 2002 broadcast of a BBC documentary on abuses carried out by the late Fr Sean Fortune.
Dr Brendan Comiskey resigned as Bishop of Ferns after the broadcast over his handling of abuse allegations. Dr Eamonn Walsh, who was appointed to oversee the running of the diocese, has written to leaders of religious congregations warning them to brace themselves for the publication of the inquiry's report.
Due in the autumn, the report is expected to be highly critical of Dr Comiskey, along with other senior members of the Catholic hierarchy, the gardai and health officials.
IRELAND
One in Four
Liam Reid, Political Reporter
Irish Times
The Government has refused to provide a Church of Ireland charity with an indemnity for child abuse compensation claims over a group of children's homes it operated.
However, all four homes run by the Smyly Trust are to be covered under the State Redress scheme, in light of allegations of serious physical and sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
The Irish Times has learned that a request by the Smyly Trust for an indemnity similar to that given to Catholic religious orders in 2002 was rejected because the contribution being offered by the trust was too small.
Following the discussions, two of the homes, Racefield House in DúLaoghaire, and the Boys Home in Upper Grand Canal Street in Dublin, were added by the Government last Friday to the list of institutions covered under the legislation.
TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News
07:44 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 6, 2005
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
A former Catholic priest who sexually assaulted a man in an Irving hotel was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday under a law that imposes an automatic life term when convicted sex offenders re-offend.
John Salazar stood impassively as Judge Gary Stephens imposed his sentence. The judge then allowed the victim of the September 2003 assault to confront Mr. Salazar in the courtroom.
"Salazar's victims also suffer a life sentence ... to suffering and shame," Beau Villegas said while giving his victim impact statement.
Mr. Villegas addressed Mr. Salazar directly while talking about how the assault had affected his life. Mr. Salazar appeared to be taking notes during the statement and did not look up.
The Dallas Morning News does not normally publish the names of victims in sex-crime cases, but Mr. Villegas has asked that he be identified.
He wasn't Mr. Salazar's first victim. The automatic life sentence was imposed because he had already been to prison in California for molesting two boys in the 1980s while working as a priest.
He was still on parole when hired by the Catholic diocese in Amarillo and assigned to a small church in Tulia, Texas, in 1991. Some diocese officials were aware of at least some of Mr. Salazar's background, but parishioners were told nothing about the energetic young priest.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star
Ruth Holladay
July 7, 2005
On a beautiful July morning at Ken Sauer's Old Northside home, with the garden in full riot and fresh coffee served in mugs noting the 50th anniversary of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, it's hard to believe there's a fly in paradise.
But there is.
Sauer, 57, is a cradle Catholic, active in his Northside parish. So is Mary Heins, 64. They talk, fondly, of their "near perfect" experiences growing up Catholic; he in New York City, she in rural Iowa.
Their well-sown sense of identity got a rude upheaval in 2002. Outraged after learning of years of cover-ups by bishops on behalf of sexually abusive priests, they joined Voice of the Faithful. The group responded to scandals in Boston and beyond.
This weekend, Voice of the Faithful will hold its second national meeting. Hundreds of Catholics will convene at the Indiana Convention Center to take action on "The Laity Speak: Accountability Now."
TEXAS
MySA.com
07/07/2005
Associated Press
A former Catholic priest in the Texas Panhandle was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting a then-18-year-old parishioner after a wedding party in 2003.
John Salazar was sentenced under a law that imposes an automatic life term in cases where a person convicted of first-degree felony assault has already been convicted of a serious sex offense. Salazar was convicted twice in California in the 1980s for molesting boys and spent six years in prison.
Salazar, the former reverend at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulia, stood impassively as the sentence was read, The Dallas Morning News reported in its Thursday editions.
During the trial, Beau Villegas of Amarillo testified that Salazar assaulted him in the priest's hotel room in Irving. He said Salazar had offered to take care of him after he drank 10 beers and at least three mixed drinks at a wedding.
"Salazar's victims also suffer a life sentence ... to suffering and shame," Villegas said in court Wednesday while giving his victim impact statement after the sentence was imposed.
AMITE (LA)
The Advocate
By DEBRA LEMOINE
dlemoine@theadvocate.com
Florida parishes bureau
AMITE -- Former Pastor Louis David Lamonica of Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges he joined other members of his church in repeatedly raping three children under 12 years of age.
Lamonica, 45, of Tickfaw was the only one of the nine defendants arrested in connection with a child-sex ring operating out of Hosanna Church who appeared Wednesday in 21st Judicial Court in Amite.
Lamonica, in court for a preliminary hearing, also underwent arraignment after his attorney said he could not be in court today when Lamonica's arraignment originally was scheduled.
NASHVILLE (TN)
Nashville Scene
By John Spragens
In the week since David Brown went public with his childhood story of rape at the hands of a Nashville Catholic priest 45 years ago, three victims have come forward to tell similar stories to leaders of a support network for victims of priest sex abuse. Meanwhile, officials at Camp Marymount, the Catholic summer camp where Brown alleges he was abused in November 1961, say that the cabin identified in the Scene last week as the site of Brown's rape did not exist in 1961.
Marymount director Tommy Hagey provided letters from two brothers with longtime connections to the camp. In the letters, the two men explain that old buildings were demolished and replaced: the cabin Brown visited with the Scene last month (see "Rape of Faith," June 30) was not built until 1967, so it seems that he was recalling an earlier building that was demolished around 1980. His request that the Diocese burn down the cabin in which he was raped, then, is a moot point.
Camp officials say they were "distressed" to learn of the allegations and say that there "are strong policies in place to protect children in our care." Furthermore, they note that Father Paul Haas, Brown's abuser, was not an agent of the camp when he raped the 15-year-old boy and that camp wasn't in session at the time of the alleged abuse.
"The allegations regarding the incident in 1961 are horrific, and Camp Marymount takes very seriously the inference of abuse of any nature on our property or elsewhere," Eric Dahlhauser, chairman of Camp Marymount's board, said in a statement to the Scene.
AUSTRALIA
The Wimmera Mail-Times
Eugene Duffy
Thursday, 7 July 2005
BALLARAT police have charged former Wimmera priest Gerald Ridsdale with a further 63 charges of sexual abuse.
Gerald Francis Ridsdale, 71, is serving 18 years' jail for 46 sex offences against 21 children aged between nine and 15 and is due for parole in October 2009.
A mention hearing for the new charges will be on July 27 in Ballarat.
Ballarat Criminal Investigation Unit detective Kevin Carson said the charges related to alleged incidents that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s and involved nine victims.
Det Carson said the victims came from a range of different areas where Ridsdale was located.
KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
By KEVIN MURPHY The Kansas City Star
An area man filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that former priest Thomas Reardon sexually abused him as a minor — the seventh such lawsuit against Reardon since early 2004.
The man, identified only as John Doe 47, said Reardon molested him in 1980 when he was 16 in the rectory of St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Kansas City, North.
The suit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, also contends that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph knew of Reardon’s improprieties with children as early as 1969, covered up his activities, and in 1989 found pornography in his quarters at St. Regis Catholic Church. Reardon stopped functioning as a priest that year and resigned in 1990, the diocese said.
Neither Reardon nor his lawyer could be reached for comment Wednesday. Through his previous lawyer, he denied allegations of sexual abuse.
Robert Murphy, vicar general of the diocese, said in a statement that he had not received the suit and could not respond. Later, diocesan spokeswoman Rebecca Summers, after looking at the lawsuit, said she “had no specific knowledge” of the allegations. The diocese was named as a defendant.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun
Originally published July 7, 2005
Dontee Stokes said yesterday that because a former West Baltimore priest - whom he accused of molesting him and later shot - will not face a retrial, "There is no safe haven within the system" for sexual assault victims.
"They'll continue to be victimized by the state's attorney's office," Stokes, 29, said in a news conference called by his former defense attorney, Warren A. Brown.
Stokes was informed Friday that State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy would not retry Maurice Blackwell, 59. The defrocked Catholic priest was convicted in February by a Baltimore jury on three counts of sexual child abuse for molesting Stokes when he was a teenage choirboy at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church.
But Circuit Judge Stuart R. Berger overturned the conviction in April by granting Blackwell a new trial, ruling that several of the state's witnesses had improperly testified about other victims.
MYRTLE BEACH (SC)
The Sun News
By Johanna D. Wilson
The Sun News
Area Catholics are learning ways of spotting wolves seeking to harm their lambs.
"There is no higher priority for us than protecting children entrusted to our care," said Monsignor Chet Moczydlowski, pastor of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach. "Their well-being is foremost."
That's why every person in the diocese who works with children in the state will be required to undergo training through the VIRTUS programs - training and instruction designed primarily to prevent sexual abuse of children, help those who have been victimized and identify sexual deviants. One workshop was conducted Wednesday.
The Diocese of Charleston, which is comprised of 92 parishes, 27 missions and 10 pastoral centers, implemented the training programs in May.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Catholic News Service
By Barb Arland-Fye
Catholic News Service
DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNS) -- In an effort to promote healing, the Diocese of Davenport has dedicated a monument to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
About 50 people, including abuse victims, gathered around the modest monument, called the Millstone Marker, outside diocesan headquarters June 20 for a solemn dedication ceremony of prayers, Scripture readings, songs, blessings and bagpipe music.
Standing beside the millstone that is the monument's centerpiece, Davenport Bishop William E. Franklin said the object could be used in two ways -- it could be helpful or harmful.
He explained that the original use of the millstone was helpful -- as a grinding mechanism used in food production. But, he noted, the stone could also be harmful if it were removed from its support structure and dropped on someone.
He applied that analogy to priests who took a vocation meant to be helpful and turned it into something harmful when they sexually abused people.
UNITED STATES
Tucson Weekly
By JAMES DIGIOVANNA
Twist of Faith, director Kirby Dick's documentary about the sexual abuse of teenagers by an Ohio priest, made me think about what makes movies so compelling. Like most people, I adore big ol' Hollywood blockbusters, because they indulge the audience in a fantasy where goodness defeats evil. And not just defeats it, but really humiliates it and makes it say it's sorry and that from now on, it won't be evil so much as vaguely malign or perhaps dead.
Of course, that's also what's wrong with Hollywood blockbusters (and Hollywood lacklusters as well, for that matter): They're too clear-cut and simplistic. In the real world, things are never so black and white. Like, I bet Goebbels was exactly the guy to go to for a big hug, and that Stalin never failed to call his mom on her birthday.
Or maybe there really is evil in the world. Twist of Faith takes a look at what can happen when evil is not only allowed to run unchecked, but is actually given an expense account and the best lawyers money can buy.
Dick begins his film with the videotaped deposition of former priest Dennis Gray, who, on top of presenting God's sacraments, presented his penis into the mouths of a number of teenagers who had been placed under his loving care. The focus of the film then shifts to Tony Comes, a 34-year-old firefighter, husband and father who is trying to deal with finding out that Gray has moved into his neighborhood, which wouldn't be such a big deal if Gray hadn't made a habit of repeatedly raping Comes 20 years earlier.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Daily Journal
By Blair Clarkson Daily Journal Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES - Frustrated by what they claim are often-repeated inaccuracies in media coverage of the clergy abuse cases, lawyers for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have started their own Web site to publicly rebut "myths the media tells you."
The Web site, la-clergycases.com, also offers background and current developments in both civil and criminal cases related to the clergy scandal, details of new policies adopted by the archdiocese to combat child abuse and a collection of links to church statements and legal documents.
"It lays out the legal strategy, provides updates and gives analysis and context on the issues involved," said archdiocese attorney Donald Woods, whose firm, Hennigan Bennett & Dorman, put up the site.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
La-ClergyCases.com
During the past three years, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reported publicly on the scope of the problem of sexual abuse by clergy and taken numerous actions to increase awareness of the issue, safeguard children by dealing forcefully with incidents of abuse and aid in the healing of victims and their reconciliation with the Church.
Of course, dealing with clergy sexual abuse has also become a legal issue, in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and a complicated one at that. It is the goal of this website to provide comprehensive information and analysis about the resolution of clergy sexual abuse in Los Angeles as a legal issue.
The Archdiocese and its attorneys are committed to reaching a fair and just settlement with the victims of clergy abuse. With that in mind, these fundamental principles govern the work of the legal team:
That no action hinders the prosecution of anyone who has broken the law.
That all actions come in the context of policies, such as zero tolerance of sexual abuse, instituted by the Church.
CALIFORNIA
Dateline Alabama
By The Associated Press
July 06, 2005
Lack of insurance coverage is stalling resolution of the last of 10 child sex abuse lawsuits facing Santa Rosa's Catholic Diocese.
The diocese has agreed to pay $10.6 million to settle nine of the lawsuits filed in 2002 and 2003 alleging sexual misconduct by three North Coast priests.
If attorneys for the plaintiff, a 27-year-old Chicago man, and the diocese can't work out a settlement, the case would be the only one to go to a jury trial, possibly before the end of the year.
Lawyers for the plaintiff and the diocese agree that the final lawsuit involves a single incident of fondling, allegedly by former priest Gary Timmons, in 1989.
Timmons, a convicted sex offender and defrocked priest, was serving at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Rohnert Park at the time, according to the lawsuit.
CANADA
CBC News
Last updated Jul 6 2005 12:40 PM NDT
The Bishop of the Diocese of St. George's says victims of sexual abuse will get their first compensation payments within a couple of weeks.
Thirty-eight men will get money under an agreement approved Tuesday by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Work is underway to raise the balance of the $13 million the Diocese has to pay over the next two-and-a-half years.
Crosby says no church properties have been sold yet, but the Diocese is preparing for that to happen.
CANADA
CBC News
Last updated Jul 6 2005 11:48 AM EDT
CBC NEWS – A $3-million lawsuit claiming sexual abuse has been filed against the Vatican, the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals, a dead priest, and a retired bishop who used to work in the Cornwall area.
Former altar boy Adrien Donat St. Louis alleges Eugene Larocque sexually abused him in the 1970s at Saint James Church in Maxville, Ont., about 30 kilometres north of Cornwall.
St. Louis claims Larocque exposed himself and repeatedly asked the boy to masturbate him.
Laroque strongly denies the allegations.
"It's not true. I can swear on a stack of bibles it's not true," he said.
Larocque says he doesn't remember who St. Louis is, and that all of the accusations against him have hurt him, his family and the church. He says the only way he's been able to stay sane is through prayer.
Ontario Provincial Police started investigating Larocque in the 1990s as part of Project Truth, a larger investigation into claims of sexual abuse by a group of people in the Cornwall area.
Project Truth resulted in 114 charges against 15 men, including doctors, lawyers and Catholic priests. Only one person was ever convicted.
Larocque was not among those charged.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated Wed, 06 Jul 2005 10:24:21 EDT
Leaders of the Assembly of First Nations are advising that residential school abuse survivors accept a compensation package the group has negotiated with the federal government.
National Chief, Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine.
"This is a good deal,"Abuse Tracker Chief Phil Fontaine told the hundreds of aboriginal elders, chiefs and families from across the country who attended Tuesday's sessions in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
"If you believe that you can do better by going to the courts for a remedy, than you should do so," Fontaine added. "But we truly believe that this is the best option."
Starting in the 1870s, generations of aboriginal children were forced to leave their families to attend church-run, government-funded schools meant to prepare them for life in mainstream Canadian society.
WISCONSIN
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 5, 2005
There is still no resolution in the double homicide of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison, who were found shot to death at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, Wis., in Feb. 2002.
Recent press reports have stated that the late Father Ryan Erickson, who apparently remains the prime "person of interest" in the murders, had been under investigation for an alleged incident involving a minor. The details of that allegation have yet to be made public, but the reports have given the impression (to me, at least) that it involved sexual misconduct, which might not be the case.
I e-mailed Hudson Police Chief Dick Trende to ask him: Was the allegation against Father Erickson that involved a minor of a sexual nature, or was it something else entirely?
MARYLAND
Gazette
by Sara Stefanini
Staff Writer
July 6, 2005
Although she wasn't sure what the response would be, Elizabeth Eisenhaur felt an obligation to start a support group for survivors of clergy abuse.
As the group reaches its one-year anniversary this month, Eisenhaur says the demand for such a group is "definitely" there.
"Sure there's a need," agrees Wayne Dorough, who co-chairs the meetings with Eisenhaur. "If there's just one person [at the meeting], there's a need."
Attendance at the meetings has gone up and down, they say. A few times no one has shown up, other times they have had as many as eight. Some visitors come back for more meetings, others come only once.
CANADA
Canada.com
Kelly Patrick
Windsor Star
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
A retired Windsor bishop who is alleged to have played an "instrumental" role in a long-rumoured pedophile ring in Cornwall, Ont., is facing at least five lawsuits from men claiming he abused them decades ago.
The first of those suits against Eugene LaRocque, 78, was filed Monday in a Superior Court in London on behalf of Adrien St. Louis, a 48-year-old bus driver living outside Cornwall.
The $3.1-million action, which also names the Vatican, the College of Cardinals, Toronto Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, two Roman Catholic dioceses and the estate of a deceased Cornwall priest, accuses LaRocque of sexually abusing St. Louis 30 years ago when he was an 18-year-old altar boy.
St. Louis's London-based lawyer, Paul Ledroit, said Tuesday he expects to launch at least four more suits against LaRocque in the future.
LaRocque is already accused of negligence -- not direct abuse -- in another civil action alleging a priest violated two boys on his watch.
CANDA
canadaeast.com
DENE MOORE
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - More than 130 churches and other property belonging to a Roman Catholic diocese in Newfoundland could soon be up for sale after a court approved a financial settlement Tuesday for the victims of abusive priests.
The negotiated settlement between St. George's Diocese and the 40 victims is expected to raise $13 million for compensation. St. George's is believed to be the first Catholic diocese in Canada to seek bankruptcy protection as a result of sexual abuse claims.
The men involved will receive awards of between $75,000 to $1 million once the sale of properties is completed over the next 30 months.
Supreme Court Justice Alphonsus Faour approved the deal over the objections of two victims, saying the settlement was reasonable.
"An overwhelming majority of creditors support the proposal and the trustee supports the proposal," Faour said.
BURLINGTON (KY)
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
BURLINGTON, Ky. -- A judge in Northern Kentucky yesterday said he would give preliminary approval to what could become the largest sexual abuse settlement in a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.
Judge John Potter said he would approve the plan now because it only guarantees $40 million rather than a publicized figure of $120 million, even though the total could go that high.
Lawyers for the Diocese of Covington and the victims revised the draft of their agreement after Potter criticized the original draft last month, calling it a "sound bite" because it promised more money than either side could guarantee would be available.
The draft now says victims would be eligible for a fund of "up to $120 million," but it spells out that the diocese has guaranteed $40 million out of its own assets. The other $80 million would be available only if the diocese recovers that amount in a pending lawsuit against two of its insurers.
KENTUCKY
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Jim Hannah
Enquirer staff writer
BURLINGTON - A judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to establish a fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse by priests and employees of the Covington Diocese.
But the payout to victims might never reach the record-breaking $120 million, as originally touted.
Senior Judge John Potter said he approved the plan only after attorneys for the victims and the Covington Diocese made it clear that only $40 million was immediately available to pay claims. The remaining $80 million is contingent on the diocese winning a federal lawsuit against its insurance carrier.
"This is a very important day for all of us," said Richard Lillick, 63, of Lakeside Park, who identified himself as a victim who was molested beginning in 1957. "We're seeing justice done. It's an attempt to root out a very grotesque cancer that's been eating at the diocese for years and years."
KENTUCKY
BBC News
A Kentucky judge has provisionally approved the largest payout yet in the US Catholic Church abuse scandal.
The settlement, between a diocese in the state and an unknown number of sexual abuse victims, amounts to a record $120m (£68m).
The class-action suit accused the Church of covering up child abuse by priests and others over 50 years.
The scandal has cost the Church more than $1bn in payouts since 1950,an Associated Press review says.
BURLINGTON (KY)
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
By Brett Barrouquere
Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Ky. – A judge granted preliminary approval Tuesday to the nation’s largest settlement in the church abuse scandal, authorizing a $120 million agreement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and hundreds of victims of child-molesting priests and other employees.
The decision by Judge John W. Potter makes immediately available $40 million from diocese assets. The victims and the diocese are suing two insurance companies for the remaining $80 million.
Potter’s ruling allows the church and the plaintiffs’ lawyers to begin advertising the settlement and sets a Nov. 10 deadline for claims to be filed.
“It’s such a sensitive issue,” plaintiffs’ attorney Stan Chesley said. “It’s the best way to know we have a measure of justice.”
PENNSYLVANIA
phillyburbs.com
By HARRY YANOSHAK
Bucks County Courier Times
A Catholic priest who is named in a child sexual abuse lawsuit quit teaching ethics Tuesday at Gloucester County College.
The Rev. David Sicoli's decision to step down was made a few hours after the Courier Times informed the New Jersey school about the lawsuit.
Sicoli, the former assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception BVM Church in Bristol Township, taught ethics part time at the college in Sewell. He taught one class in the spring and had been scheduled to teach another this fall, school supervisor Carol Kebles said.
"We had no idea," she said of the lawsuit.
Kebles referred additional questions to Nick Burzichelli, the college's vice president of human resources.
Burzichelli confirmed the college learned of the allegations Tuesday and informed Liberal Arts Department Dean Ann Wilcox. She then contacted Sicoli, who told her he wouldn't return in the fall, Burzichelli said.
CANADA
Western
By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa
The Catholic Aboriginal Council for Reconciliation has approved subsidies of more than $30,000 towards projects designed to heal and reconcile aboriginal and non-aboriginal Catholic communities.
Most of the money will be directed towards the highly successful Returning to Spirit program, initiated by Mackenzie-Fort Smith Bishop Denis Croteau and women religious in the diocese.
Joe Gunn, director of the Justice, Peace and Missions Office of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and a member of the council's secretariat, said the Returning to Spirit program allows people to reflect on the pain of their experiences in ways that lead to reconciliation instead of creating continuing difficulties.
Two sets of sorrow
Gunn said that while aboriginal people deal with the effects of colonialism, loss of language and culture, separation from their families, and individual cases of physical and sexual abuse, the religious who served at the schools also often feel hurt that their years of dedication and sacrifice are not appreciated.
The program allows three days for each group to work through their anger, frustration and pain, he said, and then brings the two groups together for reconciliation.
"It's the most powerful when you do the third step and bring the two groups
CANADA
CTV
CTV.ca News Staff
Victims of abusive priests in Newfoundland are a step closer receiving compensation.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador approved a settlement between a Roman Catholic diocese and the 40 victims.
The settlement requires St. George's Diocese to raise $13 million in compensation by selling 134 properties along Newfoundland's west coast, including up to 60 churches and the diocese headquarters.
The victims will receive between $75,000 and $1 million when the sale of properties is completed over the next 30 months.
The court's approval of the settlement, which was worked out with the diocese under bankruptcy protection, concludes a 16-year legal battle.
BURLINGTON (KY)
Fox 23
BURLINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A judge granted preliminary approval Tuesday to the nation's largest settlement in the church abuse scandal, authorizing a $120 million agreement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and hundreds of victims of child-molesting priests and other employees.
The decision by Judge John W. Potter makes immediately available $40 million from diocese assets. The victims and the diocese are suing two insurance companies for the remaining $80 million.
Potter's ruling allows the church and the plaintiff's lawyers to begin advertising the settlement and sets a Nov. 10 deadline for claims to be filed.
"It's such a sensitive issue," plaintiff's attorney Stan Chesley said. "It's the best way to know we have a measure of justice."
The class-action suit was filed in 2003. It accuses the church of a 50-year cover-up of sexual abuse by priests and other employees.
UNITED STATES
Myrtle Beach Sun News
Associated Press
Sexual abuse by U.S. Roman Catholic priests has cost the church more than $1 billion. Some of the largest known payouts to victims in the past three years:
Jan. 29, 2002 - Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., pays an estimated $15 million to settle 11 lawsuits. Declares bankruptcy two years later in the face of more claims.
Sept. 9, 2002 - Diocese of Providence, R.I., pays $13.5 million to settle 36 claims.
KENTUCKY
WKYT
BURLINGTON, Ky. A judge has granted preliminary approval to a proposed 120 (m) million dollar class-action settlement between the Covington Diocese and alleged victims of abuse.
The approval means there will be 40 (m) million dollars immediately available from diocese assets. The victims and the diocese are suing two insurance companies for the remaining 80 (m) million dollars.
A final hearing over the settlement is scheduled for January Ninth. At that hearing, Circuit Judge John Potter can either approve or reject the payout to victims who made verified claims.
Potter's ruling today allows the church and the plaintiff's lawyers to begin advertising the settlement. It also sets a November Tenth deadline for claims to be filed.
CANADA
Canada NewsWire
CORNER BROOK, NL, July 5 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and
Labrador today approved the proposal that the Roman Catholic Episcopal
Corporation of St. George's presented to its creditors on May 25, 2005. The
proposal, which was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of creditors, required
court approval pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It is now up to
the Corporation to fulfill its financial commitment under the terms of the
proposal.
On March 8, 2005 the Corporation filed a Notice of Intention that
effected a "stay of proceedings" in civil actions against the Corporation
including those launched since 1991 on behalf of victims of sexual abuse. The
stay of proceedings gave the Corporation time to evaluate its assets and to
prepare the proposal to creditors. Today's decision by the court authorizes
the Corporation to discharge its financial commitment to its creditors, which
is in excess of $13 million, within the 30-month payment schedule as spelled
out in the proposal.
"It's up to us to keep our commitment," said the Most Rev. Douglas
Crosby, Bishop of St. George's Diocese. "The Court's decision affirms our
belief that the proposal was fair and just and we will discharge our financial
and legal obligations. But more importantly, today marks the beginning of the
end of a long and painful episode for the victims of sexual abuse and for the
priests and people of St. George's. Now we can focus on healing one another."
AUSTRALIA
Illawara Mercury
By REBECCA SENESCALL
July 5, 2005
NOWRA cult leader William Kamm might have been an "odd little man" who wrote overtly sexual letters to a 15-year-old girl.
But his writings did not prove anything more than a desire for sexual contact which was "never crystallised", Kamm's lawyer Gregory Stanton told a jury yesterday.
The Crown and defence took turns to address the jury as Kamm's trial neared its end.
Kamm, 55, also known as Little Pebble, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one count of aggravated sexual intercourse with the girl in 1993, after he chose her as one of his 12 "mystical wives". ...
The Crown described Kamm as leader of the Cambewarra religious order, whose followers believed he received messages from the Virgin Mary. The girl had submitted to Kamm's alleged behaviour because she believed it was "the will of heaven" for her to be Kamm's wife, Mr Herps said.
CANADA
CBC News
Last updated Jul 5 2005 09:17 AM NDT
CBC News
Some opposition is expected Tuesday, as the Supreme Court considers a compensation package for victims of Father Kevin Bennett.
Bennett was a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. George's when he sexually abused young boys in the 1960s and 70s.
After years of trying, most of the 39 men involved reached a compensation agreement with the diocese in May.
But a lawyer for the church says the lawyer representing one claimant plans to object to the deal.
UNITED STATES
New Humanist
by Mary Garden Jul 04, 05
A recent court case in the United States has found Hare Krishnas guilty of child abuse on a massive scale. Mary Garden uncovers the story of a hidden scandal
I remember dancing along with the Hare Krishnas on the streets of Auckland in 1973. The most visible of the religious groups that mushroomed during the 1960s and 70s, they were known for their chanting, shaved heads and saffron robes. For me they were the ultimate rebellion, the finger up at authority and the ‘establishment’. I was a new devotee of Eastern mysticism (yes I was lost, naïve and idealistic) and even though I did not join that particular group, I could well have done. They seemed a bit extreme but I regarded myself as not quite ready for the austere, ‘pure’ lifestyle that the Hare Krishnas demanded.
How ironic, then, that of all the religious sects spawned from the counterculture movement, the Hare Krishnas (also called International Society for Krishna Consciousness — ISKCON) ended up being one of the most authoritarian. It also ended up being one of the most abusive to the children in its care.
On 23 May 2005, the United States bankruptcy court approved a plan for ISKCON to pay $9.5 million in damages to former students who had suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse during the 1970s and 80s. Even though a majority of claimants had to vote for the plan in order for the court to accept it, there have been reports that many did so grudgingly, because they thought they would miss out otherwise. Regardless, a total of 550 plaintiffs will receive amounts ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 each (depending on the severity of the abuse) with disbursements beginning in September 2005 and the bulk of compensation to be paid by 2011.
SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Republican
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
By BILL ZAJAC
wzajac@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - More than a month after asking the Catholic Church for help, two groups seeking Bishop Thomas L. Dupre's whereabouts and defrocking have not received a response from diocesan or other church officials.
Officials from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and Voice of the Faithful expressed disappointment at church officials' failure to respond to requests for support and information regarding the former sitting bishop of the Springfield Diocese, who resigned in February 2004 amid accusations of sexual abuse.
"It is a simple, straightforward request. Every day Dupre can call himself a bishop and his whereabouts are not disclosed, we have to assume kids are at risk," said David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
Diocesan spokesman Mark E. Dupont said the current bishop stands by his position that the diocese doesn't release personal information about personnel - clergy or lay.
Also, the matter is one for the Vatican to resolve, Dupont said.
At a press conference May 24 in front of the Springfield Diocese's Chancery, the two groups also announced that Dupre should receive further treatment. Dupre checked himself into St. Luke Institute in Maryland the night before his resignation was announced.
BELLEVILLE (IL)
News-Democrat
BY NICKLAUS LOVELADY
News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE - The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests are encouraging Belleville Diocese parishioners to make their leaders surrender medical records of a priest accused of sexually abusing children.
Members of the group stood outside St. Peter Cathedral Sunday, passing leaflets to parishioners leaving Mass. The fliers asked them to persuade church leaders to obey Friday's court order to release the medical records of Rev. Raymond Kownacki, 70, who is accused of abusing two boys in the 1970s.
After Sunday's Mass, Bishop Edward K. Braxton said the diocese will continue to fight the Fifth Appellate Court's decision.
"I am in the early stages of studying this case and these documents, but the present advice we have is to appeal the court's decision," Braxton said. "We are not trying to avoid the healing of those who may have been harmed by priest in the past, but we want to protect the privacy of these individuals."
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Sunday, July 03, 2005
NOELLE CROMBIE
A Portland couple is suing First Baptist Church of St. Johns, claiming the pastor ignored allegations that a church member molested their two daughters and two other girls, told the couple not to tell anyone about the allegations, then told the congregation during a Sunday service that the couple were evil.
Darla and Francois Pilon filed the lawsuit June 22 in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The suit alleges the pastor, Daniel Pulliam, intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them. The suit also alleges negligence and that Pulliam dissolved the church and transferred its assets after the Pilons made a claim against the church. The suit asks for $750,000 each for Darla and Francois Pilon, who worked at the church as a part-time secretary and custodian, respectively.
The church was located on North Chicago Avenue but has been dissolved.
Pulliam declined to comment about the lawsuit and the Pilons' claims.
The victims are girls who range in age from 11 to 17. The lawsuit alleged they were sexually abused on church property by a church member. The allegations are being investigated by police, according to a Multnomah County prosecutor.
UNITED STATES
Connecticut Post
When the nation's Roman Catholic bishops decided recently to extend their five-year policy of barring clergy found guilty of sexual abuse from church work, it was a welcome sign, years into the debacle, that the problem is finally being taken seriously.
On too many occasions, some church officials tried to downplay the seriousness of the allegations, or pretend that the clergy-abuse scandal was not as all-consuming as it has become.
In the worst cases, known abusers were transferred to new, unsuspecting districts, rather than being dealt with as the criminals they were. But with more than $1 billion going to settle abuse cases — a cost that is due to rise as more incidents come to light and go to trial — it is clear that the problem has crippled the church.
Any positive steps toward stopping clergy abuse and punishing abusers must be applauded.
MAINE
Portland Press Herald
By JERRY HARKAVY, Associated Press
Maine's Roman Catholic diocese Sunday validated child sexual abuse allegations against nine of 21 dead priests, saying they likely would be removed from ministry under today's standards if they were still alive.
The announcement came more than a month after the state attorney general released the names of the 21 in compliance with an order from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
The Diocese of Portland, which had opposed the release of the names, said its reversal reflected the reality of the court decision and "the inevitable news stories" arising from the public release of more than 100 pages of documents related to abuse complaints.
Media in Maine have yet to publish the complete list of names. The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, whose parent company brought the lawsuit that led to the court order, has promised to investigate each case and report on those they believe are credible.
Bishop Richard Malone's decison to publicize the names of those on the list who would likely be removed from ministry if they were alive today was made in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board, the diocese said in a statement.
ARLINGTON (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Mark Agee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
ARLINGTON - Bishop Terry Hornbuckle gave an impassioned sermon Sunday morning, asserting his innocence and urging the congregation to neither spread nor believe rumors and conjecture about his legal troubles.
"I think about all this stuff, and sometimes I wonder if people out there believe it," Hornbuckle told about 200 people at the church. "We're more concerned about hype, about media, about crowds, than we are about people."
The 43-year-old Arlington minister was indicted again Wednesday on new charges of drugging and sexually assaulting two women, in addition to three women connected to previous charges. All five are former members of the church Hornbuckle founded, Agape Christian Fellowship.
Hornbuckle was arrested in March and released on bail. Besides the sexual assault charges, the minister was also charged with drug possession, tampering with a witness and retaliation.
He is free on $905,000 bail.
CANADA
580 CFRA
Josh Pringle
Sunday, July 03, 2005 8:54 PM
The Vatican is among those named in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by clergy in Cornwall.
A London-based law-firm will announce details of the suit by a man who claims he was abused by a Roman Catholic bishop and priest on Tuesday.
A report says the Vatican and the College of Cardinals will be named.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
CANADA
London Free Press
CP
2005-07-04 02:07:52
TORONTO -- The diocese of London, the Vatican and the College of Cardinals are among those named in a sex abuse lawsuit to be filed this week in Cornwall.
LeDroit Beckett, a London firm, is filing the suit on behalf of Andrien St. Louis, who claims he was abused by a Roman Catholic bishop and priest.
Retired bishop Eugene LaRocque, who lives in Windsor, and a deceased priest, Donald Scott, are named in the suit.
The Holy See, the College of Cardinals, Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic of Toronto, the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall and the diocese of London are accused of negligence and vicarious liability of their employees.
None of these allegations have been proven in court.
Ledroit has scheduled a news conference for tomorrow in Cornwall to announce the new suits.
The Alexandria-Cornwall diocese already faces two $3.1-million lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by a former priest.
PORTLAND (ME)
Boston Globe
By Associated Press | July 4, 2005
PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine's Roman Catholic diocese yesterday validated child sexual-abuse allegations against nine of 21 dead priests, saying they probably would have been removed from ministry under today's standards if they were still alive.
The announcement was made more than a month after the state attorney general released the names of the 21 in compliance with an order from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. ...
The nine names listed by the diocese, and the years of death, are: Monsignor Henry Boltz, 1970; the Rev. Ralph Corbeil, 1973; the Rev. John Crozier, 1990; the Rev. Antonio Girardin, 1974; the Rev. Lucien Mandeville, 1984; the Rev. Lucien McKeone, 1980; the Rev. Lawrence Sabatino, 1990; the Rev. James Vallely, 2001; and the Rev. Dominic Doyon, year of death unknown.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Anthony Spangler
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - Bishop Terry Hornbuckle was indicted Wednesday on new charges of drugging and sexually assaulting two women, and also of threatening and offering bribes to witnesseses.
The women came forward with their accusations after Hornbuckle was arrested in March on four charges of sexual assault involving three other women. All of the women were members of Agape Christian Fellowship and they allege that Hornbuckle, 43, used his position to gain their trust and sexually assault them.
Hornbuckle was released from jail Wednesday on $905,000 bail.
A Tarrant County grand jury returned five indictments Wednesday accusing Hornbuckle of two charges of sexual assault, one charge of retaliation, one charge of tampering with a witness, and one charge of drug possession.
Before Wednesday's indictments, Hornbuckle, his attorney and publicist had steadfastly claimed that he is innocent.
In two of the earlier cases, he is accused of using date-rape drugs. The three women also filed personal injury lawsuits against him.
Prosecutors allege that Hornbuckle threatened and attempted to bribe witnesses in late December.
According to court documents, Hornbuckle threatened to fire an Agape employee if that person testified against him. The employee, whose name was blacked out on publicly released documents, is a prospective witness in Hornbuckle's cases.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Beacon Journal
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has issued a code of conduct for its priests, employees and volunteers who work with children.
Church workers may not sleep in the same room with minors, be the only adult in a locker room used by youngsters or even take a child to a movie or ballgame by themselves.
The new standards were issued by Bishop Anthony M. Pilla and took effect Friday. They set ethical boundaries for the more than 50,000 volunteers and church employees, from priests and deacons to baseball coaches.
"It's part of our commitment to integrity in ministry and to challenge the society we live in to do the same," said the Rev. Lawrence Jurcak, a diocesan vicar.
The scandal over priests sexually abusing minors has prompted dioceses around the country to develop new guidelines for ministry.
The U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires a code of conduct and ethics for all church workers who have regular contact with children.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
10:33 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 29, 2005
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – Arlington pastor Terry Hornbuckle faces new charges of sexual assault, tampering with evidence and retaliation in indictments issued Wednesday by a Tarrant County grand jury.
Mr. Hornbuckle, founder of Agape Christian Fellowship Church in Arlington, turned himself in Wednesday afternoon and was released after posting bail. He was indicted in March on similar charges that he sexually assaulted three members of his church.
Mr. Hornbuckle declined to comment as he left the Tarrant County courthouse. He and his attorneys have denied the previous charges, and on Wednesday, attorney Mike Heiskell said in court filings that the latest charges are the result of work by an overzealous prosecutor.
"The prosecutor has, in a concerted effort, since publicizing a phone number for other alleged victims to call, managed over the last 3 ½ months to come up with two additional alleged victims," Mr. Heiskell wrote.
The indictment said Mr. Hornbuckle sexually assaulted two other women after giving them a substance that left them impaired.
Those assaults are alleged to have taken place in 2003 and 2004, Mr. Heiskell said.
He had asked state District Judge James Wilson to set bail at $5,000, saying that the court is already aware of Mr. Hornbuckle's whereabouts because he has been ordered to wear an electronic monitor.
The judge declined Mr. Heiskell's request and ordered Mr. Hornbuckle held in lieu of $250,000 bail on the new charges.
IRELAND
The Times
Dearbhail McDonald
THE Bishop of Ferns has warned church leaders to brace themselves for the publication of a report into clerical sex abuse in Wexford that has been described as “explosive”.
Eamon Walsh has written to the leaders of Ireland’s religious congregations asking them to pray for “a positive outcome”, ahead of the publication of a state report into clerical sex scandals that rocked the diocese.
The letter, issued last month, asks the heads of the congregations to pray that the report, which is being reviewed by the church, victims and third parties, will be “proper”.
Although it makes no reference to diocesan priests who abused children, it asks for justice for the victims and prays for “reconciliation”.
The missive, interpreted by some religious sources as a pre-emptive strike ahead of the report’s publication, has received a cautious welcome from victims of abuse in Ferns’s parishes.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Marie Szaniszlo
Sunday, July 3, 2005 - Updated: 08:16 AM EST
Sixteen months into his two-year tenure as head of the archdiocese that was ground zero in the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal, the strain became evident in an open letter Sean P. O'Malley wrote to parishioners.
``At times, I ask God to call me home,'' the archbishop confessed.
This is one tough town. You know it when even O'Malley, a bearded, 61-year-old friar with more than a passing resemblance to St. Nick, can't get a break. But then this is Boston, where the bitterness runs only as deep as the betrayal.
On a frigid December morning in 2002, Bostonians learned that Pope John Paul II had accepted the resignation of O'Malley's predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, who repeatedly had transferred priests who had molested children from parish to parish without notifying parents or police.
By the time O'Malley took over seven months later - two years ago this week - he already had become adept at damage control, having been dispatched to Fall River and Palm Springs, Fla., in the wake of similar scandals.
In his simple brown robe and sandals, ``Archbishop Sean,'' as he prefers to be called, impressed people early on by choosing to live in the rectory of Holy Cross Cathedral in the South End and selling the Brighton mansion where several predecessors had lived.
CANADA
Boston Globe
By Doug Struck, Washington Post | July 3, 2005
STEPHENVILLE, Newfoundland -- In the hardscrabble fishing villages of this remote island, the Rev. Kevin Bennett was ''like a god," a former altar boy said. He was more important than a cop, and more feared than parents, said the altar boy, who was one of his victims. Dozens of boys kept Bennett's secret as he ordered each into his bed to fondle and rape them.
Now, 16 years after the priest was sent to prison, a $10.5 million settlement was reached last month over the sexual abuse claims of 39 former altar boys. The suit is causing the Roman Catholic diocese here to prepare to put churches, parish halls and priests' homes up for sale.
''We always thought we owned the church," said Theresa LaCosta, 78, who lives down the hill from Our Lady of Fatima Church in Piccadilly, a cluster of poor homes with rich views of emerald hills that plunge into St. George's Bay. She said her husband, now dead, badly hurt his back while helping to lay the church foundation. ''Now they are going to take the church away?"
As churches in the United States and Canada grapple with the aftermath of sex abuse claims, similar anguish might be felt by Catholics far and wide.
''This is a wake-up call for the entire church," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Washington lawyer who has counseled victims.
Doyle said the Newfoundland case could be ''potentially devastating" for dioceses in the United States. Canada's Supreme Court ruled that the Newfoundland diocese owned all of its parishes' property. US dioceses are fighting against having churches and property included in settlements.
WASHINGTON
Spokesman Review
By Virginia de Leon
Staff writer
July 2, 2005
The last few weeks have been a painful time for the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, a Roman Catholic priest and the longtime director of Morning Star Boys’ Ranch.
Accused of physically assaulting boys in the 1970s, the priest described the allegations against him as “misleading” but that he supports an investigation to “set the record straight.”
“I want to emphasize my commitment to the organization, to the boys at the Ranch today, and to our alumni,” Weitensteiner wrote in a statement that was released late Friday night. “I have worked with Morning Star since 1957, and as its director since 1966, and this makes the allegations particularly painful, both to me personally and to the organization.”
Last week, The Spokesman-Review reported that the renowned home for troubled boys had repeatedly allowed the physical and sexual abuse of boys in its care, according to records from the Department of Social and Health Services, court documents and interviews with former counselors and residents.
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 2, 2005
Dr. Brian W. Clowes is the director of research and training for HLI. Clowes, along with David L. Sonnier, wrote an article for Homiletic & Pastoral Review titled "Child Molestation by homosexuals and heterosexuals." The following are excerpts:
The Church has always had a small number of priests and other religious who have taken advantage of their positions of authority and influence in order to gain sexual favors or to take advantage of the helpless. The problem of clerical child sexual molestation, particularly in the United States, has been widely exposed and publicized over the last several years. The numerous recent revelations have exposed the problem as much deeper and more widespread than most would have previously believed.
During the current crisis, homosexual activists within and outside the Catholic Church have done everything they could to divert attention away from even the possibility that there may be a higher percentage of homosexuals among the priesthood than in the general public, and that this may be the root of the problem of child sexual molestation within the Church. It is particularly the link between homosexuality and child molestation that they seek to deny...."
PHOENIX (AZ)
The Jewish Times
Deborah Sussman Susser
Special to the Jewish Times
JULY 03, 2005
Phoenix, Ariz.
Police have few leads in the search for an Arizona rabbi accused of sexually abusing two teenaged girls.
Temple B'rith Shalom in Prescott, Ariz., is quietly carrying on without Rabbi David Lipman, who was reported missing by his family May 24, shortly after the allegations surfaced.
Lt. Pete Hodap of the Prescott Police Department said police have contacted immigration authorities "to make sure that (Lipman) hasn't left the country."
"We're trying to put a flag on his passport," Hodap said, "to hopefully keep him from leaving the country, if that's what his thoughts are."
Detective Robert Peoples said June 14 that there were "no leads yet."
BELLEVILLE (IL)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The 5th District Court of Appeals in Mount Vernon has upheld a St. Clair County judge's ruling that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville must turn over the mental health records of a suspended priest who has been accused of sexual abuse.
The records are requested in a civil suit filed in October 2002 by a Chicago man who accused the Rev. Raymond Kownacki of abusing him as a child.
Circuit Judge Lloyd A. Cueto ordered the diocese to turn over the records and fined it $2,000 when the records weren't handed over.
BELLEVILLE (IL)
Belleville News-Democrat
BY GEORGE PAWLACZYK
News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE - A state appeals court has ordered Belleville Diocese leaders to turn over medical records of a priest removed from ministry 10 years ago following allegations that he sexually abused a child.
In a 14-page decision made public Friday, a three-justice panel of the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon ordered the diocese to provide medical records of the Rev. Raymond Kownacki, 70, to attorneys representing James Wisniewski, 44, of Champaign and an unidentified second plaintiff. Both men state in their suits that Kownacki sexually abused them when they were boys.
Their lawsuits, filed well after the usual statute of limitations, were allowed under the legal theory that the men only relatively recently realized the psychological damage of the alleged abuse.
Kownacki could not be reached.
The high court lifted a $2,000 contempt of court fine and an order to pay $26,000 in plaintiff's attorneys' fees levied against the diocese last year by St. Clair County Circuit Judge Lloyd Cueto.
The specified medical records, including any records of psychiatric or psychological treatments, pertain only to documents that existed before Jan. 9, 1979, when a medical record protection act went into effect in Illinois. It also applies to alcohol counseling evaluations that predate July 1, 1988, when a similar law took effect to protect those records.
CLEVELAND (OH)
Ohio News Network
CLEVELAND -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has issued a code of conduct for its priests, employees and volunteers who work with children.
Church workers may not sleep in the same room with minors, be the only adult in a locker room used by youngsters or even take a child to a movie or ballgame by themselves.
The new standards were issued by Bishop Anthony M. Pilla and took effect Friday. They set ethical boundaries for the more than 50,000 volunteers and church employees, from priests and deacons to baseball coaches.
"It's part of our commitment to integrity in ministry and to challenge the society we live in to do the same," said the Rev. Lawrence Jurcak, a diocesan vicar.
The scandal over priests sexually abusing minors has prompted dioceses around the country to develop new guidelines for ministry.
INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star
By John J. Shaughnessy
john.shaughnessy@indystar.com
The leaders of a national Catholic laity organization that will meet in Indianapolis next week say they want more meaningful involvement in the Catholic Church.
"This is our church, and the wisdom of everyone is needed," says Kris Ward, vice president of Voice of the Faithful. "Now is the time for the wisdom of the laity to have a place at the table where all the voices of the Lord's people are heard together."
About 500 Catholic laypeople are expected to attend the convocation that has the theme "The Laity Speak: Accountability Now." The convocation will be held in the Indiana Convention Center Friday through July 10.
Voice of the Faithful was formed in Massachusetts in 2002, in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Since then, the organization has set three major goals: to support victims of abuse, to support "priests of integrity" and to shape structural change within the church, Ward says.
Voice of the Faithful leaders stress that their goal is not to change church doctrine or dogma. Instead, they want the laity to have a greater voice concerning issues facing the church.
BRITAIN
ic Coventry
Jul 1 2005
By Steve Chilton
A Roman Catholic archbishop has assured the people of Coventry that paedophile priests like Fr Christopher Clonan can no longer go undetected.
Yesterday one of Fr Clonan's victims - known as Mr A - was awarded £700,000 for years of sexual abuse he suffered as a child and teenager.
With costs, the bill to the Birmingham archdiocese, which covers Coventry, will be more than £1 million.
The priest worked for 20 years at Christ the King Church, Westhill Road, Coundon.
After he fled the city in 1992, it emerged there were accusations of sexual abuse against him by several victims dating from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s.
BELLEVILLE (IL)
Bellville News-Democrat
Associated Press
BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The Catholic Diocese of Belleville is planning to appeal a court ruling that orders them to turnover the mental health records of a priest who was defrocked after he became the subject of sexual abuse allegations.
The 5th District Appellate Court ordered the diocese to provide medical records of the Rev. Raymond Kownacki, 70, to attorneys representing two people who claim Kownacki sexually abused them when they were boys.
Monsignor James Margason said the diocese will appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court to protect others from being forced to reveal medical and alcohol counseling records that predate the protection laws, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
"It would apply to the medical records of anyone in Illinois," Margason told the newspaper Friday.
The medical records being sought, including any details of psychiatric or psychological treatments, pertain only to documents that existed before Jan. 9, 1979, when a state medical record protection act was enacted.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City has settled the 22nd lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest.
The case was dismissed this week in Woodbury County District Court after the woman who filed the complaint and diocese officials reached a confidential settlement.
A judge dismissed another lawsuit against the diocese last week, ruling that the accuser had not filed the suit before the statute of limitations expired. Three lawsuits involving victims referred to as John Doe remain pending against the diocese. No trial dates have been set.
The woman who filed the lawsuit in April claimed the Rev. George McFadden had sexual contact with her in the 1960s while he was the pastor of Sioux City's St. Francis of Assisi Church, which is now closed.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun
By Julie Bykowicz
Sun Staff
Originally published July 2, 2005
Defrocked West Baltimore priest Maurice Blackwell will not face a new trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a onetime choirboy who later shot him, the state's attorney's office said yesterday, bringing to a definitive end a contentious case that dates to 1993.
"I reached a decision that I believe is in the interest of justice," State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said in a statement that outlined her reasons for not moving forward with another trial.
Prosecutors had been mum on their plans for the case since April, when a Baltimore Circuit Court judge overturned Blackwell's conviction by granting his request for a new trial, based on what the judge ruled was improper testimony about the former priest's other possible victims.
In February, a city jury convicted Blackwell, 59, of three counts of sexual child abuse for allegedly molesting Dontee Stokes over a period of three years when he was a teenager at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church.
Stokes, now 29, learned of Jessamy's decision in a brief meeting yesterday morning at Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse. He hurried outside afterward, saying he was disappointed and upset.
BALTIMORE
Washington Post
The Associated Press
Saturday, July 2, 2005; 6:27 AM
BALTIMORE -- The state won't retry a defrocked priest accused of molesting a boy who later shot him, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor said Friday.
Maurice Blackwell, 58, was convicted in February of abusing Dontee Stokes, a former parishioner who shot Blackwell in 2002, nearly a decade after the alleged abuse.
Two months later, Blackwell was granted a new trial by a judge who said testimony about other alleged victims was inappropriate.
Stokes, 29, was acquitted of attempted murder but convicted on gun charges in 2002. He was sentenced to 18 months on home detention.
Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for state's attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, said the prosecutor "will not pursue the case against Maurice Blackwell." She declined to comment further, saying a statement would be released Saturday.
NASHVILLE (TN)
WSMV
Reported by Jeremy Finley
E-mail: jfinley@wsmv.com
A victim of abuse at the hands of a priest spoke out Friday on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of Nashville. He says the diocese tried to force him to remain silent about the abuse -- a charge church leaders deny.
David Brown went public on Friday with his personal demons and said he was sexually abused by Father Paul Haas. Brown and members of a support group are calling for the diocese to both improve support for victims and release the names and addresses of all priests found guilty of abuse by the church.
Diocese officials say they have not had a credible case of abuse in 20 years and releasing the names of deceased priests would not help anyone today. The diocese also says they continue to support victims.
"There is another point of contention between the diocese and David Brown. It has to do with a legal document from the church that Brown says told him to keep silent about the alleged abuse," said Rick Musacchio, Diocese Spokesman.
A document was drafted by church attorneys and signed by Brown. It reads that Brown will not sue the diocese and will not disclose the terms of this agreement with the press. The diocese says this document came about after Brown threatened to sue them in a series of letters -- at one point seeking $100,000.
NASHVILLE (TN)
News Channel 5
David Brown claims that when he attended Nashville's Father Ryan High School in the 1960’s, he was sexually abused by a catholic priest who taught there.
Brown, who now works as a lawyer in Memphis, said he was a 15 year-old sophomore at Father Ryan when his biology teacher, Father Paul Fredrick Haas, raped him at Camp Marymount in middle Tennessee.
"And what's he saying to me as he's doing it? ‘You know this is a sin, but God knows my needs, and besides I love you.’ How sick can that be?” Brown said. David Brown told his story to the media Friday in front of the Catholic Diocese building in Nashville.
“I want to reach out to other victims. This is so important that we reach out and let them know they're not alone,” he said.
Father Haas died in 1979 from cancer.
DALLAS (TX)
Bradenton Herald
Associated Press
DALLAS - A former priest was convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old former parishioner who said he was too drunk following a wedding party to defend himself.
John A. Salazar, who was already a convicted sex offender, faces up to life in prison after jurors found him guilty after five hours of deliberation. His sentencing hearing was scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Beau Villegas testified that Salazar, the former reverend at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulia, assaulted him in the priest's hotel room in suburban Dallas after a wedding in 2003. Villegas, of Amarillo, said Salazar had offered to take care of him after he drank 10 beers and at least three mixed drinks.
BRITAIN
Mirror
By Rod Chaytor
A MAN abused as a boy by a pervert priest won a fight for damages yesterday that will cost the Catholic church more than £1million.
The victim, now 35, has severe mental health problems after 11 years of molestation by Father Christopher Clonan - who he described as a "manipulative bastard" and "really, really evil".
Mr A's payout opens the way for many more such settlements. At least eight separate complaints have been levelled at Clonan alone, who died in Australia in 1998.
Solicitors for Mr A said: "This could quite feasibly cost the church millions and millions. It is being dealt with on a case by case basis, so we will have to wait and see the outcome of each."
UNITED STATES
Mirror
By Reid Sexton
PAEDOPHILE priests and bishops have cost America's Roman Catholic Church its reputation and at least £450million.
Last month church leaders in Kentucky set up a £67million fund to pay at least 200 victims of abuse spanning 50 years.
The notorious Boston Archdiocese had already handed over £48million in 2003 to settle more than 500 lawsuits. Several of its prominent clergy were jailed.
One, defrocked priest John Geoghan, was strangled in prison by an inmate serving a life sentence. The scandal has forced at least two dioceses into bankruptcy, with more facing financial ruin. It was re-ignited when the former Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, gave mass in Vatican City after the death of Pope John Paul II
MISSOURI
Kansas City Star
By LINDA MAN The Kansas City Star
A former intern at First Baptist Church of Raytown is suing the church, saying she was sexually assaulted by a former minister and eventually gave birth to his child.
The lawsuit alleges former minister Mark Brooks assaulted the woman, who had attended the church for more than 20 years, several times from September 2003 to January 2004.
The lawsuit also names the First Baptist Church of Raytown and its pastor, the Rev. Paul Brooks, as defendants. Paul Brooks is the father of Mark Brooks. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Neither man could be reached for comment. Mark Brooks, who is studying at a New Orleans seminary, did not answer a message sent through the school.
BRITAIN
Telegraph
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 01/07/2005)
A man who was psychologically damaged by a decade of sexual abuse at the hands of a Roman Catholic priest was awarded compensation of more than £600,000 yesterday.
The award, the first of its kind to be set by a High Court judge, was the largest so far in Britain and could open the floodgates to fresh claims totalling millions of pounds.
It represents a serious setback to the Catholic church's efforts to recover from a series of abuse scandals that culminated in calls for the resignation of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor three years ago.
The 35-year-old man, who now suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder, was abused between the ages of seven and 18 by Fr Christopher Clonan, his parish priest at Christ The King in Coventry.
The systematic abuse occurred between 1977 and 1988 but the man, known as A, told no one about it until 1992, after which his life "fell apart", the court heard.
UNITED STATES
Telegraph
By Harry Mount in New York
(Filed: 01/07/2005)
The paedophile scandal in Boston three years ago nearly bankrupted the Catholic archdiocese.
Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Law, was forced to resign, and, in the largest ever settlement by an American diocese to resolve sexual abuse claims, great tracts of Church land were sold off, the archbishop's Italianate palazzo was put on the market and dozens of parishes were forced to close.
The Church was ordered to pay £67 million in compensation after it emerged in January 2002 that 815 children had been abused by priests over 50 years.
There were 550 lawsuits by abuse victims and each received between £44,000 and £166,000 in a settlement brokered by the new Archbishop, Sean O'Malley.
The archdiocese had to sell 15 Church properties and much of its headquarters, including the archbishop's residence and 56 adjoining acres, for £55 million.
TUCSON (AZ)
KVOA
The Tucson Catholic Diocese rolled forward Thursday in its bankruptcy trial.
Those claiming sexual abuse by the clergy had another day in court, asking the judge to reconsider claims that have already been rejected.
For many, it was a last chance to get money from the Diocese. All those who filed claims had another opportunity to argue their side for the bankruptcy court.
"It brings it home once again just how terrible these crimes were and how unusual it is to try and fit it in the parameters of a bankruptcy matter," said victim's attorney Lynne Cadigan.
The bankruptcy trial is squeezing in dozens of people seeking money for their pain and suffering.
BRITAIN
The Times
By Frances Gibb and Ruth Gledhill
A MAN sexually abused as a child by a Roman Catholic priest was awarded record damages of more than £700,000 yesterday for what the judge described as the “grossest breach” of trust.
The victim, now 35, was abused over ten years between the age of 7 and 18 by Father Christopher Clonan, his priest and family friend, at Christ The King Church in Coventry. He now suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of sexual abuse often several times a week.
He was awarded £635,684 — a total of £704,000 with interest — by the High Court in Manchester, the first such award by a judge in a case of this kind. It is twice the sum of a £330,000 agreed settlement in January 2004 for another victim of the same priest, Simon Grey, who was an altar boy.
It paves the way for up to 25 other cases in dioceses across Britain, and several against the same priest, and could result in a multimillion-pound damages bill against the Roman Catholic Church. The award, against the Archbishop of Birmingham and trustees of Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, was the first ordered by a court.
BRITAIN
Scotsman
HUGO DUNCAN
A MAN who was left psychologically damaged after being systematically abused by a parish priest for ten years has been awarded more than £600,000 in compensation.
Lawyers acting for the victim of Father Christopher Clonan said they hoped that the award - thought to be the biggest of its kind in the UK - would force the Catholic Church to offer "realistic compensation" to other victims.
The 35-year-old man, who now suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder, was abused between the ages of seven and 18 by Clonan, his priest at Christ the King Church in Coventry.
The claimant, known as A, was awarded £635,684 by the High Court in Manchester after bringing a case against the Archbishop of Birmingham and the trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church.
After yesterday's judgment, "A"s legal firm, Wokingham-based Clifton Ingram, said it knew of at least eight other victims. It claims the Church failed to act against Clonan for years after the abuse allegations were first raised.
BRITAIN
The Guardian
Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent
Friday July 1, 2005
The Guardian
The Catholic church was warned by lawyers last night that it is likely to face further claims for compensation for the prolonged sexual abuse of children carried out by one of its priests after a victim was awarded a record £635,000 in damages by the high court.
The figure, awarded to a 35-year-old man who was abused over a 10-year period by the priest, Father Christopher Clonan, is the largest settlement the church has conceded in this country and is the first claim to have been decided at a court hearing.
The man, known as A, was abused between the ages of seven and 18, from 1977 to 1988, while Clonan was a parishioner at the Christ the King church in Coventry. The court was told that the victim now suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder and has lived for the past five years in a mental health home.
Mr Justice Clarke, hearing the case in Manchester, said: "A told no one of the abuse until 1992. Thereafter his life fell apart. He has never been the same again and has never regained the same enthusiasm for life that he once had. The revelation of the abuse had severe consequences for his family ... [Clonan] was trusted and admired. The abuse was the grossest breach of the trust that A and his family placed in him."
TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News
07:23 AM CDT on Friday, July 1, 2005
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
A former Catholic priest with a history of molesting boys was convicted late Thursday of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in an Irving hotel room.
Jurors deliberated nearly five hours before finding John Salazar guilty of sexual assault. As victims of Mr. Salazar hugged, he was led away to jail.
Mr. Salazar's punishment will be determined by Judge Gary Stephens after a hearing Wednesday. Because he is already a convicted sex offender, prosecutors will argue that the law requires that he be automatically sentenced to life in prison.
In the Irving case, Amarillo resident Beau Villegas testified that Mr. Salazar – his family's longtime friend and priest – sexually assaulted him after a wedding party the two had attended in September 2003.
Mr. Salazar was technically a priest at the time but had been stripped of all his duties and was no longer acting or dressing as a priest.
Mr. Villegas said the assault occurred after Mr. Salazar offered to take care of him after he had become ill from drinking 10 beers and at least three mixed drinks. He said he was too intoxicated to resist.
MIAMI (FL)
Sun-Sentinel
By Madeline Baró Diaz
Miami Bureau
Posted July 1 2005
MIAMI · A suspended Broward County priest that two former parishioners accused of sexual abuse refuses to participate in settlements the Archdiocese of Miami reached with his accusers.
Two women sued the Rev. Jan Malicki, a former associate pastor at St. David Catholic Church in Davie, in 1998, accusing him of sexual misconduct. The church eventually cleared Malicki of charges he violated canon law, and the Broward State Attorney's Office never brought criminal charges against him.
On Thursday, attorneys for the women confirmed that the archdiocese reached a settlement with one of the women and is finalizing a settlement with the second woman.
No one involved in the case divulged the exact amount of the payout, but the women's attorneys say it is the most any victim has received in a sexual abuse case against the Catholic Church in Florida.
"It says to us that the church recognized the validity of our clients' claims and took them very seriously," said William J. Snihur, one of the attorneys for the women.
DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:10 AM CDT on Friday, July 1, 2005
A Dallas County grand jury found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the Dallas Catholic Diocese's reporting of child abuse allegations. All of us, Catholics or not, concerned over how the troubled diocese has handled clerical sexual abuse should be comforted by this conclusion. The city owes a debt of thanks to District Attorney Bill Hill for his willingness to look into this politically dicey situation.
Happily, the investigation appears to vindicate Bishop Charles Grahmann's claims that the diocese has learned from its past mistakes. The bishop says that "the findings confirm our position that there has been no wrongdoing by the Diocese of Dallas or its officials in reporting cases of child abuse."
Well, yes ...but. The grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing in its narrowly defined investigation, but that's not the same thing as saying there's nothing worthy of concern. The DA's probe was sparked by two events last winter: the arrest of the Rev. Matthew Bagert on child pornography charges and the resignation under fire of the Rev. Bill Richard.
Father Bagert, whose case awaits adjudication, was not called to testify before the grand jury. His attorney, Patrick McLain, told The Dallas Morning News that this story of diocesan corruption might not be over because "I know they haven't gotten to
SIOUX CITY (IA)
Sioux City Journal
By Nick Hytrek Journal staff writer
The last sexual abuse lawsuit involving a named victim against the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City and a former priest has been settled.
Jan McHale's case was dismissed Wednesday from Woodbury County District Court after the sides reached a confidential settlement agreement.
It was the 22nd lawsuit the diocese has settled. Other claims have been resolved before suits were filed. A judge dismissed another lawsuit against the diocese last week, ruling that the accuser had not filed the suit before the statute of limitations expired.
Three suits involving victims referred to as John Doe remain pending against the diocese. No trial dates have been set.
McHale filed suit in April, claiming the Rev. George McFadden had sexual contact with her in the 1960s while he was the pastor of Sioux City's St. Francis of Assisi Church, which is now closed. McHale was under age 10 at the time of the abuse, which occurred on church property when she was asked to perform tasks in the rectory and church.
SEATTLE (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By CLAUDIA ROWE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Jessie Dye, the controversial outreach coordinator who worked with dozens of people claiming sexual molestation at the hands of priests, has resigned from the Seattle Archdiocese but plans to continue working with abuse sufferers around the country.
In Seattle, Dye positioned herself as an impartial mediator between victims and the Catholic Church, but she had been trained as a lawyer and kept active her membership in the Washington State Bar until three months ago -- a fact that many abuse victims were outraged to learn.
Advocacy groups have pleaded with Archbishop Alex Brunett to replace Dye with a social worker or a therapist. The new liaison for victims, however, is Denise Aubuchon, an assistant director for human resources at the archdiocese, who will retain her current title and personnel duties while taking calls on the priest-abuse hot line.
"I don't know what kind of message that sends," said Tim Kosnoff, a lawyer who has settled several high-profile cases in Seattle on behalf of abuse victims. "Frankly, they'd do better going with somebody like a clinical social worker."
GENEVA (IL)
Rockford Register Star
By GERI NIKOLAI, Rockford Register Star
GENEVA -- The Rockford Catholic Diocese will give a Kane County judge personnel files of priest Mark Campobello and others who have been accused of inappropriate behavior with minors.
Judge F. Keith Brown ordered the records in a hearing Thursday morning and said he will examine them in secret. He then will decide what, if any, parts of them can be turned over to plaintiffs suing Campobello and the diocese.
Campobello, who last served at St. James Church in Belvidere, pleaded guilty in May 2004 to sexually abusing two girls when he served a parish and Catholic high school in Geneva and Aurora. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The victims, now young women, are represented by attorney Keith Aeschliman of Shorewood, who had asked to see personnel records of Campobello and every diocesan priest accused of sexual misconduct with a minor or adult from 1960 to 2004. The judge modified that to records of every priest accused of inappropriate conduct with a minor during the years Campobello served the diocese, from 1991 to 2001. Brown said he doesn't want entire files, just material related to allegations.
Aeschliman at first objected to having lawyers for the diocese supply the records to Brown. That allows them to make decisions the judge should make, Aeschliman said.
MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@herald.com
The Archdiocese of Miami has agreed to pay the largest South Florida settlement in a Catholic clergy sex-abuse case -- more than $500,000.
The payout, disclosed Thursday, resolved a 1998 lawsuit involving a high school girl who claimed a priest at St. David Church in Davie molested her when she worked at the Davie parish, according to her lawyers, who would not provide the specific amount.
The lawyers also said they have almost reached an agreement for less than $500,000 in the same suit involving another woman who alleged the Rev. Jan Malicki sexually assaulted her when she worked in the parish and sought marriage counseling.
The two South Florida women intend to go to trial against Malicki, 56, who was also named in the lawsuit. Malicki did not want to settle because he says he did nothing wrong.
''Our clients want justice; they want their claims validated,'' the plaintiffs' lawyers, William Snihur and May Cain, said Thursday in a phone interview.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Daily Herald
By Tona Kunz
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, July 01, 2005
A Kane County judge lifted the veil of secrecy around the Catholic Church a tad Thursday.
Judge F. Keith Brown ordered that the Rockford Catholic Diocese hand over by September personnel files for priests accused of sexual misconduct that occurred between 1991 and 2002.
That is the time frame that Mark Campobello was serving as an active priest. The files potentially will be used in two civil lawsuits against the former Geneva pastor. Campobello and the diocese are being sued by a Geneva girl and an Aurora girl that Campobello admitted in his criminal case last year abusing when they were teens. The abuse occurred while Campobello was working at St. Peter’s Church in Geneva and Aurora Central Catholic High School.
He is serving an eight-year sentence for the abuse in a downstate prison.
Judge Brown will review the priest files and decide whether anything in them is relevant to Campobello lawsuits.
Keith Aeschliman, a Shorewood attorney representing the girls, expects only two files fit into the narrow timeframe allotted by the judge. Still, he called the ruling a success because it gave a judge rather than the church the power to decide what files shed light on priest abuse.
SEATTLE (WA)
The Seattle Times
Jessie Dye, the Seattle Roman Catholic Archdiocese's outreach coordinator for clergy-abuse victims, has resigned.
Some victims had objected to Dye, who is an attorney, saying they were concerned that she was working with the archdiocese's legal-defense team and that having an attorney as the victim-outreach coordinator would deter other victims from coming forward.
Dye had objected to those characterizations, saying she had not practiced law since getting her degree in 1976, that her specialty was in mediation, and that she has worked as a church ombudsman on sexual-abuse issues for years.
Her resignation is not a response to victims' objections, she said yesterday; rather, she wanted to take time off and then work on long-term projects.
JACKSON (MS)
The Clarion-Ledger
The state Supreme Court refused Thursday to reconsider its May ruling allowing a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest to go forward against the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.
Brothers Kenneth Morrison of Chicago, Thomas Morrison of Jackson and Francis Morrison Jr. of Texas and their mother, Dorothy Morrison of Madison, filed the $48 million lawsuit in 2002 in Hinds County Circuit Court alleging a priest sexually abused the brothers more than 30 years ago.
In the high court's 84-page opinion in May, it said the First Amendment does not protect the church from civil litigation. The ruling upholds a 2003 decision by Circuit Judge Winston Kidd.
OREGON
The Oregonian
Friday, July 01, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
The fight over who owns Roman Catholic parishes in Western Oregon took a major step forward this week when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris allowed the creation of a class of defendants -- including all past, present and future parishioners -- who will be sued over the issue.
In addition, three parishioners and three parish priests this week volunteered to represent the class, which Perris has yet to certify.
The class, which will include at least 390,000 Catholics and all 124 parishes within the Archdiocese of Portland, will join the archdiocese as a defendant in a property dispute that has been brewing since last August.
The dispute is one of the main issues in the archdiocese's bankruptcy, which commenced nearly a year ago in the wake of hundreds of millions of dollars in sex-abuse claims.
The plaintiffs, a committee that represents clergy sexual-abuse claimants, contend that about $600 million in parish assets belong to the archdiocese and are thus available to pay their claims. The archdiocese argues that its assets are only $19 million and that the rest, though held in the archdiocese's name, actually belongs to the parishes as separate entities.
The legal action has been stalled over the issue of whether the parishes should or shouldn't be part of the suit. Now that the parties have agreed to include the parishes, the suit can move forward.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune
By Rita Hoover
Special to the Tribune
Published July 1, 2005
A Kane County judge on Thursday ordered the Catholic Diocese of Rockford to turn over medical and mental health records of a former Geneva priest serving an 8-year prison term for sexual abuse charges as well some of its files on other priests alleged to have had inappropriate contact with children.
Judge Keith Brown ruled that more than 100 pages of documents belonging to former priest Mark A. Campobello must be released for judicial inspection as part of a civil suit alleging negligence on the part of the diocese and Bishop Thomas Doran.
Campobello, 39, pleaded guilty in May 2004 to sexually abusing two adolescent girls while he was a priest in residence at Geneva's St. Peter Parish and School and a teacher at Aurora Central Catholic High School. He was first arrested by Geneva police in October 2001.
Brown said he will review the records and determine what items are allowed under state privacy laws.
The presence of a former St. Peter's teacher at the hearing may have helped the victims' attorney, Keith Aeschliman, persuade the judge to grant his request for other priest files from the diocese.
Barbara Houston, who taught at the school during the time the abuse took place, has stated publicly that she told school officials of her concerns of possible sexual misconduct back in 1999, and Aeschliman told the judge she was willing to testify to that at Thursday's hearing.
MIAMI (FL)
The Ledger
The Associated Press
MIAMI
A woman who alleged that a priest sexually abused her when she was a teenager working at his parish reached a settlement for more than half a million dollars with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, her attorneys said.
The settlement surpasses the $500,000 the archdiocese paid in 2003 to a boy who accused a priest of molesting him at a nursing home, William Snihur and May Cain, the woman's attorneys, said Thursday.
The woman and another female parishioner of St. David Catholic Church in Davie accused the church's former associate pastor, the Rev. Jan Malicki, of sexual misconduct in 1998.
The settlement "says to us that the church recognized the validity of our clients' claims and took them very seriously," Snihur said.
The archdiocese and the attorneys declined to divulge the exact amount of the settlement.
The archdiocese suspended Malicki, but Broward County prosecutors never filed charges because they felt they couldn't win a conviction.