By Kay Ebeling
City of Angels
January 18, 2010
http://cityofangels8.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-took-bishop-my-son-i-said-you-broke.html
"I would like to see the Legislature provide a 'window' for those who have been abused as children. And I would be grateful if it was named Arthur's Law after our son 'Arthur III.'"
The day Pennsylvania passed a law that worked against most victims of pedophile priests in the state including Arthur Baselice III, he left the house for an NA meeting. Next morning police found him dead in a drug house in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Months earlier Arthur II had brought his son to the Philadelphia Archdiocese begging them for help. “This kid couldn't even walk,” said the dad. “We went in there and poured our hearts out. They told me they can’t help me. The perpetrator is not Roman Catholic he’s Franciscan.”
More slaps in the face: The only time Fr. Charles Newman ever stood in front of a judge was for Embezzlement from the Catholic Church. He stole cash to buy drugs and other extravagances for the boys he was grooming, and the pedophile priest went to prison for embezzlement, not pedophilia. He pled guilty March 2009 and is serving a 3-6 year sentence.
"When my son was an altar boy, Newman gave him opiods so he’d go into a haze while the priest raped him, sodomized him," Arthur II said. "Then for about a decade, the priest gave the boy wads of cash, thousands of dollars, which unfortunately but predictably, the boy used to buy drugs. By the time he was in his early twenties, he was a hopeless drug addict, then he... Arthur III is dead now, of an opiod overdose."
In 2006, the Baselice's lobbied the state Legislature, but so did the Catholic Church and “Pennsylvania changed the reporting age from 18 to 35 but didn't do anything for those who were in the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report,” Arthur II said. “They provided an escape for the perpetrators. Removed liability for the Church.
“My son died the day they passed that law.”
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November 2009 Arthur II emailed City of Angels a copy of a letter he sent to all the Legislators in Pennsylvania:
Respectfully I am writing to you to request that you obtain a copy of the November 2009 issue of the "Philadelphia Magazine" or go on line and read the article written by Mr. Richard Rys entitled "Sins of the Father", it is important that you read this article and the comments offered on line.
This article will give you a brief glimpse of the pain and suffering my wife Elaine and I go through everyday after losing our son "Arthur III " as a result of clergy sexual abuse.
The current law does not go far enough to identify the abusers and hold those accountable who enabled these perpetrators as outlined in the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report. It is well documented that the church abused its power and authority because bishops wanted to protect the church’s reputation at the expense of the victims.
The current law only provided an escape for the abusers. I strongly urge you to work for legislation to open a "Window" that would identify the perpetrators by allowing the victims to come forward.
I don’t believe it is necessary to recite what evil behavior the Catholic Church engaged in. As it stands now there are perpetrators in the community who have escaped criminal charges, do you know where they are and what they are doing ?
If you have a conscience and want to address the needs of your constituents you need to hold the individuals, groups, and organizations accountable by opening this "WINDOW".
I look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Arthur J. Baselice Jr.
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Here is link to Baselice Story in Philadelphia Magazine Nov. 2009 issue, available to read online:
FROM THE PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE STORY:
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“The concept of 'justice' is out of my reach for now," Baselice wrote, "as the 'Catholic Church' uses its resources and far reaching power to influence those who can make a difference.”
We arranged to interview him by phone.
He said, “I got disgusted because I went to the Archdiocese with my son. This kid couldn't even walk. We went in there and poured our hearts out, I said, you broke him, you fix him. They told me they can’t help me because the perpetrator is not Roman Catholic he’s a Franciscan.”
Then Fr. Charles Newman went to jail for embezzlement instead of pedophilia:
PHILADELPHIA -- A priest who led the largest Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia stole $900,000 and used some of it to ply a student he had molested with drugs and alcohol, prosecutors said Thursday.(December 2007)
Prosecutors believe that Newman sexually abused at least three or four other underage students during his time at Archbishop Ryan, where he spent nine years as principal and 13 years as a religion teacher before his promotion to president.
After his dismissal from the school, Newman was treated for pedophilia at an archdiocesan treatment center and now lives at a Franciscan retirement home in Pulaski, Wis., according to the indictment. He remains a restricted member of the order, Abraham said.
From Erie Dot Com
“I am angry and full of hate and resentment and the only way I will ever gain any type of satisfaction and relief is if and when the abusers and enablers are compelled to say what they knew and when they knew,” Baselice II emailed
Baselice works fulltime.
In law enforcement.
And not a day goes by that he doesn't think about taking action.
ACTION
In the name of his son.
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“What I would like to see happen is that the Pennsylvania Legislature enact a law that would provide a 'window' for those who have been abused by anyone.
"And I would be grateful if the window was named after our son, 'Arthur III.'
“There isn’t a day that my mind isn’t racing about how they desecrated him as a human being.
“It’s an accepted way to do business. If we do salvation, somebody’s kid has got to suffer.
"The clergy, wat I see is as long as they can keep the victim from coming forward until the statute of limitations expires, they'll deny deny deny and then only when certain things can be proven, then they'll admit bits and pieces.
“I don't have my son anymore why. He died because somebody took advantage of him who claimed to represent God.
“There’s nothing the Archdiocese can say to me. They can’t tell me they're sorry because they don't know what I'm going through, and I'm not interested in rhetorical statements.
“Newman was giving my son Oxycontin when he was fourteen. He left the house to go to an NA meeting. Then instead that night he was dead.”
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FROM PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE:
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ACTION
“The first Friday every month I go to a vigil in front of the Archdiocese and stand there with a picture of my son. I have been going there for three years.
“The church uses its money to block legislation.
"The church, legislators, police department, they're all in deep.
“The founding fathers and the separation of church and state, whatever happened to them.
“They're liars, they scheme. They stand with a cross around their neck and they look at you and they lie. I don't understand it, are they twisted mentally. I mean they know they're going to die. Who do you think what's waiting for them.”
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AT SENTENCING of Newman for Embezzlement,
Arthur III's Mother, Elaine Baselice spoke:
Speaking before Newman, 58, was sentenced to three to six years in prison, Elaine Baselice told Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi that Newman seduced her son with money for drugs and alcohol.
"Newman had me believing that my son was full of demons," Elaine Baselice told the judge. "Today, standing in this courtroom, I am face to face with the real demon."
Her husband called Newman the "ambassador of the devil."
From Philadelphia Inquirer story May 22 2009
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Re The law Pennsylvania passed in 2006 the day Arthur III died:
Arthur II says, “The Pennsylvania law provided a new time frame for some of the victims, but it did nothing for those that had been abused from the date of the Grand Jury Report, so it really didn't do anything.
"We need a window like they had in California, where they say we're not able to file criminal, but we're going to provide an opportunity for you to sit in court."
ACTION
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So Arthur Baselice II (above) is now working for a new law, one like he and others hoped would pass in Pennsylvania on November 30, 2006, the day Arthur III died of an opiod overdose in a drug house in the slums of Camden. “I'm composing an email," his dad said. "I'm going to send it to everyone in the Pennsylvania Legislature asking them to open up a window like California and Delaware.
“And I'm asking that we call it Arthur’s Law.”
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| Photo from Erie.com shows Arthur II with his mother Elaine at a 2004 press conference |
FROM PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE STORY:
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See more photos at the Memorial Site for Arthur Baselice III.
As the phone interview continued, Art said, "Arthur III died November 30th."
"Oh my god, that's three years ago today."
Not only is there angelic intervention, but also keep an eye out for cosmic hints.
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