BishopAccountability.org
	Two Legal Moves in MO By Robert Bates Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests October 26, 2011 http://www.snapnetwork.org/two_legal_moves_in_mo We're here about two new legal moves – one yesterday and one today – in KC clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. Yesterday, a western Missouri judge ruled that a civil child sex suit against a Catholic institution and a Catholic priest can move forward toward trial. And today, a KC area victim is seeking punitive damages against the Catholic diocese because she was abused, deceived and betrayed, and church officials continue to hurt and betray her – and others – by being deceptive. Here are some specifics. Yesterday, a judge made a ruling in a child sex abuse suit against Conception Abbey, a Catholic Benedictine school in northwestern Missouri. Months ago, a man filed the suit, reporting that he had been molested at the Abbey by Fr. Bede Parry. Church officials responded by trying to exploit a legal technicality to evade responsibility for Parry's crimes and avoid having to reveal information about the alleged cover up of those crimes. They asked a Nodaway County judge to reject the suit because of an arbitrary legal deadline called the statute of limitations. Late yesterday, in a three sentence ruling, the judge told church officials "no." So now, the case moves forward. It's a real victory for all victims when a case like this can go forward instead of being prematurely blocked. We hope this brave victim will get his day in court and his chance to expose wrongdoing by Abbey staff. And we hope that someday, Catholic officials will face child sex abuse cases squarely and fairly – on the merits, not on technicalities. That's the best way for the truth to surface. That's the best way for some victims to heal. And that's the best way to prevent future child sex crimes – by exposing those who commit and conceal them. Today, a KC area woman is filing in Jackson County a request for punitive damages against the KC diocese. She's suing because she was victimized by Fr. Francis McGlynn as a child. And she's now amending that suit to include this new request. The reason is simple: KC's Bishop Robert Finn and his staff keep rubbing salt into this victim's wounds by claiming and suggesting they didn't know about McGlynn's misdeeds until 2002. That claim is contradicted by the diocese's own records. It's contradicted by McGlynn's own sworn deposition. And it's contradicted by reports from other victims and concerned parishioners. Why would church staff deceive parishioners and the public like this? We suspect it's because they don't want people to know how much they knew and how little they did to stop predators like McGlynn. They probably want people to assume that church officials move quickly when abuse reports are made. The truth, however, is different. And through legal action – these steps and others, criminal and civil – gradually citizens and Catholics are learning the disturbing truth about the local church hierarchy. We hope it continues.
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