BishopAccountability.org
	Accuser Vows to See Priest Abuse Case through By Ariel Zangla Daily Freeman June 14, 2006 http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid= 16785745&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6 Catskill - The Rev. Mark Jaufmann said he will follow through with his allegations that he was sexually abused as a child by a Greene County priest because he does not want to see another child victimized. "I know the truth of what happened to me, so I don't want another child hurt," Jaufmann, himself a priest, said by telephone on Tuesday. "While he's out there or if they put him back into ministry at the end of the month, there is a very grave possibility that another child will be murdered emotionally and spiritually." Last week, Jaufmann, 49, held a press conference in Schenectady to discuss the sexual abuse he said he suffered as a child at the hands of the Rev. Jeremiah Nunan. On Monday morning, before flying home to California, Jaufmann and his attorney, John Aretakis, met with an investigator from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's Independent Mediation Assistance Program. During the interview, Jaufmann said, he described in detail the sexual abuse he said he suffered while a parishioner at St. Mary's Church in Hudson. The Independent Mediation Assistance Program, or IMAP, was created by the Albany diocese in 2004 to look into allegations of abuse against young people by current or former priests or deacons in the diocese. Aretakis said IMAP investigator Michael Smith is expected to file a report with an advisory panel that will make a recommendation to Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard as to what action, if any, should be taken in the case. Aretakis said he is to receive a copy of Smith's report. Aretakis said he is confident Nunan will be removed from ministry as a result of the investigation, but said he felt the probe was inherently biased because the investigator ultimately is being paid by the diocese through its funding of IMAP. Smith could not be reached for comment. Nunan took a leave of absence in February as a Roman Catholic priest at Sacred Heart parish in Cairo and Our Lady of Knock Mission in East Durham pending the investigation. Last week, a spokesman for the Albany diocese said Nunan was visiting family in Ireland and was expected to return to upstate New York at the end of the month. "I have nothing against Nunan, I really don't," Jaufmann said. But he said he was angered by the diocese's comments to the media that made it seem like Nunan was just on vacation and would return to the ministry. Last week, Jaufmann said he reported his allegations to the Hudson city police and Albany County District Attorney's Office two years ago. He said Nunan did not take a leave of absence until he wrote to Hubbard earlier this year. Jaufmann, a priest with the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, said he was concerned that another child could be hurt by Nunan. He also said he was told that Hudson police have received at least one anonymous complaint regarding Nunan. While he would not give the specifics of his sexual abuse allegations, Jaufmann said the first incident occurred in the rectory of the Hudson church where Nunan had served as a priest. He said Nunan invited him into the rectory after a group activity, and that each subsequent incident of abuse occurred there. Aretakis said Jaufmann originally thought the abuse started when he was about 9 years old, but after meeting with his brother over the weekend, he concluded he actually was 10 at the time. He said that information was given to the IMAP investigator on Monday. Aretakis said his client told the investigator how Nunan would force Jaufmann's head into his lap, and that Jaufmann spoke about how he still remembers the smell associated with that. Jaufmann said being able to talk about the sexual abuse has been healing for him. He said if the child abuse scandal against the Roman Catholic Church had never come to light, he would have been afraid to come forward with his own story. He said he has learned to turn his pain into strength. Jaufmann said he plans to lobby the state Legislature to lift the statute of limitations on child abuse cases. If that statute is lifted, he said, he will pursue his own case through the legal system. Aretakis and Jaufmann argued the Albany diocese should pay travel expenses Jaufmann incurred by coming to New York to meet with the IMAP investigator. Aretakis said the expenses amount to less than $2,000.
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