BishopAccountability.org
	Lawyer Says Priest Tried to Avoid Scandal By Bob Klose and Mike Geniella Press Democrat July 28, 1999 Ten months of negotiations between the Rev. Jorge Hume Salas and Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann broke down when the Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese tied a monetary settlement to demands that Hume quit performing the duties of a priest, his attorney said Tuesday. "What they were talking about was blackmail. That is when we decided we could not keep this quiet," said Santa Rosa lawyer Irma P. Cordova said. "They offered a sizable amount. But this man was going to be hounded and destroyed financially and his name was already destroyed. What's left of a person once those are gone?" Hume rejected the money when the church insisted he agree not to perform Mass and administer holy sacraments, Cordova said. "This fight is not about money. It is about human rights. If it were about money, we would have taken the money they offered," she said, while declining to disclose the amount. Attorneys for the diocese and Ziemann said they would not respond to Cordova's comments, saying she was talking out of turn on issues that are part of mediation and should remain confidential. Last week, they characterized the lawsuit as "blackmail and extortion" and said Hume initially had demanded an $8 million settlement. Attorney Adrienne M. Moran, who represents Ziemann in the civil case, said Cordova is violating legal ethics in discussing the issue. "She is telling you things that happened in mediation and is violating a confidentiality agreement that communications in mediation are confidential," she said. Controversy explodes The controversy exploded into public view with disclosure of Hume's suit accusing Ziemann of forcing the priest to have sex with him, the bishop's resignation and admission of a consensual sexual affair with Hume and confirmation that a criminal investigation is under way. Cordova said full disclosure of the scandal could have been avoided. "Had we known that Ziemann had tendered his resignation in April, there would have been a very different outcome," she said. "That would have been 80 percent of our battle right there. It certainly would not have led to the filing of the lawsuit." The Archbishop of San Francisco announced last Wednesday, after disclosure of the lawsuit, that the pope had accepted Ziemann's resignation, saying the resignation was submitted in April. Disclosure of the lawsuit and Ziemann's admissions have prompted some church officials to publicly question the unusual and rapid procedure under which Hume was ordained a priest by Ziemann in 1994. Sister Jane Kelly, who was assigned to oversee Hume at St. Mary's of the Angels Church in Ukiah, said she was never provided any evidence by the diocese that Hume attended a seminary or went through any of the extensive educational and psychiatric programs for entering the priesthood. Theft alleged Three years ago, Hume was removed from his position in Ukiah after church officials discovered he had taken $1,200 from the collection plates of St. Mary's. About a year later, Ziemann reassigned Hume to a Napa church, where Hume was removed again after he became the subject of allegations by a 19-year-old man that he had been groped by the priest. Police last month announced they would not prosecute the case, saying the credibility of the accuser was in question. Hume, 41, has been unavailable for comment. Cordova said he has not moved to Costa Rica, as previously was reported, but remains in California. She declined to say where. Cordova said reports that he changed his name from Jorge Hume to Jorge Hume Salas are not accurate and fail to recognize that Hume is following a Latin American custom, taking the name of both his father, Hume, and mother, Salas. While at St. Mary's and in subsequent investigations, Hume was identified as Jorge Hume. Cordova, however, refers to Hume in legal documents as Father Salas. Ziemann has hired defense attorney Chris Andrian to represent him should Santa Rosa police deliver to the District Attorney's Office evidence suggesting alleged coercion for sex constituted criminal violations. Andrian said he is conducting his own investigation and reviewing material related to the civil and police investigations. "At first blush, I have a hard time seeing a criminal case here, but we are still in the process of sorting out the details," he said. A day after he announced his resignation as bishop last week, Ziemann acknowledged having a "consensual" sexual relationship with Hume. He denies demanding sex in exchange for his silence about Hume's misconduct while at St. Mary's Church. Hume's lawsuit claim In his civil lawsuit filed July 16 in Sonoma County Superior Court, Hume accuses Ziemann of coercing him into having sex with the bishop for two years or risk being reported to Ukiah police for stealing from St. Mary's. In a complaint filed with police, and in the lawsuit, Hume contends he felt powerless to refuse or disobey Ziemann's sexual demands. Cordova said attorneys for Ziemann and the diocese have misstated the facts in their claims that Ziemann resigned rather than comply with the $8 million demand by Hume. Cordova acknowledged Hume did seek $8 million last fall in the initial settlement demand submitted at the diocese's request. But she said that demand and others were withdrawn more than six months ago. Cordova refused to disclose the diocese's settlement amount except to say it was "sizeable." Attorney Moran said neither she nor diocesan attorney Paul Gaspari would respond to the issue. But, she said, the threat of possible legal action against Ziemann "was right there with the $8 million demand" when Cordova submitted her proposal last fall. Cordova said she was retained early last year by Hume. She said he was "terribly afraid of the hierarchy and Ziemann given he had committed a stupid thing in taking the money from the church." "He came to me because he wanted to know what kind of rights he had with this sexual abuse," she said. Cordova said Hume claimed he was being sexually abused by Ziemann but was afraid to confront the diocese. "In September, Father Salas after two years of the sex he got fed up. He finally decided that he couldn't keep it to himself. It was destroying him," she said. Cordova said Hume approached Diocese Vicar General Monsignor Thomas Keys and other diocese officials of similar authority. "These were the people right under the bishop," Cordova said. Keys, however, said Tuesday that is not how he remembered the chain of events but declined to comment further. "That's not quite how it happened," he said. Cordova said negotiations began and at the urging of the diocese she submitted a settlement demand that included Ziemann's resignation, his enrollment in therapy supervised by someone outside the diocese, an apology to Hume and $8 million. Cordova said the amount was chosen randomly but was big enough to get the diocese's attention. "You can imagine a lowly priest such as my client making accusations to the biggest guy in the diocese, the bishop, (and) how easily that kind of thing gets ignored. We wanted them to take it seriously, that it could not be shoved under the carpet." She said all demands, including the $8 million, were withdrawn in January when it appeared negotiations were moving in earnest. Cordova said lawyers for both sides met numerous times, and Cordova and attorneys for Ziemann met on neutral ground to prevent disclosure. "I was so concerned about confidentiality that we didn't meet at my office. We met at conference rooms that were neither theirs or mine. We really tried," she said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.