References cont. (40) — Clergy Child Molesters

• Who should pay and how much?

IRELAND: Throughout the week opposition politicians focused on what was described as a failure of the last Government to ensure that the religious orders made a sufficiently large contribution towards the compensation to be paid to those abused in residential institutions over the past 50 years. The media went along with the assumption that a very bad deal had been agreed and all that remained was to find as many people as possible to blame. It was in the spring of 2002, in the dying days of the last Government, that Minister for Education Dr Michael Woods and the Conference of Religious in Ireland signed an agreement under which religious orders would pay a total of €128m in compensation and the taxpayer would be responsible for the balance. The deal was controversial at the time and I think it was the resignation of Justice Mary Laffoy that resulted in the rights and wrongs of the issue being resurrected in recent times. It really came to a head, however, when the Comptroller and Auditor General forecast that the taxpayer was now left with a bill for up to $900m. [sic] In the resulting argument, much of it played out in the Dáil, attempts were made to prove that something untoward took place during the negotiating process. The involvement of the then Attorney General, now Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, seemed as though it might yield most. Initially we had the Taoiseach saying Mr McDowell was kept fully informed, while the former AG said he was seldom involved. An attempt was made to reconcile this by explaining that, as Attorney General, Mr McDowell was there to give legal advice and not to get involved in negotiations of this nature. -- Irish Emigrant, "Who should pay and how much?" www.emigrant.ie , (Posted 9:43:50 AM by Kathy Shaw, Poynteronline first listing of Oct 7 03)

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Most newsitems are from http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46 • Abuse allegations at church home. MALTA: This evening's broadcast of Bondiplus will go on as scheduled. It was learned last night that among the people who will be appearing on the programme there will be former judge Victor Caruana Colombo, the head of the church's Response Team which handles, within the church, allegations of abuse. Other people who will be taking part in the programme will include counsellor Micheline Sciberras and lawyer Nicole Vella de Fremaux. The Curia yesterday issued a declaration by the archbishop following media reports in connection with the alleged abuses on children. Mgr Mercieca, the Curia statement said, declared he has never stopped anyone and will never stop anyone from going to the police, presumably with claims of abuse. In a statement to this paper, Fr Silvio Bezzina, the director of St Joseph Home, said: "Reference is made to the report by The Malta Independent on Sunday (5 October) entitled: Police interrogate priests in connection with allegations of sexual abuse, I would like to state the following: "Church policy states that I, as director of St Joseph Home, am duty-bound to report immediately to the Response Team an allegation of sexual abuse happening within the context of the Home. That is exactly what I did. -- Malta Independent, http://www.independent.com.mt/daily/newsview.asp?id=21380 , by Staff Reporter
• Deacon convicted of having sex with girl. LACONIA (NH): A former deacon of the Bible Speaks Church was found guilty yesterday of having sex with a 13-year-old girl he met through the church. Christopher Rogan, 43, of 24 White Rock Circle, Tilton, was convicted in Belknap County Superior Court of one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, a Class A felony. He will face 10 to 20 years in state prison at his sentencing Nov. 11. Prosecutors say the victim saw Rogan as a father figure after they met at the church in Lakeport, where he was a deacon. Rogan was accused of assaulting the victim repeatedly from June to September of 2001. Prosecutors say she did not report the abuse until September 2002. Initially, the Belknap County attorney's office brought four aggravated felonious sexual assault charges against Rogan, alleging he engaged in multiple sexual acts with the girl. The additional charges were dismissed, Deputy Belknap County Attorney Wayne Coull said, after questions were raised in court about the frequency of the acts. -- Concord Monitor, http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/local2003/deacon_100703_2003.shtml , By REBECCA TSAROS DICKSON
• Learning to identify sex abuse. BUFFALO (NY): The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo on Monday morning began training staff and volunteers on how to recognize when a child has been sexually abused and what to do if they suspect abuse. About 125 people participated in the 3 1/2-hour program in the ministry center of St. Gregory the Great parish in Amherst. The center also hosted an afternoon session. The training is mandated by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a document the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted last year to address clergy sexual abuse in the church. The program is designed to help identify possible victims of sexual abuse and characteristics of abusers. It teaches what to do when abuse is suspected, as well. Diocesan officials estimate 50,000 to 75,000 staff and volunteers who work regularly with children throughout the eight counties of the Buffalo diocese will participate. The training programs will continue to be offered regularly to accommodate volunteers' schedules, said diocesan spokesman Kevin A. Keenan. -- Buffalo News, http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20031007/1008065.asp ,
• Forty-five cases of alleged abuse by clergymen on minors in 4 years. MALTA: Archbishop of Malta Joseph Mercieca referred to the current controversy over alleged sexual abuses by four friars on a number of children at St Joseph's Home and said that he never stopped or is going to stop anyone from reporting anything to the police. Statistics provided by the Curia show that since 1999 its Response Team (RT) investigated 65 cases, including four revised cases. Forty five of these cases concerned minors. Twenty cases were alleged to be committed by lay persons, the rest of the alleged abusers were either priests, monks or nuns. The RT found that in ten of these cases no proofs were submitted. It also found that in 13 cases the alleged abuse most probably did take place, while 13 others were found to have most probably not occurred. The RT abstained in one case since the accused was not a pastoral functionary. 26 of these cases are still pending. The Church in Malta assured the public that she follows any directives the Holy See issues on the matter. According to current Holy See norms, Church authorities are duty bound to inform the Vatican about the outcome of preliminary investigation when it is found that a member of the clergy was actually involved in child abuse. [COMMENT: Are the "Holy See" norms as usual, to keep it secret from the public and the police, perhaps? COMMENT ENDS.] -- Malta Media, http://www.maltamedia.com/cgibin/news03/print.pl?article=3659 ,
• Sex assault suits hit East Haven church. EAST HAVEN (CT): Three former parishioners of St. Clare Roman Catholic Church have filed separate lawsuits against the church, the Archdiocese of Hartford and a Hartford County church, claiming one of their priests repeatedly sexually molested them when they were adolescents. "Jack Doe," 41, "Joseph Doe," 39, and Robert Marino, 39, all former or current East Haven residents, recently filed the lawsuits in Superior Court at New Haven. All three lawsuits accuse the Rev. Thomas Glynn, who served at St. Clare in the 1970s, of sexually assaulting them in various locations while they were under his supervision between 1974 and 1976. The four suits follow a suit filed in June by a former St. Clare altar boy. Robert Gillespie, 41, claimed Glynn preyed on him when he was 8, allegedly sexually assaulting him numerous times in the St. Clare rectory and at a local beach house from 1970 to 1973. -- New Haven Register, http://www.newhavenregister.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1281&dept_id=517514&newsid=10277951&PAG=461&rfi=9 , by Marissa Yaremich
• Sioux Falls diocese has 2.7% abusers. SIOUX FALLS (SD): The Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls received 38 allegations of abuse against 16 priests between 1950-2003, according to a report released by Bishop Robert Carlson. None of the men accused remain in the ministry, Carlson said. The most recent allegation occurred in 1992, the bishop said. Of the 16 Roman Catholic priests named, nine are dead, four have been removed from the priesthood or are in the process of being removed, and three are in supervised settings or secure facilities. All the accusers were minors at the time the abuse occurred. The 16 priests named represent about 2.7 percent of the 595 priests who served the Sioux Falls Diocese during the period covered by the report. Carlson released the figures in the monthly column he writes for the diocesan newspaper, The Bishop's Bulletin. [COMMENT: "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the end of the world." COMMENT ENDS.] -- Aberdeen News, Associated Press, "Sioux Falls diocese releases numbers on abuse," http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/6953144.htm ,
• Abp Rigali refused for nearly 10 years to meet survivors. ST. LOUIS (MO): St. Louis Archbishop Justin Rigali refused one last time to meet with a clergy-abuse victims group, saying he was too busy before he moves to Philadelphia on Monday. On Thursday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent a letter to Rigali, requesting a meeting on Sunday. On Saturday, Rigali responded that his "schedule is completely filled" for the last two days he will be in St. Louis before becoming archbishop of Philadelphia. David Clohessy, the network's national director, said he was disappointed at Rigali's response but not surprised. "He's had nearly a decade to meet with us. We have never, ever met with him or his auxiliaries. But all across the country other bishops have met with our members," Clohessy said. -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Rigali refuses to meet with abuse victims," www.stltoday.com , Oct 05 03
• Lawmakers tour prison where Geoghan was killed. SHIRLEY (MA): A group of lawmakers yesterday toured the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, the maximum-security prison in Shirley where ex-priest John J. Geoghan was slain in his cell in August by another prisoner. But the leaders said their visit was not connected to the high-profile killing, and was simply to gather information for 20 pending proposals before them regarding prison reform. "Given that corrections is the third biggest budget item in a $21 billion state budget. . . we are concerned that our taxpayers' money is being well spent," said Sen. Jarrett Barrios (D-Cambridge), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety. Barrios said lawmakers did not ask prisoners or guards any questions during their tour, nor did the subject of the Geoghan slaying come up. -- Boston Herald, http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/geog10072003.htm , by Kay Lazar Tuesday, October 7, 2003
• Lawmakers vow study of prisons. SHIRLEY (MA): Minutes after touring the prison where defrocked priest John J. Geoghan was slain, the co-chairman of a legislative committee vowed yesterday to find out if prison security lapses contributed to Geoghan's death. Although a three-member panel has been appointed at the behest of Governor Mitt Romney to investigate Geoghan's death, Senator Jarrett T. Barrios said the Public Safety Committee will look beyond the state's findings. "The report the secretary of public safety is putting out, clearly it will speak for the Department of Correction -- the secretary's point of view," said Barrios, referring to the three-member panel appointed Aug. 25 by Edward A. Flynn, state secretary of public safety, two days after Geoghan, a convicted child molester, was beaten and strangled in his cell. Barrios said he expects at least the preliminary findings from that investigation to be completed by the time his committee begins oversight hearings Oct. 28. "We will take that [report] and we will try to figure out for ourselves, independently, what happened," he said. As public safety secretary, Flynn oversees the Department of Correction and the State Police. His three-member panel includes a State Police major, the Department of Correction's chief of investigations, and a Department of Correction contractor. Christine Cole, deputy chief of staff for Flynn, declined to comment. Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat, also said the creation of a blue-ribbon commission to investigate the Geoghan case "is definitely on the table." -- Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/280/metro/Lawmakers_vow_study_of_prisons+.shtml , By Sean P. Murphy, Oct 7 03
• Boys upstairs in priest's bedroom in two parishes. BRISTOL (CT): A former altar boy at the Church of St. Matthew Church in Forestville has filed a lawsuit against its deceased pastor and the Archdiocese of Hartford, alleging that the priest molested him over a period of two years during the 1960s. Attorney Thomas McNamara filed four lawsuits in New Haven Superior Court last week naming the archdiocese, St. Matthew and St. Clare Catholic Church in East Haven as plaintiffs for allowing the late Rev. Thomas F. Glynn to work in the two parishes and allegedly molest the four males. Glynn is accused of sexually assaulting, battering and exploiting altar boy Roger Madore in the rectory, his car and in the sacristy of the church while he was at St. Matthew Church. "This guy had boys upstairs in his bedroom at both the Forestville church in the mid-'60s and St. Clare in East Haven in the '70s while the abuse was going on," McNamara said. "Anybody should know you don't have young boys upstairs in a priest's bedroom." -- Middletown Press, "Former altar boy sues dead pastor, Hartford Diocese," www.middletownpress.com By Kristen A. Turick , Special to The Press
• Rigali taking over 'strongest archdiocese'. PHILADELPHIA (PA): Cardinal-Designate Justin Rigali today inherits, as incoming archbishop of Philadelphia, a strong Catholic community at times obedient, contentious and orthodox. Rigali, 68, has a hard act to follow. The flock of a million-and-a- half Catholics is accustomed to the pastoral, photogenic, even charismatic leadership of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, retired but still vigorous. The scandals and controversies pinballing through U.S. Catholicism, especially regarding priest sexual abuse, finances and rambunctious laity, have merely grazed Philadelphia. The five counties of Rigali's new realm have long been models of "pray, pay and obey." -- Philadelphia Daily News, http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/6950737.htm , By Ron Goldwyn, goldwyr@phillynews.com
• Lawsuits filed alleging sexual abuse. NEW HAVEN (Conn.): The Archdiocese of Hartford and two Connecticut churches have been named in lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by a priest who died a decade ago. Four men claim that archdiocese officials failed to protect them decades ago, when they were children, from a sexually abusive priest. The four claim that, when they were boys ranging from 8 to 17 years old, the Rev. Thomas Glynn abused them. One claimed abuse occurred at St. Matthew Church in Bristol in the 1960s and the other three at St. Clare Church in East Haven. The alleged abuse ranged from forced kissing to attempted sodomy, according to Thomas M. McNamara, the men's lawyer. -- The Advocate, Associated Press, www.stamfordadvocate.com , October 7, 2003
• Priest with Vatican experience named new Toledo bishop. TOLEDO (OH): A Detroit priest has been named the new bishop of the Diocese of Toledo. The Vatican says today that Pope John Paul the Second has chosen Monsignor Leonard Paul Blair to replace Toledo bishop James Hoffman, who died in February. The 53-year-old Blair has been working in the archdiocese of Detroit, his hometown. He has also worked in various positions at the Vatican. Hoffman was head of the 330,000-member Toledo diocese for 22 years. The diocese covers 19 northwest Ohio counties. Over the last year, the diocese has had to defend itself against allegations that officials knew about sexual abuse accusations against priests. The diocese has removed five priests from active ministry within the last year. -- Ohio News Network, "Detroit Priest Named New Toledo Bishop," http://www.onnnews.com/story.php?record=27114 ,
• Priest sex abuse a clamour for cash - lawyer. NEW ZEALAND: The lawyer for a former brother charged with sexual offending at St John of God Marylands says the case appears to have become a "clamour for cash" and "scramble for payment". A depositions hearing for Bernard Kevin McGrath, 56, who faces 33 charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of boys aged under 16 at the school, was due to begin yesterday. However, Nigel Hampton, QC, said issues surrounding the case made a longer depositions hearing necessary. The St John of God order, which has paid compensation to many former pupils at the Christchurch school, appeared to have a policy of "you say it and we pay it", Mr Hampton said. He said the matters had to be seen in the context of a "snowball" effect made up of vested interests and the readiness of the order to pay up, plus the intense media interest in the case, he said. [COMMENT: Yes, there could be some truth in the lawyer's defence -- but if the Brothers had all behaved, there wouldn't be "many former pupils" getting compensation. COMMENT ENDS.] -- Stuff, http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2683135a10,00.html , By DEAN CALCOTT, October 07 2003
• Group Opposes Honor for Priest. LOS ANGELES (CA): A Roman Catholic group representing victims of molestation by priests has called for the cancellation of a dinner Friday honoring a priest it says is tainted by the church's sex abuse scandal. Msgr. Lawrence J. Baird, former spokesman for the Diocese of Orange and now its director of development, is scheduled to be honored as a "Defender of the Faith" with a dinner hosted by St. Michael's Abbey on behalf of its parochial school, St. Michael's Preparatory. But the regional director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP], a national support group with 5,000 members, says the event should be canceled because Baird once defended a fellow priest known by church officials to be a molestation risk and, more recently, responded to allegations of sexual impropriety against himself by unsuccessfully suing his accuser for slander. "This is not what Jesus would do," Mary Grant, SNAP's southwest regional director, said of the gala event at Mission San Juan Capistrano. "We should not hold up that kind of un-Christian behavior as a model." Said John C. Manley, a Catholic attorney representing several people who say they were sexually abused by priests: "This is not the type of person that is a defender of my faith, and it's not what I was taught about faith. Honestly, I would rather eat out of a trash can than eat that dinner." -- Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-abbey6oct06,1,5413007.story , By David Haldane
• Anglican parson Garth Stephen Hawkins admits sex assaults. [1970s-80s]
   Courier Mail, "Priest admits sex assaults," www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7485259%255E421,00.html , By Gavin Lower, Oct 07 03,
   AUSTRALIA: A former Tasmanian Anglican priest yesterday pleaded guilty to sexually abusing seven teenaged boys. Garth Stephen Hawkins, 58, appeared in the Hobart Magistrates Court on 11 charges relating to attacks on boys around Tasmania in the 1970s and '80s. He pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault, three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person, two counts of having carnal knowledge against the order of nature and two counts of sexual intercourse with a young person under the age of 17. The crimes all happened over a 10-year period between 1974 and 1984 at Devonport, Hamilton, Derwent Bridge and Triabunna. They involved boys Hawkins met through the church or at social functions. (Posted by Kathy Shaw 5:53:01 PM)
• A People Adrift, book by Peter Steinfels. Crisis includes more than sex abuse. NEW YORK: Bob Abernethy, anchor: Now, a Catholic writer and his new book on what he calls the crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church, a crisis that goes well beyond the sex abuse scandal. The book is A PEOPLE ADRIFT, and the author is Peter Steinfels, a lifelong Catholic who says the church he loves, the largest church in the U.S., the church of one American in four, is "on the verge of either an irreversible decline or a thoroughgoing transformation." We spent a recent Sunday with Steinfels and his wife, Margaret, beginning with their walk to mass at New York's Church of the Ascension. Steinfels fears that unless American Catholics overcome what he calls a "vacuum of leadership," they will experience "a soft slide" into Catholicism in name only, as has happened in much of Europe. [...]
   Steinfels is a religion columnist for THE NEW YORK TIMES, where he had been the senior religion reporter. Earlier, he was the editor of the liberal, lay Catholic magazine COMMONWEAL, and so, later, was his wife. -- Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, "A People Adrift, book by Peter Steinfels," www.pbs.org/ wnet/religionand ethics/week705/ perspectives.html
• A minister's misdeeds. [1997] CARLISLE (PA): Nearly everyone in the courtroom was stunned when the bailiff snapped handcuffs on Lane C. Hurley. As he was being led to jail in May, Hurley turned and locked eyes with his accuser. There in the front row sat his niece, who claimed that during the summer of 1997, when she was 10 years old, Hurley had sexually abused her dozens of times. Hurley looked at her, and next to her, where her mother -- his older sister -- sat. Hurley's ex-wife and their daughter Miracle were one row back. Miracle thought he directed his words toward his sister, Lucretia Browning. "You know I didn't do this," Miracle saw her father say. That staggered her. He doesn't believe it, she thought, he's handcuffed and he still doesn't believe it. -- The Virginian-Pilot, http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=60627&ran=235594 , By LON WAGNER, October 5, 2003
• 'Police, clergy' in pedophile ring. AUSTRALIA: Child abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston warned yesterday there could be a pedophile ring based in the Queensland Families Department as a senior officer was stood aside amid allegations of sexual abuse in a foster-family. Ms Johnston's warning came as Premier Peter Beattie conceded there needed to be a "cultural change" in the troubled department. In her submission to be handed today to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, which is examining the abuse allegations, Ms Johnston says the corruption watchdog should investigate the possible existence of a child-sex ring in the department. "It is quite possible that is going on but we just don't know and that is why we need a royal commission," she said. "We know a lot of perpetrators are police officers, they are clergy and of course they could also be Family Services workers. It is classic territory for pedophiles and it needs to be looked at very carefully." -- News.com.au , http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7470439%255E2,00.html , By Scott Emerson, October 6, 2003
• Catholics try new approach to get cash. LOUISVILLE (KY): The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville is giving parishioners options in a fund-raising effort outside of paying off its $25.7 million settlement from 240 sex-abuse lawsuits. Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly and other church leaders say they recognize that some Catholics are angry about the church's handling of the abuse crisis. In response, and for the first time, donors can target specific charities or ministries for their contributions to the Catholic Services Appeal. "We own up to the fact that we have just come through a terrible period where the church has had to face up to its weakness and failings with regard to the sexual abuse crisis," Kelly told about 200 Catholics in a Mass at St. Helen's Church in Shively last week. "I am not here to ask you to replace the money in the settlement that we paid out." -- The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Associated Press http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/10/06/loc_wwwloc6church.html,
• Catholic Church demanding answers in abuse cases. MINNESOTA: Tonight an Eyewitness News investigation pulls back a curtain of secrecy, to reveal how the Catholic Church is forcing each diocese to admit for the first time how many victims of clergy abuse there are and how much they've paid out to settle the cases. We obtained a copy of this questionnaire, which asks each diocese, including those in Minnesota, some very blunt questions. The victims have waited decades for the answers. The survey asks detailed questions about each priest, the age of their victim, the very specific type of misconduct, and whether there were threats? It also asks how the church responded. Did it reprimand him and return him to duty? Was he returned to the same parish or a different one? The names of the priests will be kept private, but the answers will be made public. At least two Minnesota dioceses are already making some of their answers public. -- KSTP, http://www.kstp.com/article/view/123535/
!!!: Sex-ed programs designed by prostitution advocates. UNITED STATES: Although one result of the Catholic Church's traumatic clergy-sex scandal last year was the mandating of "personal safety training" sex-education programs to protect the next generation of youngsters in Catholic schools, one of the most popular such programs was designed by prostitution advocates, according to outraged parents in several dioceses using it. In the summer of 2002, in the midst of the crisis caused by the Boston sex scandal, the U.S. Catholic bishops adopted the Dallas Charter, which calls for implementing a suitable, "age-appropriate" personal safety training program for youngsters. The Conference recruited former FBI staffer Kathleen McChesney to administer the U.S. Bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection. Teams of auditors from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are already visiting dioceses to monitor their progress. The "Talking About Touching" program is taught in over 5,000 public schools nationwide, and over 20,000 schools globally, according to Joan Duffell, director of community education for Seattle-based Committee for Children which produces the program. Average cost to a diocese for the program is $20,000 to $50,000 for the initial year. The problem, complain some Catholic parents in the Archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, is that the Committee for Children is actually the cleaned-up name of COYOTE – "Call Off Your Tired Old Ethics" – an advocacy organization for prostitution. -- WorldNetDaily, http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34939 , By Mary Jo Anderson (Posted 8:58:21 AM by Kathy Shaw, for Poynteronline Abuse Tracker of Oct 7 03
########## End of Poynteronline, Abuse Tracker, Tuesday, October 7, 2003
• Anglican ex-minister having sex with teenage boys, guilty. [1974-84] HOBART (Tasmania) Australia: A former Tasmanian Anglican priest yesterday pleaded guilty to sexually abusing seven teenaged boys. Garth Stephen Hawkins, 58, appeared in the Hobart Magistrates Court on 11 charges relating to attacks on boys around Tasmania in the 1970s and '80s. He pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault, three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person, two counts of having carnal knowledge against the order of nature and two counts of sexual intercourse with a young person under the age of 17. The crimes all happened over a 10-year period between 1974 and 1984 at Devonport, Hamilton, Derwent Bridge and Triabunna. They involved boys Hawkins met through the church or at social functions. . . . He was remanded in custody to reappear in the Supreme Court in Hobart on November 10. The Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, the Right Rev John Harrower, yesterday repeated apologies he has made for past abuse by church leaders. "I want to again apologise to any people who may have been abused by past Tasmanian church leaders," Bishop Harrower said. "We are greatly saddened by the effects of this on people's lives." Outside court, child sex abuse victim supporter Denise Cripps said Hawkins' guilty pleas had vindicated the victims and survivors of his crimes. ... Ms Cripps, a spokeswoman for the Coalition for Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, encouraged other victims of child sex abuse to come forward. ... The CICSA also is running a hotline for child abuse victims on 6223 2822. -- The Australian, "Priest admits sex assaults," www.theaustralian.news.com.au , By Gavin Lower, October 07, 2003
• CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY LEADER QUITS AFTER SEX ALLEGATION. [1986] NEW ORLEANS, U.S.A.: The president of Loyola University in New Orleans resigned Tuesday after he was accused of sexual misconduct while he was at a Jesuit prep school in Indianapolis in 1986. The Rev. Bernard Knoth, a Jesuit priest, submitted his resignation to the Roman Catholic college under new church rules that say that if a sexual allegation involving a minor is deemed credible, the accused should be removed immediately. Knoth, president of Loyola since 1995, issued a statement denying any inappropriate conduct. The Rev. William J. Byron was named acting president. Byron was dean at Loyola in the 1970s and writes a syndicated column for Catholic News Service. -- Phillyburbs.com, United States, "Loyola Leader Quits After Sex Allegation," www.phillyburbs.com , By Janet Mcconnaughey, The Associated Press, 4:31 PM October 7, 2003
• Cape priest suspended amid police inquiry. FALMOUTH (MA): A Woods Hole priest has been removed from his duties because of his connection to the investigation of a local man's murder. The Rev. Bernard Kelly, 70, of St. Joseph's parish was placed on leave Monday pending the outcome of the inquiry into Jonathan Wessner's death, Diocese of Fall River spokesman John Kearns said. Wessner's remains were found partially covered by rocks on a beach in Woods Hole about midnight Friday. Paul R. Nolin, 39, of Falmouth, was charged with murder and kidnapping in Wessner's death. He pleaded innocent at his arraignment in Falmouth District Court Thursday and was ordered held without bail. A source close to the investigation said Nolin and Kelly had a sexual relationship. Kelly could not be reached for comment yesterday. Nolin's attorney, Robert Nolan, denied the claim. He said Nolin and Kelly were "good friends." Nolin was a parishioner at St. Joseph and worked around the church as a handyman, Nolan said. -- Cape Cod Times, http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/capepriest8.htm , By Amanda Lehmert, (Posted by Poynteronline Abuse Tracker Oct 8 03.)
• Legal status quo on victims. HOBART (Tasmania) AUSTRALIA: Attorney-General Judy Jackson is refusing to yield to calls for victims of sex crimes to be publicly identified. The ongoing problem of victims being unable to be identified has been reignited this week after former Anglican priest Garth Hawkins pleaded guilty to sexually abusing seven teenaged boys. One of his victims, who has become a campaigner for victims' rights and runs a support group, is upset he is unable to be identified as a victim. He is one of a number of victims who have complained that the law prohibiting identification is disempowering. But Ms Jackson is still refusing to budge, saying yesterday there would be no review of the controversial Section 194(K) of the Evidence Act 2001. -- The Mercury, Hobart, "Legal status quo on victims," By Ellen Whinnett, Chief Reporter, Oct 8 03
• Paedophile priest faces sentencing. [1965-87] BRISBANE (Queensland) Australia: A Catholic priest who abused Queensland children for more than two decades is due to be sentenced in a Brisbane court. Michael Joseph McArdle, 67, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court earlier this year to more than 60 child sex offences against more than a dozen victims between 1965 and 1987. He will be sentenced by Judge Warren Howell in the District Court in Brisbane. McArdle spent his career in the Rockhampton diocese of the Catholic Church in central Queensland. -- The Age, Melbourne, "Paedophile priest faces sentencing," www.theage.com.au , 12:05PM October 8, 2003
• Catholic priest abuser moved several times as part of cover-up. BRISBANE: A former Queensland Catholic priest has been jailed for six years after pleading guilty to more than 60 child sex offences. Michael Joseph McArdle, 68, was sentenced today by Brisbane District Court judge Warren Howell. McArdle pleaded guilty to offences dating back more than 30 years, committed while he was a Catholic priest in several central Queensland parishes. The parishes include Longreach, Biloela and Farleigh near Mackay. The court heard that McArdle's actions were at the centre of a cover-up by the Catholic Church, which has since apologised to the victims. Judge Howell said that on several occasions when complaints were made to the church by victim's families, McArdle was moved to other parishes. McArdle will be eligible for parole after spending two years in jail. -- Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "Former Catholic priest jailed for six years for paedophilia," http://abc.net.au/news , Posted 19:44 AEST Wed, Oct 8 2003
• Multiple false abuse claims made against Catholic Christian Brothers. IRELAND: At least two former Christian Brothers have had multiple false abuse claims made against them to the Residential Institutions Redress Board, The Irish Catholic can reveal. The two men, both of whom taught in various Christian Brothers- run institutions around the country, have had false sexual abuse claims made against them in summons issued to them by the Redress Board. The documents were seen by this newspaper. One abuse claim is alleged to have taken place in 1946. However, the accused man would have only been two years of age at the time. Another allegation is that he sexually abused a boy on his confirmation day in May 1996, yet the alleged perpetrator only arrived at that institution three months later. Another claim alleges an incident of abuse at a time when the Christian Brother was working at a completely different institution. All the allegations being made against the former Christian Brothers to the Redress Board were similarly made to Gardai, were fully investigated, and the charges subsequently dropped. Both men have asked that their identities are not disclosed. -- The Irish Catholic, "Multiple false abuse claims made against Christian Brothers," www.irishcatholic.ie , Oct 08 03
• In Ireland on holidays, but has to be prised out to face abuse charges . PHOENIX (AZ): A former Phoenix priest who fled overseas instead of facing sexual-misconduct charges here may have had a hearing Tuesday in Ireland to set bail. The Rev. Patrick Colleary, 54, went to his native country a year ago on vacation and has refused to return to face charges in Maricopa County Superior Court. Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said Tuesday that his office has sent several documents to an Irish court to support his request that Colleary be arrested, held without bond and forced to return to Phoenix. Bill FitzGerald, Romley's spokesman, said Tuesday that despite e-mails and phone calls, the County Attorney's Office did not know the outcome of a bail hearing that was expected to be held in Ireland. The bail hearing, Romley said, is another step in a complicated international process that could take months. Still, he said, he is confident Colleary will be returned. -- The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1008colleary08.html , "Outcome of priest's hearing awaited," http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1008colleary08.html , by Carol Sowers, Oct. 8, 2003
########## Poynteronline, Abuse Tracker, Thursday, October 9, 2003 edition follows:-
• Suspension stuns parish, neighbors. WOODS HOLE (MA): A sense of shock reverberated through this small village yesterday, triggered by news that the Rev. Bernard Kelly had conducted a sexual relationship with the man accused of killing Jonathan Wessner. Paul Nolin, 39, a convicted sex offender from Falmouth, charged last week with Wessner's murder, worked as a handyman at the church. Until Monday, Kelly was pastor of St. Joseph's, a small wooden church on Millfield Street. He was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the murder investigation. A neighbor of St. Joseph's parish said yesterday that she was shocked to hear of Nolin's connection to the church, just doors away from where she and her two small children live. "It makes you feel different about people. I mean, he (Nolin) wasn't even listed on the sex offender registry (in Falmouth)," the woman said. "I have no real issues with Nolin and Kelly if they had a relationship. They're adults. But with Nolin's record, I just really hope this will convince (Gov. Mitt) Romney to put some teeth in the sex-offender registry law," she said. (Posted by Kathy Shaw 10:09:52 AM) http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/suspensionstuns9.htm , -- Cape Cod Times By SEAN GONSALVES STAFF WRITER
• Priest aided suspect's release. FALMOUTH (MA): In the early 1990s, convicted child rapist Paul R. Nolin was one of the Rev. Donald Turlick's patients at the state's treatment center for the sexually dangerous. And despite Nolin's repetitive and compulsive sexual offenses against children and his diagnosis as sexually dangerous, Turlick, a clinical psychologist, recommended Nolin for a furlough program that would have taken him outside the treatment center's gates. Paula Erickson, who supervised Nolin's treatment at the time, said yesterday that she denied the request because she considered Nolin still too dangerous. Nolin was arrested last week for the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old Jonathan Wessner of Falmouth. He has pleaded innocent to the charges. Wessner didn't have to die, Erickson said yesterday. If the system had kept Nolin in the program, Wessner would probably still be alive, she said. Still, in 1995, Turlick helped persuade a Superior Court judge to release Nolin from the treatment center for the sexually dangerous and transfer him to a state prison, said Erickson, who was never called to testify at the hearing. http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/priestaided9.htm , Cape Cod Times By AMANDA LEHMERT STAFF WRITER
• Church apologises to abuse victims. AUSTRALIA: The Catholic Church apologised to victims of a priest who sexually abused at least 16 children over 22 years. Michael Joseph McArdle, 68, was jailed for six years but may be free after serving two following a recommendation by Queensland District Court judge Warren Howell that he serve one-third of his sentence. The Brisbane hearing, at which McArdle pleaded guilty to 62 counts of indecent dealings with children, was told the paedophile had simply been transferred to another parish each time he confessed to preying on children. Brian Heenan, the Catholic Bishop of Rockhampton, said he deeply regretted a former priest of his diocese had betrayed the trust put in him "with such tragic consequences". "I apologise unreservedly to anyone who has been harmed," Bishop Heenan said in a statement. -- http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_33721.asp , -- ninemsn
• Program helps Catholic leaders curb abuse. BATTLE CREEK (MI): Moments earlier, they were munching on snacks and sharing classroom stories, innocent tales of their students' antics. But the cafeteria at St. Joseph Elementary School grew quiet when the more than 70 educators watched the video "A Time to Protect God's Children." An occasional cough and the noises of children playing outside were the only sounds evident as the teachers, aides and other employees of the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools witnessed the first video. Its stories of childhood sexual abuse were told -- sometimes graphically -- by four young survivors and two men who had made it their regular practice to sexually abuse children. "It's sickening." "It's so sad." "It could have been prevented," participants said during a discussion that followed. They were attending "Protecting God's Children," a program developed by Virtus, a subsidiary of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group. The Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo chose the program to implement The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002. (http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/news/stories/20031009/localnews/415935html) -- Battle Creek Enquirer By Claudia Linsley
• Diocese suspends pastor in Gallatin Co. BURLINGTON (Kentucky): A longtime Northern Kentucky priest who also was director of a home for troubled boys has been permanently suspended from the ministry after allegations of sexual misconduct with a child. The Rev. George J. Schuhmacher of the Peaselburg neighborhood of Covington is one of 17 priests whom the Diocese of Covington has removed since the Roman Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal became national news. Schuhmacher ran St. Joseph's Catholic Church, the only Catholic parish in rural Gallatin County for the last seven years. Before that, he had served as director of the Campbell Lodge Boys Home in Cold Spring, a center for troubled boys. The diocese on Wednesday issued a one-paragraph statement about Schuhmacher's status: "Pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Revised Edition) and Essential Norms for Diocesan Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons ... Schuhmacher, in January 2003, was permanently suspended from ministry. He is not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, wear clerical garb, or present himself publicly as a priest." http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/10/09/loc_kyboonepriest09.html , -- The Cincinnati Enquirer By Jim Hannah
• Ousted priest draws support. NEW ORLEANS (LA): Former Brebeuf students said Wednesday they were stunned that a single, nearly 20-year-old allegation from an unnamed accuser could destroy the career of a priest they so highly respected. A sex abuse complaint forced the resignation of the Rev. Bernard P. Knoth as president of Loyola University in New Orleans on Tuesday. On Wednesday, former Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School students rallied to their one-time principal's defense. Former students say Knoth is a compassionate teacher, priest and educator who helped hundreds of young people realize their potential. But now he stands accused of sexually abusing a student in 1986, while he served as principal at Brebeuf. "Father Knoth was an upstanding Jesuit priest, well-respected and well-liked," said Brent Barbour, a 1985 Brebeuf graduate. "It's a terrible thing when somebody has to resign their whole career over something like this, especially if it's not true." http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/081715-5241-009.html , Indianapolis Star By Kim L. Hooper im.hooper@indystar.com , October 9, 2003
• Priest accused of sexual abuse. CHICAGO (IL): A Roman Catholic priest and his missionary order were accused in a lawsuit Wednesday of abusing a 14-year-old boy at a Southeast Side parish. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County, accuses the Rev. Eusebio Pantoja of sexual abuse while Pantoja served at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the city's South Chicago community. Beginning in 1970, Pantoja "repeatedly sexually abused" a boy identified in the lawsuit only as "Juan Doe," who is now 48 years old. According to the lawsuit, the abuse took place at the parish and at Pantoja's home. Juan Doe's attorney, Marc Pearlman, said his client was coming forward to encourage any other Hispanic victims of sexual abuse by clergy to make their accusations public. "My client has told me that if he told his father what happened to him, in his community, his father would have been expected to either beat him up or kill the priest," Pearlman said. http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/yrtwn/south/092syt3.htm , -- Daily Southtown, By Allison Hantschel
• Prayer, Shock in a Bay Ridge Church, BAY RIDGE (NY): At Our Lady of Angels last Sunday, the parishioners prayed for the salvation of malicious slanderers. It was the Bay Ridge church's collective response to a lawsuit last week that alleged 24 priests, including its parochial vicar, had committed acts of sexual abuse. The Rev. Richard Lewkiewicz, or Father Lewk, as he is known in this tranquil pocket of Brooklyn, is one of four sitting priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn named in the lawsuit. His status as a defendant in the $300-million case was announced from the pulpit at weekend masses. Many parishioners said they could not believe it. Lewkiewicz, who is in charge of the altar servers, the children who volunteer during Mass, is known to his parishioners as a person who plays by the book. "He wouldn't even bless our food for Easter with Holy Water because it was Holy Saturday," said Karen Hughes, a member of the congregation who works with altar servers. (http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/crime/nyc-nycath093487984oct09,0,1916719.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left) -- Newsday By Stephanie Saul October 9, 2003
• Priest Sex Lawsuit Said To Be First By Hispanic Plaintiff Here. CHICAGO (IL): Another lawsuit has been filed in Chicago - in connection with the alleged sexual abuse by a priest. And attorneys say that, for the first time in the Chicago area, the alleged victim who came forward is an Hispanic man. The civil suit against a priest and his order was filed by the alleged victim - known in court documents as "Juan Doe." His attorney Jeffrey Anderson says this is apparently the first member of the Hispanic community to come forward - talking about abuse - abuse in this case which allegedly happened more than 30 years ago at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on Chicago’s South Side. "Juan is a traditional Hispanic, proud, Catholic man. When this happened to him, and he was repeatedly raped by this trusted and revered priest, he thought the priest was speaking the word of God when he told him to keep this secret." http://www.wbbm780.com/asp/ViewMoreDetails.asp?ID=29245 , By Steve Miller -- WBBM Newsradio 780
• Church spokesperson spurns offer from 150 professionals. BOSTON (MA): A volunteer group of psychologists, social workers, and lawyers who specialize in child sexual abuse asked Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley yesterday to appoint them as an independent oversight board to review the church's handling of alleged cases of clergy sexual abuse. The appointment of such a board -- a recommendation made this summer by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly in his scathing report on the archdiocese's handling of sexual abuse claims in the last 60 years -- was also supported by a petition signed by more than 150 professionals in the fields of public health, child advocacy, and sexual assault prevention, said members of the group, which called itself the Victims' Rights Committee for the Boston Archdiocese. The petition was faxed to O'Malley yesterday, members of the group said. "We want to and intend to try to serve the archdiocese as independent commentators and consultants," said Dr. Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, a psychologist and author who specializes in treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She said the group was impressed with O'Malley's efforts, adding, "We would like to help him." But a church spokesman said flatly yesterday that the new group's offer would not be accepted. "It would be redundant," said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "We have shown over the past year that we are capable of following up on our policies and procedures and that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that people who make a claim against the archdiocese or a priest are given the justice they deserve." (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/282/metro/Group_offers_to_review_abuse_cases+.shtml) -- Boston Globe, "Group offers to review abuse cases," By Ralph Ranalli, Oct 9 2003
• Priests tied to Falmouth murder suspect. FALMOUTH (MA): Cops probing the slaying of an aspiring Falmouth golf pro are eyeing the relationship between a sexual predator accused of the killing and two priests, one of whom rented an apartment to the alleged murderer and once counseled a rapist who later killed two women. The Herald has learned that investigators have questioned the Rev. Donald Turlick, a priest from Bridgeport, Conn., who rented an apartment to Paul Nolin, a convicted child rapist charged with the Sept. 20 slaying of 20-year-old golfer Jonathan Wessner. Turlick, who declined comment yesterday, has been on leave from the Bridgeport diocese since the late 1970s. Turlick formerly worked as a therapist at the Bridgewater Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous, where he counseled double rapist Michael Kelley. Kelley, 46, was released from the center in 1991 - on the recommendation of therapists - and killed two Plymouth women the following year. Turlick also counseled Nolin in prison, where Nolin was serving an 18-year term for raping a 10-year-old Lowell boy. Bridgeport diocese spokesman Dr. Joseph McAleer said church officials have received no complaints about Turlick and taken no action against him. "He is a priest in good standing," McAleer said. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/falm10092003.htm , -- Boston Herald by Dave Wedge Thursday, October 9, 2003
• Abuse docs to monitor church probes. BOSTON (MA): A group of therapists and other child-abuse prevention professionals has formed an independent board overseeing the Archdiocese of Boston's clergy abuse probes. Dr. Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, a psychologist who addressed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on clergy molestation last year, introduced the Victims Rights Committee for the Archdiocese of Boston as a "truly independent" group qualified to evaluate how the church investigates abuse. "We want to and intend to try to serve the archdiocese, as well as alleged victims, as independent commentators and consultants," she said yesterday, making a specific appeal to Archbishop Sean O'Malley to allow the group access to church documents. To a suggestion he may not, she said, "I'm the eternal optimist." The group traces its impetus to Attorney General Tom Reilly's July report on the church, which deemed it unlikely its clergy review boards could operate "independently and effectively." In a statement, Reilly spokeswoman Ann E. Donlan said, "Any effort to provide external support and services to the victims is important" and called on O'Malley to reform child protection policies. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/chur10092003.htm , -- Boston Herald by Robin Washington Thursday, October 9, 2003
• Irish court sets bail for priest sought on sex abuse charges. PHOENIX (AZ): An Irish court on Tuesday set a $35,000 bail on a priest who is battling extradition from his homeland rather than face prosecution in Phoenix on three sex charges. But that information did little to lift the mystery surrounding the Rev. Patrick Colleary, who went to Ireland on vacation in the fall of 2002 before charges were filed. Contending that he has received death threats, Colleary has since battled efforts by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to return him to Phoenix. Bill FitzGerald, county attorney spokesman, confirmed that the bail had been set but said he didn't know whether Colleary had posted it and was out of jail or whether he is in custody in Ireland pending extradition. The Irish court had refused County Attorney Rick Romley's request to hold Colleary without bond. Casey Stavropoulos, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees international extraditions, would not talk about the Colleary case. (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1009colleary09.html) -- The Arizona Republic by Carol Sowers Oct. 9, 2003 12:00 AM
• Woods Hole priest connected to investigation of Falmouth murder. WOODS HOLE (MA): A Woods Hole priest has been suspended from his duties because of his connection to the investigation into the murder of a Falmouth man. The Fall River diocese says the Reverend Bernard Kelly of St. Joseph's parish was placed on leave pending the outcome of the probe into Jonathan Wessner's death. Paul Nolin of Falmouth has been charged with kidnapping and murdering Wessner after the two met at a party in Falmouth. Wessner's body was found on a Falmouth Beach last Saturday. Nolin's attorney tells the Cape Cod Times that his client and Kelly were "good friends." Nolin was a parishioner at St. Joseph and worked at the church as a handyman. The Cape Cod Times says Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe approached Fall River Bishop George Coleman last week, telling him investigators wanted to speak with Kelly. -- ABC 6 (AP), (http://www.abc6.com/article.php?ID=3733) Wed, Oct 8, 2003
• Priest In Court Facing Sex Abuse Charges. OHIO: We may know Wednesday if a sex abuse charge against former priest George Cooley can go to trial. Cooley has been indicted for allegedly abusing an eight year-old boy in 1984 at Guardian Angels Parish in Mount Washington. His attorneys have argued that the case should be dismissed because the statute of limitations has expired. Tuesday, Judge John West threw out most of the sex abuse charges against the Reverend John Benning for that very reason. Former Reverend George Cooley has been charged with eight counts of gross sexual imposition. Cooley allegedly abused a boy for four years starting in the mid-80's. http://www.wcpo.com/news/2003/local/10/08/cooley.html , -- WCPO Oct 8 03, 12:11:21 PM
• Police await abuse cases ruling. IRELAND: The special Garda [police] investigation team into clerical child sex abuse in the Republic is now awaiting instruction from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether to bring charges in a number of cases. The team, led by National Bureau of Criminal Investigation head Detective Chief Superintendent Sean Camon, is receiving full co-operation from the church and religious authorities in relation to its inquiries. Twenty gardai from the bureau, assisted by gardai from stations around the country, are involved in the investigation which could see paedophile priests facing serious charges. And a number of fresh complaints of sexual abuse of children by clerics are being investigated by the team since it was set up last October. A special hotline set up at the same time has received 170 calls. DCS Camon said some of the calls involved previously unreported allegations of abuse, while some callers were seeking advice about counselling. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=451173 , Belfast Telegraph By Kathy Donaghy newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk October 08 2003
• Clergy in Delbarton case to be removed. NEW JERSEY: Catholic Church officials are seeking to remove a former Benedictine monk and deacon from the clergy because they have deemed credible an accusation that he assaulted an 18-year-old Delbarton School alumnus on campus in 1981. The Paterson diocese initiated efforts to laicize Robert Flavin, 54, three months ago, asking him to seek his own formal dismissal from the clergy, according to diocese spokeswoman Marianna Thompson. Flavin did not respond to the request and the diocese is gathering documents o send to the Vatican seeking a decree of laicization without his cooperation, Thompson said. A resolution could take months. Flavin, who now lives in eastern Pennsylvania, has denied the accusations. Officials with the diocese and Delbarton, a school for grades 7-12 operated by Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown, said he had also refused to cooperate with their investigation. -- Star-Ledger By JEFF DIAMANT Wednesday, October 08, 2003
• The Last Straw: Quitting the Bishops’ Review Board. UNITED STATES: My son-in-law’s question hit me hard. "Now, tell me: Why would I ever want to become a Catholic?" Ryan and my daughter, Carrie, have a daughter themselves—our first grandchild—one year old on the Fourth of July. Ryan continued: "If we had a boy instead of a girl, I would not let him be an altar boy." Another son-in-law of mine, Dan, was equally blunt. A non-Catholic, he simply declared, "I intended to raise our kids Catholic, but with this sex thing, everything is on hold." Kelly and Dan had their first child, a girl, this summer. How sad. And how unforgivable. No, I’m not bitter at Ryan. He’s protecting his child. And I’m not disappointed with Dan. My proselytizing will have to wait. But I am bitter at the Catholic Church—my Church—for having created a culture that made such comments possible. It’s simply incredible that this edifice of traditional morality could have looked evil in the face and turned away. My family tradition is decidedly non-Catholic. Of my four grandparents, one was a Quaker, another a Methodist. The third, my dad’s mother, was a Presbyterian who later converted to Catholicism. Only my father’s father was Catholic from birth. -- Crisis Magazine, , "The Last Straw: Quitting the Bishops’ Review Board," By Frank Keating
• SEX CHARGE FORCES KNOTH OUT AT LOYOLA. NEW ORLEANS (LA): Loyola University President Bernard Knoth, a dynamic priest credited with modernizing the school's facilities and sharpening its competitive edge, resigned Tuesday after his superiors said they found reason to believe that in 1986 he sexually abused a student from a Jesuit high school he directed in Indianapolis. Knoth denied the allegation, but under a new church procedure he was relieved of all priestly duties and privileges. He quietly left New Orleans on Tuesday before Loyola officials stunned the campus community with a mass e-mail announcement shortly after lunch. Summoned for an emergency meeting Tuesday, Loyola's board accepted the resignation of Knoth, 54, and named the Rev. William J. Byron, 76, a research professor at Loyola College of Baltimore, acting president. Loyola officials said they didn't know details of the charge against Knoth, and under a provision of the university charter requiring the president to be a Jesuit priest in good standing, they had no choice but to accept his resignation. http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1065627980302400.xml , -- Times-Picayune By Coleman Warner and Bruce Nolan
• Abuse victim lobbies to lift statute of limitations. BOSTON (MA): Thwarted in her efforts to seek civil damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester for sexual abuse she suffered as a child, Heather Mackey Godin is now turning her attention to the State House. Godin, a victim of the former priest Robert Kelley when he was assigned to St. Cecilia's parish in Leominster, joined a group of House and Senate lawmakers on Tuesday to lobby for passage of several bills that would ease restrictions on victims who pursue civil lawsuits in sexual abuse cases. Joined by her father, Tewksbury Police Chief John Mackey, Godin urged the House and Senate to lift the statute of limitations in civil sexual-abuse suits -- currently three years from the time a victim realizes he or she has suffered the abuse -- and to eliminate the $20,000 charitable immunity limit on damages. It was the statute of limitations -- and the threat by the Worcester diocese to seek triple its legal costs if she was unsuccessful in trying to override it -- that prompted a reluctant Godin to drop her civil lawsuit earlier this year, she said. Godin was abused by Kelley at St. Cecilia's beginning when she was 4. The abuse continued until she was 8. (http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/Stories/0,1413,106~4994~1684689,00.html) -- Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise By Julie Mehegan
• Toledo diocese gets new bishop. TOLEDO (OH): Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Leonard Paul Blair has been appointed bishop of Toledo by Pope John Paul II, succeeding the late Bishop James Hoffman. An installation service for the 54-year-old Detroit native is scheduled Dec. 4 at Rosary Cathedral. The seventh bishop of the 19-county diocese was ordained a priest on June 16, 1976, and appointed auxiliary bishop of Detroit Aug. 24, 1999, overseeing 59 parishes. He also has been pastor of St. Paul Parish in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., since July, 1997. ... Thirteen sex-abuse lawsuits against the Toledo diocese are pending in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. Six priests have been removed from ministry since May, 2002, over allegations of sexual abuse involving minors. "Well, let me say, of course, that every bishop has thought about [the crisis] day and night," he said. "This has been a very serious matter in the history of the church, and for all of us a very deep concern." -- Toledo Blade, (http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031008/NEWS10/110080077) By David Yonke, Blade Religion Editor
• Lectures to examine sex abuse scandal. DAYTON (OH): The sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church will be the subject of a lecture series at the University of Dayton. The series starts next semester, but as a prelude, the Rev. James Heft, a professor of faith and culture, will speak on "The Sexual Abuse Crisis: A Case for Greater Shared Authority in the Roman Catholic Church" at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Mathias Heck Courtroom, Keller Hall. The lecture series begins in winter semester 2004 with public presentations that examine sexual abuse from a clinical perspective. -- The Cincinnati Post, (http://www.cincypost.com/2003/10/08/lect100803.html) Post staff report
• Accused of Abuse, Jesuit College Leader Quits. NEW ORLEANS (LA): The president of Loyola University New Orleans resigned yesterday after he was accused of sexual abuse by a former student at a high school where he once was the principal. The president, the Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, a Jesuit priest, was removed from active ministry, Jesuit leaders said, in keeping with a sweeping policy adopted last year by United States bishops of the Roman Catholic Church after a sexual abuse scandal that engulfed the church. Father Knoth's removal from the ministry prompted his resignation from Loyola, since the bylaws of the Catholic university require that its president be a Jesuit in good standing. Several months ago, the Chicago province of the Jesuit order, of which Father Knoth is a member, received a complaint from a former high school student at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, said the Rev. James P. Gschwend, a spokesman for the province. Leaders of the order would not disclose details of the accusation of sexual abuse, which was said to have occurred in 1986, nor information about the former student. (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/08/education/08LOYO.html?ex=1066190400&en>= 9994f487d7f9eb6e&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE) -- The New York Times By MONICA DAVEY October 8, 2003
• Ex-Brebeuf head faces accusation of misconduct. NEW ORLEANS (LA): The president of Loyola University in New Orleans resigned Tuesday amid allegations of sexual misconduct in 1986 while he served as principal of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. The Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, 54, a Jesuit priest and Indianapolis native, quit after he was removed from the active priesthood. "I deny any inappropriate conduct," Knoth said in a statement, but he acknowledged officials of his order had "judged the complaint credible." Several months ago, the unidentified victim, a former Brebeuf student, reported an allegation of sexual abuse to the Jesuits' Chicago Province, which oversees Indiana, said the Rev. James P. Gschwend, who oversees inquiries into suspected misconduct. http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/2/081501-8812-009.html , -- Indianapolis Star By John Holl john.holl@indystar.com , October 8, 2003
• Bishop pledges to be shepherd, teacher, priest. TOLEDO (OH): The new bishop of the Toledo Diocese promised to be a "teacher, a priest and shepherd" for the church. Pope John Paul II yesterday appointed Leonard Paul Blair to lead the 330,000-member diocese that covers 19 northwest Ohio counties. Blair, an auxiliary bishop in the Detroit diocese since 1999, has served in various positions in the Vatican and around Detroit, his hometown. He will fill the post of bishop James Hoffman, who died of cancer at age 70 in February. Blair will become the diocese's seventh bishop. Blair, 53, said one of his first missions will be to meet with church leaders and priests around northwest Ohio. ... Over the last year of Hoffman's tenure, he had been forced to defend the diocese against allegations that it knew about sexual abuse accusations against priests. The diocese removed five priests from active ministry within his last year. Blair said he was confident that new procedures adopted by the church following the abuse scandal nationwide will help prevent such things from happening again. He said he was completely committed to upholding those procedures. He said that while the scandal has shaken some people's faith, those within in the church remain devoted to their own priests. "I think that is out great strength," he said. (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1699&dept_id=46371&newsid=10284206 &PAG=461&rfi=9) -- The Morning Journal, (AP),
• Colleary fled to Erin instead of facing trial. PHOENIX (AZ): A former Phoenix priest who fled overseas instead of facing sexual-misconduct charges here may have had a hearing Tuesday in Ireland to set bail. The Rev. Patrick Colleary, 54, went to his native country a year ago on vacation and has refused to return to face charges in Maricopa County Superior Court. Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said Tuesday that his office has sent several documents to an Irish court to support his request that Colleary be arrested, held without bond and forced to return to Phoenix. Bill FitzGerald, Romley's spokesman, said Tuesday that despite e-mails and phone calls, the County Attorney's Office did not know the outcome of a bail hearing that was expected to be held in Ireland. The bail hearing, Romley said, is another step in a complicated international process that could take months. Still, he said, he is confident Colleary will be returned. (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1008colleary08.html) -- The Arizona Republic, "Outcome of priest's hearing awaited," by Carol Sowers, Oct. 8, 2003 12:00 AM
• Claims of abuse by priest tossed out. CINCINNATI (OH): A judge on Tuesday threw out most of the sexual abuse claims against a Cincinnati priest who was accused in a lawsuit of molesting a boy more than 40 years ago. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John West said the priest's accuser could not pursue his claims or collect damages because the statute of limitations expired decades ago. Under the statute, the claims must be made within a year after a victim turns 18. The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese of Cincinnati failed to protect children from Rev. John Berning, who is accused of abusing the boy from 1957 to 1965 while the priest was pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Cincinnati. The case is the first of its kind to test the statute of limitations since the clergy abuse scandal erupted early last year. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/10/08/loc_priest08.html , -- The Cincinnati Enquirer By Dan Horn Oct 8 03
• Victims agonize over church deal. BOSTON (MA): The boilerplate legal language would not rate a second glance from a seasoned lawyer, but to Jacqueline Petinge, the words practically assault her from the page, stopping her dead each time she tries to decide whether to accept her share of the Archdiocese of Boston's $85 million settlement with victims of clergy sexual abuse. The release form that Petinge and more than 500 other victims must sign to claim their portion of the settlement says there is "no admission of liability" from the archdiocese in any "matter, cause, or thing whatsoever from the beginning of the world to the date of this release." "You keep reading these words over and over," said Petinge, a 42-year-old Wilmington mother who says she was raped by a priest in Melrose dozens of times when she was 13. "It has been exhausting to say the least. The questions just keep coming up, keep haunting me." Petinge has read the release over and over and met with her lawyer four times as she wrestles with the moral and legal questions left unresolved by the record-breaking settlement. While lawyers for plaintiffs confidently predict they will easily reach the 80 percent participation rate needed to make the agreement official, a tiny minority of victims are agonizing over taking money from the institution that turned a blind eye to their abusers as they were shuttled from parish to parish. (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/10/08/victims_agonize_over_church_deal/) -- Boston Globe, By Ralph Ranalli, Oct 8 2003
• Senate OKs sex predator crackdown. BOSTON (MA): A stronger process for putting dangerous sexual predators away for life cleared another State House hurdle yesterday, after winning unanimous approval from the Senate. The bill adds 15 new crimes to the list of offenses that can prompt a person to be deemed "sexually dangerous" and committed to an institution for life, including incest, child porn and aggravated rape. The legislative action comes in the wake of the horrific murder of Alexandra Zapp, who was killed last year in a Burger King bathroom by convicted sex offender Paul Leahy. Zapp's mother Andrea Casanova watched from the Senate gallery as lawmakers approved the bill on a 40-0 vote. "Alexandra would be delighted that she was able to help," Casanova said. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/zapp10082003.htm , -- Boston Herald by Elisabeth J. Beardsley Wednesday, October 8, 2003
• Victims fight time limit in abuse cases. BOSTON (MA): Supporters of alleged clergy abuse victims met with legislators yesterday to push for an end to the state's civil and criminal statutes of limitations on sex crimes. State law currently limits criminal prosecution to 15 years after alleged abuse victims turn 16. The law limits the filing of civil claims to the three-year period after a victim first recognizes the harm suffered from alleged abuse. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/chur10082003.htm , -- Boston Herald by Tom Mashberg Wednesday, October 8, 2003
• Loyola head quits after abuse claim. NEW ORLEANS (LA): The president of Loyola University in New Orleans resigned yesterday after he was accused of sexual misconduct while he was at a Jesuit prep school in Indianapolis in 1986. The Rev. Bernard Knoth, a Jesuit priest, submitted his resignation to the Roman Catholic college under new church rules that say that if a sexual allegation involving a minor is deemed credible, the accused should be removed immediately. Knoth, 54, president of Loyola since 1995, issued a statement denying any inappropriate conduct. The Rev. William J. Byron was named acting president. Byron was dean at Loyola in the 1970s and writes a syndicated column for Catholic News Service. Byron said that if the allegations are proven, this is "another event in a series of tragic events that comprise the greatest crisis the church has had to deal with." He said no student at Loyola has ever brought sexual allegations against Knoth. A statement from the Jesuit order's Chicago Province said the sexual encounter allegedly happened at the Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indiana. Brebeuf is a coeducational institution. The statement did not reveal the accuser's gender. Knoth spent six years, starting when he was 33, as an administrator at Brebeuf, most of them as principal. He also worked at Loyola University in Chicago and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., before coming to New Orleans. The complaint against him was made earlier this year, said the Rev. James P. Gschwend of the Chicago Province. It triggered an immediate investigation and the case was sent to a review board, which found the allegations to be credible, a statement from the order said. (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/281/nation/Loyola_head_quits_after_abuse_claim+.shtml) -- Boston Globe, By Associated Press, Oct 8 2003
• Cape priest tied to slaying probe. FALMOUTH (MA): A Woods Hole priest with ties to alleged killer and convicted sex offender Paul R. Nolin Jr. has been placed on leave from his duties, pending the outcome of the investigation into the slaying of a 20-year-old Falmouth man, a spokesman for the Diocese of Fall River said. The Rev. Bernard Kelly, 70, of St. Joseph's parish in the Woods Hole section of Falmouth, was placed on leave Monday pending the outcome of an investigation into Jonathan Wessner's death, spokesman John Kearns said. Wessner's body was found last week on a rocky beach in Woods Hole. Nolin, 39, has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and murder. Nolin's attorney, Robert Nolan, told the Cape Cod Times that Nolin and Kelly were "good friends," and that Nolin was a parishioner at St. Joseph's and worked for the church as a handyman. Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe informed Bishop George Coleman last week that authorities wanted to talk to Kelly as part of the murder investigation, according to a statement from the diocese. At a meeting with the bishop Monday, Kelly was relieved of his duties "until the investigation into the death of Mr. Wessner is completed or at least any questions that would involve Father Kelly are answered," Kearns told the Cape Cod Times. Wessner was last was seen leaving a Falmouth party with Nolin on the morning of Sept. 20. The identification of the body, discovered early Saturday, was confirmed by Julie Donahue, Wessner's mother. -- Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/281/metro/Cape_priest_tied_to_slaying_probe+.shtml), By Associated Press, Oct 8 2003 (Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynteronline)
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