Bishop McManus places pastor on leave

Bishop McManus places pastor on leave

Bishop McManus places pastor on leaveNovember 19, 2006, Worcester, MA – Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, shared the following announcement at all the Masses this weekend at St. Mary Parish, Uxbridge.“I come before you tonight with a saddened heart to announce that I have placed Fr. Paul Doherty on administrative leave so as to undergo spiritual and psychological treatment. At Fr. Doherty’s request, he and I met this past Friday, November 17 at my residence in Worcester. During that meeting Father confided to me that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than thirty years ago. Because of the serious nature of this admission, I had to relieve Father of his duties as pastor of the parish and to remove his faculties as a priest.”“I truly realize that this kind of news is a shock for you as it has been for me. I ask that you join me in prayer for the parish and school communities, as well as for those who have been hurt in any way by sexual misconduct. And, of course, please keep Fr. Paul in your prayers.” “The Catholic Church is often referred to as the family of God. As your bishop, I have a serious pastoral responsibility for the spiritual care and wellbeing of this family. That is why I have come to this parish personally to share this very troubling news. A family rejoices together in good times and also grieves together in times of hurt and sadness. My fervent hope and prayer is that relying on each other’s support and on God’s grace we will work together as a parish and as a diocese to continue to make St. Mary Parish a strong and vibrant community of faith, hope and love. After the Masses this weekend, I will be here to meet with anyone who wishes to gather in the rectory living room along with Mrs. Frances Nugent, co-director of the Office of Healing and Prevention. I pray that God’s all powerful grace may bring you comfort and healing in the weeks and months ahead.”Fr. Doherty was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Worcester in 1995. He has served as Associate Pastor at St. Patrick, Whitinsville and St. Mary, Shrewsbury before being named pastor of St. Mary, Uxbridge in September of 2000.

The Church has only its self to blame

The Church has only its self to blame

More time backed for abuse casesBy AMAN BATHEJASTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITERLocal lawmakers say they will support extending the statute of limitations on child sex abuse in the next legislative session, a proposal getting renewed attention following revelations this week that Fort Worth Catholic Diocese officials misled people about sexual abuse by priests and tried to delay victims from taking legal action until time ran out.Local lawmakers differed on how far to extend the point at which a child sex abuse accuser could file a criminal complaint or lawsuit and said the chance of such legislation passing next year in Austin would hinge on the details.Texas law currently gives accusers 10 years after their 18th birthday to take action.Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said that time should be increased because of the delicate circumstances that can cause a victim to take longer to face an abuser."It would be appropriate to give a victim or an alleged victim more time to overcome certain mental anguishes that they may be experiencing," Veasey said. "I think we'd obviously need to debate what would be appropriate for how much more time is needed and to be fair about the situation."Rep. Anna Mowery, R-Fort Worth, approved of extending the statute of limitations but said the length of an extension would need to be debated."I don't know if I think someone in their advanced years ought to be charging someone that's dead," Mowery said. "It's got to be practical about it."Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, in the past has supported eliminating the statute of limitations for molestation.Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has filed a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual assault against a child, just as Texas law currently treats murder. Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, has filed a similar bill in the House.Ellis proposed the same bill in 2004. The bill never made it out of committee despite strong public support, said Kenneth Besserman, a spokesman for Ellis.Besserman said the bill should have a better chance this time around, in part because of the strong focus that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst put in his re-election campaign on toughening laws regarding sexual abuse of children."All things being equal, I think we have a better shot this time than last time now that the issue has become more prominent," Besserman said.Dewhurst supports increasing the statute of limitations, according to spokesman Rich Parsons.In Pennsylvania, allegations of assaults on minors by more than 60 priests since 1967 prompted a major overhaul of how the state deals with sexual abuse of children. On Wednesday, Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill extending the time accusers of child abuse have to sue until the accusers' 50th birthday. Also, an employer or supervisor can now be held criminally liable if they were told of abuse by an employee who cared for children but failed to stop it, according to legislation passed Wednesday.In terms of revamping Texas law concerning failure to report child sexual abuse, Geren, Mowery and Veasey all said their support would depend on how the bill was written.For instance, Mowery noted that lawmakers would have to decide whether only employers who had direct knowledge of abuse were liable, or even those who had perhaps heard rumors about such abuse."It would have to be strictly structured," she said.Staff writer Pete Alfano contributed to this report.

A papecy in which a pope utters virtual heresy

A papecy in which a pope utters virtual heresy

Pope John Paul II enjoyed the spotlight on the world stage. Mass media, modern travel and PR techniques were used to promote his brand of Catholicism. Shown kissing the ground at airports or wracked in pain in his final years were political acts. He also polarised the Catholic church. At the time of his death, mainstream media celebrated his role in directing mass revolt against Stalinism down pro-capitalist channels. MANNY THAIN reviews a recent, critical biography.AMAZING SCENES ACCOMPANIED the long drawn out and public death agony of Pope John Paul II, pronounced dead on 2 April 2005. He had reigned for 27 years, the second-longest serving pope in history. In his last days, tens of thousands of people from all over the world flocked to Saint Peter’s Square, Rome, the threshold of Vatican City, the papal ‘state’. It was a testament to the enduring influence of the Catholic church, established nearly 2,000 years ago. Several hundred thousand turned up for the funeral. Two hundred world leaders attended, including, for the first time, a US president.To many, this live-and-direct celebrity death-watch was inspirational. To others, it was macabre voyeurism. What is clear is that it was a meticulously stage-managed final act in John Paul II’s career as figurehead of the Catholic church, with which over a billion people, one in six of the world’s population, identify themselves.Shortly before his death, the latest in a long line of biographies was published. As with much commentary on the papacy, The Pope in Winter is written by a Catholic author. John Cornwell wishes to see a modernised papacy capable of adapting to the fast pace of change in the 21st century. His account is well researched and informative.In the introduction, Cornwell raises his key criticisms: "We have had a papacy in which a pope utters virtual heresy, bishops and faithful are told they may not discuss women priesthood, a curial cardinal teaches that condoms kill, prelates guilty of having shielded paedophiles are honoured, and a US president exploits the papacy as an election campaign stop".It is a critique of a bureaucratic regime from someone who seeks its reform.

No punishment can equal the anguish of victims

No punishment can equal the anguish of victims

Abuse by those in positions of trust sickening 12/03/2006Two stories that made headlines Friday make many people wonder if America is going to a certain place in a handbag. Maryland Rabbi David A. Kaye, 56, was sentenced Friday to 6½ years in prison for attempting to have sex with someone posing as a 13-year-old boy. The rabbi was convicted in September on federal charges of enticement and traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexual conduct. Kaye’s case took on national prominence after he was seen on TV’s "Dateline NBC" in a sting that was conducted in conjunction with an Internet watchdog group called Perverted Justice.A member of Perverted Justice posing as a 13-year-old boy met Kaye in an online chat room in 2005 and Kaye solicited sex acts. When Kaye drove to what he thought was the boy’s home in Virginia, Kaye was confronted by a TV reporter and camera crew and admitted he was there for "not something good."During the rabbi’s sentencing, prosecutors provided documentation that proved it wasn’t the first time Kaye had engaged in improper conduct with youths.Kaye was a rabbi at a congregation in Potomac, Md., for 16 years and at the time of the sting was vice president of a Jewish youth organization called PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leaders and Values.While any sex act with an underage person is legally and morally wrong, Kaye’s crime seems much worse because of his status in the religious community. After all, if a youngster can’t trust a person of the cloth, who can they trust?On the same day Kaye was being put away, the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese, the nation’s largest, was settling 45 sex-abuse cases for a total of $60 million, according to the Associated Press. It was the largest payout yet by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from the molestation crisis that’s plagued the church.The claims settled Friday involve 22 priests and include allegations from two periods when the archdiocese had limited or no insurance against sexual abuse claims -- prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.Friday’s settlement was the largest in California since 2004, when the Diocese of Orange agreed to spend $100 million to settle 90 abuse claims. It was also the fourth-largest in the nation since the clergy abuse crisis erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, according to an Associated Press review of settlements.According to AP, four dioceses -- Tucson, Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore., and Davenport, Iowa -- sought bankruptcy protection from a flood of lawsuits. Delaware County has had its share of turmoil involving abusive clergy. A grand jury convened by Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham in 2002 to investigate clerical sexual abuse released its report in September 2005, naming 63 priests who allegedly abused children as far back as the 1940s -- 43 of whom had connections with Delaware County. A new law signed Wednesday by Gov. Ed Rendell will hopefully toughen penalties for pedophiles.No matter how stiff the punishment, though, it can never equal the anguish the abuse victims must endure for the remainder of their lives. And the fact the abuse came from people in positions of trust makes the crimes worse

No longer a Catholic

No longer a Catholic

Abuse victim haunted by memoriesBY GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated PressArticle Last Updated:12/02/2006 09:31:31 PM PSTA former nun who says she's haunted by her memory of being molested by a pedophile priest as a young girl hopes a landmark settlement by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will help her heal. Mary Dispenza, 67, no longer calls herself a Catholic, no longer attends church and doubts she will be able to reconcile the abuse with her faith. "Everything that I knew, all my identity, was wrapped up in the church in one way or another; I was just lost," said Dispenza, who lives in Bellevue, Wash. "I felt we both lost: The church lost me, and I lost the church. And we both had invested a lot in each other for all those years." She expects to receive $1.33 million as part of the $60 million the archdiocese said Friday it would pay to settle 45 sexual abuse lawsuits, the largest church sex abuse settlement since 2004. The payments cover cases from periods when the nation's largest archdiocese had little or no sexual abuse insurance - cases before the mid-1950s and after 1987. The agreement should be completed by early next week, said Ray Boucher, the plaintiffs' lead attorney. For years, Dispenza said, she repressed the memory of her abuse at the hands of the now-defrocked Rev. George Neville Rucker,also accused of molesting 37 other girls over three decades. Rucker, now 86, was criminally charged in 2002 with 29 counts of molestation and pleaded not guilty. The charges were later dropped after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned a California law that erased the statute of limitations for filing criminal molestation cases. Rucker's attorney, Donald Steier, said Friday he would not discuss the alleged abuse but was glad Dispenza was able to settle the claim "and put it behind her." Dispenza said she was a 7-year-old girl in 1947 when Rucker reached down her panties and fondled her after she had wandered into the darkened auditorium of her Roman Catholic primary school. After he abused her, Dispenza says, the young priest held her hand as he walked her to the back of the auditorium. She washed her hands before returning to her mother and didn't tell anyone what had happened for more than 40 years. "I went into this little bathroom and I remember washing my hands, washing and washing. As a 7-year-old, I think I thought that would clean me or something," she said in a telephone interview. "That's where I left little Mary for many, many years. I just detached and split." Dispenza worked for six years at St. Alphonsus School in East Los Angeles, the same school where she says Rucker abused her, and joined a convent for a time.

Nobody in the Diocese of Dublin believe in justice

Nobody in the Diocese of Dublin believe in Justice

A FOUR-year garda inquiry into allegations that the Catholic Church covered up child sex abuse in Ireland's largest diocese has failed to produce sufficient evidence to lay charges against any senior church figures. A combination of obduracy, the death of priests suspected of abuse, a lower than expected tally of victims willing to file complaints and limited access to diocesan files has resulted in the inquiry "running into the sand", according to victims of abuse.Victims who brokered an historic apology from Cardinal Desmond Connell,the retired archbishop of Ireland's largest diocese, are angry that after a four-year investigation only a handful of prosecutions have been secured in the courts. Victims of paedophile priests had hoped that a dedicated core of National Bureau of Criminal Investigation detectives would confirm widespread allegations that the Church concealed the activities of abusive priests in Dublin. But the Irish Independent has learned that no charges are pending against senior diocesan officials. Last night the diocese confirmed that detectives investigating allegations of abuse had held a meeting with Dr Connell, who said his tenure as Archbishop had been "devastated" by the abuse scandal. A state inquiry, led by Judge Yvonne Murphy, into how the Church handled allegations of complaints against priests on the diocese is now under way.Twenty detectives have been assigned to the so-called "God Squad" since 2002. But despite evidence that priests were transferred to other parishes, where they continued to abuse, and despite public admissions by senior figures that not all relevant information was passed to the civil authorities, no charges will be laid against senior members of the church. The garda review of files resulted in a handful of fresh claims that were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but the inability of the DPP to prosecute - due to lack of evidence or lapses in time - has led support groups to warn victims not to expect a positive outcome from the garda investigation.Only eight priests in the Dublin diocese have been tried and convicted in the Irish courts.Marie Collins, who brokered the historic apology in 2002 from Cardinal Connell, has expressed disappointment with the level of liaison between detectives and some victims who made statements regarding the handling of their complaints by senior diocesan personnel. "I'm sorry to admit now that I have lost my faith in the garda inquiry," said Ms Collins, who was abused by Fr Paul McGennis, a hospital chaplain, in 1960 when she was aged 13.Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, published details of an internal audit for inspection by the Commission of Investigation into the Dublin Archdiocese, which listed 102 priests accused or suspected of sexually abusing 390 child victims. The internal audit yielded more abusers than the four-year trawl by gardai, who were assured that they would have unlimited access to diocesan files.Representatives of victims of abuse said that the status of the garda investigation must be fully investigated by the Dublin commission."It is a huge concern that, given the resources that were provided to the gardai when the investigation began four years ago, it hasn't produced anything of substance," said Colm O'Gorman, director of the One in Four victim-support charity. Mr O'Gorman, who is running as a Progressive Democrat candidate in Wexford in next year's general election, said the disparity between church estimates and state prosecutions was alarming."There is a huge disparity between the number of priests investigated and prosecuted and the recent figure of at least 102 likely offenders provided by the diocese."

No justice for victims

No justice for victims

Priest Accused of Abuse Asks Court to Keep His File Secret Los Angeles Times By John SpanoSeptember 08, 2006The church is well aware that if they can tie these documents up in the court system, they also can stop the trial. A Los Angeles priest has asked an appeals court to block the release of his church personnel file to four people who have accused him of molesting them as children.Lynn Caffoe, who was suspended from the priesthood after sexual abuse claims in 1991, says disclosure of the confidential files to plaintiffs suing him over the alleged abuse would violate his rights.Donald H. Steier, who represents Caffoe and many other priests, said Friday, 'It's an important case. Let's do it right.' Katherine K. Freberg, who represents the four, said the church continues to attempt to evade responsibility for its sexual abuse crisis. 'Father Caffoe and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will do anything possible to keep these documents from seeing the light of day,' Freberg said. She said the file would show 'the church's continuing coverup and protection of these priests.' Some 570 people have sued individual priests and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alleging that the church failed to protect them from sexual abuse over the last 60 years. The civil action against Caffoe is scheduled for trial in November.How the courts treat Caffoe's files will affect how other accused priests are treated and the extent to which the victims can develop their legal claims. The archdiocese, citing the church's constitutional rights and other privileges, has long fought to keep its files from attorneys for victims and prosecutors.The U.S. Supreme Court in April ordered Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to turn over the documents to the county grand jury, and a trial judge ruled they must go to the Caffoe plaintiffs.Summaries of Caffoe's personnel file that have been disclosed indicate that complaints of misconduct were lodged against him in 1986 and 1989. In 1991, the priest's therapist reported his suspicion of child abuse to law enforcement, according to a church summary of the file. Police opened an investigation, and Mahony suspended Caffoe shortly thereafter.Mahony has said he and other bishops at first believed molesters could be cured through therapy. The cardinal said he has since come to understand the approach has failed, and the church has declared a zero-tolerance policy. Caffoe's appeal to the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles seeks to assert a number of individual rights, including privacy, attorney-client privilege and physician-patient privilege, Steier said. The appeals court froze proceedings until it has a chance to hear Caffoe's appeal.'We need the documents to try these cases. We need the documents to do further investigation,' Freberg said.'The church is well aware that if they can tie these documents up in the court system, they also can stop the trial.'

Diocese putting money before the welfare of children

Diocese putting money before the welfare of children

Iowa Diocese Changes Legal Strategy In Sex Abuse Cases Against Priests DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is changing legal strategies in lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by priests. The diocese plans to defend itself before a jury against allegation of allowing sexual abuse to go unreported and unpunished.Since 2004, the diocese has settled cases totaling about ten-million dollars. Church officials say they face financial ruin if they settle pending cases involving two former priests -- Thomas Feeney and Lawrence Soens.Craig Levien is the attorney for several people suing the church. He says the diocese is going to court because its insurance options have run out and it is trying to shield assets.The attorney for the diocese, Rand Wonio, disputes claims that a financial burden hasn't been borne.

Forgive and Forget From King Lear

Forgive and Forget From King Lear

Yet victims are made to feel more sinful by being told to "forgive, as Christ forgave you". They are told that God forgave them unconditionally, and they should therefore forgive the perpetrator unconditionally. This is false theology. God does not forgive unconditionally. God's forgiveness is dependent on four things:1. Recognition of the sin. Without recognition of sin by the sinner, there is no forgiveness.2. Repentance of the sin. Without repentance by the sinner, and a firm intention to change, there is no forgiveness.3. Recompense for the sin. In other words: payment, or punishment. Whatever word you use, there is clear evidence that God's forgiveness is dependent on someone paying the price for sin before forgiveness is possible.4. Restitution for the sin. Sinners in the Bible who recognised their sin tried to restore the situation to a "pre-sin" state (eg. Zacchaeus paying back four times what he stole). This was the action which authenticated their claim of repentance. When the church demands these four things of perpetrators of sexual abuse, before requesting that the victim forgives, then they will be acting in line with Scriptural patterns. Until and unless the Church requires these things of perpetrators, victims will only be forced into a false forgiveness, which hinders their and the affected congregation's full healing.Other problems that often arise for victims are the issues of forgiving and forgetting, forgiveness and trust, forgiveness and punishment, forgiveness and reconciliation, and repentance and remorse:Forgive and forget We are often told to "forgive and forget", and we assume it is Scriptural. It isn't. The phrase "forgive and forget" comes from Shakespeare's King Lear. While God may forget, at no time does God require humans to do so. In fact, requiring victims of abuse to forget is the worst thing possible. It is the exact opposite of the healing process. Healing requires integration, not repression, of the memories.Forgiveness and trust Forgiveness is often confused with trust. This confusion ignores the fact that forgiveness is about past events, while trust is about the future. Even when a perpetrator has truly repented, it is still the only responsible course to ensure that they are kept out of situations that may cause temptation.Forgiveness and punishment Many believe that forgiveness and punishment are opposites - that forgiveness negates the need for punishment. This is not so. The opposite of forgiveness is revenge. Punishment, on the other hand, is society's means of enforcing moral standards and the offender's personal responsibility.Forgiveness and reconciliation Often victims are expected to be reconciled to the offender, especially after they claim to have forgiven. Forgiveness, however, only says that there is no continuing bitterness. It does not, and cannot necessarily, mean that the relationship can be restored, as if the abuse had never happened. Sins may be forgiven, but their consequences may be permanent. Letting go of the past does not mean altering it.Repentance and remorse Remorse is not repentance, although is often mistaken for it. Remorse focuses on the possible consequences of discovery for the offender, rather than focussing on recognition and restitution. Repentance is about taking responsibility; remorse is about avoiding it. An easy way to determine whether an offender is remorseful or repentant is to ask what they plan to do in restitution.

Diocese on trial for child abuse1

1:32 PM CDT on Monday, September 4, 2006

By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TVAlso Online2/8/05:

Diocese faces DA inquiry Special report:

Catholic priests and sex abuse Clergy abuse tracker• from Poynter Online Diocese of Dallas• official site Reporting allegations of sexual abuse• from Diocese of Dallas

Did Catholic officials in Dallas ignore evidence of massive sexual abuse at one local parish in the late 1990s? Those allegations are at the center of a civil trial set to begin in Dallas on Tuesday. The year was 1997. The Dallas Catholic Diocese was under fire and on trial for letting Rev. Rudy Kos sexually molest at least eleven boys at area parishes. The case drew national attention and resulted in the largest clergy abuse verdict in history—nearly $120 million. Diocese officials pledged to make changes; the young victims demanded it. "The church didn't want it to happen to them, but it did happen, and sometimes bad things happen to good people," said Monsignor John Bell. Yet at the same time Catholic officials vowed to protect children, two men employed at the after-school and day-care programs at St. Pius X Parish in East Dallas were busy molesting more than a dozen children. Julio Marcos, a vice principal, was sexually abusing seven- to eleven-year-olds. Patrick Wilhoite was molesting children between the ages of two and five. Wilhoite gained the trust of the children by calling himself "Dr. Issac," and through the use of a more sinister means—his self-styled "clown ministry." Marcos earned the trust of church officials and parents and exploited that trust to extremes. Once left alone with children, Marcos would lure young girls with games like "Truth or Dare," molesting them in his classroom, in the bathroom and church playground—even during sleepovers at his house. Both men have confessed their crimes and are serving time, but the families of the young victims still believe the church needs to be held accountable for its role in what happened. "It's just a staggering number of children who admit they have been abused by these two men," said Michael Pezzulli, an attorney who has represented several of the victims suing Saint Pius and the Dallas Diocese. In seven cases, the church has quietly settled. But Pezzulli said the Diocese's unwillingness to settle the case of a severely-abused seven-year-old tells him lessons have yet to be learned. "There were repeated warning signs; they knew—or should have known—that he was doing these activities and that they were negligent and grossly negligent in not intervening and protecting these children," Pezzulli said. "The objective is always to try to settle these cases, if it is humanly possible to do that," said Randy Mathis, an attorney who represents the Dallas Diocese. Mathis also represented the church in the Rudy Kos trial nine years ago. Mathis acknowledges the abuse, and says sweeping changes have been made. "It's impossible to prevent all abuse, but certainly the objective is to try to prevent all of it," Mathis said. But the family of the seven-year-old victim feels it is only impossible if the whole truth never comes out. "Someone has to stand up and make them stop, and that's what we are trying to do," Pezzulli said.