Jury hears testimony to decide damages to priest molestation victim

San Francisco, California --

Dennis Kavanaugh may not have known divorce, imprisonment and persistent guilt and shame if he hadn't been molested by a priest as a young boy, his lawyer said Monday as the second phase of a landmark civil trial against the Archdiocese of San Francisco got underway.

Kavanaugh is one of 22 former grade-school students who said they were repeatedly molested by the Rev. Joseph Pritchard, who died in 1988 before the allegations against him surfaced. A jury hearing Kavanaugh's lawsuit against the archdiocese decided Friday that church officials knew or should have known Pritchard was abusing young boys while he was a pastor at St. Martin of Tours in San Jose."

Read the article at AP Wire dated Mar. 21, 2005

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Albuquerque priest on leave pending sexual abuse allegations

Albuquerque, New Mexico --

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has place an Albuquerque priest on paid leave while it investigates an allegation of sexual abuse against him.

The archdiocese says the Reverend Ronald Bruckner will remain on leave until the situation is resolved.

The archdiocese says Bruckner will not exercise any public ministry while on leave.

Bruckner is pastor of Our Lady of the Annunciation Roman Catholic Church in Albuquerque.

Read the article at KVIA.com dated March 22, 2005

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‘Bankrupt’ diocese transfers $400,000

St. George's, Newfoundland --

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. George’s has told victims of sexual abuse that it’s setting aside a $400,000 retainer for professional fees, a move that outraged victims say is another tactic to avoid compensation and minimize assets.

This is absolutely unbelievable, said Randy Johnston.

They’ve done everything in this world to not pay us.

The corporation served notice of intent to file for bankruptcy roughly a week ago as a way to deal with compensating victims in the sex abuse case of Father Kevin Bennett.

It had 10 days to file cash flow statements to list liquid assets (not including property).

Those statements were made available to the victims Friday.

Read the article at Transcontinental Newsnet dated March 19, 2005

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San Francisco Jury Rules Against Church in Sex Suit

San Francisco, California -

San Francisco's Roman Catholic Archdiocese was aware of the sexual abuse of a teen-age boy by one of its priests in the 1970s, a jury decided on Friday in a verdict with implications for hundreds of similar lawsuits in California.

'This verdict resolved the issue of whether the Archdiocese of San Francisco knew or should have known,' said Larry Drivon, the lawyer for 47-year-old Dennis Kavanaugh, who sued the Archdiocese alleging one of its priests molested him repeatedly when he was a teen-ager.

San Francisco Archbishop William Levada said church officials were never aware of any abuse.

'I find it very troubling that while the Archdiocese certainly did not know of the molestation, a very subjective judgment can be made under the law, using today's sensibilities regarding what the Archdiocese 'should' have known more than 30 years ago,' Levada said in a statement.

Read the article at Reuters.com dated Mar 18, 2005

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'Doubt' is fearless, bracing theater

Pasadena, California --

The most intriguing dramatic arguments are those that admit they have no easy solutions and don't pretend to offer any. I give you "Doubt," the aptly titled, quite relevant play by John Patrick Shanley that confronts the topic of sex abuse within the Catholic Church.

The play is set in 1964 in a world still reeling from the assassination of President Kennedy. But the arguments - and questions - over the proper conduct of priests are timely to say the least.

"Doubt" is having its West Coast premiere just as a heralded Manhattan Theatre Club production is transferring to Broadway. So score one, yet again, for artistic director Sheldon Epps and the Pasadena Playhouse for getting a hot new play to L.A. audiences with such astonishing quickness.

Read the article at U-Daily Bulletin - STAGE dated March 17, 2005

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Jury says SF archdiocese liable for sex abuse

San Francisco, California --

A jury concluded today that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco knew or should have known that a priest at one of its churches was molesting boys in his parish in the early 1970s.

The decision and a jury verdict on damages, which the panel will consider next week, could influence what Catholic dioceses will have to pay to settle 150 top 200 clergy sex-abuse coverup cases that plaintiffs have filed across Northern California.

The plaintiff in the case decided today, 47-year-old Dennis Kavanaugh of Palo Alto, was the first person to take one of these lawsuits to trial against the Catholic Church in California since a 2002 state law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on damage claims against organizations that gave known pedophiles access to more victims.

Read the article at www.sfgate.com dated March 18, 2005

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DuPage judge rules abuse case against priest can continue

Joliet, Illinois --

A judge's ruling will allow a civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of a minor by a former priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet to continue.

The diocese had argued too much time had elapsed for a lawsuit to be filed, but DuPage County Judge Stephen Culliton on March 10 rejected that argument.

The plaintiff, a Glen Ellyn man in his 40s, alleges he was sexually abused by the Rev. Edward Stefanich at Christ the King Church in Lombard during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The man says he repressed memories of the abuse until the recent church sex scandal. He filed the lawsuit in September 2003.

Stefanich was arrested in 1987 for sexually abusing a 14-year-old Woodridge girl. He pleaded guilty and was removed from the priesthood.

In the recent case, Culliton rejected the diocese's argument that a statute of repose should prevent the lawsuit from moving forward, saying the state Legislature repealed the statute a decade ago.

The plaintiff says the ruling will benefit all survivors of clergy abuse, especially those affected by the Joliet Diocese. The diocese may initially offer modest compensation to victims with credible claims, he said, but resorts to hardball legal tactics once a lawsuit is filed.

'The diocese is taking the position that they do not negotiate,' said the man, identified as John Doe in the suit. 'This (ruling) may force them to change that.'

Sister Judith Davies, Joliet diocese chancellor, said she learned of the ruling March 11.

'While the diocese respects the decision of the court, it is in the process of considering what options it might take,' she said.

Read the article at suburbanchicagonews.com dated 03/18/05

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New priest closes door on meeting of activist church group

Boston, Massachusetts --

The local chapter of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), a national organization formed to protect people from sexual abuse by priests, will find no welcome at St. Joseph Church.

The new pastor at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church has notified the group that it can’t meet at the church. The group had planned to meet on April 11.

The Voice of the Faithful was formed in Boston two years ago in the wake of the scandal involving sexual abuse by priests The group has called for changes in the Catholic church, including more openness in helping those who have been abused by priests.

Read the article at Observer-Tribune dated 03/16/2005

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Ohio Senate votes to aid victims of clergy abuse

Columbus, Ohio -

Tears stained the face of Toledo firefighter Tony Comes as the Ohio Senate yesterday unanimously approved a bill that would briefly open the courthouse doors to alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy as long ago as 1970.

It was an emotional vote, but the courts may ultimately decide whether it was a constitutional vote. The bill faces a tougher time in the House.

The Senate voted to lengthen the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving child sexual abuse to 20 years. The clock would not start ticking until the victim reaches the age of 18, meaning litigation could remain a possibility until the age of 38.

Read the article at toledoblade.com dated March 17, 2005

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Scranton man charged in Monroe child porn case

Scranton, Pennsylvania --

An unemployed Scranton man was arrested Thursday on charges he downloaded child pornography onto a computer while staying at St. Ann's Catholic Church Rectory, police said.

Virgil Bradley Tetherow, 40, admitted he downloaded the pictures while he was staying at the rectory during January 2004 and January 2005, Pocono Mountain Regional Police said.

Police said the investigation began Jan. 17 when they were informed images of young men engaged in sexual acts were found on a computer at the rectory.

Tetherow was charged with sexual abuse of children and criminal use of a communication facility.

Read the article at mcall.com dated March 17, 2005

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Superior Diocese denies bishop aided Widera coverup

Superior, Wisconsin --

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior says Bishop Raphael Fliss never helped cover up a priest's history of sexual abuse while serving as an administrator with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee three decades ago, as a recently filed lawsuit suggests.

The diocese issued a news release responding to the accusations in a lawsuit filed March 3 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court by two clergy abuse victims.

The lawsuit accused the Milwaukee Archdiocese of fraud and said Fliss helped with the coverup regarding the late Rev. Siegfried Widera. The male victims said that as minors they were abused dozens of times by the priest from 1973-76.

Read the article at Duluth News Tribune dated Mar. 17, 2005

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Molestation trial under way against S.F. Archdiocese / 3 plaintiffs claim church should have known of '70s abuse

San Francisco, California --

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco knew, or should have known, that one of its more popular pastors was molesting boys in his private quarters at a San Jose church, attorneys for one of the victims said Tuesday as a groundbreaking lawsuit went to trial.

The outcome of the case, along with the verdict in another trial in the East Bay, could affect what the Catholic Church will pay to settle about 150 clergy sex-abuse coverup cases across Northern California.

Read the article at sfgate.com dated March 16, 2005

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Man takes Church to court over child abuse

Coundon, Coventry, England, United Kingdom --

A man who claims he suffers mental health problems because of 'horrendous' sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his parish priest has begun a claim for damages against the Catholic Church.

London's High Court heard the 34-year-old, named only as A for legal reasons, was abused for ten years by Father Christopher Clonan, who at the time was assistant priest of the Christ the King Church in Coundon, Coventry.

Barrister Robert Seabrook QC, for A, said the priest died in Australia in 1998, at the age of 56, after going on the run and never facing the prosecution police wanted to bring.

Mr Seabrook said Fr Clonan subjected A to a catalogue of ' horrendous' assaults between 1978 and 1988, having ingratiated himself with the then youngster's 'devout' Roman Catholic family.

Read the article at icBirmingham dated Mar 16 2005

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Catholic order sued; sex abuse is alleged

Spokane, Washington --

Thirty people filed two lawsuits yesterday against the Sulpician order of the Roman Catholic Church, saying officials at the now-closed St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore hadn't warned church officials about a former Spokane priest accused of molestation in many earlier lawsuits.

The lawsuits filed yesterday in King County Superior Court say that from 1968 to 1971 Patrick O'Donnell attended St. Thomas, where he sexually abused at least five minors and told seminary faculty about the molestations and his urges to have sexual contact with boys.

The seminary, which was run by the order, sent O'Donnell to group therapy, but did not report him to civil authorities or warn the Spokane Diocese, according to the suits. The Spokane Diocese ordained O'Donnell a priest in 1971; he was removed from ministry in the mid-1980s.

Read the article at The Seattle Times dated March 16, 2005

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An approach to stop sex abuse

Byron, Minnesota --

I am a victim of sexual abuse by a priest.

Since hearing that Robert Riess, my abuser, was murdered in Mexico in February, I realized the Catholic Church isn't doing all it can do to stop the abuse.

So knowing I can no longer sit by and let our children continue to be hurt, I sat down and developed a new approach to force the church to change.

My theory is based off running a business. In any business, the only time they make major changes in the way they do business is when they are spending more than they are taking in. This is when they stop and take a careful look at why they are not profitable.

So the same would apply to the Catholic Church. If it is spending more money on sexual abuse cases than the church supporters are bringing in, it will force the hierarchy to take a close look into the 'why.'

My basic new approach is this: Church members need to withhold money from the church until the hierarchy takes a close look at 'why.'

Read the article at globegazette.com dated March 16, 2005

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State still without clergy-reporting law

Albany, New York --

When Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan visited Albany a few years ago, he was pelted with questions from the media about pedophile priests.
It was the height of the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked both the Catholic Church and its faithful.

Three years after that visit, state lawmakers in Albany continue to work on legislation that would require clergy members to report incidents of sex abuse to civil authorities.

There was no talk of the priest scandals when New York's Catholic Conference came to the state Capitol last week to push its legislative agenda. Instead, talk focused on the crisis facing Catholic schools statewide.

Read the article at www.wstm.com dated March 20, 2005

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Church witnesses say 1970s was era of relative innocence

San Francisco, California --

Two experts on child sexual abuse testified Wednesday in a civil church-abuse case that the sight of young boys sitting on a priest's lap would not necessarily have raised suspicions during the 1970s.

A lawyer for the San Francisco Archdiocese presented four witnesses, including a retired FBI investigator and a retired San Francisco police officer, to describe for jurors an era that one expert called "innocent," long before the abusive behavior of priests became a national scandal.

Their testimony was intended to bolster claims by the archdiocese that it could not have suspected that one of its priests was a child molester. It is being sued by a man, now 47, who claims abuse dating back to the early 1970s.

SignOnSanDiego.com dated March 16, 2005

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Dioceses across state will ask judges to toss abuse lawsuits

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --

Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania plan to ask judges to dismiss dozens of lawsuits filed by alleged victims of priest abuse years ago.
The move follows a ruling by a panel of Superior Court judges on Monday. The panel says the state's two-year time limit on personal injury lawsuits generally prohibits people from suing for events that are years or decades old.

The ruling directly applies only to 18 plaintiffs who sued the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, but church lawyers say they think the standard will apply to most of the pending clergy-abuse cases in the state.

Read the article at www.wnep.com dated March 20, 2005

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New Priest Abuse Lawsuit Filed

Dubuque, Iowa --

Members of an abuse victims rights group are blasting Catholic church leaders in Dubuque this noon, for their response to a new abuse allegation..

Court documents accuse Father John Schmitz of sexually abusing a girl at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Dubuque in 1959. The victim, identified in court documents as 'Jane Doe,' filed her lawsuit on Friday.

Members of 'Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests,' also known as 'SNAP,' say the Archdiocese tranferred the priest from parish to parish, including Cedar Rapids and New Hampton, knowing he allegedly raped a girl.

Read the article at New Priest Abuse Lawsuit Filed dated March 14, 2005

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Fight pledged on clergy abuse lawsuits ruling

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --

Lawyers for alleged clergy abuse victims in the Catholic Diocese of Allentown and elsewhere have vowed to pursue lawsuits despite a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling that says the statute of limitations trumps victims' rights to sue church leadership.

Observers say plaintiffs might not be able to overcome the Monday ruling that rejected a novel legal strategy to overcome the statute. The ruling sets a legal precedent and might lead to the dismissal of suits in Lehigh County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Eighteen plaintiffs from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia essentially had argued that the clock on the statute of limitations should be reset to 2002, when the Catholic Church acknowledged child abuse by some members of the clergy and the hierarchy's failure to prevent it.

Read the article at mcall.com dated March 16, 2005

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Alleged abuse victims testify in church negligence trial

San Jose, California -

In the first day of testimony in a trial alleging church negligence regarding sexual abuse by a San Jose pastor in the 1970s, attorneys for a former Catholic school student who says he was molested tried to show that church officials may have or should have known beforehand the priest was acting inappropriately with the boys in his parish.

At least two priests witnessed boys sitting on the Rev. Joseph Pritchard's lap in his private rooms at St. Martin of Tours, and one of the alleged victims said a priest who walked in while he was being molested may have seen evidence of it, according to plaintiffs' attorney Larry Drivon.

Lawyers for the church conceded abuse probably took place but said neither the priests, other adults in the parish nor the San Francisco archbishop, who oversaw the San Jose region at the time, had any idea Pritchard was doing anything wrong. They also promised testimony from law enforcement about what child abuse experts at the time would have thought about a child sitting on a priest's lap.

Read the article at MercuryNews.com dated Mar. 16, 2005

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Jury selection begins in church sex abuse case

Alameda, California --

Jury selection started Monday in the civil trial of two brothers suing the Diocese of Oakland for alleged sexual molestation by a former priest.

Attorney Richard Simons, representing Robert and Tom Thatcher in the case, said a pool of 78 prospective jurors filled out questionnaires on the case Monday afternoon, and another 78 are expected to fill out similar questionnaires this morning.

Jury selection could continue into next week, a diocese spokesman said.

The brothers claim they were molested more than 20 years ago by the Rev. Robert Ponciroli, then-pastor at St. Ignatius Church in Antioch. Ponciroli has since been defrocked.

Read the article at Alameda Times-Star dated: 03/15/2005

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Church in Crisis: Mahony, in legal battle, insists church has right to secrecy

Los Angeles, California --

Since June 2002, when the scandal-plagued Catholic bishops met in Dallas to adopt a youth protection charter, Cardinal Roger Mahony has cast himself as a reformer, an image that is jarring to many people immersed in the legal saga here in which the archdiocese has waged a fierce battle to keep sensitive documents secret.

If priests are indicted and some end up in prison or whatever, that’s going to be very sad for them, for the church, Mahony told the Los Angeles Times in the weeks following that 2002 meeting. But if that is required to move beyond, that’s what we’re going to have to go through.

Two and a half years later, amid the slow grind of court proceedings, Mahony spoke of his own terrible journey in a Feb. 12 telephone interview with NCR. It’s easy to look back through lenses of today to 15, 20, 30 years ago. You just wish you had known then what I know now about the way sexual offenders behave.

I’ve met a very large number of victims, he continued. I’ve also looked at the taped interviews [of victims] the plaintiff attorneys here have developed. Dozens of interviews on DVD. I’ve listened to those, every single one of them. They just cause you to cry. You simply are in disbelief at what has happened to the lives of these people. It has been a very humbling experience. Spiritually, I was absolutely at the bottom, which means total vulnerability to God’s grace. And I began to realize that this is the ministry Jesus Christ is asking of me and others at this time, to repair the damage, to make sure it won’t happen again.

Read the article at NCR Online dated March 18, 2005

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Trial begins in first of 150 Northern California church abuse cases

San Francisco, California --

Opening statements began today in a San Francisco courtroom for the first of dozens of church abuse trials in Northern California.
Larry Drivon is the attorney for a man who says he was molested by the late Reverend Joseph Pritchard while the man was a student at Saint Martin of Tours Church in San Jose.

Drivon told jurors during his opening 20 minute statement that at least one priest who lived in the rectory with Pritchard saw several incidences of abuse.

The abuses allegedly took place in 1972 and 1973.

The case was filed against the San Francisco Roman Catholic dioceses.

Read the article at KESQ NewsChannel 3 Palm Springs, CA dated March 20, 2005

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Pa. Court Nixes Church Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --

A state appeals court delivered a stinging setback to alleged victims of clergy abuse by ruling that 17 adults who said they were molested by priests as children waited too long to sue.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court said Monday that even if officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia were guilty of "inexcusable conduct," they were protected by Pennsylvania's strict statute of limitations, which generally requires lawsuits in such cases to be filed within two years.

One of the cases dates back to 1957, and the most recent alleges abuse in 1983.

Read the article at ABC News dated Mar 15, 2005

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Man suing church over sex abuse

Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom --

Father Clonan died in Australia while on the run from police

A 34-year-old man became mentally ill after a catalogue of 'horrendous' abuse at the hands of his parish priest in Coventry, the High Court has been told.

The man, known as 'A', is suing the Archbishop of Birmingham in his role as head of the Church in the area.

A's barrister said Father Christopher Clonan sexually abused his client for 10 years when the priest worked at Christ the King Church in Coundon.

Fr Clonan died in Australia in 1998 while on the run from British police.

Read the article at BBC NEWS dated 15 March, 2005

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Group marks third anniversary: Natick Parish Voice seeks grass roots change in the Catholic Church

Natick, Massachusetts --

After three years of sorting through the pain the sexual abuse scandal heaped onto the shoulders of many local Catholics, members of Natick Parish Voice continue to heal, though slowly.

Tonight, the group will mark its third anniversary by hosting a public forum at Morse Institute Library at 7 to discuss renewal within the Catholic Church.

Even today, the group is still forbidden from meeting at St. Patrick's and must head down to the library for their meetings.

The group is an affiliate of Voice of the Faithful and was formed in response to the scandal involving sexual abuse by priests. Now the group also works to open the lines of communication between the clergy and lay Catholics.

Read the article at MetroWest Daily News - Local News Coverage dated Monday, March 14, 2005

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Court Rules In Church Abuse Suits

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --

A state appeals court delivered a stinging setback to alleged victims of clergy abuse Monday by ruling that 17 adults who said they were molested by priests as children waited too long to sue the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court said that even if church officials were guilty of inexcusable conduct, they were protected by Pennsylvania’s strict statute of limitations, which generally requires lawsuits in such cases to be filed within two years.

CBS 3: Court Rules In Church Abuse Suits dated Mar 14, 2005

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Bishop apologizes to abuse victims in Ohio

Toledo, Ohio -

A bishop apologized to clergy sexual abuse victims during a Mass at a church where one alleged abuser once worked.

Bishop Leonard Blair of the Toledo Roman Catholic Diocese read a seven-minute statement Sunday before the congregation at St. Pius X Church in the northern Ohio city.

Part of Blair's statement was required under a court settlement between the diocese and Teresa Bombrys, who has said she was abused as a child by Chet Warren, a former priest at St. Pius.

Read the article at AP Wire dated Mar. 14, 2005

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Documents indicate church never probed abuse claim

Napa, California --

While hundreds of cases charging Catholic priests with sexual abuse work their way through the California courts, one stands out: The case that charges Monsignor Joseph Alzugaray, now head of St. Appolinaris Catholic Church in Napa, with sexually abusing a young girl in Los Angeles nearly 40 years ago.

The case is unusual in part because Alzugaray is vigorously battling the claims, going farther than other priests in California by filing a counter-suit against his accuser, Erin Brady.

Now, more than a year after the Southern California woman filed a lawsuit accusing Alzugaray of abuse, court documents obtained by the Register indicate the Catholic diocese in Los Angeles and Santa Rosa has never fully investigated claims that were first raised in 1993. Alzugaray and the church have said in their defense that Alzugaray had been cleared by several internal investigations.

Read the article at NapaNews.com dated March 14, 2005

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Time lets molesters get away, mom says

Austin, Texas --

Stephanie Burt has been a familiar sight in the halls of the Capitol for the past few months, telling any senator or representative who will listen the story of her 34-year-old son who was repeatedly molested as a child by his church pastor.

Since Burt moved to Austin from East Texas in April to become an amateur lobbyist, she has tried to persuade lawmakers to support eliminating the statute of limitations for charges of indecency with a child. Currently, accusers cannot press charges after their 28th birthday.

'It's like, who are you for, the predator or the child?' Burt said last week. 'At this moment the power is all in the predator's court, and they are using the law to their advantage.'

Read the article at Statesman.com dated March 14, 2005

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Sins of the Fathers

Springfield, Illinois --

In the past 20 years, three watershed events in the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese have shaken, and in some cases destroyed, the image of the priest and the faith of Catholics.

The Rev. Alvin Campbell was first. Campbell used his priesthood at St. Maurice Parish in Morrisonville as a tool to seduce boys. He was convicted as a pedophile in the days when using the words 'pedophile' and 'priest' in the same sentence was unthinkable. In 1985, Campbell pleaded guilty but mentally ill to molestation charges. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

For Catholics across the 28 counties of the Springfield diocese, Campbell's exposure was the beginning of their loss of innocence. They did not let it go without a fight. Their initial reaction was outrage and anger - directed almost as much at media coverage of Campbell as at his crimes.

Read the article at SJ-R.COM

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A priest's confession

Portland, Oregon --

James Clarizio remembered the Rev. Thomas Laughlin as a giant, a man with a voice that filled a church, a man who once declared, 'I am God,' a man to obey when he ordered young Jimmy to take off his clothes and climb into the priest's bed.

When Clarizio, 39, walked into a law firm's conference room Tuesday morning, he clutched his childhood fear of that man, even though he had not seen him in a quarter century.

But sitting at a green table was someone who appeared quite different.

'He was a frail old man in an ill-fitting suit with too wide of a tie whose voice did not even sound the same,' Clarizio said."

Read the article at The Oregonian dated March 13, 2005

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Vigil: It's Not Over Till It's Over

Oyster Bay, New York --

About 100 parishioners of St. Dominic R.C. Church held a vigil on Sunday, Feb. 27, outside the church on the corner of Anstice Street. Police cars were there to see that things were done properly, said Rich Cieciuch, a Eucharistic minister.
St. Dominic parishioners stood outside the church on Sunday, Feb. 27 in a vigil to help the church heal.

He said of the vigil, 'It was a prayerful experience.' He explained it was an information gathering project. 'The Voice of the Faithful, a national organization, has a project called The Lost Sheep. They and SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) came to pray in the parish and to make an appeal to anyone who has experienced sexual abuse by teachers, clergy or priests, to speak out, so we can have everything come out to see the scope of the problem and to see where the church will go. We realize the damage done to those people [children who have been abused] and that it leads to breakdowns and suicide.'

Read the article at antonnews.com dated March 11, 2005

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Judge rules against diocese in abuse case / Alameda County judge rips church actions, lets alleged victims seek punitive damages

Oakland, California -

Calling the Catholic Church's conduct 'outrageous, oppressive and malicious,' an East Bay judge ruled Thursday that two alleged sexual abuse victims may seek punitive damages against the Diocese of Oakland.

The tentative ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard was another setback for the church, which faces hundreds of other damage claims across the state.

This case and a lawsuit being heard in San Francisco are the first two trials stemming from a 2002 state law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for molestation victims seeking damages against organizations that gave known child molesters access to more victims.

Sheppard presides over a case brought by two brothers, Bob and Tom Thatcher, who say the Diocese of Oakland allowed them to be molested by a known pedophile priest, the Rev. Robert Ponciroli.

At a morning hearing in Hayward, Sheppard said that Thatchers' attorneys can seek punitive damages from a jury that is scheduled to be selected early next week.

'The church knew Father Ponciroli was a serial sexual predator, but it allowed him to supervise and counsel these youngsters,' the judge said. 'They deliberately hid a violating priest for their own benefit.'

Read the article at SFGate.com dated March 11, 2005

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Man jailed for sexual abuse

Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom --

A New Southgate man who is a major in the Salvation Army was found guilty last week of abusing a 14-year-old boy in the 1980s.

Graham Jones, now 61, of Brookdale, New Southgate, was sentenced to eight years in prison at Leeds Crown Court for sexually abusing the boy, who was a member of Jones' congregation in Yorkshire.

Jones, who has two sons and three grandchildren, was caught after a rag in the loft of the Salvation Army Citadel, in Wakefield, was found to carry his DNA and the boy's.

The teenager looked up to Jones, who was a respected figure in the Salvation Army, and was too scared to complain when he began to grope him.

The court heard the boy was systematically groomed, and Jones eventually began to have full intercourse with the 14-year-old in the church toilets and loft.

Read the article at This Is Hertfordshire dated 10th March 2005

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Web site links abuse victims, prosecutors

Merrimack Valley, New Hampshire --

A Merrimack Valley couple has created a Web site on which people can anonymously alert law enforcement about sexual predators.

The New Hampshire attorney general has endorsed the concept. Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly should, too.

Diane Williams Galebach and her husband, Stephen Galebach, who live in Andover, created the site victimpower.org in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandals that rocked the Roman Catholic Church. Locally, complaints of abuse have been raised against priests from both the Archdiocese of Boston and the Diocese of Manchester, N.H.

The site is unique in that it allows two-way communication between law enforcement officials and anonymous victims. Previously, investigators could not talk to victims providing tips through the mail or "crime lines" without knowing their identities.

In eight weeks of operation, the Web site has hosted 210 user accounts and received two dozen reports of abuse from around the country.

Read the article at The Salem News dated March 12, 2005

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Judge rules against diocese in abuse case

San Francisco, California --

Alameda County judge rips church actions, lets alleged victims seek punitive damages

Calling the Catholic Church's conduct 'outrageous, oppressive and malicious,' an East Bay judge ruled Thursday that two alleged sexual abuse victims may seek punitive damages against the Diocese of Oakland.

The tentative ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard was another setback for the church, which faces hundreds of other damage claims across the state.

This case and a lawsuit being heard in San Francisco are the first two trials stemming from a 2002 state law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for molestation victims seeking damages against organizations that gave known child molesters access to more victims.

Sheppard presides over a case brought by two brothers, Bob and Tom Thatcher, who say the Diocese of Oakland allowed them to be molested by a known pedophile priest, the Rev. Robert Ponciroli.

Read the article at sfgate.com dated March 11, 2005

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Church loses on key points, witnesses / Judge in sex-abuse trial rejects bids to limit negative information, testimony

Hayward, California --

Attempts by the Catholic Church to limit evidence and witnesses in a key sexual abuse coverup trial were rejected Wednesday by an East Bay judge.

The rulings by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard put new pressure on the Diocese of Oakland to settle a damages suit by two former altar boys who say church leaders allowed a known pedophile priest to molest them in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Church lawyers have already admitted the diocese was negligent in its 1979 promotion of the Rev. Robert Ponciroli to pastor of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch.

Now the issue is whether the church is guilty of 'intentional infliction of emotional distress.'

Read the article at sfgate.com dated March 10, 2005

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Grand jury returns additional charges against priest

Charleston, South Carolina --

Additional abuse charges have been filed against a Roman Catholic priest who briefly worked in Charleston a quarter century ago, authorities say.

The Rev. James Nyhan of Ipswich, Mass., was indicted by a Charleston County grand jury on Tuesday for an attack that allegedly occurred in 1979.

The new charges accuse Nyhan of second-degree assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, which covers children aged 11 to 15, authorities said.

He faces a possible 20 years in prison if convicted on the charge. He also was indicted on a charge of committing a lewd act on a minor.

The local solicitor's office was planning this year to prosecute two other cases against Nyhan involving sex-abuse charges.

A statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston said the church was unaware of a third alleged victim until now.

Read the article at AP Wire dated 03/09/2005

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Settlements Sent To Abuse Claimants

Cincinnati, Ohio --

Checks totaling $3.2 million have been mailed out to 117 people who say they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests. The checks emptied a compensation fund the Archdiocese of Cincinnati created to help end a prosecutor's investigation.

An independent three-member panel created to administer the fund closed its work by mailing the checks yesterday across the 19-county, southwestern Ohio archdiocese. The amount disbursed represents $3 million used to establish the fund in 2003 plus $200,000 in interest it had generated since then.

Read the article at ONN. Ohio News Now dated March 9, 2005

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Diocese asks court to seal sex abuse files

Rockford, Illinois --

The Rockford Catholic Diocese made its latest bid for secrecy Tuesday, asking a judge to seal all documents in a civil case over sexual abuse in Geneva and Aurora.

That would prevent the public and the media from seeing any documents regarding the work file of Mark Campobello, medical records for his 15-year-old victims or records of other diocese priests accused of sexual indiscretions against youths or adults.

Read the article at Daily Herald dated March 09, 2005

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N.S. man sues priest over alleged abuse

Pictou, Nova Scotia --

A man has filed suit against a Roman Catholic priest over allegations of sexual abuse in Pictou County three decades ago.

The man, who now lives in the Annapolis Valley area, filed a statement of claim Wednesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against Rev. Claude Richard and the Catholic Episcopal Corp. of Antigonish.

The man alleges Richard sexually abused or assaulted him twice when he was 11 to 12 years old in 1971-72.

Richard was priest at St. John's Roman Catholic Church in New Glasgow at the time."

Read the article at Maritimes - canada.com network dated March 9, 2005

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Nfld. Catholic diocese seeks bankruptcy protection

Corner brook, Newfoundland -

A Roman Catholic diocese in Newfoundland is filing for bankruptcy protection, saying the move is necessary in order to give sexual abuse victims the best possible compensation package.

The St. George's diocese, based in Corner Brook and taking in the westernmost third of the island of Newfoundland, announced its action late Tuesday.

Bishop Douglas Crosby said the diocese does not have the $50 million in compensation that the 36 victims of Father Kevin Bennett are seeking, and bankruptcy protection will allow the diocese to negotiate a realistic package for the victims.

'It gives us time to work with the victims to put out all of our resources and make sure that everybody knows everything, [that] nothing is hidden, and that we can come up with a compensation package that is accepted by them and satisfactory to the court,' said Crosby."

Read the article at CBC News dated 09 Mar 2005

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Vatican asks Rice for help in sex abuse lawsuit

Rome, Italy --

Alongside predictable exchanges on Iraq, the Middle East and religious liberty, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her Feb. 8 visit to the Vatican received an unexpected request -- to intervene in a U.S. lawsuit naming the Holy See as the defendant in a sex abuse case.

Church sources told NCR that Rice was asked by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s secretary of state, whether the U.S. government could stop a class-action lawsuit currently before a U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky., that seeks to hold the Vatican financially responsible for the sexual abuse of minors.

Sources told NCR that Rice explained that under American law, foreign states are required to assert claims of sovereign immunity themselves before U.S. courts.

Vatican spokesperson Joaquín Navarro-Valls, asked by NCR for comment, responded March 2: It’s obvious and reasonable that the Holy See would present its positions as a sovereign entity to the American State Department, and recall the immunity for its acts that international law anticipates.

It’s not the first time, according to observers, that the Vatican has asked the State Department for help on a legal matter.

Most experts say that lawsuits against the Vatican in American courts, such as the Kentucky case that prompted Sodano’s request, are a long shot. At least two dozen previous attempts have gone nowhere, not only because the Vatican is a sovereign state, but also because American courts are generally reluctant to deal with religious matters on First Amendment grounds.

Yet Sodano’s decision to raise the matter with Rice suggests concern in Rome that sooner or later its immunity may give way, exposing the Vatican to potentially crippling verdicts.

Read the article at National Catholic Reporter dated March 11, 2005

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Sex Abuse Claims Against Former LI Priest

Norwich, Connecticut --

A Roman Catholic priest has been removed from his position as pastor of Sacred Heart Church while church officials investigate sexual abuse allegations against him dating back to the 1970s.

The Rev. R. Thomas McConaghy is accused of molesting a student at the LaSalle Military Academy in Oakdale, N.Y., on Long Island between 1973 and 1975. McConaghy was the academy's commandant at the time, before he became a priest in Norwich in 1981.

The Diocese of Norwich said it learned about the allegations on Feb. 23. The former student reported the alleged abuse to the Rockville Centre diocese and civil authorities in New York."

Read the article at 1010 WINSt dated Mar 8, 2005

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No Settlement For Church Abuse Cases

San Francisco, California --

Dozens of sex abuse cases against the Roman Catholic Church will go to trial.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge ordered a mandatory settlement conference for Monday morning on 54 separate cases against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland.

One case already going to trial this week is against retired priest Robert Ponciroli.

Ponciroli is accused of abusing a former altar boy at St. Ignatius Church in Antioch in the late 70s and early 80s.

There are about 100 cases against the San Francisco Diocese, also going forward, with no settlement.

Read the article at NBC11.com dated March 7, 2005

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Catholic Church: Abuse passes $750 million

United States --

No one claimed success and no one said the end was in sight when Roman Catholic Church officials last week announced the latest painfully high tallies for the costs in suffering and dollars of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Overall, at least 5,148 priests and deacons face more than 11,757 allegations of sexually abusing children under 18.

The costs in settlements, care and counseling for victims and abusers, attorney's fees and child-protection programs surpass $750 million.

These numbers are drawn from three sources: a survey of abusers, victims and costs released Friday by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; the newest diocese-by-diocese audit of compliance with church policies released Friday by the National Review Board; and a comprehensive study released last year.

The 2004 Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which includes both the bishops' and review board findings, begins with a "humbling" preface by Spokane Bishop William Skylstad acknowledging the "sinful betrayal of trust" the 3-year-old scandal represents.

The report shows progress: Seven dioceses of 194 audited Roman Catholic Dioceses and eparchies of Eastern Rite churches were not in full compliance with requirements for preventing and reporting abuse and caring for victims, down from 19 last year when the first audit was conducted.

The Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., refused both years to participate.

Read the article at Detroit News dated 02/22/05

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Secret archives at heart of dispute; group says files hold key to abuse

Toledo, Ohio --

On a warm September afternoon, three Toledo detectives and a Lucas County prosecutor marched through the front door of the Toledo Catholic diocese and - over the objections of a startled receptionist - loaded into an elevator and punched the button to the fourth floor.

They were carrying a four-page search-and-seizure order signed by a judge, and their abrupt appearance at the downtown office of Bishop Leonard Blair marked a hairpin turn in what had been a cordial relationship between diocesan officials and criminal authorities investigating the 1980 killing of an elderly nun.

"Their communication prior to the search warrants was pretty open and free-flowing between us," the Rev. Michael Billian, episcopal vicar and the diocese's top administrator, recalled of the unprecedented search.

Their target that day: the church's most-secret files - documents that investigators had hoped might contain clues to a 1980 slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl and the man charged in her death: the Rev. Gerald Robinson

Read the article at toledoblade.com dated March 6, 2005.

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First Northern California church abuse cases set for trial Monday

San Francisco, California --

Cases alleging negligence at two northern California Roman Catholic dioceses are scheduled to go to trial Monday, making them the first of about 150 civil suits filed by alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests since the statute of limitations was temporarily lifted in 2002.

The trials involving the San Francisco and Oakland dioceses are scheduled to begin Monday in Alameda County Superior Court before two separate judges. But the Oakland case may be delayed after a judge ordered a settlement conference for Monday.

"The bishop is hoping mediation works," said the Rev. Mark Wiesner, spokesman for the diocese.

The case set for trial against the Oakland diocese was filed by a 34-year-old former altar boy, who now lives in Arizona. The man claims he was abused by former priest Robert Ponciroli at St. Ignatius Church in Antioch. Ponciroli, 68, now lives in Florida and is not a defendant in the case.

A second claimant in that same case is the man's brother, according to Stephen McFeely, a lawyer for the diocese.

The case against the San Francisco diocese was filed by a man who alleges abuse by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard while the man was a student at St. Martin of Tours Church in San Jose. The man, now in his mid-40s, has said the abuse took place in 1972 and 1973.

Read the article at AP Wire dated 03/06/2005

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Ex-priest sentenced for abuse 25 years ago

Forestville, Maryland --

A former Catholic priest from Forestville was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for molesting a 15-year-old boy and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl.

The sentencing follows a guilty plea in December by the ex-priest, Francis A. Benham, who committed the acts 25 years ago.

In return for the plea, Prince George's County Circuit Judge Michelle Hotten sentenced Benham, 67, to 10 years each for the molestation and the sodomy, with all but 18 months suspended.

Read the article at The Washington Times dated March 05, 2005

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Dioceses must cover €50m abuse claims

Ireland --

Ireland's Catholic Bishops will meet in Maynooth next week to decide how best to raise new funds to meet the expected €50 million bill for clerical sex abuse victims.

Nine years ago, the bishops set up the Stewardship Trust Fund to compensate victims of clerical sex abuse. The trust, which is run by the Archbishops of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin and Tuam, received an initial €4.3 million from the Catholic Church's insurers, Church & General.

Three years later, the insurer agreed to pay up to a further €6.3 million into the trust. Existing funds are now about to run out because of the volume of claims and Allianz insurance is shortly expected to top up the fund with “several million euro'‘ to meet new claims.

Read the article at sbpost.ie dated 06 March 2005

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Proposal exempts parishes

Tucson, Arizona --

A new agreement that's been proposed as part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson's bankruptcy case specifically outlines why its parishes are separate entities and therefore not responsible for paying diocesan debts associated with the sexual-abuse crisis.

The revised "disclosure statement" was filed in federal bankruptcy court this week. The statement, which accompanies the diocese's federal Chapter 11 reorganization plan, has not been approved by creditors and will be the subject of a hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 25 before federal bankruptcy Judge James M. Marlar.

The statement says parishes may be asked to help pay settlements with plaintiffs who have valid clergy sexual-abuse claims associated with the bankruptcy.

Read the article at The Arizona Daily Star ? dated 03.05.2005

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Former Priest Sentenced In Sexual Abuse

Forestville, Maryland --

A former Prince George's County priest who pleaded guilty last year to sexually abusing two children has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended.

As part of the sentence, Francis Benham, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised probation.

The 67-year-old must also refrain from contacting the two victims and anyone younger than 18.

Benham served as a priest at Holy Family Catholic Church in Forestville from 1975 to 1979. The victims, now adults, came forward last summer and accused Benham of sexually abusing them over a two-year period from 1977 to 1979.

Benham pleaded guilty in December to one charge of child abuse involving a then-ten-year-old boy and one count of sodomy involving a 15-year-old girl.

Read the article at ABC 7 News dated March 05, 2005

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Catholic hierarchy has failed in their duty

Belfast, Ireland --

To abuse a child is a serious crime, whether it is carried out by lay persons or members of the clergy of whatever denomination. It is so serious a crime it is usually punished by a term of imprisonment and the convicted person's name will be placed on a sex offenders' list.

In the case of the Catholic Church when priests have been reported to their superiors because they have carried out abuse, their superiors have systematically covered up for them.

There have been several well-documented cases north and south of the border over several years. Many thousands of pounds have been paid out to the abused parties.

Where did the hierarchy get this money? From the people, of course. But the people did not give this money to be spent on compensation for sex abuse. The allegations should have been reported to the police as these matters are of a criminal nature.

By covering them up the hierarchy were aiding and abetting serious crime. Often the same priests were moved to other parishes to abuse again and again.

In the recent case in Derry, Bishop Seamus Hegarty, without consulting the laity or, it would seem, his own priests, chose to place a levy to cover compensation in abuse or alleged abuse cases.

Read the article at Belfast Telegraph dated 03/05/2005

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Church abuse suit may settle

Covington, Illinois --

The Diocese of Covington may be close to settling the class-action lawsuit that alleges a half-century of covering up sexual abuse by its priests.

Talks aimed at achieving an out-of-court settlement "have been productive and have resolved a number of difficult issues," both sides said in a court document filed in Boone Circuit Court.

In the document, the attorneys once again are asking Special Judge John Potter to delay the trial that is scheduled to begin next month.

"While there are issues that remain to be resolved, the parties believe that those issues ultimately can be resolved, and that a settlement will be accomplished with some additional work," said the document, signed by attorneys Carrie Huff for the diocese and Robert Steinberg for those who filed the lawsuit.

Read the article at The Cincinnati Post dated 03/04/2005

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Web site a tool in clergy abuse cases

Concord, New Hampshire --

A state prosecutor pledged his office would closely monitor a new nationwide Web site that allows people to anonymously report cases of sexual abuse by clergy.

VictimPower.org is an important tool developed by an Andover, Mass., couple that could help investigators look into new allegations of abuse, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker, lead prosecutor in the state investigation of abuse by Catholic priests.This is not a panacea by any means, Delker said. It is certainly an important tool in the fight against sexual abuse.

On a related front, an existing Web site to track abusive clergy, Bishop-accountability.org, has completed a comprehensive list of New Hampshire clergy accused of abuse.

The announcements came on the two-year anniversary of the landmark settlement between then-Attorney General Philip McLaughlin and Roman Catholic Bishop John McCormack that ended state plans to charge church officials criminally in connection with sexual abuse cases. Bishop-accountability.org identifies 62 individuals, 51 of them priests with the Diocese of Manchester, seven from other religious orders such as Brothers of the Sacred Heart at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, and four more from other dioceses.

“Two thirds of these men are alive and most are not in prison. Who is watching them? No one, said Diane Galeback, the Andover mother of 10 who helped to create a hacker-proof technology to lodge these complaints.

Read the article at The Telegraph Online dated Mar. 4, 2005

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Mandatory Settlement Conference Ordered In Oakland Diocese Abuse Cases

Oakland, California --

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw has ordered a mandatory settlement conference to be held on Monday for 54 sexual abuse cases against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland.

Sabraw is overseeing more than 150 lawsuits in a mega case alleging sexual abuse by priests throughout Northern California. He said in his order released today that insurance companies for the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland must attend the settlement conference "with full authority personally to act on these claims and cases."

The settlement conference is set for 9 a.m. Monday before Judge David Hunter in Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward.

Diocese of Oakland spokesman Father Mark Wiesner said the diocese's attorney, Stephen McFeely, told him that the mandatory settlement conference will take precedence over a sex abuse trial that had been scheduled to start in Hayward on Monday.

That trial and a trial set to begin in San Francisco are to be the first church negligence civil trials stemming from a 2002 state law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on damage claims against institutions such as religious organizations that allegedly gave known child molesters access to more victims.

Read the article at KTVU.com dated March 3, 2005

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Archdiocese: New Allegations Of Abuse Against Dead Priest

St. Paul, Minnesota --

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reported that the most recent annual survey by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops revealed new allegations of child sex abuse against one additional priest.

The allegations surfaced as 18 new victims came forward to the archdiocese in the 14 months ending in August. The archdiocese said the additional priest who was identified recently died in 1971 and the alleged abuse occurred 40 years ago.

Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the archdiocese does not identify alleged perpetrators who are dead. "We will identify perpetrators who are still in active ministry, if anyone comes forward," he said.

That's not good enough for a local victims support group, which wants any alleged perpetrator to be publicly identified, along with that priest's work history.

Read the article at WCCO dated Mar 4, 2005

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Abuse memories flood back

Albuquerque, New Mexico --

He had pushed it away, the memories of what he says happened to him in his youth in Los Alamos at the hands of a Roman Catholic priest his parents thought they could trust.

He thought he was the only one.

But recently, when his wife scrolled through a Web site dedicated to the New Mexico victims of priest sex abuse and found the name that had tormented him for nearly three decades, the memories flooded back.

The priest, she learned, was still active in an Albuquerque parish and a Catholic school. And like her husband, other men had made accusations of sexual abuse against the priest.

"That's when he learned he was not the only one," said Steven Rabi, director of the New Mexico chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, which runs the Web site. "That's when he reached out."

The man, now in his 40s and living out of state, is the latest to allege sexual misconduct by the longtime Albuquerque priest.

Read the article at The Albuquerque Tribune: News dated March 3, 2005

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icTeesside - Today we're sorry

Teesside, England, United Kingdom --

The Catholic Church on Teesside received complaints 30 years ago about the sexual cravings of convicted paedophile priest Michael Dunn but chose to hush them up, the Gazette can reveal.

Today, three decades on from Dunn's sex abuses, the Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt Rev John Crowley, issued a public apology for the trauma suffered by his young victim.

Dunn was yesterday jailed for 18 months after admitting sexually abusing the 13-year-old Teesside boy in the mid 70s when he was a priest at Christ the King Church in Thornaby.

The Gazette has learned that complaints to the church about Dunn at the time of the abuse were not passed to police.

Diocesan officials said complaints from the family were likely to have resulted in a "ticking off" and Dunn being moved to another parish.

Since then Dunn served in different parishes on Teesside and Hull and was a trusted priest. He was picked by Bishop Crowley to be on his Council of Priests for 2005 just six months before being charged.

Read the article at icTeesside dated Mar 4 2005

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Abuse priest awaits his fate

Teesside, England, United Kingdom --

A roman Catholic priest who has admitted sexually abusing a 13-year-old Teesside boy 30 years ago was due to be sentenced today.

Charges against 55-year-old Father Michael Dunn relate to an 18-month period between 1975 and 1976 when he was a priest at Christ the King Church in Thornaby.

Dunn pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates' Court in January to two specimen charges of gross indecency and one of indecent assault on the child.

He was released on bail to appear at Teesside Crown Court today. Stockton police's child protection unit launched their investigation into Dunn after the priest's victim contacted them last October.

They interviewed the now 42-year-old married dad who told them how his life had been traumatised by the sickening abuse he suffered at the hands of the priest.

They also tracked down and interviewed former teachers at the boy's school and family members before arresting Dunn.

It is alleged the priest befriended the boy and his family before beginning a catalogue of abuse.

Read the article at icTeesside dated Mar 3 2005

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A church in crisis

Toledo, Ohio --

THIS is a tough time to be a Catholic in Toledo. Sexual abuse by priests has rocked the church to its foundation, nationally and locally. Another priest is charged with murdering a nun in a bizarre ritualistic crime 25 years ago at a local hospital. Dwindling enrollment and membership has forced the bishop to close several schools and churches.

So it would seem foolish to aggravate the substantial public relations damage that has already been done to the Catholic Diocese of Toledo by engaging in conduct that suggests the church has been less than forthcoming in the police investigation of the slaying in 1980 of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, or in the broader inquiry into criminal activity in the diocese.

But Toledo police believe they have been stymied in their attempts to examine all records pertaining to Father Gerald Robinson, who is accused of the murder.

Authorities believe that information and files have been withheld perhaps out of a sense of obligation to Canon 489 of the Catholic Church, which requires that a secret archive be maintained for the storage of records related to allegations of crimes committed by clerics.

Compounding the issue is the sworn statement by a Toledo detective in unsealed court documents that Father Robinson failed one of two lie detector tests - the second was deemed inconclusive - in 1980. The test result showed that "deception" was indicated and that Father Robinson was involved in the nun's murder, Toledo police say.

Fr. Michael Billian, episcopal vicar and the diocese's top administrator, says that no such secret files exist, though that would place the diocese in direct conflict with Canon 489. Father Billian insists that secrecy doesn't square with the diocese's "new policy of transparency."

Read the article at toledoblade.com dated March 3, 2005

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As trials near, talks pick up in church sex scandal

San Francisco, California --

It has been nearly 11 years since San Francisco police told Roman Catholic Church leaders that Monsignor Patrick O'Shea, one of the city's most politically connected Catholic priests, faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse.

That police notification -- on March 10, 1994 -- set off a pedophilia scandal that could soon cost the Catholic Church in the Bay Area more than $100 million.

O'Shea, now 72, has been jailed, released, defrocked, convicted of embezzling church funds, jailed again, released again and repeatedly sued over the past decade. Dozens more Northern California priests have been accused of child sexual abuse and removed from public ministry.

Read the article at SFGate.com dated March 3, 2005

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Catholic reform group official allegedly denied communion

Lincoln, Nebraska --

An official with a Catholic reform group that has criticized the church's handling of priest sex-abuse cases says he was denied communion by Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz and two other priests.

John Krejci, a former priest and co-founder of the Nebraska chapter of Call to Action, said Bruskewitz denied him communion at Sacred Heart parish on Feb. 7, with "an unfriendly wave of his hand."

"It was kind of like, "Go away!," Krejci said. "Then he spun around and went back to the alter."

Bruskewitz said nothing, Krejci said.

Call to Action has long been critical of how the church handled allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests.

Nebraska's diocese in Lincoln was the only one in the nation to refuse to participate in the Catholic church's sex-abuse survey; Bruskewitz said it was flawed.

The alleged incident with Krejci came some nine years after he and members of several other groups were excommunicated by Bruskewitz a decision Krejci said is still on appeal to the Vatican.

Church law is supposed to allow Krejci and the others to receive sacraments until their appeal is decided, Krejci said.

Read the article at Lincoln Journal Star dated 03/03/2005

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Settlement reached in Nome priest abuse case

Anchorage, Alaska -

The Roman Catholic Church and a woman who accused a Nome priest of molesting her in the 1970s have agreed to settle a civil lawsuit she filed against the church, her attorney said.

Attorney Ken Roosa said Wednesday that the two sides have reached a binding agreement. The paperwork is being finished on the settlement expected to be in the $1 million range, he said.

Elsie Boudreau, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, sued the Rev. James Poole, the Diocese of Fairbanks, the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, and the Alaska Jesuits in March last year.

Boudreau went public because she felt it empowered her and would help others to come forward as well, Roosa said.

Boudreau accused Poole, a Jesuit, of kissing and fondling her dozens of times, starting in 1978 during summer visits to Nome and lasting until she was 16. The abuse included heavy petting and having her lie on top of him, the lawsuit says.

Read the article at adn.com dated March 2nd, 2005

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Another priest sued for sex abuse

West Union, Iowa ---

An anonymous man alleges a now-retired Catholic priest sexually abused him in Oelwein more than 50 years ago.

The suit, filed Friday by Waterloo attorneys Chad Swanson and Tom Staack for a plaintiff identified as John Doe, alleges the Rev. William Goltz abused him in the summer of 1954, when the plaintiff was 13 and the priest was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Oelwein.

The Fayette County suit alleges Goltz asked the 13-year-old to help him wash a car. "Goltz requested they drive the vehicle to allow it to dry," the suit states, and they drove to a rock quarry outside Oelwein, where Goltz sexually abused the boy.

"Also at that time, Goltz had possession of illicit photographs of young boys in his vehicle's glove compartment, and showed these photographs to plaintiff," the suit states.

Read the article at WCFCourier.com dated March 2, 2005

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Priest abuse a 'repressed secret' in Western Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska --

In the bleak, isolated villages along the Bering Sea, the Rev. Jim Poole, the founder of missionary radio KNOM, stood out as a different kind of spiritual leader.

People Magazine called the Jesuit "Western Alaska's Hippest DJ." The Archbishop of Anchorage called him "a dynamic priest, a man of personal discipline despite his relaxed, almost casual manner."

Now it appears that Father Poole was a little too casual - and not at all disciplined.

Lawsuits and claims filed with the church accuse Poole of kissing, fondling and simulating sex acts with native girls as young as 10. One suit alleges Poole impregnated a 14-year old, then encouraged her to have an abortion and blame her father.

In a deposition taken last year by Costa Mesa, Calif., sexual abuse litigator John Manly, Poole admitted French-kissing young girls and having them lie on top of him, according to lawyers on both sides. But he denied that his intentions were sexual or that he impregnated anyone.

So far, four Catholic priests and one brother have been accused of abuse in Western Alaska between 1965 and 1985. Although the number of accused is small, the cases are startling for the number of plaintiffs - 18 times as many, per capita, as in Orange County.

Read the article at KRT Wire dated 03/02/2005

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Tampa man says priest molested him as a child

Manatee, Florida --

A 49-year-old Tampa man who claims a priest sexually abused him when he was an altar boy at a Sarasota church is suing the Catholic Diocese of Venice.

James Woods' civil suit, which also names dioceses in St. Petersburg and St. Augustine, claims that The Rev. Jose Mena, who is now retired and living in Jacksonville, sexually abused him in 1965 at Incarnation Catholic Church on Bee Ridge Road.

Filed in Hillsborough County, the suit states that Mena was involved in the youth ministry at Incarnation and sexually abused Woods on numerous occasions during the 1965-66 school year while Woods was in the fifth grade at Incarnation Catholic School and an altar boy at Incarnation Catholic Church.

The alleged abuse occurred on the premises of Incarnation, the suit states.

A call to Mena was not returned Tuesday.

Read the article at Bradenton Herald dated 03/02/2005

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Sexual Abuse Case Filed Against Logan County Priest

Logan county, Arkansas --

On top of the more than 1,000 new allegations of abuse cases reported in the Catholic Church nationwide, a new case has been filed in the Hometown area.

As 40/29's Beth Burnett reported Wednesday, the case involves a priest and a former student at Subiaco Academy -- a Catholic school in Logan County. The alleged abuse took place in 1976, and officials said the alleged victim in the case waited until he was an adult to file his complaint.

According to the federal lawsuit filed in Fort Smith, Joffre J. Miller claims that the Rev. Nicholas Fuhrmann, who worked as a priest at Subiaco Academy, sexually abused him. Miller now lives in Texas.

A complaint filed by Miller's attorneys says that "in the course and scope as teacher and boxing coach, Furhmann exploited his authority and position over Joffre and thereby gained access to Joffre's body using the pretext of massaging him due to the strains of boxing." The complaint goes on to allege that "massages led to Fuhrmann sexually molesting Joffre from 1976 until 1979."

Fuhrmann and the school are both listed as defendants in the case. Miller is asking for more than $75,000 in damages.

School officials denied the abuse. Officials said Fuhrmann still works at the Catholic school but is not involved in teaching or ministries.

Read the article at TheHometownChannel.com dated March 3, 2005

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Priest failed 1st lie detector test, documents say; other test was inconclusive

Toledo, Ohio --

Homicide detectives believed that officials at the Toledo Catholic Diocese intentionally misled them during their investigation into the slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl last year, according to court documents unsealed yesterday.

The records show that during unprecedented police searches of the downtown church headquarters, investigators said they were looking for evidence of "obstructing justice," in their search for "secret files" that might lead to information about murder suspect and longtime cleric Father Gerald Robinson.

Police said they obtained 148 documents when they searched the diocese on Sept. 15 armed with a judge's order - documents the diocese had failed to turn over to them on an earlier request.

The papers also reveal that Father Robinson had twice taken a lie-detector test during the 1980 probe, and "failed" it the first time, according to investigators.

Read the article at toledoblade.com dated March 1, 2005

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Priest pleads guilty to receiving child porn at Robertsville facility

St. Louis, Missouri --

A Roman Catholic priest with a history of sexually abusing children pleaded guilty Monday of receiving child pornography at a Franklin County home for troubled priests.

The Rev. David J. Malsch, 66, admitted that in October 2003 he got child pornography images at the RECON facility on Vondera Drive in Robertsville. He also admitted forwarding child porn from the home to a "pen pal" in Pennsylvania.

RECON, also known as Wounded Brothers, is where a Nevada priest, Mark Roberts, was sentenced to serve a term for his 2003 child molestation conviction. Another resident is Gerald Chumik, a Franciscan monk who has been a fugitive since 1990 from Canada, where he faces charges of gross indecency with a minor.

A victims' support group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has called for Roberts to leave, noting that he is now living just 20 minutes from one of his victims.

David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, said Wounded Brothers is too lax for someone with Malsch's record. "This is what happens when priests oversee other abusive priests in a church-run secretive environment," Clohessy complained. "This is why men like Malsch belong behind bars and not at a church-run retreat-style facility."

Read the article at STLtoday dated 02/28/2005

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Documents Released In Priest Murder Trial

Toldeo, Ohio --

Secrets inside the Toledo Catholic Diocese were unveiled, as court documents were released in the murder case against Father Gerald Robinson.

According to those documents, the diocese kept "secret archives" about its priests - including Father Robinson. That's why detectives served two search warrants last September on Bishop Leonard Blair and other top officials at the diocese headquarters in downtown Toledo.

The documents released today show Father Robinson was the prime suspect in the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, even days after she was found strangled and stabbed in the chapel of the old Mercy Hospital.

The court documents show Father Robinson failed a lie detector test two weeks after the murder. Police claim the test showed Father Robinson was "involved" in the nun's murder.

But it took detectives more than two decades to charge the priest, who was arrested last April.

Read the article at ONN. Ohio News Now dated March 4, 2005

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Archbishop sends seven priest abuse cases to Rome

Waterloo, Iowa ---

Seven Catholic priests who allegedly sexually abused minors within the Archdiocese of Dubuque apparently have been referred to the Vatican for possible action, including defrocking, Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus told the Courier last week.

Hanus would not identify the priests. But the seven cases are equal to the number of living archdiocesan priests against whom credible accusations of sexual abuse have been made.

In a December 2003 report, Hanus said 18 of the 26 archdiocesan priests accused of sexual abuse since 1950 have died. One of the remaining eight, Robert Reiss, was defrocked in 1997. He died in Mexico Feb. 3, the archdiocese reported last week.

None of the seven can represent themselves in public as a priest, Hanus said.

Read the article at WCFCourier.com dated March 1, 2005

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Diocese reports misconduct allegations

Tucson, Arizona --

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson reported allegations of sexual misconduct by six church workers in the annual audit of the nation's dioceses.

The 2004 report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops included credible accusations against five priests and one deacon. None of the alleged actions took place last year, said diocese spokesman Fred Allison.

Three of the priests are dead, and two have been named in lawsuits. The deacon listed in the report is also deceased.

The names were disclosed on the diocese's Web site in February, June and December as part of an effort to ensure the diocese is in compliance with abuse reporting requirements.

Read the article at kvoa.com dated Feb 28, 2005

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Law: Ex-priest gets new hearing

Peru / Toronto, Ontario, Canada --

A former Roman Catholic priest has sought political asylum in Canada after alleging he knew of sexual abuse against kids and the bilking of funds at his church in Peru. Alberto Luis Calderon Mendez, 26, fled to Toronto in June, 2003, claiming persecution on the grounds of his religion, opinion and membership in a particular social group. His refugee bid was nixed by an immigration board but successfully appealed last month to the Federal Court of Canada.

"He is an ex-priest of the Catholic Church, specifically the Order of St. Augustine," Justice Max Teitelbaum said.

Mendez claimed he witnessed his boss misappropriating funds and was told of children being abused by another priest at his church.

Read the article at CANOE -- CNEWS dated March 1, 2005

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