Children in High Demand Organizations

Clergy Abuse

February 15, 2007

SNAP offers help to possible victims, witnesses

THE-BEE - Wisconsin

http://www.phillipswi.com/bee/
index.php?sect_rank=
1&story_id=206336

Patti Wenzel, patti.wenzel@mx3.com

February 14, 2007

David Schauer, a victim of clergy abuse while a child in Green Bay, led a small group of SNAP members while they left informational leaflets with parishioners or on their cars during Sunday mass at St. Therese of Lisieux in Phillips.

“We are in Phillips to reach out to any possible victims and/or witnesses to the misconduct of this priest,” Schauer said. “We want to remove the feeling of isolation that victims often feel.”

Living with isolation

Schauer said he can relate to the isolation victims of clergy abuse live with.

“I’m a survivor. I was abused by my priest in 1988 and came forward in 1990 after my mom took me to family therapy after noticing some changes in my behavior,” Schauer said.

“A police report was filed, but the (Brown County) district attorney didn’t want to move forward with it. But in 2003 the priest was convicted of child porn charges in Milwaukee and admitted to abusing me and others. That’s when I found out the Green Bay diocese lied to me. They told me he would never be a priest again, so we never said anything.

“When I found out, I contacted Jeff Anderson and filed a lawsuit against the church.”

Anderson is a Minneapolis attorney who has represented numerous alleged victims in Wisconsin. Schauer’s lawsuit against the Green Bay diocese is currently being heard in the Taylor County Circuit Court.

The priest who abused Schauer and the others is currently serving 32 years in prison.

Schauer said going to a SNAP conference changed his life.

“If was the first time I felt that I wasn’t alone,” he said. “I knew there were others. I had heard about the things happening in Boston, but I put it out of my mind.”

Peter Isely, Midwest coordinator for SNAP, said any victims or witnesses to alleged actions by Fitzmaurice in Wisconsin may be able to seek redress in the criminal courts due to a quirk in state law.

“Its quite likely that anyone abused in Wisconsin could still seek criminal charges since the statute of limitations stops running when the assailant leaves the state,” Isely said.

Fitzmaurice retired from Our Lady of the North in 1999 and returned to St. Procopius Abbey. He currently resides in a northern Illinois nursing home.

Church, Benedictine respond

While SNAP members were moved to come to Phillips because of their belief that allegations against Fitzmaurice in Chicago could possibly mean there may be other victims in Wisconsin, the Catholic Diocese of Superior maintains its belief in Fitzmaurice’s innocence.

In a statement provided to THE-BEE by Fr. Gerald Hagen of St. Therese, the diocese asks that “parishioners and the public be aware that no complaints of any kind were received either during Fr. Fitzmaurice’s tenure in Phillips or since. Any statement that complaints were received by any Diocesan official against Fr. Fitzmaurice are denied.”

Included in Hagen’s document were statements from St. Procopius Abbey concerning the charges against Fitzmaurice and themselves.

“The suit...makes charges about events that were alleged to have occurred more than 30 years ago. It’s critical for people to know that until these allegations were brought forth, no complaints of any kind have been received either during the time these acts were alleged to have taken place or in the subsequent 30+ years, and Fr. Terrance Fitzmaurice emphatically denies the allegations.”

“When the Abbey first heard of these charges, it immediately undertook a full investigation using outside counsel and investigators. The investigation involved interviews of dozens of people from within the Order, those associated with the parish at the time in question and also many other people from the community.”

“To date and after hundreds of hours of interviews and the review of all written records, we have not been able to find one independent person or independent piece of evidence that confirms these claims against the Order.”

The Order’s attorney, Matthew Walsh, II reiterated the previous statement in a telephone interview Feb. 9 and added his own assessment of the federal lawsuit and the plaintiff’s attorney, Phillip Aaron, in a letter to THE-BEE.

“My client chose to avoid significant legal costs by agreeing to a financial settlement with three of Phillip Aaron’s clients, but with the strictest of understanding that my client is innocent of the charges,” he wrote.

“After the settlements, Mr. Aaron continued to aggressively market for clients and again approached the Abbey with new demands for financial payment. Only after extending its investigation and finding nothing further, the Abbey notified Mr. Aaron that independent investigators could not substantiate any of his allegations and so my client could not continue to discuss a financial settlement.”

Walsh adds that when those discussions ended, Aaron retaliated by calling a press conference and filing the federal lawsuit charging racketeering, fiduciary fraud and many other offenses.

Attorneys for both sides are scheduled to appear at a status hearing in Chicago on March 22.

Posted by Perry at 04:31 PM

February 13, 2007

A priest has been charged with sexual abuse

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/
news/publish/article_8843.shtml

By m.p.
08 Feb 2007, 22:01

The Archbishopric of Granada has temporarily removed public duties from a semi-retired priest in La Zubia who is accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy.

They added in the press release informing of their decision that the accusations have not been proved, and ask for respect for the presumption of innocence.

The 72 year old priest, who has not been named, was arrested on Monday following an official complaint by the 14 year old boy’s parents. He has now been released with charges, and must report back to the courts when called to do so.

Posted by Perry at 05:58 PM

Serbian priest sentenced to jail for sexual abuse of boys

International Herald Tribune

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/
2007/02/09/europe/EU-GEN-
Serbia-Pedophile-Priest.php

The Associated Press

February 9, 2007

BELGRADE, Serbia: A Serbian Orthodox Church priest has been jailed for a year after being convicted of sexually abusing boys in 2001, a court announced Friday.

Jovan Misic, also known by his church name Ilarion and the former abbot of the Hopovo monastery in the northern Vojvodina province, was found guilty of "lewd behavior and sexual abuse" of several underage boys in monastery grounds, the court said.

The boys were aged between seven and eleven years old.

No furthers details were revealed because of the need to protect the victims and their families.

There was no immediate comment from Misic or his lawyer.

The District Court in Novi Sad, 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Belgrade, first ruled in the case in October last year, finding Misic guilty and sentencing him to 10 months in prison.

The court confirmed the verdict on appeal and increased the prison term to 12 months.

Posted by Perry at 05:55 PM

Documents Show Church Knew About Abuse

TMJ4 - TV Milwaukee

http://www.todaystmj4.com/
news/local/5798026.html

February 13, 2007

Charles Benson

MILWAUKEE - Stunning new details in secret court documents tell a chilling story of a local priest who was allowed to molest young boys again and again.

The documents suggest Catholic Church leaders in Milwaukee tried to cover up Father Siegfried Widera's shameful past. They detail an alleged pattern of sexual abuse and how the church failed to protect other children from Widera.

By all accounts, Fr. Siegfried Widera was a pedophile priest. But you will never hear church leaders use that term in court documents. A few years ago, Widera's alleged victims told us they still struggle with what happened and why.

"How can someone just slip through the system like that?" asked Eric Paino, an alleged victim.

"He's a coward and a criminal and someday he's going to be held accountable for it," said another alleged victim, Chris Huicochea.

The documents show the church first learned about Widera's sexual abuse in 1973 when Widera was convicted of molesting a young boy. He was working at Saint Mary's in Port Washington. He was put on probation, while the church paid for him to get counseling.

From there, Widera was transferred to St. Andrew Parish in Delavan. Court records indicate no one was told of his past. In fact, church leaders received glowing letters from parishioners.

"He is wonderful with young children," wrote one mom.

"The children adore him," gushed another.

But those letters to church leaders, who knew of Widera's past, did not set off any alarm bells. However, they would come back to haunt parents years later when Widera was accused again of molesting boys in Delavan.

Confidential church records suggest they wanted to "try to keep on lid on the thing..." and encouraged a victim's mother "not to act with police."

Church leaders also knew of another incident where two women found Fr. Widera performing a sex act in the sacristy with two boys.

Widera then moved to Orange County, Calif., with the blessing of Milwaukee church leaders. In fact, Milwaukee Archbishop William Cousins sent a letter to the bishop in California praising Widera's work but only hinting at the priest's "moral problem having to do with a boy in a school."

The letter continues, there was "no great risk in allowing this man to return to pastoral work."

While in California, Widera would be transferred from church to church and be accused of molesting again and again.

"To find out this happened to so many other victims - I don't have words for it. It's painful," said Huicochea.

Posted by Perry at 05:47 PM

February 09, 2007

Chicago Man Claims 4 Priests Raped Him as a Child

THE-BEE
http://www.phillipswi.com/bee/index.
php?sect_rank=1&story_id=206316

Attorney claims there are Wisconsin victims

Patti Wenzel, patti.wenzel@mx3.com

February 07th, 2007

A Chicago man filed a civil lawsuit Jan. 29 alleging that Fr. Terrance Fitzmaurice, who had served at Our Lady of the North Catholic Church in Phillips (St. Patrick’s and St. Mary’s), raped him 30 years ago.

Perry Collins, along with his mother Doris Thomas, also alleges that the city of Chicago, Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Procopius Abbey and the Order of St. Benedict in Lisle, Ill., conspired to cover up the priest’s actions because he is an African American.

During an interview with FOX News Chicago, Collins attorney Phillips Aaron also alleged that 15 boys had filed complaints against Fitzmaurice while he was assigned to St. Patrick’s, St. Mary’s and Our Lady of the North parishes in Phillips.

The Catholic Diocese of Superior previously said there have been no reports of misconduct by Fitzmaurice while serving in Phillips. Calls to the diocese concerning the latest accusations were not returned prior to press time.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court, Collins alleges that Fitzmaurice took him, then 10, to a building where he was given alcohol and raped by Fitzmaurice and three other priests. The three priests are not identified in court papers.

After the alleged incident, Collins said Fitzmaurice took him home and promised his mother pastoral care and food.

At the time of the alleged incident Fitzmaurice was serving as a pastor at St. Procopius parish on Chicago’s south side and supervised up to 400 young men and women as part of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s Summer Youth Employment Program. The program received federal funds and the Archdiocese partnered with the city to help screen job applicants.

In addition to the sexual assault allegations, Collins and Thomas, claim the Chicago Archdiocese, Benedictine order and city of Chicago conspired to keep Fitzmaurice’s actions secret, allowed him to use federal and archdiocesan funds to cover up his alleged actions and conspired to perpetuate a fraud.

Continue reading "Chicago Man Claims 4 Priests Raped Him as a Child"

Posted by Perry at 05:39 PM

February 05, 2007

Ex-Sisters pastor convicted on abuse charges

By KTVZ.com news sources
http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?
nav=news&storyID=18334

Feb. 2, 2007

Oregon

After one full day of deliberation, a Deschutes County jury found a former Sisters pastor guilty on all six charges Friday in the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl whose family worshiped at the church.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Michael Sullivan set a Feb. 20 sentencing date for Jeremy Shane Hall in the September 2005 fondling of the teen.

The former pastor of Christ Church of New Beginnings was convicted of five counts of sex abuse and one count of unlawful sexual penetration. Hall now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years and three months in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Victoria Roe told jurors the teen was babysitting Hall's daughter the night he touched her sexually, both over and under her clothes.

Hall admitted getting into bed with the teen and his two young children who were sleeping in his room, but denied fondling the girl. His attorney, John Halpern Jr., pointed out during closing arguments that the defendant's daughter had testified nothing happened.

Posted by Perry at 04:08 PM

Another sexual abuse lawsuit against Pueblo Catholic Diocese

KOAA TV
http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=6454

By David Gligorea 2/2/2007

Pueblo, Colorado

The Catholic Diocese of Pueblo is facing another sexual abuse lawsuit. Herman and Mermelstein, a Miami law firm, says another alleged victim has come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Brother William Mueller, a former teacher from the now defunct Roncalli Catholic School.

In the lawsuit, the victim claims Mueller used a cloth soaked in ether to knock him out, before Mueller sexually abused him. The victim says the incident happened at the school sometime before 1971.

Mueller is accused of abusing more than a dozen students at the school. The Herman and Mermelstein law firm says none of the cases against the diocese have been settled.

Posted by Perry at 03:56 PM

Another sexual abuse lawsuit against Pueblo Catholic Diocese

http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=6454

By David Gligorea 2/2/2007

Pueblo, Colorado

The Catholic Diocese of Pueblo is facing another sexual abuse lawsuit. Herman and Mermelstein, a Miami law firm, says another alleged victim has come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Brother William Mueller, a former teacher from the now defunct Roncalli Catholic School.

In the lawsuit, the victim claims Mueller used a cloth soaked in ether to knock him out, before Mueller sexually abused him. The victim says the incident happened at the school sometime before 1971.

Mueller is accused of abusing more than a dozen students at the school. The Herman and Mermelstein law firm says none of the cases against the diocese have been settled.

Posted by Perry at 03:56 PM

February 03, 2007

Diocese, lawyers agree to mediated settlements on abuse claims

Catholic News Service
http://www.catholic.org/
national/national_story.php?id=22872

By Deirdre C. Mays

1/30/2007

CHARLESTON, S.C. (CNS) – The Diocese of Charleston and Richter and Haller LLC, the law firm representing alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse, have agreed to reach mediated settlements of abuse claims.

Bishop Robert J. Baker announced the decision Jan. 25 in a letter to South Carolina Catholics in The Catholic Miscellany, the diocesan newspaper, and held a press conference Jan. 26. It has the preliminary approval of the Dorchester County Court of Common Pleas and awaits final approval based on a March 9 fairness hearing.

"The demands of justice and the desire to heal the hurts of those abused by those sent to minister to them weigh heavily upon my heart," Bishop Baker said in his letter.

"I deeply regret the anguish of any individual who has suffered the scourge of childhood abuse and am firmly committed to a just resolution of any instance in which a person who holds the responsibility of protector has become a predator," he said. "I believe that a proactive approach to healing the evil that has been done is not only constructive, but absolutely necessary."

Two classes of claimants against the diocese will be formed. The first class includes all individuals born on or before Aug. 30, 1980, who claim they were sexually abused as minors by agents of the Diocese of Charleston. The second class includes spouses and parents of those victims.

The monetary range is $10,000-$200,000 for first-class settlements and a set amount of $20,000 per claimant for the second class. Those who agree to settle will not be able to make future legal claims against the diocese.

The diocese will fund the settlements from two pools of money. The first pool will be $5 million and if $4 million of that sum is awarded, a second and final pool of $7 million will be available. If the total sum of all settlements falls below the allotted funds, that money will be returned to the diocese.

The 1980 date was selected to limit problems with state statutes of limitations and make it easier for adults to step forward, according to A. Peter Shahid Jr., attorney for the diocese.

The court will appoint a neutral arbitrator to review and validate each claim. The arbitrator will determine the monetary award for each victim within a predetermined range based on the nature of the abuse he or she suffered.

Four victims' claims were settled last summer. Shahid said the diocese knows of at least eight other victims, although more may come forward. Since 1950, there have been 50 abuse claims involving 28 clergy or other diocesan employees settled for almost $3 million, he said. Those claims were not part of the new settlement.

During the press conference, John Barker, chief financial officer for the diocese, said that money for the settlements will come from insurance, interest on investments and, if needed, the sale of property. He said that selling property would be the last option.

"The settlement will benefit both victims and the church," Barker said. "It provides a forum for victims to come forward in a confidential, nonintimidating manner. It also allows the church to reach out to victims and compensate them for their suffering."

The identity of all claimants will be confidential, according to Shahid.

"This really is, for lack of a better word, a user-friendly approach," he said. "They can come forward as quietly, as individually, as possible. This doesn't continue the embarrassment and victimization. We invite people to come forward with their claims so they don't continue to harbor this emotional drain so they can experience fullness with the church."

In a press release sent out by the diocese, Lawrence Richter, lead counsel for the claimants, stated: "Hopefully this class settlement will bring to a close this sad and shameful chapter, and enable victims to have some closure, compensation and peace. These brave and long-suffering victims who have stood firm and demanded accountability should be applauded.

"These individuals can never be fully compensated nor their suffering taken away. I anticipate they will find comfort in the hope that their actions may serve as a deterrent to future victimization by those who hold a public trust," he said.

Posted by Perry at 04:20 PM

Judge Dismisses Clergy Abuse Case

http://www.10news.com/news/
10835179/detail.html

Man Filed Suit Alleging Late Rev. Molested Him

January 24, 2007

SAN DIEGO -- A judge has dismissed a clergy abuse case against the Diocese of San Diego, citing a lack of evidence that church officials were aware the accused priest may have been a pedophile, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Michael Shoemaker, who now lives in Kansas, filed suit in August 2002 alleging that the late Rev. John Daly molested him at St. Joseph Church in Holtville in 1977.

Shoemaker, then 16, said he and a friend were hitchhiking in the rain in El Centro when Daly picked them up and said they could spend the night at the church.

After awaking to find Daly molesting him, Shoemaker said, he and his friend fled and reported the molestation to Holtville police, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Daly was arrested but never charged, according to Walter Dutton, the former officer who made the arrest. Dutton has testified that he remembered seeing police paperwork citing two prior arrests of Daly on sex-abuse charges.

But in dismissing Shoemaker's lawsuit, Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholz of Los Angeles noted that the plaintiff's attorneys failed to produce any documents from police files, or Daly's personnel file, corroborating previous arrests, the newspaper reported.

"Even if there were admissible evidence supporting the existence of these prior arrests, there is no evidence that (diocese officials) knew or had any reason to know of their occurrence," wrote Fromholz in a ruling issued Monday, according to the newspaper.

About 60 of the 160 sex-abuse cases filed four years ago against the Diocese of San Diego have been released for pretrial investigation and depositions.

Four lawsuits are now set for trial in San Diego, beginning on Feb. 28.

Posted by Perry at 04:16 PM

January 31, 2007

Jehovah Witnesses Clergyman Sentenced For Offering Boys Sex

Hudson Valley News
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/
Cano_sentenced-29Jan07.htm

January 29, 2007

Goshen – A hamlet of Wallkill man who was convicted in a non-jury trial last fall for trying to lure boys to engage in sexual activity was sentenced in Orange County Court Monday to two to six years in state prison.

Jesus Cano, 50, who was a clergyman with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, was sentenced for the felonies of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance and attempted promotion of a sexual performance by a child.

Cano was charged with driving around the City of Middletown last summer, handing out packets to boys with nude photos of himself, his phone number and other information.

When Middletown Police arrested him, they found a video camera in his car which a tape that was shot inside a men’s room at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.

Posted by Perry at 03:48 PM

Sexual predator sentenced for propositioning underage boys

Times Herald-Record
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/
NEWS/701300316/-1/NEWS

By Oliver Mackson

January 30, 2007

Goshen — Jesus Cano stared at his handcuffs and passed up his last chance to speak in his own defense yesterday.

Cano, 50, of the hamlet of Wallkill, was sentenced in Orange County Court to two to six years behind bars for propositioning underage boys in Middletown last summer.

Cano didn't testify during his non-jury trial last fall, letting his lawyers argue that prosecutors didn't prove their case.

But Judge Jeffrey G. Berry convicted Cano of attempted use of a child in a sexual performance and attempted promoting a sexual performance by a child, both felonies, as well as three misdemeanors. When Middletown police arrested him during a sting operation in June, Cano had condoms, petroleum jelly, cold beer and a camera in his car. He had approached two teenage boys for sex before his arrest, and passed out pictures of his naked buttocks.

Prosecutor Kelle Grimmer told Berry that "the people do consider him a danger to the community and a sexual predator."

Sentencing is the last chance for someone to plead for mercy after they've been convicted of a crime. But Cano made no plea for mercy or understanding from the judge. Asked if he had anything to say, he raised his head briefly and said, "no," through a Spanish interpreter.

Berry then sentenced Cano to two to six years in state prison.

Cano had a U.S. green card when he was arrested last year, but because he was convicted of sex offenses, his card was revoked. He also was expelled from the Jehovah's Witnesses community where he was living at the time of his arrest.

After he serves his time, Cano faces deportation to his native Mexico. The judge said Cano should be removed from the United States as soon as possible.

"I don't want to risk having him, even as a parolee, here in Orange County," Berry said before Cano was led out of the courtroom.

Posted by Perry at 03:45 PM

Mormon Missionary sued in alleged sex abuse

Lexington Herald-Leader
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/
kentucky/news/state/16577219.htm

MORMON CHURCH ALSO NAMED IN CIVIL ACTION

Jan. 30, 2007

By Beth Musgrave - HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

A Lee County woman is suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of its missionaries over the alleged sexual abuse of her son.

Jason Stark of Idaho was on a two-year missionary trip to Kentucky and Indiana when he allegedly sexually abused three young men in 2005. Stark was charged in Lee County with two counts of sodomy and one count of attempted sodomy last February.

His criminal trial is scheduled for July 16.

The woman said in court documents that Stark's conduct has damaged her son psychologically, socially and mentally. The boy, who is younger than 18, has suffered public scorn, ridicule and embarrassment because of Stark. She is asking for unspecified damages.

The Herald-Leader does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

The case was originally filed in Lee Circuit Court in December. The Mormon church asked last week that the case be moved to federal court.

After Stark's arrest, the church issued a statement saying he had "been released from his missionary duties" pending the outcome of the trial. He is out on bond.

In the statement issued in March, the church said, "We abhor and condemn child abuse or mistreatment of any type in the strongest terms and have established a number of programs to assist local church leaders in preventing abuse and caring for victims."

In court documents, the church argues that the case should be dismissed. It says some of the claims might be barred by statute of limitations, and that it cannot be held responsible for actions of someone not necessarily under its control.

The church also contends that the lawsuit violates its "rights of freedom of religion" as guaranteed under the U.S. and state constitutions.

In a statement, Jon Fleischaker, who represents the church, said Stark "continues to dispute the allegations and a criminal trial is pending." Because of that, he said it would not be appropriate for the church to comment on the civil suit.

Michael Stidham, a Jackson lawyer who represents the mother and son, said he has not seen the church's response to the lawsuit, but that he does not understand how freedom of religion can translate to protection against lawsuits when a member of the church commits a crime.

"I don't think freedom of religion gives you the right to sexually abuse a minor," Stidham said.

Reach Beth Musgrave at (859) 231-3205, 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3205, or bmusgrave@herald-leader.com.

Posted by Perry at 03:36 PM

January 29, 2007

Reining In Abuse Part 2

Cleveland Jewish News
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/
articles/2007/01/25/news/local/
insightabuse0125.txt

Wayward clergy by the numbers: Is it rampant or an aberration?

January 25, 2007

BY: EUGENE L. MEYER and RICHARD GREENBERG JTA

Editor’s note: Last week’s CJN cover story reported on the fact of sexual misconduct and abuse among Jewish clergy and how the Jewish establishment is attempting to grapple with it. This article continues the discussion.

How extensive is the problem of sex abuse by clergy in the Jewish community? It depends which criteria are used as a yardstick.

Judging by the tiny caseload, the problem appears to be negligible n unless, of course, wrongdoing by rabbis and other clergy is underreported, as some observers maintain.

Rabbi Richard Hirsh, executive vice president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, counted three or four investigations into rabbinic sexual misconduct since the 300-member organization adopted a new code of ethics in 1999. The code is again being revised.

“We’re not allowed to discuss any details,” he explained, although in one instance, he added, the association’s ethics committee merely admonished the accused rabbi to “be careful next time.”

Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice president of the Conservative movement’s 1,600-member Rabbinical Assembly, said in the 17 years he has held his current post, only three rabbis have been asked to leave the R.A. or have left on their own due to “inappropriate behavior” of a sexual nature. This year, one rabbi was expelled. In addition, the R.A. insisted that “several” other rabbis found to have engaged in “seductive behavior” undergo therapy.

The Union for Reform Judaism, which has 900 member congregations, sees no “particular need” to keep records on the numbers or dispositions of sexual misconduct cases, according to its president, Rabbi Eric Yoffie.

The Awareness Center, a controversial Baltimore-based Jewish clearinghouse of information about sex abuseby the clergy lists on its website scores of Jewish clergy who are alleged to be sexual predators. Some of them have been convicted of crimes, but some have not even been charged.

Although authoritative statistics quantifying the problem appear to be nonexistent, “some experts” estimate that “between 18% and 39% of Jewish clergy are involved in sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and/ or sexual misconduct n the same percentage as non-Jewish clergy,” according to the 2002 book Sex, Lies, and Rabbis: Breaking a Sacred Trust by psychotherapist Charlotte Rolnick Schwab. “All denominations are involved,” Schwab wrote.

It’s not just rabbis

Rabbis are not the only religious authority figures who may be accused of victimizing congregants. Cantors, among others, have committed sexually abusive acts, as indicated by several cases, high-profile and otherwise.

In one instance, a woman who was interviewed by JTA, reported being sexually assaulted by her cantor several years ago in a parking lot following a communal event. The woman said she initially did not report the incident to the police after being advised by an acquaintance “to keep it quiet, and keep it in the community.”

But as word of the incident spread, the woman said she and her son were soon ostracized by members of the religious community that had once embraced them. They became the targets of a harassment campaign, according to the woman, that included pointed intimations that she and her son might not be Jewish.

“They destroyed my son spiritually,” said the woman, now in her mid-40s, her voice breaking. “They ripped the heart of Jerusalem from him, and I had to watch it.”

Eventually the woman’s Jewish bona fides n and those of her son n were confirmed by an Orthodox beit din, a rabbinic court, sitting in New York, which also advised her to report the sexual assault to the police.

“They did everything right,” she said of the beit din.

Felony charges were filed against the cantor, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He was given a one-year suspended sentence, three years probation, and ordered to undergo domestic-violence counseling.

Although procedures for adjudicating sexual misconduct complaints against cantors differ from movement to movement, none of these cases is handled by the denominational rabbinic organizations n unless perhaps the cantor is also an ordained rabbi.

The Orthodox Union (OU), which has about 450 member synagogues in North America, has no congregational ethics guidelines applying specifically to non-rabbinic clergymen, such as cantors.

It was not immediately apparent which Orthodox organization would in fact have jurisdiction over a sexual misconduct complaint involving a cantor.

The Reform and Conservative movements have cantorial associations that rule on ethics complaints against their members.

Over the past five years, five complaints alleging sexual misconduct have been filed with the Conservative movement’s Cantors Assembly, resulting in the expulsion of three cantors from the organization. The Reform movement’s American Conference of Cantors has received one complaint of sexual harassment since 2004. That complaint was investigated and found to be without merit.

Sweeping things under the carpet

Within Jewish circles, much of the focus on sexual predators has centered on the Orthodox community, particularly its more fervently religious precincts, where some contend that clergy’s sex abuse is more hidden n and possibly more widespread n than elsewhere.

True or not, the problem in that community was spotlighted by two recent episodes.

The first involved a fierce debate over remarks by a haredi (rigorously Orthodox) rabbi, Matisyahu Salomon, who reportedly suggested that his community sweeps the issue “under the carpet.” The second involved the arrest of a haredi rabbi and teacher, who was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor.

According to Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, Salomon meant that rather than ignoring or covering up sexual misconduct, as detractors maintain, haredi officials deal with it discreetly to protect the dignity of the families of perpetrators and victims.

The response to Salomon’s remarks was swift and often heated, with several website and blog contributors arguing that haredi officials often look the other way when sex abuse by clergy takes place in their midst.

“Denial, secrecy, and sweeping under the carpet are not unique to haredi, Orthodox, or Jewish institutions,” wrote Nachum Klafter, a self-described “frum (Orthodox) psychiatrist,” in a Nov. 26 posting on the website haloscan.com.

Eleven days after those remarks were posted, a haredi rabbi, Yehuda Kolko, was charged in connection with the alleged molestation of a 9-year-old boy and a 31-year-old man, both former students of his during different eras at Brooklyn’s Yeshiva-Mesivta Torah Temimah. Kolko, 60, had long served the yeshiva as a teacher and an assistant principal.

Kolko is named in at least four civil suits filed over the past eight months by his alleged victims, including the 9-year-old. The most recent litigation alleges not only that Kolko molested the 9-year-old during the 2003-04 school year, but that the school administration covered up the rabbi’s pedophilia for 25 years.

The suit charges that Rabbi Lipa Margulies, identified as the leader of Torah Temimah, knew of many “credible allegations of sexual abuse and pedophilia against Kolko,” yet continued to employ him as an elementary school teacher “and give him unfettered access to young children.”

Avi Moskowitz, the attorney representing Torah Temimah, said: “The yeshiva adamantly denies the allegations.”

Another one of the lawsuits brought against Torah Temimah was filed in May by David Framowitz, now 49 and living in Israel. In that $10 million federal litigation, Framowitz, who was joined by a co-plaintiff also seeking $10 million, alleged that he was victimized by Kolko while he was a seventh- and eighth-grader at Torah Temimah.

After his own reports of abuse were met with disbelief and inaction, Framowitz said he chose to “deeply bury” his painful memories of the alleged incidents.

“I never really got over it,” he said, “but I was able to get on with my life.”

Framowitz decided to speak out publicly about his experience after he learned through the Internet in the fall of 2005 that Kolko was still teaching young boys. He said he is relieved that Kolko has been arrested and charged “and that maybe Kolko will be prevented from being around other kids.”

Attorney Jeffrey Herman, who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuits stemming from Kolko’s alleged misconduct, was quoted in a May 15 New York magazine piece saying that the abuse by clergy in the haredi community “reminds me of where the Catholic Church was 15 or 20 years ago. I see some members of the community turning a blind eye to what’s going on in their backyards.”

Judging the judges

“The problem in the ultra-Orthodox community is that people go to the beit din and not to civil authorities,” said Mark Dratch, a modern-Orthodox rabbi who chairs the Rabbinical Council of America’s Task Force on Rabbinic Improprieties.

Dratch, who directs JSafe, a nonprofit organization addressing abuse in the Jewish community, said he has “pleaded with members of Agudath Israelto expose the dangers of clerical and familial abuse. I said if you don’t expose, victims have no place to turn.”

Agudath Israel has not promulgated anti-abuse policies for its affiliated congregations, but it does have binding behavioral guidelines that apply to its youth groups and its five summer camps, which serve about 2,000 youngsters, according to Shafran.

Elsewhere in Orthodoxy

The modern Orthodox community was deeply scarred by the sex abuse scandal involving Rabbi Baruch Lanner, a former regional director of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), a branch of the centrist Orthodox Union.

Lanner was sentenced in 2002 to seven years in prison for sexually abusing two female students during the 1990s while he was their principal at a yeshiva high school in New Jersey.

However, a 2000 report by a special OU commission found that Lanner had also sexually abused women and teenage girls and physically abused boys and girls while he was a leader at NCSY. The case attracted widespread attention, in part, because the report said some OU and NCSY leaders had failed to take action for several years to halt Lanner’s misconduct.

Both the OU and the NCSY say they have upgraded their behavioral guidelines and enhanced anti-abuse training programs.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has no written conduct guidelines applying specifically to its estimated 4,000 global emissaries, known as shlichim, or its approximately 3,000 multi-use facilities that double as synagogues and are usually referred to as Chabad Houses. However, many Chabad Houses have adopted behavioral policies originally formulated for the movement’s schools, according to movement spokesman Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin.

In addition, shlichim must strictly abide by the Shulchan Aruch, the 16th-century code of Jewish law that prohibits non-married or unrelated adults of the opposite sex from being secluded with each other.

On the school front

Some of the denominational policies examined by JTA are designed to guard against situations that could result in inappropriate contact with minors, regardless of their sex. They mandate, for example, that at least two adults be present when a child is receiving private religious instruction.

The policies also instruct school officials to consult two recognized rabbinic authorities n one Chabad-affiliated and one not n regarding mesirah.

Mesirah, a centuries-old Jewish legal injunction, which in some instances prohibits Jews from reporting Jewish perpetrators to non-Jewish authorities, has been blamed for the reticence of some Orthodox sex abuse victims to go public with their complaints. In a spring 2004 article in the anti-abuse publication Working Together, Dratch of JSafe said that in cases of child sex abuse, “the consensus of contemporary Jewish religious authorities is that such reporting is religiously mandatory.”

Three years ago, several safeguards were adopted by Torah Umesorah-The National Society for Hebrew Day Schools, which provides religious educational materials for nearly 200,000 Orthodox students spanning that denomination’s ideological spectrum.

But the guidelines are nonbinding because each of the hundreds of schools served by Torah Umesorah are self-governing.

Elliot Pasik, a New York attorney and children’s rights advocate, said the way in which the guidelines were distributed calls into question Torah Umesorah’s commitment to protecting students from sexually predatory teachers and other staffers.

Few, if any, parents Pasik knows with children attending schools serviced by Torah Umesorah were told about the rules unless they called the Torah Umesorah national office in Manhattan. Furthermore, he added, “I have personally spoken with several teachers, and they knew nothing about these guidelines.”

Pasik said the situation shows the need for a centralized governing body n perhaps a state or federal agency n that can hold schools accountable for the safety of students.

“It’s hard for people in any organization to govern themselves,” he said. “We’re not being patrolled or governed by anybody.”

The larger issue of child molestation in the Orthodox community was addressed in a one-page statement accompanying the Torah Umesorah guidelines.

The statement urges “everyone to use every means to stop these violations of children, including, at times, exposing the identities of the abusers and even their incarceration. At times, our primary intent may not be to punish the perpetrators, but rather to help them. Therefore, it is preferable, wherever appropriate, to force them to undergo appropriate professional therapy.”

Posted by Perry at 05:31 PM

Reining In Abuse Part 1

Cleveland Jewish News
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/
articles/2007/01/18/news/local/
acover0119.txt

January 18, 2007

Clergy's sexual misconduct: What's being done to squelch it?

BY: EUGENE L. MEYER and RICHARD GREENBERG, JTA

The rabbi in a mid-sized Pennsylvania city was eager to share his congregation's wrenching experience - but no names, please.

It's been nearly five years since the synagogue's cantor pleaded guilty to sexually molesting two girls he was preparing for their bat mitzvahs. He was sentenced to 15 to 30 months in prison and is now on Pennsylvania's sexual offender list.

Still, the rabbi wanted the name of his synagogue and of the abuser, whose crimes are a matter of public record, kept confidential.

But the rabbi wanted it known that measures have been instituted to guard against a repeat occurrence. For example, the synagogue now requires that another adult be present during private religious instruction.

In that respect, this synagogue typifies many Jewish institutions, which over the past several years have adopted new policies - or beefed up existing ones - aimed at cracking down on rogue rabbis and others in positions of trust who sexually exploit congregants, students or others.

The issue of clergy sexual abuse has gained increased attention in the 10 years since it was first investigated by JTA. That earlier investigation, which focused primarily on rabbis who sexually coerced adult congregants, indicated that the problem was more widespread than had been assumed. the Jewish establishment was beginning to grapple with it, but not always effectively.

Since that original investigation was published, the Catholic Church has been rocked by a massive pedophilia scandal, while the Jewish community has been buffeted by high-profile cases of sexual impropriety involving rabbis and other authority figures.

The list of offenders includes Orthodox youth leader Rabbi Baruch Lanner, a former regional director of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, who is now serving a seven-year prison sentence for abusing teenage girls while he was principal of a New Jersey yeshiva. The scandal set off a storm in the Orthodox world, stemming from allegations that rabbinic leaders and others had long been negligent in supervising Lanner.

More recently, David Kaye, a prominent 56-year-old Conservative rabbi from Maryland, was ensnared in a nationally televised pedophile sting operation. Kaye, the former vice president for programs of Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, was sentenced Dec. 1 to six-and-a-half years in prison for trying to solicit sex last year from someone posing on the Internet as a 13-year-old boy, a case that was featured on the network television show “Dateline NBC.”

Virtually all denominations, except segments of fervent Orthodoxy, now have formal codes on the books that outline unacceptable clergy behavior and mandate precisely how complaints of sexual impropriety are to be investigated and adjudicated by in-house ethics panels.

In a three-month-long investigation, JTA examined those policies with the help of mental-health providers, victims' advocates, rabbis, and others whose assessments reflected a mix of encouragement and skepticism.

Among the findings:

€ The anti-abuse guidelines represent a well-intentioned yet sporadically flawed attempt to address a problem that had once been neglected entirely.

€ The system, according to critics, suffers from an institutional fear of lawsuits and excessive secrecy - both byproducts of an ethical quandary faced by decision-makers. They must balance an individual's right to privacy against the obligation to protect the public from a potential sexual predator.

€ A symbol of that ethical push-pull is the Awareness Center, a private, 5-year-old Baltimore-based Jewish organization that is devoted to protecting the public from abusers. The center has been both criticized and praised for its policy of identifying rabbis and other sexual predators on its website, whether or not they have been tried in court.

€ Perhaps the most serious impediment to controlling clergy abuse is what Chicago psychologist and psychoanalyst Vivian Skolnick calls “the plague of silence” - the continuing reluctance of victims to report transgressions.

Like most of the observers contributing to the JTA analysis, anti-abuse activist and author Drorah Setel, a rabbi at a Reform congregation in Niagara Falls, N.Y., lauded the denominational rule-makers for taking steps to undo decades of inaction and denial - but she faulted their specific policies.

The notion of image-conscious, liability-minded, and often male-dominated rabbinic ethics boards policing their own members, she says, is like “the fox guarding the henhouse.”

Secrecy vs. privacy

Although Judaism's get-tough policies may have their flaws, conclusive proof of their effectiveness - or ineffectiveness - is elusive. One reason is that the pool of sex abuse complaints processed by ethics panels over the past several years is minuscule.

It is an open question, however, whether the low volume of cases indicates that the problem of sexual misdeeds among rabbis and other Jewish clergy is minimal, as some claim, or is simply underreported, as Skolnick and several others contend.

In addition, the administrative proceedings aimed at meting out justice are typically cloaked in what critics call excessive secrecy and advocates of the system maintain is an environment of prudent and compassionate privacy. The denominational hearings are generally closed to the public, and in some cases, public access to the results of those hearings is severely limited.

Proponents of this approach say it is warranted to avoid unnecessarily tainting the reputation of the accused while sparing the accuser additional shame, embarrassment and fear.

That fear is not always illusory. Victims are indeed sometimes shunned and even harassed by fellow congregants. Consequently, other victims fail to report transgressions.

Despite encouraging inroads in the area of reporting sexual abuse, the reticence of victims to come forward continues to be a major problem across all denominations. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that under-reporting may be more prevalent in the fervently Orthodox community - the type of neighborhood where denial runs rampant regarding sexual misconduct by clergy, according to Framowitz.

The denominational policies examined by JTA, which were developed by both the congregational and rabbinic wings of the major religious movements, have several similarities. For example, they address a vast range of prohibited deeds, from criminal acts such as rape and child molestation to sexually charged conduct that is exploitive but not necessarily criminal. That includes sexual harassment, adultery and other forms of “seductive” or coercive behavior that are grouped under the broad heading of “boundary violations.”

Most of the denominational guidelines recognize that the inherent power imbalance between clergyman and congregant makes otherwise consensual sexual contact unacceptable.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RBA), a primarily modern-Orthodox organization, specifies that whoever initially assesses complaints not be a member of the RCA, that the organization's fact-finding team include one mental health professional, and that all members of that team “have appropriate training in the area of sexual abuse.”

The Central Conference of Amerian Rabbis (reform) guidelines, meanwhile, require that its three-member fact-gathering team include a lay person in addition to two rabbis.

Limiting mobility

Another key provision of the denominational codes focuses on an issue that gained prominence during the child-molestation scandal in the Catholic Church. That is, the problem of sexual predators who escape apprehension by relocating to another institution or community where they repeat their conduct.

In the case of the church, pedophile priests were aided by superiors who routinely shuttled them from one parish to another where they continually had access to children.

“This is an area of great concern in the Jewish community as well,” said Alison Iser, director of The Jewish Program at the FaithTrust Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit devoted to combating sexual and domestic violence. “The Jewish community has viewed with disdain that sort of behavior elsewhere, and as a result, has felt a sort of smugness that it was not happening here.”

Whether segments of the Jewish community do in fact have a “Catholic-priest problem” is debatable.

Declaring that “confidentiality is crucial,” the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association guidelines of 1999 - which are now being revised - say the chair of the association's Ethics Committee may only disclose that a member is under investigation, the investigation “has been resolved but is confidential,” or that the member has been suspended or expelled. “No other details are to be revealed.”

News of a rabbi's expulsion from the RCA, the modern Orthodox organization, must be disseminated throughout the RCA, and the rabbi's current employer must also be notified. Beyond that, though, RCA officials shall determine “who else, if anyone,” is to be informed that such an action took place.

The CCAR, the Reform rabbinic arm, mandates that a prospective employer be provided with a fairly detailed report of disciplinary action taken against a CCAR member. But “after an extended period of time,” a single non-criminal infraction doesn't have to be reported at all.

The proper role of transparency in the adjudicative process is a controversial topic, highlighting the tension between maintaining the public's right to know and enabling an individual to keep his or her reputation intact - especially in the absence of criminal charges or civil allegations.

“If you act on a false accusation, you're killing a guy and his family; the responsibility is awesome,” said Rabbi Abraham Twerski, medical director emeritus of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh. “Plus, you can be sued for defamation of character. And, boy, does that ever hamper the system.”

Some victims' advocates are transparency absolutists, insisting on full disclosure of virtually all details of sex-abuse cases involving religious authority figures that have been ruled on by denominational ethics panels. They feel that such information should be released not only to prospective employers, but to the public at large to protect the maximum number of people.

Due in part to concerns over civil liability, the RCA generally limits the public release of details regarding sex-abuse cases, even those that have resulted in a rabbi's expulsion from the organization, said Rabbi Basil Herring, RCA's executive vice president.

The RCA guidelines, however, do have an emergency clause that recommends informing a wide range of individuals, including neighbors and civil authorities, if a rabbi might pose an immediate danger to “alleged or potential victims.”

Sources within the other movements said that regardless of official policy, an expansive disclosure stance would likely apply in similar circumstances.

Due in part to extensive First Amendment protections enjoyed by religious organizations, the keepers of clergy personnel records have “lots of leeway” in terms of what information they can release without being successfully sued, said Minneapolis psychologist Gary Schoener.

The prospective employer should know both the good and the bad,” he said. “There should be an accurate description of the full person, including his recovery plan and how it is being monitored. “The idea is to know exactly what kind of situation we're dealing with.”

Posted by Perry at 05:25 PM

Three Sikh priests held on sexual abuse charges in Canada Gurdawara

Punjab Newsline
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/
content/view/2651/38/

27 January 2007

by Aman Singh

WINNIPEG(CANADA): The Sikh community in Winnipeg is reacting with shock to news that police have formally charged three Sikh priests with a variety of sexual assault charges.

All three teach at the Gurdwara Nanaksar temple in the St. Vital area.Gurdwara Nanaksar is one of only 17 temples of its kind worldwide - it is affiliated with a specific Sikh sect, Nanaksar Satsang Sabha. Others in the Sikh community worried about the scars the charges may leave on the reputation of the nearly 15,000 Sikhs in Winnipeg.

The priests are alleged to have abused a Winnipeg man when he was a boy, over a period of more than five years from June 1990 to January 1996.

"The community is totally stunned by this," said Tej Bains, a retired social worker and activist."We are still in shock and there's a number of factors. First of all, we just don't talk about sexuality and … we really honour our priests."

Bakhshish Singh, 47, Kuljit Singh, 43, and Dalbag Singh, 37, all face charges of sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching.

Some Sikhs have identified the Gurdwara Nanaksar temple as that of a sect outside mainstream Sikhism in which religious leaders remain celibate.The temple is one of three of its kind in Canada -- the others are in Brampton, Ont., and Surrey, B.C. Winnipeg's Gurdwara Nanaksar began in 1982.

"This is very bad... any allegations of this kind reflect bad on the community as a whole," said Mohinder Singh Dhillon, who worships at Singh Sabha, a mainstream Sikh temple on Sturgeon Rd.

The priests were first arrested Dec. 23 and are set to appear in court next month.
They have been ordered to stay away from the alleged victim. They've also been told to hand over their passports and not be in the presence of anyone under 18 years without supervision.

Sheldon Pinx, the lawyer representing all three men, said last month that his clients maintain their innocence and deny all charges. Meanwhile, a police spokesperson says there may be more arrests in the case.

Winnipeg police said two more priests were arrested last weekend and were released on a promise to appear in court.

Sgt. Kelly Dennison added the charges are linked to an alleged kidnapping occurring earlier this month. The Free Press previously reported that on Dec. 14, a man armed with a sword and another man armed with a tire iron allegedly kidnapped two priests from the temple. The men drove them to a residence in the Waverley area where they allegedly physically assaulted the priests.

Jeewan Jyot Kahlon, 24, and Amandeep Singh Chana, 25, both face charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

At the time, police said a "personal dispute" was behind the incident and the victims knew their attackers.

Posted by Perry at 05:18 PM

Priest accused of abuse defrocked

Concord Monitor
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/
REPOSITORY/701270348

January 27. 2007

By ANNMARIE TIMMINS - Monitor staff

The Diocese of Manchester announced yesterday that the Vatican has defrocked the Rev. John Nolin, a former Lakeport and Penacook priest removed from ministry in 1994 after allegations that he abused a Keene girl. Nolin is the third New Hampshire priest to be defrocked.

Nolin, 74, resigned his ministry in 1994 after he was accused of sexual assault, but he has been retired and collecting a retirement check from the diocese since 2000. As recently as 2005, Nolin was living in New Mexico with a woman he was romantically involved with during his time in Keene.

Bishop John McCormack warned Nolin in writing in 2002 to leave the woman and relocate to Manchester alone. If he did not, McCormack warned, the diocese would seek to have Nolin defrocked. By then, the diocese had a history of confronting Nolin about his sexual affairs with adult women, according to church records.

In 1982, Msgr. Francis Christian, now an auxiliary bishop with the diocese, told Nolin he was lucky one of the women he was intimate with "had not seen fit to publicize this matter, since in that case you certainly would face suspension and even possible laicization," according to church records.

The Vatican "laicized" or defrocked Nolin two months ago, on Nov. 10, but the diocese released the news just yesterday. The move means Nolin will no longer receive financial support from the church, including his retirement, or be allowed to act as a priest.

The church's press release did not explain its delay in announcing the Vatican's decision or say why Nolin was defrocked when several other accused and imprisoned priests from New Hampshire have not been. Four priests are serving long prison sentences for sexually assaulting children: the Rev. Roger Fortier, the Rev. Gordon MacRae, the Rev. Joseph McGuire and the Rev. Francis Talbot.

Melanie English of the diocese's communication's office said church officials were not taking phone calls about the Nolin press release or disclosing additional information. Nolin could not be reached.

Nolin was ordained in 1960 and spent his early years in a variety of parishes: St. Mary's in Newmarket, St. Kieran's in Berlin, St. Joseph's in Salem and Our Lady of the Mountains in North Conway. He was reassigned at least once because the diocese learned of his affairs with women, according to church records. His local assignments included our Lady of the Lakes in Lakeport in 1968 and Immaculate Conception in Penacook in 1969.

The Diocese of Manchester first learned of abuse allegations against Nolin in 1994, when a 32-year-old woman reported that Nolin had assaulted her several years earlier, when she was 12 or 13. At the time, Nolin was having an affair with the girl's mother, according to church files. He spent nights with the family and visited the girl in her room, the records said. She pretended to be asleep while he touched her sexually.

Christian confronted Nolin in 1994 about the child sexual abuse allegation. Nolin admitted to having the affair with the girl's mother and said he had been involved with several other women, according to church records. But he denied assaulting the girl. He admitted only to a "vague memory" of going into her room while she was asleep.

In April, 1994, Christian and Nolin discussed how to respond to the allegation, according to church records, and reached the following agreement: Nolin would resign his current parish assignment at St. Jospeh's in Woodsville, sell his home in Keene near the accuser's family and relocate. The diocese would grant him early retirement and he would agree not to function as a priest.

Nolin followed through with the agreement and by 1995 had moved to New Mexico. He remained in contact with the diocese, and in 2002 Bishop John McCormack wrote to Nolin ordering him to return to Manchester to reside in a retirement home for priests. McCormack said the move was necessary to cease the scandal Nolin was causing by living with a woman in New Mexico.

In his 2002 letter, McCormack warned Nolin that he would seek to have him defrocked if he did not relocate to Manchester alone. McCormack was upset that Nolin's "cohabitation" with a woman had become publicly known. The only other option, McCormack wrote, was for Nolin to have himself removed from the clerical state.

It was not clear yesterday whether McCormack or Nolin requested Nolin's laicization.

The same year McCormack demanded that Nolin move back to New Hampshire alone, the diocese released the names of priests who'd been accused and removed for child sexual abuse allegations. It did so under pressure from the state attorney general's office, which had been investigating the diocese for child endangerment.

The woman who accused Nolin in 1994 noticed immediately that his name was missing. The diocese added Nolin's name a month later, after the family demanded it. Church officials said at the time that Nolin had been left off the list by accident.

The family accused the church of omitting Nolin's name and his story on purpose.

Posted by Perry at 05:14 PM

Names of accused priests released

Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday Telgram
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
news/state/070128priests.html

January 28, 2007

By TREVOR MAXWELL, Staff Writer Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine Bishop Richard Ma-lone on Saturday released the names of four Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse, whose cases are still pending with church courts in Rome.
The priests already had been removed from ministry prior to 2002, but their names and the allegations against them had not been disclosed.
Malone has recommended laicization for all four, meaning permanent removal of all rights and duties as a priest.
They are George Beaudet, 67, who served at nine parishes until being removed in 2000; Frederick Carrigan, 72, who served at seven parishes until removal in 2002; Michael Plourde, 56, who served at nine parishes until removal in 1994; and Ronald Michaud, 60, who served at five parishes until removal in 1989.
The announcement marked a change in church policy by Malone, who is head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and spiritual leader of the state's 234,000 Catholics.
The bishop had waited to release names of accused priests until receiving a final decision by the Vatican.
But Malone said on Saturday the process was taking longer than expected.
"I have become increasingly concerned about the possible risk of re-offense in the cases of those who have not been publicly identified," Malone said in a statement, released at a news conference in Bangor. Malone noted a case in Delaware, in which an accused priest who had not been named publicly was arrested on a charge of sexual abuse in October.
"I am now convinced that the time has come to release the names of the remaining priests who were removed from ministry due to abuse allegations, whose offenses were admitted or sufficiently established," Malone said.
Fourteen other dioceses and archdioceses nationwide have adopted similar policies, said Sue Bernard, a spokeswoman for the diocese.
Paul Kendrick was not satisfied with the disclosures, and he continued to call for Malone's resignation. Kendrick helped found Ignatius Group, which advocates for abuse victims. His and other groups want the diocese to release the names and addresses of all priests and church workers facing credible abuse charges.
Kendrick asked why Malone didn't release the four names earlier if the men might be capable of additional offenses.
"When he leaves people like Michael Plourde in neighborhoods full of kids, when he won't say the whereabouts of these people, and parents have no idea about these men with substantiated abuse charges against them, he is putting kids at risk," Kendrick said of Malone.
Basing his conclusions on a report released by the state Attorney General's Office in 2004 and on information from families and communities, Kendrick said he believes around 20 priests and religious and church workers facing credible charges have not been identified publicly.
Kendrick was planning a rally and leaflet drop this morning in front of St. Joseph's Church in Biddeford, where Michael Plourde once served as a priest. Kendrick said Plourde was living recently in an apartment complex near the church.
Also Saturday, Malone announced the Vatican has made final rulings in the cases of two other accused Maine priests.
Peter Gorham, 79, and Francis Kane, 79, both were assigned a life of prayer and penance, which is generally applied to people who are very old or in poor health.
Gorham was accused in 1995 of an offense from 1953. He retired in 1996.
Kane was accused of abuse in 1986, his ministry was limited in 1987, and he retired in 1997.
Malone provided updates on three cases that previously had been made public.
The Vatican has granted a request for a canonical trial by Thomas Lee, who stepped down from ministry in 2003.
In the case of Jim Michaud, the diocese has no proof of sexual abuse, but Bishop Malone decided Michaud should not have public ministry because of other misconduct.
Lastly, John Harris agreed with Malone's recommendation that Harris step down from ministry, although no victims of sexual abuse came forward during an investigation by the diocese.
Malone said the diocese previously reported all of the priests to civil authorities.
The church court process in Rome is a way to make rulings in cases that cannot be prosecuted in criminal courts, because too much time has passed.

Staff writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
tmaxwell@pressherald.com

Posted by Perry at 05:10 PM

Diocese Of Charleston Reaches Sexual Abuse Suit Settlement

ABC News
http://www.abcnews4.com/news/
stories/0107/391906.html

January 26, 2007

Charleston, SC - The Diocese of Charleston reaches a 12 million dollar class action agreement for child sexual abuse cases. The Diocese has already paid close to 3 million dollars, resolving some 50 claims of childhood sexual abuse against Priests, clergymen and Diocese faculty dating back to 1950. In an attempt to resolve any unreported cases, it may pay up to 12 million more.

"One of the things that's hardest for the victims is these were people they trusted. Most of them it happened in their young teens, that formidable age of who to look for with advice and who they respect," says David Haller, legal counsel representing the claimants.

All victims who enter the suit will remain anonymous. So far three individuals allege Father James Nyhan fondled them while in the 8th grade at the Nativity Catholic School. A fourth has accused the late Father Lawrence Sheady. All four, plus 3 family member have reached settlements totaling more than a half a million dollars. 8 additional claims are now under review. "We gotten to the point and we all believe in a just resolution. We want healing and justice for all and it's a fact that we're here and ready to resolve," says Peter Shahid, who represents the Diocese.

Other Diocese have gone bankrupt from similar sexual abuse suits filed against them, but the Diocese of Charleston believes by reaching a class action agreement and resolving claims they know are valid, this step will prevent a possible bankruptcy situation in the future.

"It is my fervent hope that this settlement will allow us, as the Catholic community of faith in South Carolina, to bring closure to an ugly period in our history and look forward with joyful hope to the future of our Church," says the Rev. Bishop Robert B. Baker.

The settlement will award up to $200,000 to individuals born on or before August 30th, 1980, who as minors were sexually abused by someone associated with the Diocese. Parents and spouses may receive up to $20,000. A fairness hearing for final approval of the agreement is set for March 9th. The Diocese of Charleston represents all Catholic institutions in the State and is encouraging victims to come forward and file a claim by calling 849-6000.

Posted by Perry at 05:06 PM

January 26, 2007

Outspoken Catholic Pastor Replaced; He Says It’s Retaliation

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/
us/26bishop.html?th&emc=th

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

January 26, 2007

In his last Mass as pastor at the inner-city parish in Detroit where he had served for 23 years, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton told his parishioners that he was forced to step down as pastor because of his lobbying efforts on behalf of the victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, a stance that put him in opposition to his fellow bishops.

Last weekend, the archbishop of Detroit, Cardinal Adam Maida, sent a letter to the parish, St. Leo, saying Bishop Gumbleton had to be removed because of church rules on retirement. But as Bishop Gumbleton, who turns 77 on Friday and had already retired last year as a bishop, told his parish last Sunday, there are many pastors even older than he who are allowed to continue serving.

“I’m sure it’s because of the openness with which I spoke out last January concerning victims of sex abuse in the church. So we’re all suffering the consequences of that, and yet, I don’t regret doing what I did because I still think it was the right thing to do,” he said, as the congregation rose and erupted in applause.

Bishop Gumbleton, though he never led a diocese, is known nationally in church circles as a liberal maverick. He co-founded the peace ministry Pax Christi and accompanied antiwar delegations to Haiti and Iraq. He broke ranks with church teaching by preaching in favor of acceptance of gay men and lesbians and the ordination of women.

Last January, he lobbied in favor of a bill in Ohio to extend the statute of limitations and allow victims of sexual abuse to sue the church many years after they were abused. He said he was speaking out because he had been abused by a priest as a teenage seminarian and knew how hard it was to speak publicly even decades later. Bishops in Ohio opposed the bill, which failed.

A spokesman for the archdiocese of Detroit, Ned McGrath, said Bishop Gumbleton’s removal from St. Leo Parish had nothing to do with his lobbying on sexual abuse or his political stands.

All bishops are required at age 75 to submit resignation letters to the pope, Mr. McGrath said, and the pope has the option to accept or reject the resignation. Bishop Gumbleton’s resignation was accepted last year, and, Mr. McGrath said, “it was with the understanding that he would give up any pastoral office.”

Cardinal Maida announced in his letter to parishioners that he had appointed a new pastor, the Rev. Gerard Battersby.

In his brief remarks at Mass on Sunday, Bishop Gumbleton told the parish that after he turned 75, he had sent a separate resignation letter to Cardinal Maida asking to stay on as pastor at St. Leo’s on a year-by-year basis. He said he was surprised by his sudden replacement.

“I did not choose to leave St. Leo’s,” he said. “It’s something that was forced upon me.”

Three canon lawyers interviewed on Thursday said there was nothing in canon law that would prohibit an archbishop from permitting a retired auxiliary bishop from serving as a pastor after 75.

Bishop Gumbleton, who has already moved out of his room behind the church and plans to move into an apartment in Detroit, did not respond to an interview request. A video of his remarks during Mass was taken by a parishioner and posted on the Web site of the National Catholic Reporter, an independent Catholic weekly newspaper that publishes a column by Bishop Gumbleton.

Mary M. Black, a parishioner at St. Leo’s, said: “Almost universally, everyone in the parish is hurt and angry and upset and bewildered.”

Ms. Black said: “He talks after Mass with people, and he is there ahead of Mass to say the rosary for anybody who has problems. And we all have his personal phone number. You do not have to go through a secretary. He was a pastor in the truest sense of the word.”

Posted by Perry at 03:31 PM

January 25, 2007

Baptist churches more vulnerable to clergy sex abuse, experts say

Biblical Recorder News
http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/
content/news/2007/01_24_2007/
ne240107baptist.shtml

Jan. 24, 2007

By Hannah Elliott
Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS, Texas - A recent sex scandal involving two North Texas pastors and the women who accused them of molestation is unusual because the victims - by now beyond the statute of limitations for sex-abuse cases - urged authorities and media to publish their names in conjunction with the case.

Typically, the names of sex-abuse victims are not publicized in an effort to spare the victim more emotional trauma. But Katherine Roush and Debbie Vasquez agreed to be identified in order to call attention to an increasingly prominent scathe of clergy sex-abuse cases in Baptist churches.

Larry Reynolds of Southmont Baptist Church in Denton, Texas, and Dale Amyx of Bolivar Baptist Church in Sanger, Texas, were accused in separate civil lawsuits of molesting Roush and Vasquez, respectively, during counseling sessions when the girls were 14 years old. The abuse continued for several years, according to charges.

Had the women, now adults, reported the molestation at the time of the crime, each man could have faced first-degree felony charges. In juvenile cases, victims can report a crime until 10 years after their 18th birthday.

Instead of the possible life sentence that would have gone with his felony charge, Reynolds issued an apology at a church Thanksgiving banquet as part of a settlement agreement. His suit was settled out of court. Vasquez's lawsuit has yet to be resolved.

Sex-abuse charges like the ones in North Texas have become increasingly common, with cases in Missouri, Kentucky and Florida making regional and national news. And some experts have said Baptist churches may be particularly vulnerable to this kind of abuse.

Inappropriate behavior by clergy cuts across all denominational ties and theological positions, ethicist Joe Trull said. But he says a case can be made that "nondenominational churches and Baptist churches who have autonomous church government are more vulnerable and susceptible" to instances of sexual abuse.

"In a sense, every one of these situations has certain commonalities," he said. "But on the other hand, each one has its own unique face. In a sense, they're all different, but in a sense, they're all alike."

The editor of Christian Ethics Today, Trull co-wrote Ministerial Ethics in 2004 and taught Christian ethics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

"Possibly if you looked at the statistics, I think there would be a higher incidence (in nondenominational and Baptist churches) because of a lack of accountability," he said. "(Pastors there) have not been prepared by their denomination. There is still that attitude in seminaries and colleges that prepare these pastors that they're on their own. It's that CEO mentality. And the thing that grieves me is that there's absolutely no sense of how this (misconduct) affects other ministers and churches."

While Presbyterians, Methodists and other Protestant denominations have "spelled-out" obligations for ministerial ethics, Baptist clergy lack a code of ethics to which they can be held accountable.

"In other denominations, (pastors) know that if charges are brought, truth will win out," Trull said. "Doctors and psychologists know if they are caught, they will lose their credentials and there will probably be a malpractice suit. Most Baptists and nondenominational ministers know that 'If I get caught, I can move to California and start a new church.'"

The increased instances of sex-abuse stories in the news may not necessarily mean it's happening more than in prior decades. It often means people are simply talking about it more openly, according to some experts. And victims like Rouse and Vasquez have encouraged others to come forward with their own stories of abuse.

Studies documenting the trend consistently find that roughly 12 percent of ministers have engaged in sexual intercourse with congregants. The Journal of Pastoral Care reported in a 1993 survey that 14 percent of Southern Baptist senior pastors had engaged in "sexual behavior inappropriate for a minister." In a 1988 study commissioned by Christianity Today, 17 percent of pastors surveyed admitted to having sexual contact with a counselee.

Lee Orth, chairman of the litigation committee at First Baptist Church in Greenwood, Mo., recently helped his church wade through a sex abuse case of its own. A long-time Presbyterian, Orth said the lack of a clear chain of command in Baptist churches means reports of abuse often go overlooked.

"Any time you don't have to report to anyone what is going on, the chances for abuse are going to occur," Orth said. "Strangely enough, Baptists are so big on following the Bible exactly, but they completely ignore the part about having elders and deacons (to help lead the church)."

Pastors must be exceedingly clear in understanding who they're accountable to and who reports to whom, he said. If more Baptist pastors knew they had to meet regularly with a central body or accountability board, they would be less likely to commit the abuse.

"I really think that the autonomy is part of the problem," he said. "I think there is too much that is put into the hands of the preacher. What you've got is a lot of little popes sitting out there, and they're infallible, and they know what the word is. It's almost like little kings, little fiefdoms."

Another situation that can lead to sex abuse is a false sense of security people have when it comes to churches, Robert Leslie, a detective with the Greenwood Police Department, said. It's something sometimes neglected by personnel committees that receive little oversight from outside sources.

Church leaders and parents must demand due diligence when checking the background and references of anyone working around children, he said.

"Churches have always been a place where everybody trusts everybody," he said. "Everybody feels safe there. If you think about it, what better place for a predator to go?"

Megachurches in particular can attract the "charismatic, predator-type" minister who repeatedly takes advantage of the power he has over congregants, especially emotionally vulnerable women. The advantage of being a solitary figure at the head of a group brings opportunities for moral failure. Although the number of congregants is high on the weekends, many megachurch pastors lead relatively isolated lives with few, if any, close friends.

"(Pastors of) megachurches and growing Baptist churches are the types that go for predator abuse," Trull said. "They tend to be loners. They don't have close friends to keep them accountable."

The imbalance of power between pastors and victims also plays a large part in the relationship. Bruce Prescott, executive director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists, said the abuse often isn't about sex at all. It's about power.

A former police officer, Prescott has counseled many victims of sexual abuse and found that the perpetrator often has an unhealthy view of power, sex and social interaction.

"What outrages me is when a church doesn't do something," Prescott said. "That's outrageous. You perpetuate that. Somebody has got stop it, because if you don't there will be other victims. Somebody has got to accept the responsibility to get (the predator) off the street or get them help."

What needs to be done, others stress, is to educate seminarians, enlighten congregations, establish codes of conduct, and publish complete lists of pastors guilty of sexual infractions - no small task for autonomous Baptist churches.

Christa Brown, an attorney from Austin, Texas, insists that Baptist leaders would not let autonomy delay action if they truly cared about protecting children from abuse.

Brown works with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), an organization of clergy sexual-abuse survivors. She maintains Stop Baptist Predators and has asked the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) to hire independent experts to investigate sexual-abuse cases within the convention.

SNAP volunteers have also petitioned BGCT leaders to publish a confidential file that lists clergy members guilty of inappropriate sexual behavior.

If a Baptist minister is convicted of an indecency or confesses to one, church leaders can report the act. Other churches can have access to the file if they submit an official request. But the information is not published.

BGCT leaders say the file is proof they're doing more than other Baptist groups in trying to stop sexual abuse. Indeed, the BGCT is the only Baptist group publicly to acknowledge having such a file.

Oklahoma's Prescott said church people should be concerned whenever any kind of sexual problem emerges. They have a responsibility to other churches to make that problem public knowledge, but the effectiveness of a master file of offenders depends on the integrity of those making the list, he said.

Trull seconded the call for a list, saying that anyone convicted of sexual abuse or declared guilty by the church should be on a "readily available" list. Even a periodic news bulletin of offenders sent to churches might be in order, he added.

"Too often, people opt to do nothing out of fear," Trull said. "I personally think the Baptist convention has got to find some way of making it more accessible, in light of the crucial nature of this problem and the devastating effect on these churches. It is hurting the convention, it is hurting income. (They) have got to do something."

Trull supports creating a code of ethics in Baptist life. Baptists are "really, really weak" on codes of conduct - "a lot of young ministers today don't have the foggiest idea of ethical expectations, not just sexual but financial," Trull said. He added that the training should start before young ministers enter a church.

As a professor, Trull had his students write their own code of ethics and list of obligations to model what they might present to church deacons later in life. Incorporating clauses that require doors with windows and more than one adult present with children and that prohibit closed doors, hugs and prolonged counseling sessions can be included in that code agreement, he said.

New ministers need to know their limitations too, especially as counselors. Lengthy counseling sessions required over a long period of time should often be left to a professional counselor, he said.

Churches should also take the initiative to enact well-publicized and non-negotiable policies for dealing with sexual misdeeds before they even happen. Even with the best of intentions, tragedies can happen unless common sense procedures are enacted in a church, said Orth, the Missouri layman.

Prescott agreed. He's seen what can happen when congregations don't know or don't understand the precursors for sex abuse. When the church doesn't know how to respond after the fact, the toll is even greater.

"Congregations themselves need to have some sort of understanding of these things," he said. "The churches have a responsibility when they know that they've got someone (with a history of inappropriate sexual behavior) to not just release them but they have a responsibility to other Christians and other churches to make sure that person gets whatever help is needed."

Posted by Perry at 02:57 PM

Clergy Abuse Developments, in Denmark and California, Regarding the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Catholic Church, and an Oscar-Nominated Documentary

FindLaw
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/
hamilton/20070125.html

By MARCI HAMILTON
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007

The Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization is rightly credited with establishing important free speech precedent in the United States. Among other landmark cases, the organization secured decisions recognizing the right to avoid having the government force one to say the Pledge of Allegiance, in West Virginia Board of Ed. v. Barnette, and recognizing the right to peaceably proselytize in Cantwell v. Connecticut. The recent documentary "Knocking" focuses on their contributions in this arena.

It is extraordinarily ironic, then, that the Jehovah's Witnesses have recently, in Denmark, taken the position that speech, including speech by the press, should be punished and suppressed. It appears that when the topic is alleged clergy abuse within the organization, its position on freedom of speech makes a 180-degree turn. Apparently, the Jehovah's Witnesses support free speech for themselves, but not for their critics.

The Facts, Allegations, and Outcome in the Denmark Case

The case began when, in Fall 2004, one of Denmark's largest newspapers, Ekstra Bladet, ran a series of newspaper articles regarding credible allegations of sexual molestation within the Jehovah's Witnesses, and of a cover-up. The articles' titles (as translated) included "Jehovah-Leader Hides Child Molesting," "Keep Quiet About Sexual Molesting," and "Jehovah-Order: Keep Quiet About Child Molesting," as well as others.

The newspaper reported that those who very credibly claimed they were victims of childhood sexual abuse within the organization were compelled to keep their claims secret. Like the Boston Globe's series on the Boston Archdiocese's cover-up of clergy abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, which ran five years ago, this series focused not only on the actions of individuals, but on the organization-wide policies that led to institutional secrecy about child abuse allegations. The series focused, as well, on the impact of the policies, and the underlying alleged abuse, on victims and their families.

The local Jehovah's Witnesses Branch Office Committee, composed of seven members who govern the organization, sued the newspaper, Ekstra Bladet, and its Chief Editor, Bent Falbert, for slander. They demanded 350,000 kroner and that the Chief Editor be criminally charged with slander. Last December, Judge Anne Grethe Stockholm rejected all of their claims, and ordered them to pay the other side's legal fees, which amounted to 50,000 kroner.

The court reasoned that the topics addressed were newsworthy, and a matter of public interest, and that the stories discussing these topics contained legitimate legal analysis.

Rulings in the Proceedings Against the Witnesses and Others in California

Meanwhile, in California, the Jehovah's Witnesses there are facing lawsuits brought by alleged child sexual abuse victims, as well - and also losing on key issues. In an October 2006 ruling, for example, a Napa court ruled that the clergy-penitent privilege does not cover communications within the organization regarding alleged childhood sexual abuse.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in California has made the same argument, and has also lost. Rightly so: Discussions of crimes allegedly committed by organization members are hardly the kind of religious communications the priest-penitent privilege is meant to protect.

A Well-Deserved Oscar Nomination Emphasizes the Role of Free Speech in Ending Clergy Abuse and Gaining Justice for the Victims

Meanwhile, California is currently important in the fight against clergy abuse in another way, as well: In Los Angeles, recently-announced Oscar nominations included a richly-deserved one for the stark and disturbing documentary, "Deliver Us from Evil." As I discussed in a previous column, the film features troubling interviews with a priest child-abuse perpetrator, one Fr. O'Grady -- who was under the watch of L.A.'s Cardinal Mahony. This film has so much power, it truly deserves to win the Award.

Free speech and a free press - as well as open civil discovery - are key to vanquishing clergy abuse and giving justice to victims. When the Boston Globe broke the Catholic Church scandal in the U.S. five years ago, very few even knew about clergy abuse outside the Church. Thus, it's unclear whether a shocking film like "Deliver Us from Evil" more likely would have been treated as an exception, rather than evidence of a deep, appalling institutional problem.

Now, not only has the Church proved to be incapable of keeping its ugliest secrets, but its public relations campaign has utterly failed. The long era when no one would have dared portray the Church in the light that "Deliver Us from Evil" casts upon it, is gone for good.

The Jehovah's Witness lawsuit in Denmark shows the same internal dynamic as in the Catholic Church, and based on the allegations, the institutions have adopted matching strategies: hide as much as possible and when exposed, go on the offensive. Somehow, these institutions came to believe that they have a right to an internal, secret sphere where they cannot be held accountable for their culpability in the suffering of children. Fortunately, both Danish and California courts, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are proving them to be very wrong.

Marci A. Hamilton is the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Professor Hamilton's most recent book is God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge University Press 2005).

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20070125.html

Posted by Perry at 02:38 PM

January 17, 2007

Is Jewish Orthodoxy Confronting Abuse?

Jewish Times
http://www.jewishtimes.com/News/6219.stm

Eugene L. Meyer and Richard Greenberg
JTA Wire Service

JANUARY 17, 2007
New York

Within Jewish circles, much of the focus on sexual predators has centered on the Orthodox community, particularly its more fervently religious precincts, where some contend that clergy sex abuse is more hidden -- and possibly more widespread -- than elsewhere.

Whether or not those contentions are true, the problem in that community was spotlighted by two recent episodes. They are among several incidents, emanating from across the denominational spectrum, that JTA examined in this five-part investigation of the Jewish community's response to clergy sex abuse.

The first of two episodes that JTA tracked in the fervently Orthodox, or haredi, community involved a fierce debate over remarks by a haredi rabbi who reportedly suggested that his community sweeps the issue "under the carpet." The second involved the arrest of a haredi rabbi and teacher, who was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor.

On Thanksgiving, at the annual national convention of Agudath Israel of America, a haredi advocacy organization, Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, a featured speaker, ignited a controversy with his discussion of the haredi response to clergy sex abuse.

Salomon, a dean of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., one of the world's largest yeshivas, said, according to an Agudath Israel spokesman, that haredim are indeed guilty of "sweeping things under the carpet."

What he meant was open to interpretation. Salomon declined comment, but according to the Agudath Israel spokesman, Rabbi Avi Shafran, Salomon meant that rather than ignoring or covering up sexual misconduct, as detractors maintain, haredi officials deal with it discreetly to protect the dignity of the families of perpetrators and victims.

The response to Salomon's remarks was swift and often heated, with several Web site and blog contributors arguing that the rabbi's comments should be taken literally -- that is, haredi officials often look the other way when clergy sex abuse takes place in their midst.

Shafran, who accused the online detractors of making glib and sweeping generalizations without corroborating evidence, termed the comments "abhorrent."

Other communities were criticized as well on one Web site.

"Denial, secrecy, and sweeping under the carpet are not unique to charedi, Orthodox, or Jewish institutions," wrote Nachum Klafter, a self-described "frum psychiatrist," in a Nov. 26 posting on the Web site haloscan.com. "They are typical reactions of well-intentioned, scandalized human beings to the horrible shock of childhood sexual abuse."

Eleven days after those remarks were posted, a haredi rabbi, Yehuda Kolko, was arrested and charged in connection with the alleged molestation of a 9-year-old boy and a 31-year-old man, both former students of his during different eras at Brooklyn's Yeshiva-Mesivta Torah Temimah. Kolko, 60, had long served the yeshiva as a teacher and an assistant principal.

Kolko, meanwhile, is named in at least four civil suits filed over the past eight months by his alleged victims, including the 9-year-old boy. The most recent litigation, which seeks $10 million in damages from Torah Temimah, was filed in New York state court the day before Kolko was arrested. It alleges not only that Kolko molested the 9-year-old during the 2003-04 school year, but that the school administration covered up the rabbi's pedophilia for 25 years.

The suit charges that Rabbi Lipa Margulies, identified as the leader of Torah Temimah, knew of many "credible allegations of sexual abuse and pedophilia against Kolko," yet continued to employ him as an elementary school teacher "and give him unfettered access to young children."

Avi Moskowitz, the attorney representing Torah Temimah, said: "The yeshiva adamantly denies the allegations in the complaints and is sure that when the cases are over, the yeshiva will be vindicated."

Another one of the lawsuits brought against Torah Temimah was filed in May by David Framowitz, now 49 and living in Israel. In that $10 million federal litigation Framowitz, who was joined by a co-plaintiff also seeking $10 million, alleged that he was victimized by Kolko while he was a seventh- and eighth-grader at Torah Temimah.

Although the lawsuit, which named Kolko as a co-defendant, referred to Framowitz only as "John Doe No. 1," he has since dropped his anonymity and gone public with his story.

"That's the only way that people would believe that there's actually a problem, if they knew that there's a real person out there who was molested," Framowitz told JTA in a recent telephone interview. "There are many other victims out there, and I want people to know that this really exists."

Continue reading "Is Jewish Orthodoxy Confronting Abuse?"

Posted by Perry at 03:06 PM

January 12, 2007

Judge allows sex abuse lawsuit against Vatican to go forward, seeks damages

Northwest Herald - Chicago
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/
2007/01/12/news/nation_and_world/
doc45a774f89ce7d088155110.txt

January 12, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Three men who claim childhood sexual abuse by priests can pursue damages from the Vatican in a negligence lawsuit, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II lets the men pursue their claim that top church officials should have warned the public or local authorities of known or suspected sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville.

William McMurry, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said the ruling could open the way to take depositions of Vatican officials and to get copies of church records and documents.

“Our whole purpose is to hold the Vatican accountable,” McMurry said.

Vatican officials declined to comment.

Many lawsuits stemming from the U.S. clergy sex abuse crisis have named the pope, the Vatican and other high-ranking church officials but have failed.

The Holy See is typically immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act. Plaintiffs’ lawyers who have sought to challenge that protection often could not serve Vatican officials with the papers, among other logistical problems.

McMurry is seeking to have the lawsuit certified as a class action, alleging thousands of victims exist nationwide. McMurry represented 243 sex abuse victims that settled with the Archdiocese of Louisville in 2003 for $25.3 million.

The lawsuit seeks unspecific damages.

One of the three plaintiffs is Michael Turner of Louisville, who also filed the first lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Louisville. Turner was molested by the Rev. Louis E. Miller in the 1970s while attending St. Aloysius Church in Pewee Valley.

Miller was removed from the priesthood last year by the late Pope John Paul II after pleading guilty in 2003 to sexually abusing Turner and other children in Kentucky. He is serving a 13-year prison sentence.

The other two plaintiffs, James H. O’Bryan and Donald E. Poppe, have not settled with any diocese, McMurry has said. Both live in California and allege that they were abused by priests while growing up in Louisville.

O’Bryan contends he was abused by a “Father Lawrence” at St. Cecilia Church in western Louisville in 1928. An archdiocesan spokeswoman has said a Rev. Lawrence Kuntz worked at St. Cecelia from 1928 to 1935 and died in 1952.

Poppe alleges he was molested by the Rev. Arthur Wood, who died in 1983 and was named as an abuser by 39 plaintiffs who settled with the archdiocese.

In June, a federal court in Oregon issued a similar decision, ruling there was enough of a link between the Vatican and an accused priest for him to be considered a Vatican employee under Oregon law. That ruling has been appealed.

Posted by Perry at 04:02 PM

Pastor charged with sexual battery not looking for plea agreement

Dayton Daily News
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/
content/oh/story/news/local/2007/
01/11/ddn011107bowlinginside.html

Dennis Bowling accused of committing sex acts on minors in his congregation.

By Lou Grieco - Staff Writer

Thursday, January 11, 2007

DAYTON — Even though he now faces 76 total counts, with accusers coming forward from his congregation, Riverside pastor Dennis Bowling is not looking for a plea agreement, his attorney said Wednesday.

"In my discussions with Dennis Bowling, it is my understand that this is a matter that he intends to take to trial," attorney Dennis Lieberman said. "People should not rush to judgment until all the facts have been heard."

Earlier Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Bowling, the pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church, 2360 Valley Pike, on 63 counts of sexual battery, one count of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual imposition. The last count is a misdemeanor.

In December, Bowling was indicted on 11 counts of sexual battery. In all 74 of the sexual battery counts, Bowling is charged with the part of the statute that covers sexual conduct where "the other person is a minor, the offender is a cleric, and the other person is a member of, or attends, the church or congregation served by the cleric."

Each of those charges is a third-degree felony, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

In December, police and prosecutors said there were nine to 12 victims, but that there could be more. Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Greg Flannagan said late Wednesday he could not release a specific number.

The sexual battery counts in the new indictment cover a wide range of dates from December 1996 through November. The original 11 counts were all from the fall.

The gross sexual imposition count involves sexual contact with a child under 13, and the offense happened between May 1999 and May 2000, according to the indictment. The charge is also a third-degree felony.

The sexual imposition charge involves a child between the ages of 13 and 15 and occurred between May and December 1999, according to the indictment.

Posted by Perry at 03:57 PM

January 11, 2007

Raleigh diocese paid $1.2 million to settle abuse claims in 2006

WCNC - TV
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/
stories/wcnc-010507-jmn-dioces.e03de8c.html

Associated Press

January 5, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh paid more than $1 million last year to settle five sexual abuse claims against two priests from the 1960s and 1970s, according to an annual audit.

The nearly $1.2 million payout was about double what the diocese expected, spokesman Frank Morock said. The diocese had budgeted about $600,000 to cover the costs and drew money from a self-insurance fund maintained by its churches.

"Because people are hurting, dioceses try to do everything in their power to bring closure and a sense of justice to those who have made the complaint and everyone involved," Morock said.

No other settlements have been reached since the end of the fiscal year in June, he said. The diocese has 98 parishes and mission churches throughout eastern North Carolina.

The diocese has now paid almost $2 million to settle sexual misconduct claims made by 37 people against at least 15 priests since 1950. Two of the priests have been cleared of wrongdoing, while the others have either died or retired.

Diocese attorneys plan to contest three other complaints that could result in legal action, a move advocates for abuse victims said would intimidate other victims.

"It clearly says, 'Come forward if you want to, but we're going to fight you tooth and nail," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

"Bishops and their lawyers still hope that, over time, victims will give up and go away, and struggle with the lifelong struggle they've had since childhood."

The sexual abuse scandal first surfaced publicly in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002. Since then, more than $1 billion has been spent nationally to settle claims and pay related costs, according to media investigations and reports commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In the most recent settlement, a federal mediator in Washington state announced Thursday that the Spokane Catholic Diocese agreed to pay at least $48 million to people molested by priests as a part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy.

Posted by Perry at 02:48 PM

Forty years later, former altar boys settle lawsuit against Diocese

Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/
2007/January/07/local/stories/01local.htm

By PEGGY TOWNSEND - SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

January 7, 2007

Kim Allyn had waited more than 40 years for that September day.

"I just thought, 'OK, this is the moment,' " says the muscled, 6-foot-5 deputy sheriff of the day last year when he and five co-defendants sat around a long table and signed documents settling their lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Monterey.

The suit alleged the diocese had known Irish-born Father Patrick McHugh, who was assigned to St. John's Catholic Church from 1963 to 1979, was a serial pedophile and that he had been transferred from the Central Valley to the quiet town of Felton where he could basically be forgotten.

Only, the men charged, Father McHugh, who died in 1979, did things there they will never forget.

The men, all former altar boys now in their late 40s and early 50s, say the priest fondled them as they studied Latin, as they lay sick in their bedroom and when they spent the night at the rectory so they could serve Mass early the next day.

The attacks, they said, scared and shamed them.

The lawsuit wended its way through the court system and was tossed out by a judge, but was later appealed. In the end, the church and the men settled the lawsuit for a total of $1.5 million and the promise of lifetime counseling — one of three clergy abuse cases that have been settled by the Diocese of Monterey so far.

Two of the six men say they are glad the case is over, that it brought a certain closure for them.

A diocese spokesman said he wished the men "the very best"

"I always wanted accountability," says Allyn, who became an unofficial spokesman for the men and an investigator in the case, "because it was so horrible what he did to me"

Continue reading "Forty years later, former altar boys settle lawsuit against Diocese"

Posted by Perry at 02:38 PM

21 months in prison for Catholic priest Pichette

CBC News - Montreal
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/
2007/01/10/qc-danielpichette.html

January 10, 2007

Roman Catholic priest Daniel Pichette will serve 21 months in prison after pleading guilty in Quebec Wednesday to several counts of sexual assault involving Duplessis Orphans more than half a century ago.

The 80-year-old was sentenced in a courtroom in a Sherbrooke after his lawyer reached a deal with the Crown prosecutor over the holidays.

Pichette pleaded guilty in late November 2006 to eight charges of sexual abuse involving five boys and three girls who had spent time at the Val-du-Lac Centre in the 1950s, and the Grand-Maman camp in the Eastern Townships' Rock Forest region.

All eight victims were Duplessis Orphans, part of the thousands of children who suffered sexual and physical abuse, including electroshock and lobotomies, in orphanages run by the Catholic Church in Quebec in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Quebec government announced in late December it would pay another $26 million in compensation to the Duplessis Orphans.

The elderly priest entered his guilty plea after several days of harrowing testimony from his victims, now ranging in age from 40 to 60, who described the horrific abuse they experienced as children and teenagers between 1952 and 1975.

One woman, now 48, described in detail the "sexual education" Pichette forced upon her every weekend she visited the camp as a young girl and teenager.

Other victims called him a monster and detailed the devastating scars his abuse left on their lives, which were filled with dysfunction, depression, broken marriages, attempted suicide and substance abuse.

Judge Michel Beauchemin, who oversaw the case, called it the most troubling trial he had ever presided over in his 17-year career.

When he pleaded guilty to the charges, Pichette expressed regret and asked for forgiveness. He was arrested in December 2004.

Posted by Perry at 02:33 PM

Priest removed after admitting sexual abuse

WWMT TV
http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=
wwmt&id=33685&template=breakout_local.html

January 9, 2007

Caledonia, Michigan

The Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids has removed another priest from active ministry for sexually abusing young boys.

Father David LeBlanc admitted to the incident in the early 1990's but until now has served at a church in Caledonia.

The Holy Family Parish canceled Monday night's activities because of the startling news.

Father LeBlanc began his ministry in 1961 at Blessed Sacrament in Grand Rapids. The incident of abuse happened 10 years later in Muskegon. He moved to St. Francis Xavier and then the Holy Spirit Parish.

The victim came forward in 1993 and in a meeting with the diocese, Father LeBlanc admitted to what happened.

The church kept quiet about the abuse and Father LeBlanc later became a pastor. The victim moved overseas. But church procedures for dealing with sexual abuse allegations changed in 2002 and the diocese no longer had discretion. The bishop reviewed Father LeBlanc's file and decided he could no longer serve.

Posted by Perry at 02:18 PM

Archdiocese settles 15 Catholic clergy abuse cases for almost $1.6 million

Catholic News Service
http://www.catholic.org/national/
national_story.php?id=22626

1/9/2007

DENVER, Colo. (CNS) – The Judicial Arbiter Group said Jan. 4 that the Denver Archdiocese has reached a mediated settlement with 15 of 19 victims of childhood clergy sex abuse who participated in the mediation process.

Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said he was "deeply grateful" to the mediators "and I sincerely hope that each of the 19 individuals who participated begin to truly heal."

The settlements ranged from $30,000 to $150,000 and totaled $1,585,000, the Judicial Arbiter Group said in a press release.

Archbishop Chaput said in addition that "we have settled claims of three other individuals who approached us directly and who did not file a lawsuit to have their claims considered." He did not reveal the amount of those settlements.

He said that in the mediation process "I made myself available personally to listen to each person who desired my presence as they described the incidents that led to the filing of their lawsuits. Through this process I personally met with 18 plaintiffs."

The mediation process was initiated last May after Judge Richard W. Dana, who co-founded the Judicial Arbiter Group in 1984, approached Archbishop Chaput and suggested forming an outreach panel to mediate and help settle sex abuse lawsuits before they go to court.

The panel was composed of Dana, vocational rehabilitation specialist John Dahlberg and Auraria Campus Police Chief Heather Coogan. The Auraria Campus houses three institutions of higher education – a community college, a state college and the Denver branch of the University of Colorado – on a single site.

"The purpose of this panel process was to reach out to the plaintiffs to help aid in their healing and, as part of that program, to resolve as many of these cases as possible," the press release said.

It said one law firm with cases against the archdiocese did not participate in the panel process, but all 19 clients represented by Miami lawyers Jeffrey M. Herman and Adam D. Horowitz chose to appear before the panel. It said 15 of those reached mediated settlements and the other four retain the right to take their cases to court.

It said Archbishop Chaput's presence was an important part of the mediation. "The process would not have had this success without his direct involvement," it said.

"Without the positive attitudes manifested by Mr. Herman, each of the plaintiffs and Archbishop Chaput, these mediated settlements would not have been achieved," it said.

The Judicial Arbiter Group specializes in helping people find alternative ways of settling disputes, including mediation and binding arbitration, before they go to court.

Archbishop Chaput said he has asked the outreach panel "to remain available to any other plaintiffs who may wish to have their claims evaluated by this panel."

Posted by Perry at 02:14 PM

January 08, 2007

Elder gets two years probation for molesting 12-year-old girl

The Guelph Mercury
http://www.guelphmercury.com/

KITCHENER, ONT. (Jan 6, 2007) -- A respected Jehovah's Witness elder was put on probation for two years yesterday for molesting a young girl while they were going door-to-door to spread their faith.

Posted by Perry at 03:59 PM

January 06, 2007

$48M Settlement Reached In Church Sex Suits

ABC News - The Denver Channel
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/
family/10675690/detail.html

January 5, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Another multi-million dollar settlement in a case involving sexual abuse by priests.

This time it's the Spokane Catholic Diocese in Washington state.

A federal mediator said the church will pay at least $48 million to victims.

The Spokane diocese has been in bankruptcy, so a judge has to approve the deal. The victims must also sign off.

About 150 people have filed claims alleging sex abuse by priests or other members of the clergy.

Posted by Perry at 03:17 PM

December 24, 2006

Sexual abuse lawsuit filed

Lodi News-Sentinel
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2006/12/20/
news/8_ogrady_lawsuit_061220.txt

Lodi, California

Dec 20, 2006

An Orange County attorney who has previously sued former Lodi Priest Oliver O'Grady and the Stockton Diocese on sexual battery has filed another lawsuit, this one by a woman who was once enrolled in Catholic schools in Lodi and Stockton.

The defendants' names have not been announced, pending authorization by San Joaquin County Superior Court, according to Kathy Frederiksen, legal assistant for attorney John Manly, who filed the lawsuit on Dec. 6.

However, the lawsuit gives a description of the defendants. The description indicates the plaintiffs are O'Grady, St. Anne's Catholic Church and School in Lodi, Church of the Presentation and School in Stockton, the Stockton Diocese, the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly in Ireland, Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Mahony was bishop of the Stockton Diocese from 1980 to 1985, while O'Grady was a priest there.

O'Grady, 61, was a priest at Lodi's St. Anne's Catholic Church from 1971 to 1978 and was a priest at four other churches in the Stockton Diocese until he was convicted of sexual abuse in 1993 in Calaveras County.

The plaintiff, identified only as Jane La Doe, is not being disclosed in order to protect her privacy, according to the lawsuit. She claims she was sexually abused between the ages of 7 and 9 while she was a student at the school at Church of the Presentation between 1981 and 1984, according to the lawsuit.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Posted by Perry at 03:00 PM

Sexual abuse allegations lead to suspension of prominent Southern Baptist pastor

Knoxville, Tennessee
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/
story.aspx?storyid=40667&provider=gnews

12/21/2006

Sexual abuse allegations have led to the suspension of a longtime minister at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, where the late Adrian Rogers was pastor.

The 30,000-member Southern Baptist congregation says Paul Williams has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation of a "moral failure" 17 years ago.

But some Bellevue members say the claims involve abuse of a child and that Senior Pastor Steve Gaines didn't act quickly enough when he found out about them in June.

Gaines says he didn't take action then "because the event occurred many years ago," because Williams "was receiving professional counseling," and because of concerns about confidentiality.

He said in a statement that he now realizes he should have told church leadership immediately.

Posted by Perry at 02:55 PM

Grand jury indicts Joliet priest in sex abuse case

The Daily Journal - Kankakee, IL
http://www.daily-journal.com/archives/
dj/display.php?id=384977

2006-12-22

A 76-year-old Catholic Priest from Joliet was indicted by a Will County Grand Jury Thursday for the alleged sexual abuse of two teen brothers in 1996 and 1999.

Fr. Louis Rogge, a priest of the Carmelite Order, turned himself in to police Thursday.

Rogge posted $4,000 bail on a $40,000 bond and was released.

According to Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, this is the first case of sexual abuse involving a Catholic priest to be charged in Will County since the issue of sexual abuse by priests became a national scandal in 2002.

Rogge was indicted on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse as a result of his alleged fondling of the boys. All of the counts are Class 2 felonies that carry a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years upon conviction.

Rogge was a longtime family friend and a spiritual advisor to both teenagers, Glasgow said in a statement released midday Thursday.

Both of the youths were 15-years-old at the time of the alleged abuse. The first incident is alleged to have occurred in the summer of 1996, and the second is claimed by the victim's family to have happened in the summer of 1999.

The indictments are the result of an investigation by the Will County State's Attorney's Office that began when family members of the victims brought the allegations to the attention of the state's attorney.

"Allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy must be thoroughly investigated, appropriately charged and prosecuted aggressively," Glasgow said, adding, "Priests and other clergy members hold positions of the highest level of respect and trust in our community. They must be held strictly accountable when that trust is violated. We teach our children to hold priests in the highest regard, and that, combined with a child's inherently trusting nature, makes their victimization truly a moral outrage."

Continue reading "Grand jury indicts Joliet priest in sex abuse case"

Posted by Perry at 02:51 PM

December 22, 2006

Washington archdiocese settles with victims of clergy abuse

Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/a-460220~Washington_
archdiocese_settles_with_victims_of_clergy_abuse.html

By DERRILL HOLLY, The Associated Press

Dec 16, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Archdiocese of Washington has agreed to pay $1.3 million to more than a dozen men who claimed they were sexually abused by priests between 1962 and 1982.

The agreement with 16 men was announced Friday by church officials.

"Our clients were in severe distress, emotionally, psychologically, financially and spiritually, and felt that a settlement was appropriate at this time," said Peter M. Gillon, an attorney for the men.

Gillon said the men began pursuing the civil claims three years ago, but no lawsuits were filed, in part because the statutes of limitation had expired in