23 clergy sex cases are settled

23 clergy sex cases are settled

They involve notorious predator

He molested in at least three states: MO, TX, & CO

Cleric often drugged boys and sodomized them in Catholic schools 

SNAP says church, school, symphony and company should all do more to find his victims

Self help organization also warns parents who live near serial child molester to avoid his house

WHAT
At a news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will
-- announce a group settlement of 23 clergy sex civil sex abuse and cover up lawsuits involving a San Antonio man who taught at a local Catholic school,
-- urge church and school officials to more aggressively reach out to others he may have hurt, and
-- prod staff at two other organizations where he worked to do likewise

WHEN
TODAY, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2:00 p.m. 

WHERE
Outside Central Catholic High School , 1403 N. St. Marys in San Antonion (210-344-9265) 

WHO
Two members of a support groupo called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAPnetwork.org

WHY
An attorney is announcing the settlement of 23 clergy sex civil sex abuse and cover up lawsuits. They involve Brother William Mueller, a former Marianist cleric and teacher who worked and molested at Central Catholic School in San Antonio.

These cases all center on crimes Mueller committed at a Catholic school in Pueblo, Colorado. Mueller has also been sued for molesting teenagers in St. Louis and has been accused of molesting kids in Texas too.

In San Antonio, Mueller was band director at Central Catholic (from 1971 to 1981), then worked at the San Antonio Symphony, and then the Psychological Corporation, now known as Harcourt Assessment Inc. (from 1987 to 2002).

Mueller now lives at 8622 Zarzamora in San Antonio. SNAP members are urging families to avoid his house tomorrow on Halloween.

Attorneys Jeffrey M. Herman and Adam D. Horowitz. of Miami, Florida represented the 23 Colorado victims.

The Colorado lawsuits allege that Mueller abused boys between 1966 and 1971 in the band room of Roncalli High School.  According to the lawsuits, Mueller told each of the students that he was performing a confidential experiment.  Under the guise of this “experiment”, Mueller blindfolded the students and placed ether over their mouths to render them helpless and commit sexual abuse.

The evidence in these cases revealed that Mueller also abused numerous other students in the same manner while working for the Marianists for over 20 years at high schools in St. Louis and San Antonio.

SNAP believes that if more victims and witnesses come forward, Mueller might still be prosecuted and jailed. The group believes each of his former employers has a moral and civic duty to more aggressively seek out and help anyone he may have hurt.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/10/30/news/local/doc4909914dce2ac481570152.txt

Contact:
Barbara Garcia Boehland, San Antonio SNAP director 210 725 8329
Attorneys Adam Horowitz 305-298-7713 & Jeffrey Herman 305-931-2200
David Clohessy of SNAP, 314 566 9790 cell

Sex abuse suits settled vs. priest accused of molesting in Chicago

For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell)

We are grateful for these brave Texas boys who have helped expose a dangerous predator who also worked in Chicago. Unfortunately, Katinas still walks free, so we beg law enforcement officials to work harder to find anyone he has hurt so he can be prosecuted, convicted and jailed.

We hope others who've been hurt by Katinas will find the strength and courage to come forward, get help, and take legal action so that others are protected.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688),

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/102908dnmetsettle.15ddac6aa.html?ocp=2#slcgm_comments_anchor

Greek Orthodox church settles Dallas lawsuit alleging sex abuse by longtime priest

12:24 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 29, 2008

By SAM HODGES / The Dallas Morning News - samhodges@dallasnews.com

A lawsuit alleging child sex abuse by Nicholas Katinas, former pastor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in North Dallas, is headed for an out-of-court settlement.

"An agreement in principle has been reached," said Tahira Khan Merritt, lawyer for five plaintiffs, including former altar boys, who claimed they were abused by Mr. Katinas in the early years of his long tenure at Holy Trinity. "It's subject to court approval."

Ms. Merritt said she and lawyers for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America agreed to keep confidential the amount of the settlement. The settlement must be approved by State District Judge Karen Johnson.

Mr. Katinas was pastor of Holy Trinity, a key institution of the Dallas Greek community, for 28 years. Soon after his retirement in 2006, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America officials suspended him from working as a priest, even on a fill-in basis.

Later, a GOAA official came to Holy Trinity and acknowledged serious misconduct by Mr. Katinas.

He has since been defrocked and is reportedly living in Greece.

"The victims feel like they've done as much as they can to bring public exposure to Katinas' abuses," Ms. Merritt said. "Without the lawsuit being filed and public exposure to these issues, in my opinion, Katinas would not have been defrocked."

Mr. Katinas and the GOAA still face a more recently filed lawsuit filed in Chicago, alleging abuse by him while he worked for a church in the suburbs there.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-priest-accused-web-sep10,0,7167880.story

Suburban church faces abuse suit
Ex-Greek Orthodox priest accused of molesting boy in '70s

By Azam Ahmed |Chicago Tribune reporter

9:40 PM CDT, September 9, 2008

A 46-year-old Streamwood man has accused his former priest of sexually abusing him more than 30 years ago and Greek Orthodox church officials of attempting to cover it up, according to a lawsuit that marks the fifth allegation against the defrocked priest.

Nicholas Katinas, who is married, was pastor at Assumption Church in Olympia Fields from 1969 to 1978. The plaintiff, a former altar boy known as John Doe 124, said Katinas sexually abused him as a 15-year-old at the Olympia Fields church during 1977 and 1978. The suit also said three other boys in Katinas' congregation were abused by the priest.

Lawyers said church officials had reason to suspect Katinas, 73, of improper behavior with boys years before the plaintiff was abused, an important element of the lawsuit. By accusing the church of concealing the abuse, the plaintiff's lawyers are hoping to avoid the statute of limitations on the abuse allegations.

"They have done what we have so long complained about in the Catholic Church," said Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing the plaintiff. "They hide, shuffle and cover for [the abusers]. They kept that knowledge secret among themselves and they concealed it from police and parishioners."

Specifically, the lawsuit said the church knew of Katinas' behavior before he began to abuse the plaintiff, a piece of information that might have saved him from abuse. The lawsuit also said Katinas abused another altar boy younger than 18 on 10 to 12 occasions in the early 1970s. Another allegation is that Katinas attempted to assault a boy as young as 13 in spring 1974.

The lawsuit names Katinas, Assumption Church, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which presides over the Greek Orthodox Church in the U.S. and consists of 540 parishes, 800 priests and 1.5 million members.

"It was well known to the defendants . . . that a number of Greek Orthodox priests in and outside of the Chicago metropolis region [have] sexually abused minors before and during the time that Katinas abused the plaintiff," the lawsuit said. "Despite this knowledge, defendants . . . failed to adopt and implement pertinent preventative policies and procedures."

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America did not return calls seeking comment.

Katinas—who has not faced criminal charges—could not be reached for comment.

Many details gathered in the lawsuit are the result of interviews conducted for lawsuits against Katinas in Texas, where he was transferred in 1978.

Katinas spent almost three decades as a priest at Holy Trinity Church in Dallas before he was defrocked in 2006.

Lawyers said that during his tenure at Holy Trinity, Katinas abused at least four other boys. All have filed suit in Texas against the priest, lawyers said.

Katinas is believed to be living in Greece, where he went just before the lawsuits in Texas were announced, Anderson said.

The suit seeks more than $50,000 for the physical and psychological damages suffered by the plaintiff.

Halloween, say clergy victims, somber reminder of unregistered sex offenders

Halloween, say clergy victims, somber reminder of unregistered sex offenders

Asking Dolan to post this week addresses of Wisconsin clergy who sexually assaulted children

New legislation, however, would require by law that religious officials turn over abuse information

CONTACT
Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.7259

--Email to Archbishop Timothy Dolan posted below, Bill AB-949 attached--

In an email sent Friday to Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, Wisconsin victims of childhood sexual abuse are urging him to follow state authorities and publish this week the names and locations of all unregistered clergy determined by church officials to have molested children and take steps to ensure a safe Halloween for children.

Victims are also urging Dolan to support Wisconsin AB949, the Clergy Sex Abuse Registry Law, introduced at the end of the spring legislative term.  

For Immediate Release
October 24, 2008

To:       Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee
From:   Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
Re:       Halloween release of locations of unregistered clergy child sex offenders and AB949

Archbishop Dolan:

This Sunday, and throughout the week, Wisconsin correction officials around the nation will be keeping careful watch on registered sex offenders in our community.  During this child friendly week of trick-or-treating, law enforcement representatives here and around the nation will be making random visits to offender’s homes, establishing a 5:00 p.m. curfew, requiring a “no candy” sign to be placed on doors, and holding mandatory Halloween treatment sessions.

While such measures are welcome, statistics shows that only 1 out of every 10 sex offenders are known to the public, with nearly 90 percent unreported to law enforcement.  This group would include, of course, the over 5,000 sex offenders admitted by the Roman Catholic bishops to have molested children over the past several decades.  In the Milwaukee archdiocese alone, some 60 diocesan and religious order clergy have assaulted children or minors.

This coming week would be an excellent time to show your commitment to the protection of God’s children and finally publish, along with your fellow bishops from Wisconsin, the names, locations, and case histories of every clergy person, church official, teacher, or employee who has sexually abused children and minors.  

These child safety actions by you could then be immeasurably strengthened by your unqualified support for AB949, The Clergy Sex Abuse Registry Law, introduced last term in the Wisconsin legislature, whose chief author is long time child protection champion and Roman Catholic, Rep. Peggy Krusick of Milwaukee.

AB949 would require all religious organizations, not just Catholic ones, to submit case summaries of every employee they determined--after an investigation--had sexually assaulted children who were never reported to authorities.  If passed, this necessary and basic measure would put religious organizations and clergy in line with ever other organization and profession working with children in the State of Wisconsin.

Bishops and all religious leaders should be the best of citizens. We urge you to join childhood victims of sexual abuse by clergy this child centered week, along with all victim/survivors around the state, in swiftly enacting these simple and bold acts of good citizenship.

Peter Isely

SNAP Midwest Director
peterisely@yahoo.com
414.429.7259

John Pilmaier
SNAP Milwaukee Co-Director
pilmaier@milwpc.com
414.366.8575

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest self-help organization of clergy sexual abuse survivors, founded in 1989 with over 7,000 members in 63 chapters.   Visit SNAP on the web at SNAPnetwork.org.

Predator priest loses custody dispute to woman who bore triplets with donor eggs

For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell)

Yet again, we see a recent case of horrific child sexual abuse by a Catholic priest who obviously was inadequately supervised and who sadly still walks free today.

We beg anyone with information about possible crimes by Fr. Christancho to do what's right and contact law enforcement immediately.

Each person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Cristancho's misdeeds has a moral and civic duty to come forward, call police, get help and warn others about him.

We hope others who've been hurt by this predator will find the strength and courage to come forward, get help, and take legal action so that others are protected.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688)


http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=8916&type=UTTM

Priest loses custody dispute to woman who bore triplets with donor eggs

CARYN TAMBER - Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer - October 27, 2008 6:54 PM

The state’s second-highest court has upheld a judge’s decision to give custody of 6-year-old triplets to the woman who gave birth to them using another woman’s eggs and the sperm of a Catholic priest.

Dalia Fernandez deserves custody because the priest, Fernando Cristancho, was found to have sexually abused two of the triplets, the Court of Special Appeals held.

Margaret Attanasio, the Harford County lawyer who argued the case for Fernandez on appeal, said she expected the court to decide the case in favor of her client.

“It’s not a surprise,” she said. “They had to affirm it.”

The county trial judge had found that Fernandez, a platonic friend of the priest who had lived with his mother, was the triplets’ de facto parent — that is, a non-parent who acts in a parental role.

However, while Cristancho’s appeal was pending, the state’s highest court struck down the de facto parent doctrine in another case. It held that third parties must show exceptional circumstances to overcome a parent’s right to determine custody or visitation.

But that did not mean the decision should be reversed, the intermediate appellate court said.

“[E]ven though it relied upon a subsequently overruled case, the trial court applied the correct test in making its decision,” Judge Deborah S. Eyler wrote for the three-judge panel. “Therefore, any error in finding that Dalia was a de facto parent of the triplets was harmless, as Fernando [Cristancho] himself concedes in his brief.”

Cristancho’s lawyer, Laura Bearsch, did not immediately return a call for comment Monday afternoon.

Two boys and a girl

According to Monday’s unreported opinion, Cristancho and Fernandez met through Cristancho’s sister, who worked with Fernandez.

Cristancho, as a priest, had taken a vow of celibacy, but he wanted children. He convinced Fernandez to bear his children, who would be conceived through in vitro fertilization of an anonymous donor’s eggs with Cristancho’s sperm.

Fernandez was 50 years old at the time; Cristancho was in his 40s. They were close friends but did not have a romantic or sexual relationship, according to the opinion.

They traveled to Colombia, Cristancho’s native country, in 2001 to undergo the in vitro process. Afterward, Fernandez moved in with Cristancho’s mother and, when he was not staying at the church, Cristancho himself. Various other relatives of Cristancho and Fernandez lived there too, at times.

Fernandez gave birth to the triplets, two boys and a girl, that November. Cristancho, at the time an assistant priest at St. Ignatius Church in Forest Hill, did not tell anyone at his church about the children. When church officials found out, they fired him, according to the appellate opinion.

Fernandez and Cristancho’s relationship started to deteriorate, with allegations of domestic violence and a fight over custody. In 2005, Fernandez found out from one of the boys that Cristancho was sexually abusing him, the opinion says.

She testified that she contacted the children’s doctor to find out what to do, but he told her “nothing could be done until the children were six years old,” according to the opinion.

In 2006, a friend of Fernandez who was babysitting the children heard a similar story from the boy. The friend told her pastor, who contacted the police and notified an official with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Department of Social Services was notified and investigated. The agency determined that child sexual abuse of the two boys was “indicated,” its highest-level finding, but ruled out abuse of their sister.

In 2007, after a custody trial, Harford County Circuit Judge Emory A. Plitt Jr. found that Cristancho had abused the boys, and did not find that Cristancho was unlikely to abuse them again. In addition to finding that Fernandez was a de facto parent, he found that she had proven Cristancho unfit and, therefore, that she only had to show that giving her custody would be in the children’s best interest.

On appeal, Cristancho argued that Plitt had erred in finding that he had abused the boys, but the Court of Special Appeals rejected his argument as “an attempt to reargue the facts of the case.”

J. Richard Moore III, who is now a domestic master in Harford County but represented Fernandez at trial, said he was not concerned about the fate of the case when he heard the Court of Appeals struck down de facto parenthood.

“I wasn’t, only because of the way that Judge Plitt fashioned his decision,” Moore said. “It hedges against that whole issue, the de facto parent.”

The unreported opinion is available as RecordFax 8-1027-06 (18 pages).


http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/crime/Priest_loses_custody_of_triplets.html

Priest loses custody of triplets fathered by donating sperm - accused of abusing those children

By Carolyn Peirce - Examiner Staff Writer 10/30/08
A Catholic priest found to have sexually abused two of his 6-year-old triplets lost custody this week to the woman who gave birth to the children using his donated sperm and another woman’s eggs.

The state’s second-highest court held Monday that Fernando Cristancho, 52, of Bel Air, is unfit to parent the triplets, two boys and a girl, and granted custody to Dalia Fernandez, 57, the woman who gave birth to them using in vitro fertilization.

The decision affirmed the ruling of Harford Circuit Judge Emory Plitt Jr., who said Fernandez deserved the children because she was a de facto parent acting as their mother even though she was unrelated.

Plitt’s decision had been called into question when the state’s highest court ruled against the de facto parent doctrine in another case during Cristancho’s appeal, saying only extreme circumstances overrule a parent’s right to custody.

“One of the constitutionally protected rights is for a parent to have say with regard to [the custody of] their children and to overcome that, you have to show some sort of unfitness by the parent,” said J. Richard Moore III, Fernandez’s trial attorney who is now a master in Harford. Masters make recommendations in family and juvenile cases that are sent to judges who make the final decision.

Moore said the intermediate appellate court upheld Plitt’s ruling because the sexual abuse was proof enough that Cristancho was unfit, even if the de facto parent doctrine was tossed.

“Plitt took into account that the court might rule in that fashion,” Moore said. “So, he also found that Cristancho was unfit ... and basically made the opinion bulletproof.”

Cristancho’s’ attorney Laura Bearsch said the appeal was based on discrepancies in what the boys reported and a Department of Social Services investigation that was “really, really full of errors.”

Bearsch said the boys were never interviewed alone, and authorities were “picking and choosing” what to believe. Cristancho never was criminally charged with sex abuse, she said.

According to Monday’s opinion, Cristancho asked his Platonic friend Fernandez to travel with him to Colombia in 2001 and undergo the in vitro process, because he had taken a vow of celibacy.

Church officials learned of the children’s birth in November and fired Cristancho from his position as assistant priest at St. Ignatius Church in Forest Hill. His relationship with Fernandez soon dwindled.

According to the opinion, one of the boys disclosed the sexual abuse in 2005, but the family’s doctor told Fernandez that police wouldn’t believe the boy because of his age.

When the boy told the same story in 2006 to a baby sitter, police were notified along with the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Department of Social Services.

Cristancho also was accused in 1997 of sexual misconduct with a young woman who wasn’t a minor, for which he was fired from the Parish Council at Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, Va., according to the opinion.

We first want to applaud the courage and strength of Fr. Teczar’s brave victims

For immediate release:
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell)

We first want to applaud the courage and strength of Fr. Teczar's brave victims, especially Dave Lewcon, who devoted time, energy and effort into getting this dangerous predator off the street. When victims and witnesses speak up, there's at least a chance for healing, justice and prevention. But when they stay silent, predators walk free and kids get hurt. Catholics and citizens, in both Texas and Massachusetts, owe Dave and his caring colleagues a debt of gratitude.

We also want to commend the Texas prosecutors who have agreed to re-try him.

We hope he's found guilty again. Until that happens, we worry about the safety of kids near him, whether in Texas or in Massachusetts, and worry that he'll flee to another country to avoid justice.

At the same time, we condemn Catholic officials who continue to pay him while he exploits legal technicalities to evade responsibility for his horrific crimes, and who pretend to be powerless to protect kids from him even now.

We call on Teczar's boss, Worcester's Catholic bishop, to

-- use his considerable resources (diocesan website, diocesan newspaper, parish bulletins, pulpit announcements) to reach out to anyone with information about Teczar's crimes and urge them to contact Texas authorities, so that he can be even more effectively prosecuted.

-- yank Teczar's passport, if the judge refuses to do it, so that he can be prevented from fleeing overseas and hurting even more kids in even more vulnerable settings (as dozens of pedophile priests have done).

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact:
 David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)

 

How many chances does Cardinal George get?

For immediate release:
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008  

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747)

How many chances does Cardinal George get? For years, he shunned victims, deceived parishioners, protected predators, and stonewalled prosecutors. But put that aside for a moment. Just consider his very recent track record on clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

In 2006, despite his being arrested and against the advice of George's own lay review panel, George left Fr. Daniel McCormack in a parish. A sensible person has to ask
 
“HOW MANY MORE arrested predator priests are still in Chicago parishes right now?”
 
In 2006, despite at least four allegations of child sex abuse and against two recommendations from his own lay panel, George left Fr. Joseph R. Bennett in a parish. A sensible person has to ask
 
“HOW MANY MORE serially accused predator priests are in Chicago parishes right now?”
 
In 2008, George admitted using his political clout to try to free a convicted predator, Fr. Norbert Maday, from prison. A sensible person has to ask
 
“HOW MANY MORE proven predator priests is George trying to get out of prison right now?”
 
In 2008, despite his criminal conviction for child molestation, George keeps Fr. Kenneth Martin on the church payroll. A sensible person has to ask
 
“HOW MANY MORE admitted predator priests work in or for the archdiocese right now?
 
Each of these four troubling cases surfaced thanks to brave victims, determined lawyers and hard-working journalists. Does anyone really believe that these four disturbingly reckless cases are the only ones in the archdiocese now? That defies common sense.
 
So today, we call on Cardinal George to ‘come clean’ and answer these crucial questions, questions that address the core issue: how can he continue to put his flock at risk of horrific, preventable childhood trauma.
 
The excuses that “Fr. X is just in an administrative job” and “Fr. Y is elderly and can’t get around well” just don’t cut it. It takes just seconds for a predator to get his hands on a child.
 
We also call on George’s weak-kneed, hand-picked abuse panel to speak up or step down. He’s manipulating them, and they’re letting themselves be manipulated, and it’s wrong.
 
On one hand, we’re grateful that 2 years ago, they expressed their outrage to George for his deceptive maneuvers to essentially try to blame them for the fact that a dangerous predator stayed in a parish and molested boys long after he should have been removed.

But shame on the board for writing a private letter to George, when they should have shouted from the rooftops that Chicago’s highest ranking Catholic official was deceiving the public.
 
Since then, we’ve seen at least three other fiascoes – the Bennett case, the Maday case, and the Martin case. Yet the abuse panel stays silent.
 
Two years ago, George tried to make the review board look bad. Now, the board is making itself look bad.
 
They’re becoming as complicit as George is.
     
We call on them today to show some spine, honor their mandate, and either publicly protest George’s on-going misdeeds, or resign.
 
If they’ve believed that they can bring reform to this corrupt institution working “behind the scenes,” they’ve been duped. The evidence clearly shows there has NOT been any meaningful reforms regarding child safety or even basic honesty. The board members continue, by their silence, to provide political and public relations ‘cover’ for a recalcitrant, unrepentant, secretive and reckless church official.
 
In 2005, the board urged George to remove Bennett. He did not.
 
In 2005, the board urged George to remove McCormack. He did not.
 
In 2003, for the second time, the board urged George to defrock Maday. He did not (until 2008).
 
And again, these are just the George misdeeds that have been publicly exposed.
 
Today we call on George to ‘come clean’ and disclose how many other proven, admitted, and credibly accused predator priests are still working in or for the archdiocese, are trying to be sprung from prison by  the archdiocese and are being imported by the archdiocese.
 
And we call on George’s abuse panel to speak up or step aside.
 
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688)

Child Sex Abuse Victims Concerned About Six Pedophile Priests

Child Sex Abuse Victims Concerned About Six Pedophile Priests

Most Assaulted Children Elsewhere But Also Lived in Las Vegas

Two of the Child-Molesting Clergymen Accused of Hurting NV Kids

Four of Them Have Never Been “Outed” Locally as Predators Before

Self-Help Group Urges Any Victims & Witnesses To Come Forward

SNAP Also Ask Diocese To Disclose Names of Other Predators Who Have Moved Here

WHAT: Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference, clergy molestation victims will disclose information about six pedophile priests from across the US who have worked or lived in Las Vegas. They will also urge Las Vegas’ Catholic bishop to

-- aggressively reach out to anyone who may have been hurt by two pedophile priests,
-- disclose the names other out-of-state child-molesting clergy who have lived or are living here.

They’ll also urge anyone who witnessed, suspected or experienced clergy sex crimes to come forward, get help, and call police.

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: In front of Guardian Angel Cathedral 302 Cathedral Way in Las Vegas

WHO: Two clergy abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a Chicago woman who is the organization’s long time president

WHY: SNAP is concerned about six pedophile priests from out-of-state who have lived and/or worked in Las Vegas. Four of them have apparently never been publicly “outed” in Nevada before. They include:

-- Fr. Edmund Boyle of Seattle WA, who moved to Nevada in 1984
-- Fr. Theodore Anthony Geerts of Davenport IA, who worked at St. Bridget in Las Vegas in 1991-92
-- Fr. Theodore Meisner, who worked at St. Christopher’s parish in Las Vegas in 1984
-- Fr. Robert A. Bowling, who worked at Our Lady of Las Vegas from 1970 to 1972

Meisner and Bowling were originally from the Louisville Kentucky archdiocese and were sued there for child molestation.

At least two other accused out-of-state predator priests have moved to Las Vegas. They are James Beine (a.k.a. Mar James) from St. Louis MO and James Patrick Feeney from Milwaukee WI. Both were convicted on criminal charges and have faced civil lawsuits in their home states. Nevada media have reported on their presence in the state.

Two of the priests (Boyle and Feeney) are accused of hurting Nevada kids. In January, Feeney was sued in Clark County NV for molesting a boy at St. Francis De Sales Church in Las Vegas in 1984. In 1987, Boyle pled guilty to exposing himself to a mentally retarded 12 year old at a Nevada hospital where he was a chaplain.

Beine, whose Missouri teaching license was revoked last year, was in believed to be in Nevada in recent years but not working at a Catholic church. The other five DID work in Nevada as priests.
 
The whereabouts of five of the men is not known. Boyle is deceased.
 
Most of SNAP’s information comes from news accounts in other states and a website called BishopAccountability.org.

Because Las Vegas is a rapidly growing area, SNAP suspects that other pedophile priests from out of state are or have been here. The group wants Bishop Pepe to disclose the identities and whereabouts of any such priests and prod victims and witnesses to call police and independent sources of help.

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP President 312 399 4747 cell
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director 314 566 9790 cell
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Coordinator 314 862 7688, 314 503 0003 cell

Closing arguments today in case against Mother Teresa’s ‘confessor’

Closing arguments today in case against Mother Teresa's 'confessor'

Convicted pedophile priest molested teen "almost continuously" for a year

Cardinal George continues to 'split hairs' and distance himself from predator

Cleric has been convicted for assaulting two other kids & faces new criminal charges

Nationally known ex-cleric has been defrocked and abused one kid just four years ago

Evidence shows his Catholic supervisors knew of allegations against him as far back as 1969

WHAT
At a sidewalk news conference, BEFORE/AFTER closing arguments in a criminal trial, clergy sex abuse victims will discuss the criminal case against a high-profile Jesuit pedophile priest who was once Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor. They will urge
--- Chicago's Cardinal George to stop 'splitting  hairs' and take responsibility for all pedophile priests who live or work in his archdiocese (including those in religious orders, like Jesuits),
--- Jesuit officials to 'come clean' about their cover up of McGuire's crimes, and
--- anyone who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes to come forward, get help, and call police.

WHEN:  TODAY, Thursday, Oct. 23, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Inside the Dirksen Federal Bldg, Jackson & Dearborn in downtown Chicago (press area in lobby)

WHO: Attorneys and several local clergy sex abuse victims and family members who are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY: Fr. Donald McGuire is a widely-known, recently defrocked Jesuit who has been Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor, spoken at hundreds of schools, churches and retreats across the globe. He is also the most high-profile Catholic priest to ever be convicted for sexually abusing kids.

He faces federal charges and the two week trial is being held in Courtroom 2119 in front of Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.

Evidence shows that McGuire lived with and molested a teenaged boy almost every day for a year in 1998, even though his supervisors knew of repeated sex abuse allegations against him dating back to 1969.

In Feb. 2006, McGuire was found guilty of molesting two other boys on trips to in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Those victims testified that they were also repeatedly abused by McGuire at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, where they were students and where McGuire taught from 1965-70.

McGuire also faces prosecution in Maricopa County (Phoenix AZ) for molesting two brothers there between 1998 and 2002. At least two civil molestation suits against McGuire and the Jesuits have been settled.

According to church records, in 1999, McGuire began living with and molesting and living with a different teenager at Canisius House in Evanston. McGuire repeatedly abused the youngster until a different boy filed a civil molestation lawsuit against the priest and the Jesuits in 2003.

McGuire, an Oak Park native now in his 70s, was finally defrocked in February.

Closing arguments are set for this morning and the case is expected to go to the jury today. He is represented by Chicago attorney Stephen Komie. In civil cases, McGuire's victims are represented by Jeff Anderson of St. Paul MN (612 817 8665) , Kevin McGuire of Orange County CA (949 510 1229) & Marc Pearlman of Chicago (773 368 0142).

SNAP believes that Cardinal George is responsible for the safety and well-being of all Chicago Catholics and should stop claiming no responsibility or control over religious order priests who commit crimes while in the Chicago archdiocese.

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP president 312 399 4747
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP national director 314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915 home

Clergy sex group appeals to NYC Cardinal

Clergy sex group appeals to NYC Cardinal

“Parishioners are intimidating victims,” they say

SNAP to Egan: “Make Catholics take town ‘predator’s shrine’”

“Publicly praising pedophile priest is unhealthy,” self help group believes

Victims blast archdiocese for “moving slowly & secretly” in the recent case

In last 5 years, at least two pedophile priests worked at prominent Harlem parish

What:
At a Manhattan sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will blast New York Cardinal Edward Egan for

-- not disclosing the whereabouts of a high-profile, recently-suspended pedophile priest, and

-- letting parishioners erect a ‘shrine’ to the accused predator and make harsh public comments about his victims, creating an atmosphere that intimidates other victims into staying silent.

Later they will hand out fliers door-to-door in Harlem near a parish where the priest worked. (In recent weeks, he’s been accused of molesting at least ten boys). The leaflets urge Catholics to

-- ask everyone they know if they were molested by two pedophile priests who worked there,

-- urge victims and witnesses to call police and get independent help, and

-- defend their accused pastor privately, so other victims aren’t intimidated from speaking up

When:

TODAY, Tuesday, Oct.21

Where:
Noon – In Manhattan, outside archdiocesan chancery office, 1011 First Ave at 55th

2:00 p.m. - In Harlem, outside Church of St. Charles Borromeo, 211 W. 141st St. (near 7th Ave.)

Who:
Three men who were molested by priests (including a Harlem man victimized by this predator and a Missouri man who is the national director of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

Details:

Last month, the Manhattan DA’s office disclosed that ten men have now accused a high-profile, politically-connected priest, Msgr. Wallace A. Harris, of molesting them as kids. In August, the New York archdiocese suspended him from his post at St. Charles Borromeo.

At St. Charles, some parishioners have erected a ‘shrine’ to Harris, with signs on the fence outside the church expressing support for him. SNAP believes this is dangerous because it deters others who are being or have been molested from speaking up. It also rubs salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of those Harris has already hurt. SNAP wants Egan to force parishioners to remove the ‘shrine.’

Harris has allegedly denied the charges but won’t speak publicly. He helped organize the Pope’s spring visit to New York, chairs the archdiocesan priests’ council, gave the invocation at Gov. Paterson's inauguration, and has been called ‘a rising star’ within the church.

SNAP feels the archdiocese moved too slowly and ‘severely mishandled’ the case. For the sake of public safety, the group wants Egan to disclose where Harris is living now.

Another priest assigned to the parish was convicted of molesting a 12-year-old girl in 2003, and sentenced to a prison term of four months, according to the NY Times.

The first Harris victim to speak publicly about his abuse is a former police officer, Eric Crumbley, who now pastors the Harlem Faith Center in NY (646) 552-7660).

Harris was ordained in 1972 and Crumbley’s allegations stem from that time period when Harris worked at the Church of St. Joseph of the Holy Family on 125th Street. Other accusations involve students at Cathedral Prep, where Harris taught. The school has since closed.

Contact:
David Clohessy of St. Louis MO SNAP national director (314) 566-9790
Bob Hoatsen 862 368 2800, Barbara Dorris, SNAP outreach director (314) 862 7688

SNAP 10-20-08 to Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison Concerning Fr. Gerald Vosen

CONTACT:  Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.7259

October 20, 2008
 
To:       Robert Morlino, Bishop of Madison

From:  Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director

Re:       Father Gerald Vosen


I am writing to you on behalf of victims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy in Wisconsin and from your diocese to release the church file of Fr. Gerald Vosen.

 As you know, hundreds of files of priests determined by their bishops to have sexually abused children have been released across the United States.  Some of those files have been made public by court order, others have been voluntarily released.  Almost universally, the release of these documents have been the single most effective means of protecting children and the vulnerable from clergy and former clergy that have a history of child molestation.

When a teacher, psychologist, medical doctor or any other of the dozens of licensed and certified professions in the state of Wisconsin is found by his professional board to have committed ethical and especially criminal misconduct, the results of that investigation, including the revocation of his or her license, is publicized and the ruling and evidence is readily available, including being posted online by the State Department of Regulation and Licensing.

 Given the recent and very public denials of criminal behavior against minors by one of your priests, Fr. Gerald Vosen, isn’t it time for the diocese to follow the example of all other professions working in civil society to publish the evidence and rulings that have been concluded against Fr. Vosen?  These would include the results of two church investigations and one civil jury trial.  In my long experience working on the issue of clergy sexual abuse I have rarely seen a priest receive so many abundant and ample opportunities for due process.  He has argued his case before a lay review board, canon law judges, and jury of his peers.

You have exercised extraordinary deference to Fr. Vosen.  If he was a member of any other profession, his license would have been revoked years ago, he would not be receiving benefits, and he could not maintain the public use of his professional title or credentials.

In Vosen’s recently published book, he attacks your integrity, impartiality and most significantly, your apostolic authority—an astonishing claim, especially given how you have permitted him to sue one of his victims in civil court (a case he nevertheless lost before a jury of his peers) and was given a full and complete hearing, with legal representation, before a lay board and clerical court.  Vosen, in his book, indicates that he is in some kind of regular and presumably pastoral contact with parishioners from past assignments.  One can also presume that this means children and families.  These individuals, especially, need to see the content and results of your many investigations.  They need to see, properly redacted to protect the confidentiality of victims and witnesses, as is standard in these releases, why you are convinced that Vosen is a child molester and so dangerous that you will not permit him to practice ministry as a priest or publically present himself as a priest.  But that appears to be exactly what Vosen is now doing.

Our organization has often been at odds with you and your fellow bishops on how the hierarchy has handled abusive priests. In his book, Vosen claims that you, SNAP, jurors, canon law judges, and lay Catholics on your review board are in some kind of “allegiance” against him.  This appears to be the one truthful statement in his book, except that we are not in an allegiance against him—a ridiculously narcissist and self-serving claim—but in an allegiance for children and against child abuse.

Perhaps, unwittingly, Fr. Vosen has brought us together for a dialogue, and to that end I ask you again, as we have several times in the past, to sit down with our organization and survivors from the Madison diocese.

Sincerely,


Peter Isely
SNAP Midwest Director
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
414.429.7259
peterisely@yahoo.com


Mary Geuntner
SNAP Wisconsin Director
414.418.3191
megmeg@execpc.com

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is the nation’s oldest and largest self-help organization of clergy sex abuse survivors with over 8,000 members in 62 chapters (SNAPnetwork.org).

Statement by SNAP regarding priest who molested teen returning

 For immediate release:
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747)

This is stunning recklessness and deceit by Cardinal George. He's essentially thumbing his nose at parents, victims, children, and the 'zero tolerance' policy adopted by America's bishops five years ago.

Hiding and tolerating pedophile priests in Chicago is bad enough. But importing pedophile priests from elsewhere, especially secretly, is even worse.

It's absurd and insulting that George can't find a qualified lay person or non-pedophile priest anywhere in the country to fill this role.

Whether Martin comes to Chicago seven times or 70 times is irrelevant. George is gambling with kids' lives. He's also rubbing salt into already deep and still fresh wounds of Chicago Catholics who are still reeling from his dangerous deception and callousness with Fr. McCormack, Fr. Bennett, Fr. McGuire, and so many other predators.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)

In unusual move, clergy abuse victims group defends Madison bishop

In unusual move, clergy abuse victims group defends Madison bishop

Molester priest charges Morlino, SNAP in "twisted alliance

Publicaly attacks Morlino in new book

SNAP says public needs to see Fr. Gerald Vosen’s file
 

WHO
After a brief sidewalk remarks, Wisconsin leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including its long time Midwest Director, will attempt to hand deliver a letter to Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison urging a more forceful response to published attacks against him, the diocese, and sex abuse victims published over the weekend in a new book by priest sex offender, Fr. Gerald Vosen.

WHERE
Headquarters of the Madison Catholic diocese, 702 South High Point Road, Madison

WHEN
Monday, October 20th, 1:30 p.m. 702

WHY
I an unusual move, a national organization of clergy abuse victims is defending a Catholic bishop from public attacks by an abusive priest.

Over the weekend, in published accounts which are in direct violation of Catholic canon law and Vatican directives, Fr. Gerald Vosen is openly assailing his bishop, the diocese of Madison and clergy abuse victims and families in a new book (http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/310146).

Vosen, in the book, writes that he “believes” he has “never abused anyone.”

Vosen insists that all of his accusers are lying, a civil jury which ruled against him misguided, and a church lay review board that found him guilty collusive.  But Vosen saves his harshest criticism for Morlino, which he describes as “gleeful” to remove him from the priesthood and in a “twisted” alliance with SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the nation’s oldest and largest clergy sexual abuse self-help group.

In fact, SNAP has been mostly critical of Morlino’s treatment of sex abuse victims, his secrecy concerning abusive priests, and his lobbying efforts with Wisconsin lawmakers to oppose sex abuse legislation and reform.

In 2003, Vosen was removed from ministry by Morlino, including any public presentation of himself as a priest.  Since that time, according to Morlino’s spokesman, two other victims and seven witnesses alleging abuse by Vosen have come forward to the diocese.

In 2005, in an unprecedented move, Vosen filed a civil defamation suit against—not his bishop—but one of his victims.  SNAP blasted Morleno at the time for refusing to defend Vosen’s victim and renounce the defamation suit.  After four days of testimony, a Janesville jury found against Vosen.

In 2007 a lay review board for the Madison diocese determined the allegations against Vosen to be credible.  Vosen has appealed his case to the Vatican.

Victims, along with defending Morlino, will be urging him in a letter Monday to release Vosen’s file to the public, assure victims and witnesses that they need not be intimidated by priests such as Vosen and to come forward to civil authorities concerning any suspected child abuse, and to reconsider his opposition to the Wisconsin Child Victims Act, legislation introduced last term which would reform the state’s child sex abuse statutes.

CONTACT
Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.78259
John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin, 414.336.8575
Mary Guentner, SNAP Wisconsin Co-Director, 414.418.3191

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is the nation’s oldest and largest self-help organization of clergy sex abuse survivors with over 8,000 members in 62 chapters (SNAPnetwork.org).

Sex abuse victims to leaflet at cathedral in Chicago

Sex abuse victims to leaflet at cathedral

George ‘importing’ convicted predator is 'new low', SNAP says

The Pope defrocks pedophile, but Chicago’s cardinal quietly hires him

Top Catholic official secretly reverses his 2003 pledge to never bring criminal back here

For first time ever, SNAP urges parishioners to write the Pope complaining about George

WHAT
As mass ends, clergy sex abuse victims will hand out fliers to parishioners about a newly-defrocked convicted, pedophile priest who is now working in Chicago again.

The leaflets urge Catholics to

-- call the archdiocese and complain about the predator’s return,

-- write the Pope about the Cardinal’s continuing recklessness, and

-- work harder than ever, in their own parishes, to seek out others who saw, suspected, or suffered clergy sex crimes and get them to call therapists and police

WHEN
Sunday, Oct. 19, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE
Outside Holy Name Cathedral (corner of State & Superior) in Chicago

WHO
Several clergy sex abuse victims and family members who are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY
Today, the Sun Times disclosed that a controversial, convicted child-molesting clergyman is back in Chicago, working again for Cardinal Francis George, even though George was forced to oust him after media attention and public outrage in 2003.

That year, news accounts revealed that Fr. Kenneth J. Martin, originally from the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., was living in George’s mansion one week each month and working as a “liturgy expert” in the Chicago archdiocese. George was severely criticized because just six months earlier, America’s bishops adopted an allegedly ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward clergy sex crimes.

Since then, SNAP contends, George has repeatedly defied that policy, yet seen his stature rise in the church hierarchy. George, now president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, reluctantly voted for zero tolerance six years ago, only after repeatedly and publicly arguing for a more lenient policy, which appears to be what he has practiced in Chicago.

In 2003, George publicly pledged that Martin "won't be coming back to Chicago."

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/1229064,CST-NWS-martin19.article

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP president 312 399 4747
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis SNAP Outreach Director 314 503 0003 cell
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP national director 314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915 home)

Unprecedented lawsuits target Pope’s US representative & USCCB; Sex abuse victims respond

For immediate release:
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008

Unprecedented lawsuits target Pope's US representative & USCCB; Sex abuse victims respond 

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747)

Today is the six month anniversary of the Pope's visit to America. When the Pope was here last spring, he repeatedly brought up the church's on-going clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis. He made some compassionate remarks. But he also issued some clear directives. One of them still rings in our ears. The full church, but especially bishops, he said, should "do everything possible" to help victims heal.

That's a direct quote: "do everything possible" to help victims heal.

American bishops either weren't listening or don't care what the Pope says. Because over the past six months, we've seen virtually no change in bishops' behavior and no additional efforts to help victims heal.

In fact, in the legal arena, we've seen more aggressive efforts to dodge blame, avoid accountability, and attack victims, rather than help victims.

We're troubled, for example, by what we saw last week in Davenport Iowa. A bankruptcy trustee took unprecedented legal action that may force top Catholic officials to return more than $200,000 to this country.

 Lawsuits filed late last week charge that money was perhaps improperly sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Vatican's US representative. The Davenport diocese made the payments in the fall of 2006 leading up to its bankruptcy filing stemming from more than 100 clergy sex abuse and cover up lawsuits.

Church officials have two choices. They can do what bishops have historically and consistently done – further delay healing, hire more lawyers, spend more money and fight this move. Or they can obey the Pope, chart a new course, and voluntarily return the disputed funds now, instead of waiting to do so when ordered by a judge.

The first course guarantees more resentment and suspicion and wasted money, (money donated by generous parishioners). The second course guarantees more healing and confidence and faith in the church hierarchy.

Besides, who needs and deserves those funds more? Distraught and wounded Iowa Catholics? Distraught and wounded Iowa victims? Or high level church bureaucrats? We submit the first two groups are hurting because of the misdeeds of the last group. Catholics and victims need consideration and relief, while high level church bureaucrats need to honor the Pope's wishes.

We're not bankruptcy lawyers or financial experts. We don't know whether these payments were fraudulent or deceptive or illegal. That's for the court to determine.

Here's what we DO know:

- We know that Davenport church authorities have long been deceptive regarding child sex abuse cases and cover ups.

- We know that other US bishops have been accused of steps to hide and protect financial assets, instead of vulnerable children (most notably San Diego and Spokane).

- We know that appearances matter, and that when top church officials hire expensive lawyers to help them exploit every available legal loophole to escape accountability and transparency and responsibility for horrific crimes, it's disillusioning to Catholics and hurtful to victims.

"Doing everything possible" to help victims doesn't mean launching or prolonging hard ball legal struggles. It doesn't mean ducking and dodging responsibility. It doesn't mean scheming to out-fox judges and court officials. It doesn't mean feigning poverty when victims seek justice.

We implore US bishops, especially Davenport's bishop, to search their consciences, reflect on the Pope's words, voluntarily move forward toward justice, healing and prevention, instead of being forced – by persistent victims, frustrated prosecutors, irritated judges and outraged Catholics – to do what's right.

 (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 19 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact:
 David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)

First-ever lawsuits seek money back from Pope's US rep & all US bishops

First-ever lawsuits seek money back from Pope's US rep & all US bishops

They charge that prelate may have deceptively ‘dumped cash’ to pay victims less

SNAP wants church officials to voluntarily return disputed funds as “sign of good faith”

Abuse group makes plea on the six month anniversary of Pope’s springtime visit to DC & NY

American church authorities ignore papal plea to “help victims heal,” self-help organization says

WHAT
At a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will

-- announce and discuss an unprecedented legal action that may force top Catholic officials to return more than $200,000, and

-- urge those officials to voluntarily return the disputed funds, instead of fighting the request.

On the six month anniversary of the Pope’s visit to America, they will also blast

-- US church leaders for ignoring the Pope’s plea to “do everything possible” to heal victims, and

-- an Iowa bishop for “legal maneuvering” designed to reduce payments to dozens of sex abuse victims.

WHEN
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1:45 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the Papal Nuncio, (Vatican Embassy)  3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, in Washington DC

WHO
Several sex abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) including an Illinois woman who is the group’s founder and president.

WHY
For first time ever, legal action is being taken to get more than $200,000 back from two DC-based Catholic institutions. Lawsuits filed late last week charge that money was allegedly sent, fraudulently and deceptively, to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Vatican’s US representative. The Davenport diocese made the payments in the fall of 2006 on the eve of its bankruptcy filing stemming from more than 100 clergy sex abuse and cover up lawsuits.

Davenport sent at least $135,800 to the USCCB and nearly $73,000 to the Vatican’s papal nuncio.

The suits were filed by bankruptcy trustee Robert Berger with the cooperation of attorneys Pat Noaker (651 227 9990, 612 817 8665 cell) and Craig Levien (563 326 4491, 563 349 2180 cell), who represent dozens of victims in Iowa.

Rather than delaying justice, challenging the move, spending thousands in lawyers’ fees, and waiting for a judge’s order to comply, SNAP wants the USCCB and papal nuncio to voluntarily, as a ‘sign of good faith,’ return the funds.

Exactly six months ago, the Pope set foot in the US. He repeatedly expressed compassion for abuse victims and directed US bishops to “do everything possible” to help victims heal. But SNAP reports that American bishops have done nothing to honor the Holy Father’s wishes and changed nothing about their continued mishandling of clergy sex abuse cases and cover up.

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/10/10/news/local/doc48f0123f012dd800983555.txt?sPos=3

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP Founder and President (312) 399 4747
Becky Ianni of Burke VA, SNAP Northern Virginia Director (703) 801 6044
David Clohessy of St. Louis SNAP National Director (314) 566 9790 (SNAPclohessy@aol.com)
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Coordinator (314) 862 7688 home, (314) 503 0003 cell

A second victim of alleged predator priest comes forward

For immediate release: Tuesday, Oct. 14

A second victim of alleged predator priest comes forward

First victim of pedophile priest speaks publicly for first time

Self help group posts her ten minute video presentation on line

For now, grand jury declines to prosecute the alleged predator

Both women beg others who’ve been hurt to “overcome paralysis” & come forward

“When we break our silence, healing, justice, closure & prevention happen,” they say

A second women is reporting that she was molested as a child by a Steubenville Catholic priest, while a former Guernsey county woman has posted on line a ten minute video describing her childhood victimization by the cleric.

And even though a grand jury recently declined to prosecute the priest, the two women are hopeful that other victims and witnesses of his crimes will surface soon.

Earlier this month, the Guernsey County jurors opted to not charge Fr. Gary Zalenski with child molestation based on the testimony of Beth Rocker. In January 2008, Rocker filed a police report saying Zalenski molested her several places, including at Seneca Lake on his pontoon boat in 1991.

“I feel so much better having broken my silence, and I want to do whatever I can to help others do the same,” said Rocker. “I also want to safeguard others from Zalenski so they won’t be hurt like I’ve been hurt.”

Judy Jones, SNAP director southeastern Ohio, says she has met with a second victim of Zalenski.

"Like Beth, this woman is very brave,” Jones said, "She filed a report in 1991 which was the reason that Zalenski was removed from active ministry at that time, so there must have been good cause to believe these allegations or the diocese would not have taken action."

The second victim isn’t speaking publicly now, Jones says, but she and the victims are very disappointed the grand jury did not indict Fr. Zalenski.

 "We believe he is a dangerous man," Jones said.

Jones is urging Steubenville area Catholics to watch Rocker’s video.

“It doesn’t hurt to hear all sides,” she said. “I think even the handful who believe Zalenski will have second thoughts.”

Rocker’s video is posted at SteubenvilleTruth.org

CONTACT:
Judy Jones of St. Louis SNAP, SNAP Steubenville co-director, 636 433 2511
Helen Schoeppner, SNAP Steubenville co-director, 740 568 0024
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP national director 314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915 home

Death of SNAP leaders

October 12, 2008

Dear Friends,

We have some very sad news to share with you. Last week a long time SNAP leader, Bob Swart of Saint Louis, died peacefully surrounded by old and dear friends after a brave battle with cancer. Bob has been a SNAP member and leader almost from the beginning and will be remembered for his pony tail, his infectious laugh, his Hawaiian shirts and his willingness to help anyone.

We also learned that David Brien of New Orleans had died. David was truly a Southern gentleman, always ready to lend a hand, listen to a survivor, find resources to help fellow survivors, share a story to make you laugh on a bad day and always ready to have a good time. We will miss his smiling face.

Bob and David will be missed but they will always be in our hearts and memories.

Barbara, David and Barbara

New child sex abuse case against Mother Theresa’s ‘confessor’ starts

For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 9
 
For more information: Barbara Blaine 312 399 4747
 
New child sex abuse case against Mother Theresa's 'confessor' starts
 
Convicted pedophile priest molested teen "almost continuously" for a year
 
High profile cleric now faces federal charges; Opening arguments are today 9:30 a.m.
 
Jesuits knew about nationally known predator as far back as 1969 yet kept him in ministry
 
Opening arguments are expected to start tomorrow in a criminal trial against an already-convicted pedophile priest who is the nation's most high profile child molesting Catholic clergyman.

The is a federal case being held in Courtroom 2119 (at the Dirksen Federal Bldg- corner of Jackson and Dearborn) in front of Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.
 
Fr. Donald J. McGuire is a defrocked Jesuit who has been Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor, spoken at hundreds of schools, churches and retreats across the globe. He is also the most high-profile Catholic priest to ever be convicted for sexually abusing kids.
 
McGuire is facing trial and charged with traveling to Switzerland and Austria to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is represented by attorney Stephen Komie.
 
In Feb. 2006, McGuire was found guilty of molesting two other boys on trips to Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Those victims testified that they were also repeatedly abused by McGuire at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, where they were students and where McGuire taught from 1965-70.
 
Prosecutors in Maricopa County (Phoenix AZ) have also filed criminal charges against McGuire for molesting two brothers there between 1998 and 2002.
 
At least two civil molestation suits against McGuire and the Jesuits have been settled. The victims were represented by St. Paul MN attorney Jeff Anderson (651 227 9990, 612 817 8665 cell).
 
According to church records, in 1999, McGuire began living with and molesting and living with a different teenager at Canisius House in Evanston. McGuire repeatedly abused the youngster until a different boy filed a civil molestation lawsuit against the priest and the Jesuits in 2003.
 
McGuire, an Oak Park native now in his 70s, was finally defrocked in February, even though his Jesuit supervisors received repeated reports of his crimes as far back as the 1960s.  
 
"While McGuire is finally facing tough questions in court about his crimes, his Jesuit bosses have apparently succeeded in escaping consequences for covering up McGuire's crimes," said Barbara Blaine, founder and president of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org).

Contact: SNAP National Director, David Clohessy, 314 566 9790

Episcopal bishop defrocked in cover-up

For immediate release: Friday, October 3, 2008

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747)

We believe this is a first in US history: a clergyman defrocked for concealing a pedophile priest's crimes. We believe it should happen far more often.

This long overdue but crucial move sends a strong signal to Episcopalian officials: child sex abuse should be reported and disclosed, not minimized and hidden. More importantly, it sends the message that you will be punished, not promoted, for covering up for criminal colleagues. If this signal had ever been sent in the Catholic hierarchy, perhaps thousands of kids and their families would have been spared devastating pain.

Unacknowledged wounds rarely heal, so we hope this important validation can help those so deeply wounded by the Bennison brothers to recover from the horrific betrayal they've experienced. We commend them for being brave and wise enough to come forward, speak up, cooperate with authorities, and expose both a dangerous child molester and a corrupt church supervisor. Episcopalian families are safer and Episcopalian churches are healthier because of these courageous victims.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)
*****

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6430084#bodyText

Episcopal bishop defrocked in cover-up

Friday, October 03, 2008 | 12:41 PM

Charles E. Bennison Jr. was formally "inhibited" by the diocese and was ordered to "cease all episcopal, ministerial and canonical acts." The church indictment, called a presentment, charges that Bennison reacted "passively and self-protectively" and "failed to take obvious, essential steps to investigate his brother's actions, protect the girl from further abuse, and find out whether other children were in danger."

By JOANN LOVIGLIO

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - October 3, 2008 -- An Episcopal bishop in Pennsylvania has been defrocked after a church panel found him guilty of covering up his brother's assaults of a teenage girl in the 1970s.

Church documents released Friday say 64-year-old Charles Bennison Jr. should no longer serve as a member of the clergy.

The church panel chose the harshest sentence for Bennison, who has been bishop of the nation's fifth-largest Episcopal diocese. He could have been reprimanded or suspended.

About Father Joseph Ross, moving to Arkansas from St. Louis after suspension for sex offenses

For immediate release: Thursday, October 2, 2008

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Fr. Joseph D. Ross moved to Arkansas after being suspended in St. Louis in 2002 for multiple sex offenses. Last Friday, he was arrested in Pulaski County for molesting a St. Louis child around 2000.

We cannot praise this brave, strong, compassionate teenager enough for showing such courage. We hope St. Louisans will ask tough questions of archdiocesan officials who knowingly and secretly, in the 1990s, moved Ross to an unsuspecting parish after he had already pled guilty to molesting a boy. And we hope that Little Rock citizens and Catholics will ask their children if they were hurt by Ross.

Ross pleaded guilty in 1988 to sexually assaulting an 11 year old boy in Dec. 1986. He was sentenced to 2 years probation and treatment. Ross acknowledged during an investigation in 1987-1988 that he had earlier been accused of molesting one youth in the 1970s and had been arrested for propositioning a police officer and for public indecency.

The archdiocese placed him on leave March 2002. In August of 2002, church officials announced that Ross had been defrocked. A civil suit against Ross was filed in November 2002 alleging that he abused a 14 year old boy in 1977.

Out of concern for the teen's privacy, SNAP is not disclosing the latest victim's age, gender or city/state of residence.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=156428

KSDK -- A former St. Louis priest was arrested in Arkansas last week, accused of sexually assaulting a child at local church.

Joseph Ross, currently awaiting extradition back to St. Louis, hid a dark secret during his time as a priest in the Catholic Churches.

"At least three times, Father Ross was arrested for sexual offenses," said David Clohessy, the President of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

In the late 1980s, Ross was arrested and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor of sexual abuse. The Archdiocese sent him for treatment, but he remained in the church for more than a decade, until the Archdiocese kicked him out.

Archdiocese officials would not comment on pending legal issues, but in a statement, they said: "Mr. Ross was removed from the ministry in 2002, under the Archdiocese's policy...we apologize to all those who have been abused by clergy."

Now they're issuing one more apology to Ross's latest alleged victim.

The alleged abuse went on for a period of two years while Ross was assigned at St. Cronan's Catholic Church. That was in 2000. It took eight years after the alleged event to bring charges against Ross.

"The overwhelming majority of priests that abuse kids never ever see the inside of a courtroom, let alone a jail cell," Clohessy said.

So SNAP members said the arrest sends a very clear message.

"If you're being molested and you speak up and you call the police, good things will happen," Clohessy said. "The right things will happen. You will be protected and others will be protected."

Even so, they said there were no true victories in those cases.

The case against Ross will be sealed until he actually appears in court in St. Louis.


http://www.cw11tv.com/pages/landing/?Former-Priest-Faces-New-Sex-Charges=1&blockID=77843&feedID=416

Former Priest Faces New Sex Charges

October 1, 2008

Former St. Louis area Priest Joseph Ross was arrested last week in Arkansas on a warrant issued by the St. Louis city attorney.

He is charged with 11 first degree counts of sexual misconduct with a minor...charges that include statutory rape, statutory sodomy, and child molestation.

It began with a phone call that activists say was 8 years overdue.
 
"The victim contacted me because of the fear that other kids were being hurt," said Mary Pat Benninger of SNAP.

Prosecutors say the victim is a teenager now, but was under the age of 14 at the time of the abuse. SNAP, the watchdog support group for victims,  says Ross has a long history of abusing children.

"He's been accused of a number of sex crimes. He's been arrested at least two other times besides this one. He admitted to moleting at least one child," said David Clohessy, national SNAP president.

In 2002, two years after the alleged abuse was said to have occurred here at St. Cronans,  the Archdiocese of St. Louis removed Ross as pastor because of a guilty plea he had entered in 1988. He was later defrocked by the Pope.
  
SNAP claims Ross was transferred to St. Cronins even though the church was aware of other incidents.
In a written statement  the Archdiocese said it's their policy not to comment on pending legal matters. It apologized to all who have been abused by clergy.

So why did it take the victim eight years to come forward? Well those who've been molested by priests say telling someone is not easy.

"I was terrified of the Priest, I was terrified of the church. I was terrified that I was going to go to hell if I said anything," said Barbara Dorris. She was in her forties before she found the courage to report her abuse at the hands of a different priest.

Ross remains in custody in Arkansas,where prosecutors say he will not fight extradition. Details of the trip back  to St. Louis are being worked out.

Help out SNAP! Combined Federal Campaign - donor code 10685

Know anyone working for the Federal government?

Here's an easy way to help survivors.

The annual fund-raising drive for charities conducted in the workplaces of Federal employees is going on now. SNAP is one of the participating organizations that stands to benefit.

If you are a Federal worker, you can designate that your charity dollars go to SNAP. Just enter SNAP's code number on your Combined Federal Campaign donor form: 10685. (Feel free to share our CFC number with your friends and co-workers, too!)

We appreciate and need your support this year. The economy is hurting donor giving for almost all nonprofit organizations. Your generosity will help SNAP continue its critical work.

Thank you,
Barbara Blaine
David Clohessy
Barb Dorris
P.S. Please forward this email to anyone you know, Federal worker or not. Thanks.