What the heck is going on? If you saw the local news this week, probably saw headlines about the $3.5 million settlement that the Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a survivor of former Mater Dei Principal Michael Harris. The diocese also put out a horrible, tone-deaf, anti-survivor, unchristian statement about the survivor and…Continue reading Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update
Today, LA judge Emilie Elias gave the Archdiocese of Los Angeles a concrete schedule for the public release of thousands of pages of sex abuse and cover-up documents. If all goes according to plan, the redacted files on perpetrator priests will be made public by the end of the year. The documents were a part of…Continue reading LA clergy sex abuse files to be made public by end of year, judge says
Fr. J. Michael Henry has a hall in his honor. And the number of his alleged victims just keeps growing. Fr. Joseph Michael Henry (also known as J. Michael Henry and Mike Henry), was a longtime priest in the Diocese of Honolulu. Most of his time was spent at St. Anthony’s Parish in Kailua on Oahu’s…Continue reading How many accusations does it take to rename the parish hall?
This weekend marks the five-year anniversary of the 2007 Los Angeles Archdiocese’s $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of child sexual abuse by priests, religious, employees and volunteers. While the financial settlement has allowed many Los Angeles victims to get therapy, healing and a sense of justice, the real reason many of these victims…Continue reading A Bittersweet Anniversary
There is little time left: Victims of the Irish Christian Brothers or victims abused at Irish Christian Brothers schools only have until August 1, 2012 to come forward and get justice in the courts. Last year, the Irish Christian Brothers (ICB), a Catholic religious order based in New Rochelle, New York, sought bankruptcy protection after…Continue reading Deadline Looming for Victims of Irish Christian Brothers
When Vatican officials selected a bishop to head the effort to go after the American nuns of the LCWR and accuse them of wrongdoing, you might guess they’d be very careful to pick a prelate who is clearly beyond reproach. Guess again. The church hierarchy – taking the suggestion, some insiders say, of disgraced Cardinal…Continue reading Sartain and the monumental log in his eye … investigating the LCWR?
No one—I repeat: NO ONE— wants to get in front of television cameras and say that they were sexually abused. But when someone does, and does it in an eloquent, emotional and powerful way, that person changes the world. Case in point: Jessica Bohman Jessica Prater Bohman, age 6 five According to Bohman, her family members,…Continue reading A Recipe for Child Protection: Add One Part Hero
From today’s Stockton Record: From left, Bishop Stephen Blaire, consultant Michael Heenan and Monsignor Richard J. Ryan walk down a hallway inside the San Joaquin County Courthouse on Tuesday morning, when jurors in Michael Kelly’s trial were sent home for the day. (emphasis mine) Consultant? As a PR person myself, I don’t fault Heenan for…Continue reading Do I detect a disconnect?
I am a huge fan of the US justice system. After more than 200 years, our impartial courts have “gotten it right” a vast majority of the time. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best in the world. Here’s a great example: Last week, a jury unanimously found that Fr. Michael Kelly was liable for abusing…Continue reading Most of the time – but not every time – our courts get it right …
The jury came in with a unanimous verdict for Michael Kelly’s victim. If a jury can determine that in less than two hours, why did the Diocese of Stockton allow him to keep working with kids? For years?
Bishop Robert Finn will be the highest ranking official tried in the criminal courts for covering up/failure to report child sex abuse.
Why, oh why, does the Catholic Church continue to bestow honors and awards on tragically flawed wrong-doers? Disgraced Former Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali Trial watchers in Philadelphia have been treated to a firsthand view of vile and disgusting human behavior. What makes it worse is that the evildoers are priests and the victims are children. The…Continue reading Honoring the tragically flawed is tragically flawed
Sometimes, I get to be a part of something beautiful. You should come see us (when we are actually wearing make-up and concert dress).
Serve on a Diocese lay review board, and you can go to jail. Or at least that’s what Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn says. Bishop Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are each being charged with one misdemeanor of failure to report suspected child abuse. The charges stem from the case of…Continue reading Another Lay Review Board Thrown Under The Bus …
Sometimes, the most profound statements at a press conference come from the reporters, not us. Today, my friend and colleague Ken Smolka and I were in front of Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Montebello, California. We were there because the Irish Chrisitian Brothers, the religious order that ran Cantwell High School,…Continue reading Clarity at Cantwell High School
From the latest in San Diego—where a modern-day lynch mob has started to intimidate victims and their family members—click here
NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’ Parishioners are confronting, intimidating family members of potential abuse victim Hurt and confused Catholics are giving predators a “free pass,” SNAP says You must help create a victim-safe environment in your churches, they demand In response to what they are calling a “modern day lynch mob,”…Continue reading NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’