Let’s talk about Joliet, IL and Fall River, MA, two dioceses with bishops who, were it not for public embarrassment, were more than happy to throw child safety under the bus. In Joliet, Bishop Dan Conlon (the head of the USCCB committee on child protection, by the way) was going to reinstate a priest suspended…Continue reading Joliet, Fall River, and a little lesson in “Just and Ethical”
This week, three prominent priests have been arrested and/or investigated for sexual abuse: In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: Father Luis Jose Cuevas, 67, a pastor of St. Athanasius Church on Linden Avenue, faces eight misdemeanor charges of sexual assault and one felony count involving lewd acts with a child, according to a complaint filed…Continue reading A Week of Arrests, Investigations and Shameful Responses
The Michael Harris trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 18 at 9am. Barring any last-minute settlements, you’ll see me at Dept. CX103, Orange County Supreme Court. It should be a barn burner. Get ready to see some diocese dirty laundry. Even Bishop Tod Brown concedes Harris is a monster. The victim is an active…Continue reading Michael Harris trial is a go …
For immediate release: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Hawaii bishop accused of molesting boy New sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit is filed This is the 2nd victim to name Ferrario as offender Diocese knew and covered up allegations, lawsuit says New state law lets victims expose abusers & protect kids In a new civil lawsuit using…Continue reading BREAKING: Former Hawaii bishop accused of molesting boy
Documents recently exposed in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee showed that NY Cardinal Timothy Dolan paid predator priests $20,000 to quietly leave the priesthood. Yeah, really. The response from Dolan? Cue the crickets. But that doesn’t mean that Dolan’s apologists have also clammed up. In fact, they have been very loud in defending Dolan, saying,…Continue reading Dissecting Dolan’s Apologists
“A bishop. A priest. A woman. A boy.” My friend Steve Julian‘s play Altarcations will debut in June at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival. I met Steve (whom some of you may recognize as the morning host of KPCC‘s Morning Edition) after I “outed” one of his former high school teachers as an admitted perpetrator…Continue reading Altarcations debuts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
Things are looking uglier and uglier for the Irish Christian Brothers at Damien Memorial High School in Honolulu. To date, we have found five known perpetrators who worked at the school, had direct access to students, and abused. There are the three we discovered in January: Fr. Gerald Funcheon, Br. Robert Brouillette, and Br. Thomas Ford, And…Continue reading I don’t think this is what Fr. Damien had in mind …
Earlier this year in Kansas City, SNAP’s David Clohessy was ordered to give a six-hour deposition in a child sex abuse lawsuit. Neither SNAP nor David himself were a party or even knew the victim. Critics piled on Clohessy, calling him evasive and a con-artist. In the end, the deposition has nothing to do with…Continue reading Disconnect, Pt 2: Subpoenas are for the little people
…that he skipped the country, just to make sure that the cops never find him. I hope his supporters (like the ones who tried to tamper with the jury) finally realized that he just flipped them the bird.
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 …
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
Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation (Luke 6:24–26) The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, one of the main organizations for whom I volunteer my advocacy efforts (and to whom I donate), has recently been under siege in Missouri. Catholic bishops there (under the direction of…Continue reading Putting the “Bully” in the religious Bully Pulpit