What do you do with a disgraced bishop, whose involvement in the cover-up of child sexual abuse led to his being forced out (as well as a bankruptcy for his Archdiocese and criminal charges against the organization)? Put him in a parish, apparently. Yesterday, former St. Paul and Minneapolis Chancellor (and whistleblower) Jennifer…Continue reading How do you solve a problem like Nienstedt?
On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune ran a page-one piece about the case of Fr. Bruce Wellems, a Chicago priest who admitted to luring a seven-year-old boy from basketball games and then sexually abusing him multiple times during the course of a year. Wellems was an older teenager at the time. Did the Claretians (the…Continue reading Why can’t anyone tell the truth about Fr. Bruce Wellems?
Totally off topic, but since it’s my blog, it’s my place for celebration! I live in Southern California. After more than 5 years of BAD local skiing, the SNOW is BACK. I’ll be at Mountain High on Friday. You know it’s good when even our junker local mountains are covered in the white stuff. Equipment…Continue reading SNOW!
NEWS EVENT: Victims to leaflet mass attendees LA Priest admits he repeatedly abused a child But Catholic officials let him work in parishes In 2014, they “quietly removed” him from LA church, misled parishioners about cause And they insisted that incriminating documents be destroyed Now, despite “zero tolerance” policy, he may be put back on…Continue reading News Event – January 3, 2016 – LA priest admits abuse, Archdiocese misleads parishioners
Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich has a lot of explaining to do about why he has allowed a priest—who has admitted to sexually abusing a child—to remain a priest and work with kids. In fact, in light of a Chicago Tribune article today, I think Cupich should step down for his blatant disregard for…Continue reading Cupich: Priest abused BEFORE ordination, so it’s okay
Note: it was the release of previously sealed depositions in the CIVIL case against Cosby that finally encouraged Montgomery County, PA prosecutors to file criminal charges. In 2004, when former Temple University employee Andrea Constand originally reported the sexual assault, prosecutors would not charge Cosby. But 49 women and a 2005 deposition later, the…Continue reading Bill Cosby arrested and charged with sexual assault
On the heels of proposed federal legislation and a CA ballot initiative to eliminate statutes of limitations for sex crimes, California State Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) is “seeking to introduce a bill in January that would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape and other related crimes.” According to the Vallejo Times-Herald:…Continue reading More moves to reform CA sex crime laws
Felicia Friesema is teaching me to live. Felicia is the wife of my friend Steve Julian. Steve and I met a number of years ago—when his former high school principal was exposed as a predator priest. Although Steve was not a victim, the priest and Steve had tangled over an editorial then-student Steve…Continue reading Finding grace in living and dying
This morning, I found out I was named one of Orange County’s “Most Influential” by the Orange County Register. I won’t lie: It’s pretty awesome. Read the whole thing here.
Last week, the Vatican announced that Mother Teresa will be made a saint sometime in May 2016. The Macedonian nun founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order whose mission is to help the poor. When the sainthood announcement was made, critics denounced the decision, citing the fact that she…Continue reading Mother Teresa: Sainthood and the Almighty Dollar
The Carrot: Money Last week, the US Senate proposed a bill that would give states money if they enacted legislation that extended or eliminated unexpired statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse. (In other words, if your time is up, it’s up. But if not, you could have your statute extended or eliminated.)…Continue reading The Carrot, the Stick, and what two SOL reform initiatives are missing …
Two unrelated cases in New York State are going to test Catholics’ faith in their leadership. The rest of us are going to get an unprecedented look at how NY church leaders handle cases of sexual abuse. Case number one is dominating the headlines – I mean, how often do you see this:…Continue reading A perv priest and a public nuisance case: NY in the spotlight
For free on Amazon, that is! The Power of Responsibility: Six Decisions That Will Help You Take Back Happiness and Create Unlimited Success—based on my TEDxPasadenaWomen talk—is now available. And the best part is that it’s free! Download it here. This short (under 2-hour) read blossomed from how I learned to use the power of responsibility…Continue reading The Power of Responsibility is yours …
Protect Your Child from Sexual Predators by Breaking through Stereotypes Read the whole thing
**Listen to the StoryCorps interview here** A clergy abuse survivor, former nun, Catholic elementary school principal, lesbian, gay rights activist, competitive ballroom dancer, and author all walk into a bar … The “crowd” is just one person: Mary Dispenza. Her story is compelling—rich and complex in the relationships between how our society views sexuality, the…Continue reading Mary Dispenza: Split and the search for authentic self
*** UPDATE! THE BOOK IS FREE ON AMAZON RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT HERE**** *** BUT ACT SOON! IT WON’T BE FREE FOR LONG! *** You can’t afford to miss this awesome offer … but you have to let me know you want it. This is not a secret or a special deal. The…Continue reading New book based on blockbuster TEDx Talk is yours for FREE
Newly released documents show how St. John’s Prep in Collegeville, MN is in direct violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and created a hostile environment where students can reasonably believe they are risk of sexual assault. At least 10 sex-offending monks—who have only been publicly exposed due to child sex abuse civil lawsuits…Continue reading Prestigious MN prep school/Uni in violation of Title IX for housing sex offending monks
You bet they did. A wealthy Minnesota Catholic religious order and a Catholic-owned rehabilitation hospital engaged in potential Missouri Medicaid insurance fraud to get free health care for a sex-offending priest, a newly released document shows. The 2014 document, released as a part of a legal settlement against the Benedictines of Minnesota and sex-offending priests, show that the order withheld money…Continue reading Did Missouri’s taxpayers foot the bill for an out-of-state sex offending priest?
From the statement by St. John’s (MN) Abbey regarding the recent release of of the personnel files of five sex-offending monks: “The files provided include those of monks currently living on the Saint John’s campus under safety plans. Their actions are limited and they are closely supervised.” Hmmm … if the 6th though 12th graders…Continue reading Sex offending monks have no contact with students … or do they?
Everything the bishops have been led you to believe about the independent power of lay review boards is deliberately misleading. Citing a sex-offening priest’s “right to privacy,” a newly released Vatican document shows that priests are able to shield potentially damning evidence from review boards who are charged with determining whether abuse allegations against a priest…Continue reading Vatican thwarts review boards, documents show
