It isn’t about faith, it’s about crime. Here are five reasons you should care about the Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse and Cover-up Crisis: 1) Many church officials have broken and are breaking the law. The William Lynn trial in Philadelphia and the child pornography cover-up scandal in Kansas City are only unique because church officials—Former…Continue reading Five Reasons You Should Care About the Clergy Sex Abuse and Cover-up Crisis
A new California law makes commercial computer technicians mandatory reporters in cases of child pornography. The bill, AB 1817, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown this week. Here is the crux of the bill, according to a press release from the CA K.I.D.S. Coalition: Commercial computer techicians will now be required to report…Continue reading New Law: California Computer Techs Must Report Child Pornography
Many California victims born after 1977 still may have legal rights to expose abuse, get justice and keep kids safe right now. Convicted priest named in new sex abuse lawsuit Young girl was molested in San Andreas CA parish She is the latest of former cleric’s dozens of victims Deported from US, he’s now in…Continue reading Convicted priest Oliver O’Grady/Stockton Diocese named in new abuse suit
From my SNAP statement: Today, the Diocese of Orange has announced the retirement of Orange County, California Bishop Tod D. Brown. We will learn the name of his successor tomorrow. The author and Tod Brown at the press conference announcing the Diocese’s $100 million settlement with 97 victims of child sex abuse Simply put: we…Continue reading A Rotten Legacy Ends – Bishop Tod Brown Retires
In light of the current Chicago teachers’ strike, I think it’s important to comment on a very important California story that shines a big, fat, bright light on the global nature of the complicit cover-up of child sexual abuse by big, trusted institutions. And here’s the shocker: it doesn’t involve the Roman Catholic Church. Flashback…Continue reading CA Teachers’ Unions: Protecting Child Molesters’ Jobs
Ontario priest named in new sex abuse suit Convicted cleric faces at least 5 victims He was even sent sent back to jail for violating parole Church officials knew he gave kids full-body massages, but Crimes were not reported to law enforcement For 20 years, priest molested kids in Latino communities Come forward and report…Continue reading New Lawsuit Filed Against Convicted Ontario Priest Jose Alejandro “Alex” Castillo
From KMBZ: Bishop Robert Finn has been found guilty of 1 misdemeanor count of failure to report suspected child abuse in Jackson County Court Thursday afternoon. He’s been sentenced to probation and is required to attend mandatory training in detection of child pornography. Ratigan’s victims? They get a life sentence.
so says Bishop Finn of Kansas City in his decision to have a bench trial instead of a jury verdict on his criminal charges of failure to report child sexual abuse. Hopefully, the judge will give victims the justice and accountability they deserve. Let’s just hope that NY’s Cardinal Dolan doesn’t blame Fr. Shawn Ratigan’s six-year-old victims for causing such…Continue reading Public scrutiny is for the little people …
The Archdiocese of LA paid for a victim’s counseling in 2003—but neglected (or refused) to inform her that she had civil rights— even though they had known for years that Fr. Michael Steven Nocita was a predator. Now, he can use the court system to expose former priest and the church officials who covered up…Continue reading First Sex Abuse and Coverup Lawsuit Filed Under CA Appeal Ruling
Here’s a sad, sad story from today’s Honolulu Star Advertiser. Honolulu’s Bishop Clarence Silva blames victims for not coming forward to him, his predecessors for covering things up, enemies of the church who “capitalize on this very real problem,” proponents of gay marriage, pro-life advocates, and just about everyone else. Really? Since when do the…Continue reading Hawaii bishop starts the finger pointing game
In a ruling yesterday, the California Court of Appeal ruled that if a victim of child sexual abuse received counseling from the Catholic Church during the time that victim had an active statute (2003, or earlier, depending on the case), that victim may have new civil rights to seek justice, expose their perpetrator, and get…Continue reading New legal rights for some of California’s victims
‘Ohana can come from the most unlikely of places. I went to Hilo, Hawaii last week for a single reason: Expose priest George DeCosta, who has been accused of abuse by two youth and former students at Honolulu’s Damien Memorial School. De Costa is now living in Volcano, a town about 20 miles outside of Hilo,…Continue reading Finding my ‘ohana in Hilo
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?
Last spring, I met a man named Mark Pinkosh. Yesterday, he became a hero. Mark charges that he was sexually abused by Hawaii priest J. Michael Henry (Also known as Joseph Henry) when Mark was just a boy attending Kailua’s St. Anthony’s church. When Mark reached out to other adults, trying to get someone to…Continue reading A hero is born overnight
You can read yesterday’s complete story in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser here. And as more and more victims learn of their rights, I only see the numbers growing.
I think it’s time to let Music Ministry Alive and BILAC know that they have a real issue on their hands and need to reach out to potential victims and confused parishioners now. News event: Hilo priest accused of child sex crimes Two ex-Damien students name him as predator Bishop forced him to retire during…Continue reading Today on the Big Island – Hilo Priest Accused of Child Sex Crimes
Thomas Thing, a former Franciscan brother, was recently fired from his job as the student activities director at a LA college when details of two child sex abuse lawsuits against him became public. University of the West in Rosemead also got access to more than 500 pages of Thing’s personnel file (released as a part…Continue reading Adios, Br. Thing!
I am guilty of instantly running to the defense of American nuns after the Vatican announced that women religious in the United States had “a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.” Like most people, I remembered American nuns working with the most dejected among us – helping the poor, the sick, the…Continue reading Another Disconnect: Nuns, Sex Abuse, and Vatican Investigations
St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN calls itself a “College of Distinction.” But in courtrooms in California and Minnesota, the Benedictine university also being called a predatory fundraiser and has been slapped with allegations of elder abuse. Patrick Marker at Behind the Pine Curtain broke the story that: Employees of the Order of Saint Benedict…Continue reading Allegations at St. John’s University: Elder Abuse and Predatory Fundraising
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