The Worthy Adversary

Author: Joelle Casteix

  • Castillo victims settle with Diocese of San Bernardino

    According to the Riverside Press Enterprise, two victims of convicted priest Alejandro “Alex” Castillo settled their sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits against the Diocese of San Bernardino for $3.8 million.

    Fr. Alex Castillo
    Fr. Alex Castillo

    In a statement, the diocese called Castillo’s acts “sinful and unlawful.”

    They also added this:

    The diocese acknowledges and deeply regrets the sinful and unlawful actions of Castillo, while noting it took immediate action to remove him from ministry and notify police as soon as the allegations … were known.

    Why do I have doubts? Hopefully, a third outstanding lawsuit will expose the truth.

  • The Battle of the Scandals, pt 1: The Nation-State

    There have been a number of things about the recent UN committee report on (and the global response to) the Vatican’s role in clergy sex abuse that have given me pause.

    The first issue has been the one to which Vatican and global Catholic officials have clung : The report’s inclusion of language about the church’s teachings on homosexuality and abortion.

    State or Faith: You decide
    State or Faith: You decide

    The church struck back hard, saying that the Vatican UN was “trampling on religious freedom.”

    Even I had some issues with it. When I was asked for a comment by CNN International, I declined, saying that the focus of victims is clergy sexual abuse. And, really, it is. It is not the victims’ movement’s place to comment on other issues, because victims come from all beliefs. But personally, I believed that the committee had overstepped.

    But late last night, it dawned on me: I’m wrong.

    As far as the UN is concerned, the Code of Canon Law is not a religious document. It’s a constitution. The church’s teachings about abortion, homosexuality, etc., aren’t religious views—THEY ARE THE LAWS OF A NATION-STATE.

    I was clouding my views on the report with American thinking about religious freedom. And that’s exactly what the Vatican wants.

    If the Vatican is going to scream “religious rights,” they should not be a nation-state, immune from civil liability. If they truly want to continue to reap the rewards and benefits of their nation-state status, they should openly state, “Yes, these are our laws” and not claim “religious persecution.”

    But they aren’t.

    Instead, they are (oddly) trumpeting typical Western values of religious freedom … while at the same time decrying Western values for taking the world off of the track of moral righteousness. You can’t cherry-pick teachings on Western values to help you escape prosecution or taxation.

    You’re either a state or a religious faith.

    The Vatican can’t have it both ways.

     

  • If nothing else …

    No matter your take on the recent UN committee report on the problem of sex abuse in the Catholic Church and no matter how you feel about the recent public argument involving Woody Allen and his daughter Dylan Farrow, two things are clear:

    The more we talk about sex abuse as a crime, the more likely it is that victims will come forward.

    The more we make ourselves aware of the problem, the easier it will be to protect our children.

    Everything else is just semantics.

  • You read Dylan Farrow’s letter. Now what?

    Every once in a while, I catch myself wondering why the child sex abuse awareness movement (especially in the Catholic Church) has never elicited support from Hollywood A-listers.

    Yesterday, Dylan Farrow gave us a painful and personal reminder.

    Her immensely brave open letter in the New York Times is raw. She openly accuses Woody Allen and gives details of the abuse. But she goes a step further, naming the Hollywood A-Listers who continue to support Allen.

    (Although Allen has not been found guilty in a court of law, he has been accused of abuse by one of his children, and went on to marry his step-daughter.)

    The sense of betrayal that Farrow expresses is a universal theme for victims of child sexual abuse. The crime of abuse is horrific enough for a child, but when adults whom the child loves and respects side with the abuser, it is devastating. It drives the victim into a world of shame and silence. I know that feeling first hand.

    I also know another feeling that Farrow describes—the sheer disgust as she watches Hollywood elites fawn over Allen, his movies and his continued award nominations. No one in Hollywood will publicly stand up for Farrow, just like no one in Hollywood stood up for the victim of Roman Polanski. Just like no one at Adrian College will stand up for me and the other victims of Thomas Hodgman.

    So, now do we do?

    We have a call to action—We need to change how we deal with victims of sexual abuse.

    1) If you know victims of abuse (and you do), tell them that you love and support them. Tell them you believe them.

    2) If you can help a victim report to the police, do it.

    3) Open up communication with your children and family members about abuse. Don’t shroud discussions of sex or abuse with shame.

    4) Write your legislators about changing laws dealing with child sex crimes. Three bills in California (two dealing with statutes of limitation and another dealing with training reporters) need support.

    5) Don’t give your money or allegiance to organizations who engage in legal battles with victims in order to hide abuse and cover-up. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles spent millions trying to keep their crimes secret. So did the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Orange. Publicly admonish those who covered up abuse.

    6) Don’t go to Woody Allen movies. Go a step further and don’t support any actor or studio affiliated with Allen.

    7) Raise children who are well-armored against abuse. My upcoming book can help you get started. The proposal is done and we are currently looking for an agent/publisher. If you want more information or know a contact who would be interested, email me.

     

     

     

     

  • Cardinal George and abusive priests – a cozy relationship

    Cardinal Francis George: Loves predator priests, doesn't give a lick about safety.
    Cardinal Francis George: Loves predator priests, doesn’t give a lick about safety.

    I have spent all morning going through the documents recently released by the Archdiocese of Chicago (before you applaud any proposed Archdiocese “transparency,” remember that the documents were only released because the court ordered Cardinal George to turn them over).

    Cardinal George has spent a lot of time during the past week trying to minimize the documents’ importance and impact. It is now painfully apparent why: George personally covered up for abusive priests.

    Case in point: Joseph Bennett

    From the summary timeline:

    The Cardinal’s deposition and the file also suggest that the Archdiocese:

    May have withheld evidence from the Review Board; 
    Had more concerns about Bennett’s canonical rights than child safety; 
    Gave misleading information to other bishops about Bennett; 
    Claimed that a victim’s accurate memory of freckles and other markings on Bennett’s body were not enough evidence to remove Bennett from ministry; 
    Told parishioners to “question accusers;”  
    Never checked to see if boys were working in the rectory with Bennett, even after the 
    Review Board requested Bennett be removed from ministry; 
    Called Bennett a “fine pastoral leader” when he was reappointed as pastor of Holy Ghost in 2003, even though there were known outstanding abuse allegations against the cleric; and 
    Blamed Vatican policies for not removing clerics with allegations of molesting children.

     

    You should read the whole thing yourself. It’s shameful and Cardinal George should be held accountable.