The Worthy Adversary

Author: Joelle Casteix

  • Bishop goes before bankruptcy trustee – Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Dec. 27, 2013

    *The article is not available online, hence the repost here.*

    My opinion: What a mess. If James Wall were a CEO, he would be fired. But he’s a smart man who has a lot of bishops helping him out. I can’t help but think that Wall’s “bumbling fool” tack is simply an act.

    Bishop goes before bankruptcy trustee

    Testimony points to few answers, poorly kept records

    First in a two-part series

    By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola

    Independent correspondent

    religion@gallupindependent.com

    ALBUQUERQUE — The Diocese of Gallup’s petition for Chapter 11 reorganization continues to raise far more questions about the diocese’s finances rather than provide answers.

    With the initial bankruptcy filing, Gallup Bishop James S. Wall submitted an opening declaration in U.S. Bankruptcy Court stating the Gallup Diocese “is the poorest diocese in the United States” without providing any facts or figures to substantiate that claim. On Nov. 26, Wall submitted a lengthy Statement of Financial Affairs, featuring incomplete documentation of properties in Arizona and New Mexico with reportedly “unknown” real estate value.

    Wall’s sworn testimony during an Unsecured Creditors Committee meeting Dec. 19 didn’t provide much more clarification. The public meeting was supposed to produce answers about the diocese’s finances to the largest group of unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy case, survivors of clergy sex abuse.

    “This is an opportunity to learn what the resources of the diocese are,” Assistant U.S. Trustee Ronald Andazola said in his opening remarks.

    Andazola, employed with the Department of Justice, oversaw the meeting and led the initial questioning.

    Wall, however, was frequently not able to answer many of the questions posed to him about the diocese’s finances, its financial policies or the property it owns.

    The individual who might have been able to answer those questions, Deacon James P. Hoy, the former diocesan chief financial officer for 14 years, was not in attendance. Hoy resigned June 30, about two months prior to the Chapter 11 announcement. Hoy’s financial policies and his financial record keeping, however, were the subject of many questions posed to the bishop.

    Poorly kept records

    In addition to Andazola, private attorneys James I. Stang, of California, Robert E. Pastor, of Arizona, and Richard T. Fass, of Texas, all representing sex abuse claimants, also questioned the bishop.

    Wall, looking somber and speaking very softly, was assisted with the questions by Christopher G. Linscott, the Diocese of Gallup’s recently hired financial consultant from Tucson. Susan G. Boswell, the diocese’s lead bankruptcy attorney, also from Tucson, occasionally advised Wall about how to answer.

    During the meeting, which ran nearly four hours, Wall and Linscott testified about a variety of subjects including audits of the diocese, loans, bank accounts, clergy abuse lawsuits, an underfunded Priests Retirement Fund, oil and gas leases, and property deeds. Many of their answers spoke to a diocesan financial office in apparent disarray, with poorly kept records.

    Andazola said he had been given a copy of the most recent audit of the diocese, which was for fiscal year 2012. He was given an incomplete copy, he said, and he requested the audit’s missing pages. Andazola noted the audit indicated the diocese had spent $114,000 on legal fees and settlement payments to clergy abuse victims during 2012.

    Andazola also requested Wall give him a copy of the report the bishop submitted to the Vatican during his “ad limina” visit which reportedly includes financial information about the diocese.

    Linscott was able to provide an annual diocesan revenue figure of $2.6 to $2.7 million for fiscal year 2012, but he was not able to specify how much revenue came from restricted or unrestricted funds. Neither Linscott nor Wall could explain some “allocations” listed in the 2012 audit.

    Wall admitted he hadn’t authorized an audit of the most recent fiscal year, ending June 30, 2013, which fell just two months before his Chapter 11 announcement and which coincided with Hoy’s date of resignation. “The primary reason one wasn’t done this year was because of the costs,” Wall said.

    Loans and leases

    Two undated loans signed with other Catholic dioceses, $29,000 from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and $200,000 from the Diocese of Phoenix, were arranged because the Gallup Diocese needed money to file its Chapter 11 petition, Wall explained.

    The diocese also signed a $200,000 promissory note with Pinnacle Bank in 2011. Wall said he thought the money had been borrowed to assist Gallup Catholic School, but he was not sure as to the loan’s specific need.

    According to Wall and Linscott, the diocese recently discovered 12 Wells Fargo bank accounts that were not in the diocese’s name but were using its tax I.D. number. Two accounts had no money, one account for the local Marriage Encounter program had $5,000, and the largest account, opened in the name of a parish on the Navajo Nation, had $150,000. Diocesan officials are now trying to determine who opened the accounts.

    Although 13 clergy abuse lawsuits have been filed against the Gallup Diocese in Arizona’s Coconino County Superior Court, Wall was unaware the Gallup Diocese had an Arizona attorney representing the diocese in at least one of those cases, and he was not able to answer questions about what other Catholic dioceses or religious orders were co-defendants in the cases or which ones might share legal liability for clergy abuse claims.

    Linscott admitted money intended for the Priest Retirement Fund or Pension Plan used to be deposited into a general checking account, but now the money is being put into the proper custodial account. “It is an underfunded plan,” Linscott said, adding he did not know what the total “underfunded amount” was.

    Although Linscott said the diocese apparently receives about $10,000 annually from oil and gas leases, its financial office doesn’t have documentation as to where those properties are located.

    And finally, Wall, Linscott and Boswell admitted that diocesan officials had to seek the help of county officials in Arizona and New Mexico to search county land records to develop a list of the diocese’s own real estate holdings.

    Editor’s Note: Saturday’s Part 2 looks at the Diocese of Gallup’s list of properties and other contentious issues in the Unsecured Creditors Committee meeting.

     

     

  • No red herrings, please. Let’s talk about the REAL scandal in St. Paul

    Mike Stechschulte. He likes fish, especially red herring
    Mike Stechschulte. He likes fish, especially red herring

    The Red Herring Award of the month is a doozey:

    Earlier this week, this op-ed appeared in the Port Huron MI Times Herald. The author, Mike Stechschulte, says that the media and the public need “perspective” about the clergy abuse crisis. He cites “huge improvements in policies,” low numbers of recent clergy sex abuse cases, and a recent problematic abuse allegation made against St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt (currently being investigated) as proof that we need to focus our attentions elsewhere.

    But a single allegation against the Archbishop is NOT why there is a scandal in St. Paul. It’s a big, fat red herring and Stechschulte hopes that low-information citizens will fall in step.

    Stechschulte is wrong. There is a huge scandal in St. Paul, and the media and public must maintain razor sharp focus. It’s not about a recent allegation; it’s about the COVER-UP.

    Here’s what Stechschulte “forgot” to tell the folks in Port Huron:

    – The fact that just this month, the Archdiocese was forced by the courts to make public the names of credibly accused priests. When church officials “suddenly” decided to review their own files on these men, two priests were put on leave. Why didn’t the Archbishop put them on leave when the credible accusations were made and verified? Why didn’t church leaders warn parishioners and protect kids? THAT’S a scandal.

    – Stechschulte neglected to include that the former Vicar for Clergy (and brother of Obama’s chief of staff) is refusing to cooperate with police and hired a personal attorney. THAT’S a scandal.

    – He “forgot” to mention the Curtis Wehmeyer case, the child porn cache in the Archdiocese basement, and the whistleblower who blew the lid off of the cover-up just this past autumn. Yeah, you got it: THAT’S a scandal.

    – Oh wait, there’s something else: Stechschulte and the editors of the Times Herald also didn’t mention the fact that the fact that Stechschulte is currently managing editor at The Michigan Catholic, the official paper of the Archdiocese of Detroit. C’mon. That’s lame. By not coming clean about Stechschulte’s job and bias, the editors risked their credibility in ALL aspects of the paper. Scandalous? Yeah.

    Stechschulte can keep his red herrings. The rest of us will wait for justice and accountability.

     

  • 2014 Wishes and Observations

     

    • I am not your friend (either in the real world or in social media), because I agree with all of your beliefs. I am your friend because I DON’T. And that is magic.
    • Our differing beliefs make you interesting, challenge me to stretch my thinking, and make my life fuller.
    • When someone wishes you Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa or Blessed Ramadan, don’t be disgusted, uncomfortable or insulted. That person is not trying to convert you, impose a belief structure, or propagate a “dominant patriarchal culture” that “suppresses the minority.” Instead, be elated and consider yourself blessed that someone would share the joy of her holiday. We could all benefit from some good wishes, even if we don’t all believe in the same God, or any god at all.
    • Wish others the goodness of your holiday or the blessings of the season. Don’t censor yourself.
    • Don’t be ashamed of your faith, or the fact that your atheist, secular life is full of love and happiness.
    • Don’t call names. Whether it’s a racial slur, terms like “liberal-tard”, “tea-bagger,” “bigot,” “racist”, “idiot”, or “asshole.” Remember: We don’t let our children name-call. We shouldn’t do it either. Being hurtful doesn’t foster social change, personal happiness or compromise.
    • If someone says something you don’t like, instead of lashing out (see “name-calling” entry above), just say, “I don’t understand.” Say it calmly and with care. Start a discussion. Leave your anger at the door. You both might learn something.
    • Don’t call people names because of their religious beliefs or political views. Don’t vilify them in social media. It just causes problems, hurts feelings, and marginalizes people. Instead, show positive action in your community. More people will listen and you will enact real change.
    • Give ‘til it hurts. Then keep giving.
    • Be nice to yourself.
    • It’s okay to feel guilty if you have done something wrong, but try to kick shame out the door. You deserve better.
    • Don’t underestimate the value of hard work. Don’t vilify and condemn those who have financially rewarded from it—just like you don’t vilify those who have not. Instead, live a life of example. If you are doubly-blessed, give to someone who is doubly hurt.
    • Work hard.
    • No government program will give you self-esteem. You have to find that on the inside. You are surrounded by people who can help you. Even if you can’t see them.
    • You are never totally alone.
    • Forgive.
    • When someone shouts hatred at you, just smile and say, “I’m so sorry.” You are, just not for the reason the shouter thinks.
    • Hold religious and political leaders to the highest account. Cut your friends a break once in a while.
    • Make your children follow the rules. A child who knows her boundaries is a happy child—one who learns how to create her own proper boundaries as she grows.
    • Let your children fail. Otherwise, they will never know when they succeed.
    • Understand that depression and suicidal feelings are crippling. Love those who are hurting—don’t judge them.
    • Remember that love and acceptance come from the oddest of places.
    • Ask questions, even when you already know the answer.
    • Don’t shout over people. It won’t convince anyone that you are right.
    • Don’t assume that your position is always right. Isn’t it interesting that many of the greatest, smartest people in the world were the most humble and the most willing to hear and acknowledge opposing views? 
    • Remember: people who always think they are right are generally not well-liked. They are tolerated, appeased, pitied and usually … lonely.
    • Remember that Lincoln was a Republican and George Wallace was a Democrat.
    • Don’t deny anyone the right to love and be acknowledged. Don’t deny marriage to adults who love each other.
    • Don’t try to silence anyone, because one day, you may be the person who is being silenced. Our country’s greatness relies upon a myriad of beliefs and the compromises we make for liberty.
    • Be nice to people. Don’t beat up on the weak. If you have hurt someone, be accountable and make amends.
    • Don’t choose to sequester yourself or cloud your vision because of the color of your skin, the color of your politics, or the color of your flag. You can do and be anything you want to be. You are perfect. Hard work, love and tenacity will get your farther than anger, self-loathing, hatred, or thoughts of defeat.
    • Don’t be a bully. Bullies suck.
    • Laugh. A lot.
    • Be honest, but don’t be boastful.

    And most importantly: CHOOSE TO NOT BE OFFENDED. It changed my like. You will be so much happier. So will everyone around you. 

    May your 2014 be joyous.

     

     

  • The Politician and the Priest: Two brothers and a fall from grace

    One brother is Obama’s chief of staff. The other is an embattled former top deputy to St. Paul’s Archbishop, charged with covering up sex abuse and refusing to cooperate with the police. Put together, the McDonough brothers show how bad timing and bad moral decisions may push two former “superstars” into very public and very embarrassing falls from grace.

    Denis McDonough, the politician
    Denis McDonough – The Politician

     

    Denis the Politician

    Appointed White House Chief of Staff in January 2013 after a career as a foreign policy advisor, “hard-charging” Denis has been called one of the most efficient chiefs of staff in recent memory. Insiders on both sides of the political spectrum say that the White House “has never worked better.”

    Unfortunately, that may be not enough to save him. According to the New York Times:

    Mr. McDonough’s failure to head off the health care problems surprised those who see him as a man of discipline and attention to detail. But current and former administration officials say that after 10 months on the job, one problem may have been that he stretched himself too thin and tried to do too much himself.

    “Denis is playing the role of chief of staff, legislative director, chief strategist and head of the accountability and implementation office,” said a former colleague who asked for anonymity to speak more candidly. “One man can’t play all of the infield.”

    In the months before the rollout, Mr. McDonough worked closely with Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, but did not see the warning signs clearly. He expressed confidence in the system only hours before the Oct. 1 kickoff. “There’s hundreds of people who worked all through last weekend as they have now through many, many weekends, to make sure that everything is in place, tested, firm, ready to roll,” he said as he walked the South Lawn.

    While the ACA rollout was in the works far before he started the job, its utter failure will require a “fall guy.” After Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Denis’ fall might be next—the result of bad timing and too much trust.

    Kevin McDonough - The Priest
    Kevin McDonough – The Priest

    Kevin the Priest

    Older brother Kevin is facing a fall from grace of his own. But unlike Denis, this fall is of his own making—what many are calling his “insidious and criminal” cover-up of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Now, he’s refusing to cooperate with the police.

    For 17 years, Kevin was top-deputy to the archbishop, one of the most powerful jobs in the archdiocese. As Vicar General, McDonough was. according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “revered for his work with the poor” and “charmed legislators as chaplain of the Minnesota Senate.” But while he was charming cops and politicians alike, recently exposed documents show that he was actively covering up for child sex offenders in the priesthood.

    Although McDonough was the chief child protection officer in the Archdiocese, he, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “had a key role in at least three cases of alleged priest sexual misconduct that, combined, have resulted in a lawsuit against the archdiocese, a priest in jail, the resignation of a top archdiocesan official and calls for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.“

    Since allegations of the cover-up of abuse came to light, McDonough has been removed as Vicar General and stripped of his position on the board of St. Thomas University.

    Yesterday, the St. Paul Police Department announced that McDonough is refusing to cooperate with their investigation of child sex abuse and cover-up. He has also retained his own lawyer. The Archdiocese is claiming full cooperation, but says that they “cannot speak for Fr. McDonough and his choice not to speak with the police.”

    The politician and the priest: One is in need of prayers. The other? He doesn’t have a prayer.

  • Donohue goes too far … and he’s DEAD WRONG

    I try to steer clear of commenting on the actions of William Donohue, the president of the Catholic League. I would tell you why, but that’s another post in itself.

    Bill, you screwed up.
    Another totally lame move, Bill

    But I can’t stay silent on this: Today, Donohue issued a press release called St. Paul & Minneapolis Archbishop Nienstedt Deserves Justice. I have no disagreement with the title: everyone deserves justice. But the press release goes on to call for vigilante justice against a boy who disclosed alleged abuse to an employee of the largest Minnesota Archdiocese. And that’s a HUGE problem.

    He says in the release:

    The Catholic League is asking those who were there to share with us any information they have. Specifically, we are interested in obtaining a tape recording, or set of photos, of any Confirmation ceremony in 2009 where Archbishop Nienstedt was present; presumably, the alleged victim was standing next to the archbishop. Also, we are asking anyone who knows anything about the accuser (someone knows who he is) to come forward.

    Let’s talk about the problems with his argument.

    There is the obvious: he is trying to bully an alleged sex abuse survivor. Not only that, but he is drawing a line in the sand, saying that he is going to go after anyone PERSONALLY who comes forward to disclose abuse. I don’t have words to describe my rage and disgust at his actions.

    But he’s also DEAD WRONG. According to the statement by the Archdiocese released yesterday:

    Upon learning of the allegation last week, the archdiocese instructed the mandated reporter to make the matter known to the police. The archbishop and the archdiocese stand ready to cooperate fully with the St. Paul Police.

    So here is what we know (according to the Archdiocese’s own statement): an EMPLOYEE made the report to the police at the behest of the Archdiocese. (The mandated reporter should have reported FIRST, but that’s another issue).

    NOTE: The alleged victim did not go to the cops, did not hold a press conference, did not do ANYTHING to try and get attention to himself, except disclose to a mandated reporter. The victim may have NEVER wanted the abuse to be disclosed at all.

    We don’t even know how the kid disclosed. He could have said something casually in passing to a friend that the reporter overheard; he could have said something in a counseling session; he could have been suicidal. And now, Donohue wants to put this kid through the ringer—a kid who possibly wanted to stay quiet, be left alone and didn’t even call the cops himself.

    In fact, isn’t it Donahue who says that the Catholic church is a safe place? Isn’t he the one who says that every employee is “very well-trained” to adhere to the law? And now, when one of those “well-trained” employees adheres to the law and to the bishops’ own policies, Donohue wants to publicly expose, shame and vilify the victim.

    Even if the allegations are deemed “unfounded,” we have to remember: the kid wasn’t the one who filed the police report. A church employee did, because s/he suspected abuse. That’s why we have mandated reporters – so that if abuse is suspected, the police can investigate. Is Donohue going to demand that the mandated reporter be fired if the allegation is unfounded? What about the people at the Archdiocese who told the mandated reporter to go to the cops? Will he demand they be fired, too?

    Donohue says he wants “justice” for Nienstedt. Well, since the police are investigating, why is Donohue asking for people to send HIM evidence that the police need? Why not encourage everyone to go to the police with any and all information they have? Oh wait, that’s right, the St. Paul police had a “closed door” meeting today with church officials to discuss the fact that the Archdiocese is not being cooperative in sex abuse investigations. Last time I checked, Donohue wasn’t a detective. If he truly wanted justice, he’d let the police do their job.

    Why does he need to know the identity of the victim? The police, the mandated reporter and a number of Archdiocese officials know who the victim is. That’s all that is necessary for the investigation.

    Hopefully, Donohue will not succeed in getting any personal information about the victim. Unfortunately he did succeed in some pretty terrible things: scaring the crap out of victims who are thinking of coming forward, intimidating and silencing church employees (who were only following the law and church policies), and stymying any police investigation that could have cleared this matter up.

    Shame on you, Donohue.