The Worthy Adversary

Author: Joelle Casteix

  • ACTION ALERT: Committee votes on SB131 tomorrow!

    **********************ACTION ALERT******************************

    Want to take action TODAY to help victims and protect kids? Here’s how:

    Tomorrow, Wednesday (8/21), the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee will consider a measure that makes it easier for child sex abuse victims to expose predators in court, keep kids safe right now and hold wrongdoers accountable.

    Please take just a few minutes and contact the lawmakers below, urging them to vote YES on SB 131.

    The San Jose Mercury News—as well as other papers across the state—have urged a yes vote. You can also read my previous posts about the bill here and here.

    You CAN HELP! Please send an email TODAY. And please circulate this request to others you know understand the importance of shining the light of truth on child sexual abuse.

    Here is the list of important legislators to contact. You can find their email address and phone numbers here.

    Mike Gatto, Chair – County: LA; Main Cities: Burbank, Glendale, La Canada, La Crescenta, LA

    Diane Harkey, Vice Chair – County: Orange; Main Cities: Alisa Viejo, Dana Point. Laguna Nigel, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano

    Frank Bigelow – Counties: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Place and Tuolumne; Main Cities: Angels Camp, Ahwahnee, Auburn, Chowchilla, Ione, Jackson, Madera, O’Neals, Placerville, San Andreas and South Lake Tahoe

    Raul Bocanegra – County: LA; Main Cities: North Hollywood, Pacoima, Panorama City, San Fernando, Sun Valley, Sylmar

    Steve Bradford – County: LA; Main Cities: El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, LA, Marina Del Rey, Venice

    Ian Calderon – Counties: LA and Orange; Main Cities: Buena Park, Hacienda Heights, La Mirada, La Puente, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte and Whittier

    Nora Campos – County: Santa Clara;  Main City: San Jose

    Tim Donnelly – County: San Bernardino; Main Cities: Apple Valley, Barstow, Hesperia, San Bernardino and Victorville

    Susan Talamantes-Eggman – County: San Joaquin; Main Cities: Mountain House, Stockton, Thornton and Tracy

    Jimmy Gomez – County: LA; Main Cities: Alhambra, Glendale, LA and Montebello

    Isadore Hall – County: LA;  Main Cities: Carson, Compton, LA, Lynwood, Wilmington, Gardena, Torrance and Long Beach

    Chris Holden – Counties: LA and San Bernardino; Main Cities: Altadena, Arcadia, Claremont, Pasadena, San Dimas, Sierra Madre and Upland

    Eric Linder – County: Riverside; Main Cities: Corona, Eastvale, Mira Loma, Norco and Riverside

    Richard Pan – Counties: San Joaquin and Sacramento; Main Cities: Clarksburg, Elk Grove, Galt, Lodi and Sacramento

    Bill Quirk – County: Alameda; Main Cities: Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Fremont, Hayward, Pleasanton, San Lorenzo, Sunol and Union City

    Don Wagner – County: Orange; Main Cities: Anaheim, Irvine, Lake Forest, Orange, Santa Ana and Tustin

    Shirley Weber – County: San Diego; Main Cities: Bonita, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City and San Diego

  • Second UN Committee Scrutinizes Vatican

    The UN Convention Against Torture has announced that it will be reviewing reports by the Holy See to determine if they are in compliance with the international treaty against torture.

    Other states being reviewed include Sierra Leone, Cyprus and Lithuania.

    While it’s a routine review—and only in the informational stages—victims and advocates hope that the review will publicly expose Vatican crimes.

    This latest news comes on the heels of a request of the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child, in which in the international organization asked the Vatican to account for every child sex accusation by clergy it has received and disclose all records of abuse and cover-up by church officials.

    While these actions are symbolic and have no “teeth”—in other words, no one is going to go to jail and the Vatican can simply “quit” the UN if it doesn’t want to play along—it’s reassuring to the victims’ community to see that international bodies DO recognize that there is a problem.

    Then hopefully, local civil authorities in the sovereign nations where these crimes are occurring will be brave enough to do something about it.

     

  • When your district is rife with crime, hold bad guys responsible

    Rep. Diane Harkey: Please take a look at the crimes and cover-up in YOUR district before voting no.
    Rep. Diane Harkey: Please take a look at cost of crimes in YOUR district before voting no.

    Yesterday, CA Assembly Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Diane Harkey voted no on important crime victims legislation—even though a similar 2003 bill exposed horrible abuse in her own district.

    I don’t believe it was a malicious act against victims, I just think she doesn’t know about the child sex crimes and cover-up that have thrived in the 73rd Assembly District.

    SB 131—the California Child Victims’ Act, a bill that gives crime victims the opportunity to use the civil courts to seek justice and accountability—has stalled in House Appropriations Committee.

    According to the Los Angeles Times:

    A key question for the committee is whether new lawsuits would strain an already overburdened court system. At the height of the clergy abuse scandal in 2002, the legislature signed off on a similar one-year window. Hundreds of people filed claims, many of them against the Catholic Church.

    Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point) was one of the no votes. She represents the district that is the home of St. Edward’s in Dana Point—home of some of the worst perpetrators in OC history. We wouldn’t know about the scope and scale of the crimes against her constituents were it not for for a similar, but broader, 2003 civil window bill.

    And since this was a vote in Appropriations, she should be weighing the “costs” to the court system against the millions of dollars in state-wide and district-specific social services that have already and are currently being spent to care for the victims in her district alone. Let wrong-doers pay for their crimes, not taxpayers. The costs to the courts are minimal in comparison.

    Let’s take a look at St. Edwards:

    Here are the known predators – It’s a “Who’s Who” of OC offenders.

    • John Lenihan (who, despite the arrest chronicled in this story, is a free man)
    • Denis Lyons (was finally sentenced when a younger victim came forward)
    • Gerald J. Plesetz (he got a 16-year-old Mater Dei student pregnant and signed the adoption papers in San Diego)
    • Michael Pecharich (he told parishioner there was just one “boundary violation.” We later learned that he and diocese officials were not quite telling the truth)
    • Henry Perez
    • Sigfried Widera

    Without the 2003 window, Michael Pecharich would still be in ministry, Denis Lyons would never have gone to jail, and we never would have learned the whole truth about Sigfried Widera, who was sent to OC after an arrest for “sexual perversion” in Milwaukee.

    I think that Ms. Harkey should know what has been going on in her district, don’t you? I think that the state of California would be saved a whole lot of money if wrong-doers are forced to do the right thing.

    What Can You Do?

    Fortunately, SB131 supporters have time to re-present to the committee. But in the meantime, what can YOU do?

    Write members of the House Appropriations Committee and let them know you support the bill. 

     

  • Victims like prime rib, too

    or Unfair Command Influence, Part 2: The Bully Pulpit, Exclusive Access and a Conviction

    If you had any questions as to why California’s child sex abuse victims desperately need a civil window, today’s news should close the deal.

    The Bully Pulpit

    California Catholic News published a July 31 email from Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, urging parishioners to write their representatives and tell them to vote “no” on SB 131.  In fact, the Archbishop has even put together a website to make the letter-writing process easier.

    Canon Law says that the Archbishop holds the keys to the salvation of his flock. So when he asks Catholics to write letters, he really isn’t asking … if you know what I mean.

    It’s the Bully Pulpit at its most powerful.

    One would think that Gomez, after all of the apologies he made in January, would be first in line to demand transparency and justice for victims and accountability for wrong-doers.

    Aren’t atoning for the sins of priests, etc., and making amends the cornerstone of Archbishop Gomez’ faith in action? If you are going to be a moral authority, Archbishop, shouldn’t you take the moral route?

    Unfair Access

    Today’s OC Register Magazine published “A Day in the Life” profile of Orange Bishop Kevin Vann. It was the entry for 6 p.m. that struck me:

    Coming to the mayor’s Anaheim Hills home for a home-cooked meal sets the tone for a different kind of bridge-building. Tonight Mayor Tait and his wife have prepared a prime rib dinner for the bishop and pastors from all Anaheim’s parishes.

    The article says that the focus of the conversation was the anniversary of the Anaheim riots. But with that kind of access, I’d bet good money that there was some serious influence peddling going on. The article is not online, but here is a photo of the entry in question.

    It’s too bad that Anaheim’s victims and advocates don’t get that kind of face-time with the mayor. I’m sure they would love a prime rib dinner and the opportunity to talk about sex abuse and cover up at St. Boniface, San Antonio, St. Anthony Claret, St. Justin Martyr, Servite High School, and Mater Dei High School. In fact, a letter on behalf of victims signed by the mayor of Anaheim would go a long way with lawmakers.

    Too bad that victims are never allowed that kind of access. If it looks like the deck is stacked, that’s because it is.

    Conviction

    Redding priest Fr. Uriel Ojeda was sentenced to 8 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a Woodland (CA) child. At the hearing, he told the judge, “My actions were of a weak and sinful man.”

    I wonder if the hundreds of Ojeda supporters have decided to release balloons in honor of the brave young victim. Doubtful, since many of them wore T-shirts supporting Ojeda at the sentencing.

    At the hearing, Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto issued a statement supporting the verdict and the victim:

    The courage of a young woman and her family has stopped the violence from happening to others

    Just like SB 131. Don’t them him tell you any differently.
    ******

    Note: If you’re wondering where the California bishops were this weekend, they were hanging out in Napa, listening to presentations on how to protect themselves from civil liability in sex abuse cases … presented by the Busch Law Firm. Doesn’t sound too pastoral to me.

  • Joelle and KABC Radio discuss the release of religious order documents in LA

    I had the pleasure of being a guest on KABC radio this morning, discussing secret personnel documents finally released by religious orders in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

    Click here for the audio.