Four more boys accuse farmer of abuse Predator adopted and fostered boys in CA and HI Five of his “sons” now say that he molested them Victims beg social services, public for help and information Group runs ad begging “If you saw, suspected or suffered abuse, speak up” What: Holding photos of themselves at the…Continue reading Jay Ram accused of abuse by four more “sons”
I am devastated. Read his veto statement here. Sorry the link was broken before. I am out of town for a wedding, and blogging via smartphone isn’t very … well, smart.
As of this writing, there is no new new news on SB 131. California Governor Jerry Brown has until Sunday to sign the bill, veto it, or do nothing. If he signs the bill or does nothing, SB 131 will become law on January 1, 2014 Let’s keep our fingers crossed for victims—all victims. Why? Because…Continue reading T-minus 2 for SB 131
California Governor Jerry Brown has until Sunday, October 13 to sign or veto SB 131, The California Child Victims’ Act. If he does nothing, the bill will be enacted as written. In the meantime, victims wait. Here is why the bill’s opponents are scared: Minnesota enacted a THREE-YEAR civil window earlier this year and the revelations…Continue reading Jerry Brown should look to MN to see import of Child Victims Act
Here is the latest on SB 131: Governor Brown has until October 13 (a previous blog post said October 10) to sign the bill, veto the bill, or do nothing. If he signs the bill or does nothing, SB 131 becomes law. As written, the law would go into effect on January 1, 2014. If…Continue reading So … what’s going on with SB 131?
Your Holiness: I was a nobody. A lost sheep – a victim of sex abuse in the Catholic church who was “thrown away” by the priests and bureaucrats in the Diocese of Orange, California. I was disposable. But unlike the parable, no shepherd came to look to me. Alone and isolated from my community, my…Continue reading An Open Letter to Pope Francis
It’s Thursday night and you are probably thinking, “I’m watching Thursday Night Football. There is nothing possible I can do to help convince California Governor Jerry Brown to sign SB 131, the California Child Victims’ Act.” Fortunately, you are WRONG! You can help RIGHT NOW. And we need you. Here is what you can do:…Continue reading SB 131 Needs Your Voice NOW!
**Update – Thursday, September 19** I just heard that Gallup Bishop James Wall and priest Fr. Alfred Tachias DID sit for depositions with victims’ attorneys yesterday. Hopefully, Wall broke with tradition and was open and forthright, turning over files, naming names and outing abusers. (A girl can dream, right?) The “explosive news” potential for Fr.…Continue reading **Gallup, New Mexico Update** Bishop James Wall sits for Deposition with victims’ attorneys** A Tuesday Round-up
Msgr. John Urell is back in the headlines again, this time featured in the latest document dump by religious orders in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. From Gustavo Arellano at the OC Weekly: At the end of the 121-page report is the memo, detailing a conversation that a Vicentian Fathers and Brothers investigator had with Urell…Continue reading John Urell and the ol’ “Forgiveness vs. Accountability” argument
Senate Bill 131 – The California Child Victims’ Act – just passed an Assembly floor vote, 42-14. The bill give victims of child sexual abuse a one-year window to come forward and use the civil court system to get justice and accountability. It is also a huge step forward for ALL victims of abuse—the more…Continue reading California Child Victims’ Act Passes Assembly Floor Vote
In response to the announcement today that the Gallup Diocese would be seeking bankruptcy protection, Patrick Wall (no relation to Gallup Bishop James Wall) put together this list of 24 Gallup clerics who are probably making Bishop James Wall and his lawyers very, very scared. Even without a ton of detail, the list is gag-inducing. It’s…Continue reading Gallup’s Double Dirty Dozen
Over the weekend, we learned that Damien Memorial School officials lied on a grant application that resulted in a $1.5 million award to the school from the State of Hawaii for “capital improvements.” Here is a quick recap: School officials conveniently “forgot” to mention that at the time the application was filed in January, the…Continue reading What did Damien’s board of directors know?
Citing mounting child sex abuse civil cases, the Diocese of Gallup announced over the weekend that it will be filing bankruptcy. And it’s not going to be pretty. Don’t know much about Gallup? Here’s a primer on the sex abuse and cover-up crisis in the Southwest diocese. The Diocese of Gallup “includes parishes in six…Continue reading A Gallup Primer
Here’s a simple question: If you have a phone and know about evidence of child sex crimes, you call police, right? Doesn’t sound hard does it? Well, unless you’re one of Missouri’s two most influential Catholic bishops … Example one: “Just Say No to Reporting” Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn In 2010, a Catholic school principal…Continue reading Jesus would fire them
SB 131 – The California Child Victims’ Act – is scheduled for a floor vote in the Assembly soon. And the Archdiocese of LA is pulling out all of the stops. The Archdiocese, in its attempt to defeat the bill, has created a website that allows ordinary folks to send mass emails to legislators. They hope…Continue reading As SB131 heads to Assembly floor, LA Archdiocese spins and presses
Jesus has left the building. I have always thought that the Diocese of Orange’s purchase of the former Crystal Cathedral was a good business decision, but a horrible pastoral one. And the bad pastoral decisions keep coming. But first, a little background: No one except former Bishop Tod Brown wanted a new cathedral. There was…Continue reading Final score: Business 2, Jesus 0
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…Continue reading Second UN Committee Scrutinizes Vatican
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…Continue reading When your district is rife with crime, hold bad guys responsible
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,…Continue reading Victims like prime rib, too
In 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her Montgomery, Alabama bus seat to a white man. But on that day, she did not stand up and shout, “If ALL African Americans can’t have complete and equal rights and access, then NO ONE should get anything!” Why? Because civil rights movements are…Continue reading What if Rosa didn’t take a stand?