The Worthy Adversary

Category: Clergy Abuse Crisis

  • Where are the congressional hearings about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia?

    The Penn State scandal has really upset me. Actually, it’s upset me far more than I would like to admit.

    I’ll begin with what upset me the most—besides the obvious horrific and stomach-turning sex abuse and cover-up, and the fact that the man who admitted to abusing me and another girl still has his job at Adrian College (Please note that the following are MY views, and not the views of SNAP or any of the other wonderful organizations of which I am a part):

    • In response to Penn State’s inaction and possible cover-up of the Sandusky matter, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D- Scranton) and Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) called for hearings in the Senate and the House regarding sex abuse and cover-up at the university. Other politicians may have also asked for hearings on both Penn State and the Citadel, but I stopped keeping track.

    Why does this upset me?

    Hundreds of children were possibly abused across the state, yet not one politician called for congressional hearings. Are the church’s victims less important than Penn State’s?

    What about the victims in:

    Where are the politicians? Why aren’t they calling for congressional hearings? I think that child sex abuse is a tad more important than steroid usage in professional baseball, and those hearings were endless.

    President Obama even weighed in on the Penn State scandal. He told ESPN that our “first priority is protecting our kids.” If that is the case, then why didn’t he say anything when he met with the Pope? Or Cardinal Francis George? Why hasn’t he met with victims? He met with flood victims, water boarding victims, and survivors of a hotel bombing in India. Yet, not once has a president or any other national politician publicly asked for a meeting with survivors of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal.

    I wonder why Missouri congressional leaders aren’t calling for a hearing about the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. If an organization in my district—an organization that cares for thousands of children and takes taxpayer dollars to fund services—was indicted for covering up child pornography and abuse just a few years after paying a huge financial settlement to victims and making a public promise to protect kids, I would be calling for national scrutiny. In fact, diocese lawyers are contending that child pornography may be covered under First Amendment protections. Yeah, really.

    For years, I have been hearing complaints from Catholic apologists who claim that the sex abuse scandal in the church is an over-blown creation of the media. I contend that it is the exact opposite: it is a catastrophe that is eating our children and destroying communities. Yet on the national stage, our politicians are simply too scared to do the right thing, confront the men in pointy hats, and protect the children in their districts. And I am really angry about it.

    Despite my anger and frustration, I do hope that there are congressional hearings about abuse and cover-up at Penn State and the Citadel. Those children deserve justice. They endured horrible pain, but because of their courage, they are heroes and have become voices for the silent. Perhaps they are paving the way for the clergy sex abuse victims. For that, I am grateful.

     

     

     

  • My latest post in Ms Magazine

    About the Penn State abuse crisis and the stunning parallels to the Catholic Church

  • The Thomas Hodgman Abuse and Cover-up Documents

    Penn State does not have a monopoly on sex abuse cover-up. Adrian College officials have known that Thomas Hodgman was an admitted predator since 2003, yet, they support him and have allowed him to keep his job. They have not warned parents, students or the general community of the risk.

    As a result of my 2005 settlement with the Diocese of Orange, the documents regarding my abuse at Mater Dei High School were subject to public release. Thomas Hodgman fought the release of the documents and filed legal paperwork to keep them sealed, even though he claimed that my allegations were “bogus.”

    Because of an fortuitous accident on the part of a law clerk, the Orange County Register got a copy of Hodgman’s file and refused to give it back. I am eternally in their debt.

    Following are the important parts of the previously secret Thomas Hodgman personnel file. Adrian College officials have known about these documents since 2005, yet have allowed Hodgman to keep his job.

    Click here for the two signed confession documents.

    Here’s a brief explanation

    Page one:

    Thomas Hodgman admits to “dating” Joelle Casteix

    Page two:

    Thomas Hodgman admits to Mater Dei Principal Fr. John Weling that he not only molested Joelle Casteix, but also molested at least one other student. The principal makes him “swear to never make this terrible mistake again.”

    Click here for the Hodgman Cover-up Documents

    Here’s explanation of what you will see:

    Document 1 –  page 1 of the .pdf file

    Mater Dei Administrator Lu Dominguez acknowledges that she had known of abusive relationship between Thomas Hodgman and Joelle Casteix for at least a year before any report to the school. The administrator also never reported to the police.

    Document 2 – pages 2 and 3 of the .pdf file

    Weling writes a letter to the superintendent of Catholic schools about Thomas Hodgman and another incident at the school. Although Casteix was a straight-A student, the daughter of a prominent alum, and the lead in the senior musical, she was portrayed as a kid with emotional problems – and was blamed for the abuse. Although Weling states that he informed the child abuse registry, Casteix alleges that she was never contacted. The principal’s cavalier attitude is obvious in the first sentence of the second page of the letter.

    Document 3 – Page 4 of the .pdf file

    Thomas Hodgman’s resignation letter. Although he has admitted to molesting at least two students, his resignation letter is a self-congratulatory tribute to his own work. There is no mention of his admitted crimes. The letter is dated almost two weeks after his signed confession.

    Document 4 – page 5 of the pdf file

    Thomas Hodgman is allowed to write his own speaking points to be delivered to students regarding his resignation. No one in the administration makes a mention of his admitted crimes and the police were never notified].

    Document 5 – page 6 of the .pdf file

    Rev. John B. Weling announces Hodgman’s resignation and writes a glowing letter to the faculty about Hodgman’s tenure at the school. The announcement is made more than two weeks after the confession is signed.

     

     

  • Four Myths About SNAP’s ICC Complaint

    In September, victims of sexual abuse “upped the ante,” making a serious move to expose and prevent clergy sex crimes and cover-ups at the global level.

    How? SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (of which I am a member), filed a more than 80-page complaint (with 20,000 pages of documentation) with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The goal? Prevent future sexual violence and to hold Vatican officials responsible for the rape of hundreds of thousands of children by Catholic clerics.

    Many applauded. But it didn’t take long before our actions were trashed by critics, who have tossed around four principal objections that lack factual basis.

    Here are four myths about SNAP’s ICC complaint:

    • The crimes are best brought before local courts. Sadly, that’s impossible and cannot achieve our goal. Too many victims are mired in shame and self-blame; too many predator priests are cunning and powerful; too few police have the resources to act; and too few prosecutors have the will or power to act effectively. There are many local prosecutors who have done tremendous work for victims, but they simply do not have the jurisdiction to hold every responsible party accountable for their crimes.
    • Many of the clergy crimes happened before the ICC was created in 2002. That’s true, but that does not mean that the crimes have stopped. Victims’ accounts, grand jury reports, legal documents, history, psychology and common sense convince us that hundreds of priests, bishops, nuns, seminarians and other church workers are sexually assaulting innocent kids and vulnerable adults right now. An ICC investigation, we are convinced, would document these on-going crimes (much like US grand jury probes and Irish government inquires have done with other recent clerical wrongdoing.).  California alone has shown us that the crimes and the cover-up have continued to this day, despite church “reforms.”
    • The church is “decentralized” so the abuse and cover up aren’t really orchestrated by the Vatican. That claim contradicts the obvious, military-like, top-down church structure as well as centuries of church practice. To cite some examples: the Vatican swiftly punishes and excommunicates theologians who deviate from official church teaching or priests who advocate for women’s ordination. Priests and bishops take vows to obey and protect the mother church.  Certain papal edicts are considered infallible. The pope and bishops have the theological right to deny “wrongdoers” access to the sacraments, and therefore, heaven. Only the Vatican can appoint bishops, allow bishops to retire, defrock priests, and approve major financial decisions in dioceses worldwide. The Code of Canon Law is the centralized legal system of the faith that (many in the church believe) trumps civil law. If that’s not centralized power, I don’t know what is.
    • The ICC only deals with overt, brutal killings by rogues during wars. But that’s simply not true. It’s designed to address violence that is “widespread” and “systematic.” Its jurisdiction covers open slaughter by public officials and hidden violence by private employees. It covers those who explicitly order underlings — or quietly but consistently enable them — to rape and torture the powerless. The court can’t pursue only politically safe and unpopular dictators, while ignoring more popular rulers when both contribute to and cause massive suffering.

    Historical, systemic and ground-breaking change can only happen through bold and brave measures. People like Martin Luther, Rosa Parks and the students in Tiananmen Square defied convention, risked their lives and stood up for justice. Our move is not as bold or as risky as theirs, but our drive to protect children and seek justice is just as strong. We don’t see to destroy the Catholic faith – in fact, many of our members are faithful Catholics who are just as disgusted as we are with the abuse and cover-up. Our beef is with the men and women who have twisted the Catholic faith to allow our most precious resource — our children — to be led like lambs to slaughter. I think that even Jesus would be hard pressed to find anything wrong with that.

     

  • The California Clergy Sex Abuse Powder Keg, Part 2

    California is inundated with civil and criminal clergy sex abuse cases. I realized it was time for an update:

    Inland Empire

    Last week in Ontario, Fr. Alex Castillo was sentenced to a year in jail for lewd acts on a child. Although he was only prosecuted for his crimes against one victim, the sentencing report outlined the allegations of four other children (including the brother of the victim in the criminal case) who said that Castillo molested them.

    The boy’s parents – as well as the other Castillo victims – were able to give victim impact statements at the sentencing. The scary part? In the sentencing report, Castillo’s probation officer says that the cleric has no understanding of the severity of his crimes.

    Orange County

    In Orange County, the civil trial against Gus Krumm, Alexander Manville and the Franciscans of Santa Barbara is scheduled to start later this week. The Diocese of Orange settled their part of the case in July for $200K (possibly to clean up matters for diocese’s $53 million offer for the Crystal Cathedral). Considering that Krumm was at Saints Simon and Jude Parish for five years after the Franciscans put him on restricted ministry (but didn’t tell anyone), I believe that this trial will expose a whole lot of ugly cover-up.

    Orange County may also have the rare honor of hosting simultaneous criminal and civil clergy sex abuse trials. Former cleric Denis Lyons, who was arrested in 2009 on four felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, should be sitting in the defendant’s chair within the next couple of weeks. Lyons is no stranger to trouble: he was arrested in 2003 for sex abuse (the charges were dropped as a result of the Stogner Decision). According to Bishop-Accountability.org, the Diocese of Orange has paid out at least $4 million in settlements to Lyons’ victims.

    Los Angeles

    In LA, the state of California is trying to classify former priest Michael Baker as a sexually violent predator. If they succeed, Baker, one of Los Angeles’ most prolific predator priests, can be incarcerated in a state hospital indefinitely. Additional civil cases against Baker are pending.

    A civil case against former Los Angeles (via Italy and Columbia) priest Fernando Lopez-Lopez is heating up. A scathing investigation by Dan Rather Reports, All is Not Forgiven (scroll down to “Featured Stories”), showed that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles does no background checks on its priests. So, even though Lopez-Lopez had been convicted in Italy of sexual violence on a child, the only job reference that LA Archdiocese officials needed was a nice letter from Lopez-Lopez’s bishop (who, of course, knew about the conviction, but didn’t say anything).

    LA Archdiocese officials had a chance to redeem themselves. But they didn’t. Even after church officials in Los Angeles learned about Lopez-Lopez’s past, they sat on the information for six months while Lopez-Lopez continued to abuse. Lopez-Lopez was deported to his home country of Columbia Colombia in 2008. He is reportedly still there.

    Monterey

    In the Diocese of Monterey, a new case has been filed against the diocese and William Allison, a priest who worked in the diocese in the 1960s and ’70s. Allison, who is deceased, was no stranger to trouble. The Diocese of Monterey, however, is playing coy. A diocese spokesman claimed that “it’s difficult” to find, investigate and search old clergy files, but a simple internet search will show that: 1) the Diocese of Fresno had no problem releasing Allison’s file as a part of a sex abuse civil case there, 2) There is an extensive amount of press on Allison’s time in New Mexico, and 3) The church’s own rules (Canon Law 489) require every diocese to keep permanent files on every abusive cleric, and that those files be ANNUALLY review by the bishop. But this is only the beginning of Monterey’s problems.

    Monterey is also the home of accused cleric Edward Fitz-Henry, who has been sued for child sexual abuse by one boy (and accused by at least two). The Fitz-Henry case is disturbing on many levels. After the latest victim came forward, we discovered that there was at least one other accusation of abuse that was deemed “credible,” Fitz-Henry has spent time at a church-run facility that treats child-molesting clerics, and a visiting priest was removed for not reporting the victim’s allegations. Despite all of this, some parishioners at Fitz-Henry’s parish put up a disturbing website that maligns the victim and alienates whistleblowers. Yuck. Fortunately, a police investigation is continuing.

    Bay Area – Fresno

    The newest member of the California Clergy Sex Abuse Powder Keg is Fr. Don Flickinger. Flickinger worked in the Dioceses of Fresno and San Jose and the Archdiocese of San Francisco during his 40-year career as a priest. The sex abuse lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, cites more than 15 witnesses who corroborate claims of Flickinger’s predatory behavior (including pulling freshman boys out of class and asking them about masturbation). When the lawsuit was filed, Flickinger was exposed living at an Archdiocese of San Francisco parish with a school. According to press reports, Flickinger is back in Fresno. Oddly, the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of San Jose have put out statements denying all responsibility for Flickinger (note, Flickinger was listed in the 2011 Official Catholic Directory at St. Paul’s Parish in San Francisco and was listed on the website until the lawsuit was filed).

    I am sure there are cases that I have overlooked. But I am always open to a Part 3.