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You asked. I answered. The PODCAST is finally here. Join me at the SpotTheLine table of experts as we talk about Andrew Cuomo, the fascinating history of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and abuse and assault prevention.
Two episodes and a preview are up, everywhere you get your podcasts.
Eleven priests who have not appeared on any lists of accused clerics—either court documents, diocese lists, or press reports—have been named as alleged predators in new lawsuits filed against the Catholic Archdiocese of New York this week.
The 11 were named in a press release today, which also announced 59 new lawsuits.
The priests publicly accused for the first time are:
Father Gerald Boyle, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1969 to 1970 at St. John’s in Goshen, NY
Father Francis Doersam, accused of sexually abusing a minor in approximately 1964 at St. Joseph’s in New York, NY
Father Joseph Faraone, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1973 to 1976 at St. Francis of Assisi in Mount Kisco, NY
Father Robert E. Gallagher, accused of sexually abusing a minor in approximately 1967 at Sacred Heart of Jesus in New York, NY
Father Tilak Jayawardene, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1983 to 1986 at Our Lady of Solace in Bronx, NY
Father James Kenny, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1970 to 1971 at St. Michael’s Home in Staten Island, NY
Father John Larkin, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1977 to 1979 at Sacred Heart in Mount Vernon, NY
Father George W. Moore, accused of sexually abusing a minor in approximately 1959, while at St. Mary in Wappinger Falls, NY
Father Peter Raich, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1980 to 1985 at St. Francis de Sales in New York, NY
Father Alfonso Solimene, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1969-1971 at St. Joan of Arc in Bronx, NY
Father Robert Trainor, accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1970 to 1972 at St. Rose of Lima in New York, NY
Cardinal Dolan and the Archdiocese of New York have used their Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Plan (IRCP) since 2017/18 to compensate victims of child sexual abuse by diocesan priests.
We do not know if any of the men listed above were named by survivors in their IRCP claims.
Why?
It shouldn’t be that way. The church should be and do better. But then, why should we expect anything different?
If anyone has information about lawsuits, IRCP settlements, or accused clerics in NY, feel free to contact me here.
Bishop Matano (pictured above) is making this all about the Benjamins. He wants to elicit sympathy from parishioners, make the public think that Child Victims Act will “pull money from soup kitchens,” and scare survivors into silence by portraying them as the bad guys.
But remember: When survivors come forward, it has nothing to do with money. And the crime is NEVER the fault of the child.
The Diocese of Rochester let kids be sexually abused and raped for decades and then covered up the abuse and forced survivors into silence. These lawsuits are about exposing abusers, punishing wrongdoers, and keeping kids safe.
Survivors want truth in civil trials. Bishop Matano declared bankruptcy to make sure that never happens.
Bishop Salvatore Matano shut the courthouse doors for victims, stopped the ugly and embarrassing (for him) civil suits, and is now trying to shift the blame back onto survivors by pitting them against the Diocese of Rochester’s “ministries to the Catholic faithful.”
Don’t be fooled.
According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, there are 59 civil suits pending against the diocese, which spans 12 counties.
But this number is misleading.
A closer look at the complaints shows that there are approximately 100 (yes, one hundred) victims who have come forward to say they were abused in the Diocese of Rochester. A number of the lawsuits filed are what I call “rodeo complaints,” that is, a single complaint lists numerous perpetrators and numerous victims.
We are only one month into the 12-month window, so we can expect the number of cases to triple, at least.
Imagine a car going 100 miles per hour on the inside lane of a four lane highway. There is an exit .00001 miles ahead that says: “Bankruptcy, exit here.”
The car doesn’t *quite* come to a screeching halt, but it makes one, hairy, life-altering swerve that no one in the passenger seats will ever forget. Will the car still get to the final destination? Yes. The route will just be a little different.
The civil proceedings will move over to the federal bankruptcy courts. Further civil action on current cases will stop and instead be determined by the federal courts and new procedural policies will be put in place for new cases filed.
I am not a mind reader, but I would not be surprised if other New York dioceses are watching things in Rochester very closely.
I get SO MANY emails asking for help in this arena. Start here. You can always email me for suggestions and guidance, too.
And no “helpful hints” on video production, please. I can’t take any more. My 13-year-old son is already overloading me how much improvement I need. Ugh. I told him that my videos improve exponentially every time he unloads the dishwasher.
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the child sex abuse survivors’ movement. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the news and the emotions involved (Heck, even I’m overwhelmed).
After years of little action, it seems as if survivors and advocates have been thrown into a hurricane of news, reaction and emotion—lots and lots of emotion.
First: Take a breath. You are going to be okay. Don’t panic or feel like you have to jump on the bandwagon. This is your decision and your journey.
Hopefully, this post and the posts that follow can be of some help. During the next few days, I plan on addressing some of the big issues here.
In future posts, I will talk about the recent Papal conference on child sexual abuse, the powerful roles survivors and advocates played in Rome, future SOL reform actions, and the recent “outbreak” of dioceses’ lists of accused priests (and why you may not see so many of them anymore).
So let’s dive in and talk about about the NY Child Victims’ Act.
After more than a decade of battles and brave advocacy by generations of survivors, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the NY Child Victims’ Act into law on Valentine’s Day.
The law does a variety of things, but for the purposes of this blog, we are going to talk about the retroactive window, which allows victims of child sexual abuse to use the civil courts to expose their abuser and the institution that protected the abuser and facilitated the sexual assault.
The window opens on August 14, 2019, and closes on August 14, 2020. Attorneys have until August 14, 2020 to file cases. My suggestion is that survivors interested in taking advantage of the law should make a decision by May 2020. No one wants to or should be rushed.
No. Because you are the alleged victim of a crime, you can file the lawsuit as a John or Jane Doe. No one needs to know your identity or know that you are filing the suit. The only people who will know are you, your attorney, and the entity/ies you are suing. They cannot make your name public.
Do your research. It’s not very difficult. Here are some easy steps:
Other advice:
You should still talk to an attorney. You may have rights. You can also act as a witness for other survivors. You provided a great deal of information to the church. Now you have the opportunity to help others and yourself with that same information.
You bet they do. But always do your due diligence and research.
No one knows for sure. The window for victims will close on August 14, 2020, but that is only the beginning of the journey. After that, the legal process could take months to years. Fortunately, the process, while tedious, is where we can learn about a great deal of institutional cover-up.
Yes. Even if you are far along in your healing, the legal process may take you places you have not been in years. I saw a therapist through my litigation. Fighting the status quo is hard. You need a support system.
The journey will be rough, but it’s an amazing healing journey that will save children’s lives. Many of the best and most experienced attorneys will not take a case unless the survivor agrees to go through rehab or engage in therapy. This is for your benefit and healing. If you can’t afford it, your attorney will help you figure out how to get the help you need without incurring debt or costs.
The NY Child Victims’ Act is an amazing opportunity for survivors in New York. So as you embark on this journey, think about this question: