As I’ve said all along, it’s about the COVER-UP. Fortunately for victims, it’s a lot harder to keep secrets on the internet. Had these men not used digital media, they may never have been exposed.
How many more millions in payouts and hundreds of victims will it take before the Vatican realizes that Cardinal Mahony must be punished?
These four brave men fought long and hard to get justice for the abuse they suffered at the hands of former priest Michael Baker. The tragedy of this situation is that if Cardinal Mahony had called the police when he first learned of Baker’s crimes, these men and many others could have been spared the shame and lifelong pain of childhood sexual abuse.
Cardinal Mahony called Baker his greatest “mistake.” However, we have learned that the Baker case is only one of a long list of child sex abuse cover-ups in the Archdiocese. Mahony’s inaction in the Baker case is nothing less than criminal. He had many years to report Baker’s crimes, but instead, it is only because of brave victims that any sense of justice has been achieved.
Although Baker has served time for his crimes, we fear that there are many more victims in Los Angeles and elsewhere who are suffering. Baker remained in ministry for 14 years after he self-disclosed his actions to Mahony. How many children were placed in harm’s way because Cardinal Mahony was too busy or too lazy to call the police?
We can only hope that Cardinal Mahony does not vote for a pope who protects Mahony’s interests and the interests of men like Michael Baker. We also hope that Archbishop Gomez turns over the remainder of the promised sex abuse and cover-up files that outline the scope and scale of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Current priest, Diocese of Honolulu accused of child sex crimes
Two ex-Damien students expose him in abuse lawsuit
Bishop Silva has known about allegations since last August
Despite ‘zero tolerance,” bishop refuses to remove predator
Bishop Silva must oust priest, warn parishioners, group says
Predator is “ticking time bomb” for abuse, they claim
What:
Holding signs and/or photos of themselves when they were abused, child sex abuse victims and their supporters will announce that a long-time Catholic priest and the Diocese of Honolulu have been named in a sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit. The lawsuit says that Fr. George DeCosta:
Sexually abused two boys while at Damien Memorial School, and
Continues to live and act as a priest on the Big Island.
They will also ask Honolulu Bishop Clarence Silva to:
Explain why DeCosta still lives and acts as a priest,
Tell why he has covered up accusations against DeCosta,
Obey directives from US Cardinals demanding “zero tolerance,”
Immediately remove DeCosta’s priestly faculties, and
Personally visit every parish, school and facility where he worked and reach out to others he may have hurt.
Where: Outside of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, 1184 Bishop Street in Honolulu
When:Wednesday, March 6 at 11:30 am
Who: Members and supporters of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the nation’s largest support group for men and women sexually abused as children in religious and institutional organizations, including a California woman who is the group’s Western Regional Director
Why: Last week, two Oahu men filed a child sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit against a Big Island priest and the Diocese of Honolulu.
Allegations against Fr. George DeCosta first became known in August, when the two victims filed legal claims in the Irish Christian Brothers bankruptcy. The Irish Christian Brothers is the religious organization that owns Damien Memorial School. They declared bankruptcy in 2011 when more than 250 victims of child sex abuse came forward and demanded justice. Ten predators have been exposed at Damien thus far.
Fr. DeCosta is the pastor of the Hale Lokahi community in Hilo. Until recently, he worked with Music Ministry Alive, a MN-based group that trains young people to be liturgical music leaders. He is also the founder of the Big Island Learning and Arts Community (BILAC).
According to the lawsuits, both victims were young students at Damien in the late 1960s, when DeCosta worked as a religion teacher and director of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) at the school. One of the victims charges that DeCosta sexually molested him at an Oahu CYO camp.
At the time of the alleged abuse, DeCosta was also assigned to St. Theresa’s parish in Honolulu, a parish with a school.
In 1973, DeCosta was transferred to St. Mary Gate of Heaven—now Malia Puka’O Kalani—Parish in Hilo. He stayed there until 2002, when Honolulu Bishop Francis DiLorenzo mysteriously forced him to retire at age 65. That was the year that the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis attracted national headlines. Bishops pledged then to be “open” about child sex cases and oust predators from ministry.
SNAP believes that there may be more victims in Hilo and Honolulu and that church officials must do more to reach out to survivors. They want Honolulu Bishop Clarence Silva to adhere to his promises of safety and transparency and forbid DeCosta from acting as a priest. They also want him to explain why nothing was done to remove Fr. DeCosta when allegations first arose.
The victims asked SNAP to speak out on their behalf, to make sure that what happened to them does not happen to other children.
Given all of the storms that have surrounded me and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recently, God’s grace finally helped me to understand: I am not being called to serve Jesus in humility. Rather, I am being called to something deeper–to be humiliated, disgraced, and rebuffed by many.
Then, he has the arrogance to say:
In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. In recent days, I have been confronted in various places by very unhappy people. I could understand the depth of their anger and outrage–at me, at the Church, at about injustices that swirl around us.
Thanks to God’s special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them. [emphasis mine]
Mahony is a man with no soul.
Instead of seeking atonement and making amends, Mahony prances to Rome and asks God to forgive “the little people” who dare be angry on behalf of the hundreds of children he personally allowed to be raped.
He says he now has a sense of “inner peace.” That’s the biggest tragedy of all.
