The Worthy Adversary

Tag: archdiocese of philadelphia

A Week of Arrests, Investigations and Shameful Responses

This week, three prominent priests have been arrested and/or investigated for sexual abuse:

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles:

Father Luis Jose Cuevas, 67, a pastor of St. Athanasius Church on Linden Avenue, faces eight misdemeanor charges of sexual assault and one felony count involving lewd acts with a child, according to a complaint filed by the L.A. County district attorney’s office. Superior Court Judge James Otto set his bail at $260,000.

and

Santa Monica Police are investigating allegations that Father Rafael Venegas, pastor of St. Anne’s Parish, assaulted an adult woman in the church parking lot last September.

The response from Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez? Nothing. No words of solace for the alleged victims. No words of comfort for confused and scared Catholics. He sent his spokesman instead.

In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia:

Andrew McCormick, 56, has been charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corrupting the morals of a minor, indecent assault and indecent exposure in connection with an alleged 1997 incident, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced Tuesday.

McCormick was one of the 21 priests placed on leave after the 2011 Philadelphia Grand Jury investigation of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is estimated there are more victims.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, who has no problem speaking out for “religious freedom,” is silent when it comes to the pain and suffering the children in his Archdiocese.

Both archbishops should be ashamed of their lack of pastoral leadership in such a painful time for their flock.

You can see the full list of Philadelphia accused priests here or here. Los Angeles’ list can be viewed here or here.

July 28, 2012
Vatican Bank Scandal got you confused? Not any more …

Interested in figuring out the Vatican Bank Scandal? Jason Berry’s Render Unto Rome is available for the Kindle. If you prefer, here is the Old School hardback.

Don’t forget: the Pope’s butler has been criminally charged in the Vatican court for leaking documents. Who knows what he knows?

May 26, 2012
Disconnect, Pt 2: Subpoenas are for the little people

Earlier this year in Kansas City, SNAP’s David Clohessy was ordered to give a six-hour deposition in a child sex abuse lawsuit. Neither SNAP nor David himself were a party or even knew the victim. Critics piled on Clohessy, calling him evasive and a con-artist. In the end, the deposition has nothing to do with the lawsuit. It was instead a legal maneuver on behalf of a group of bishops to bankrupt SNAP through legal fees.

This week in Stockton, California, former Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony was called to testify in court in the case of Father Michael Kelly, a priest that a civil jury found had molested a boy in the 1980s. Mahony decided to go to Rome instead. Lawyers are pushing for the judge to cite Manhony with contempt.

And legal fees? No worries: the Diocese of Stockton and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are always more than happy to pick up his legal fees. Collection baskets from poor parishes in vulnerable communities never seem to fail. Besides, what does Mahony care that he is costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in unnecessary court costs?

So who’s the con artist now?

Read Disconnect Part I here

April 19, 2012
BREAKING: KC/St. Joseph Bishop will stand trial for child endangerment

Bishop Robert Finn will be the highest ranking official tried in the criminal courts for covering up/failure to report child sex abuse.

April 5, 2012
Honoring the tragically flawed is tragically flawed
Why, oh why, does the Catholic Church continue to bestow honors and awards on tragically flawed wrong-doers?

Disgraced Former Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali

Trial watchers in Philadelphia have been treated to a firsthand view of vile and disgusting human behavior. What makes it worse is that the evildoers are priests and the victims are children. The lede from the Philadephia Inquirer’s Sunday story on the trial is enough to make even the hard-hearted ill:

Stalking. Groping. Gay bondage porn.

A sexually graphic love letter to a grade-school boy.

That they emerged in testimony about priests – and at times, from priests – only amplified the uneasiness.

One would think that the big boss who allowed this activity to continue and flourish would be castigated and forced to live a life of penance and contrition. Not so much.

Disgraced Philly Cardinal Justin Rigali—who retired last year after the Philadelphia Grand Jury exposed the fact that he was keeping more than two dozen accused priests in ministry in 2011—has been honored by the Pope as a special envoy and this week will be a special Mass celebrant at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

So, while Philly jurors hear about how Rigali kept 37 accused predators from ministry, sat idly by as children were abused and accusers came forward, deceived his review board, and oversaw an organization that employed five men who were criminally indicted in 2011 for sex abuse and/or cover-up, Rigali will be the special guest of honor in one of the most famous landmark Catholic Churches in the United States.

Ummm … hello?

In 2004, LA Times writer William Lobdell (full disclosure: Bill is good friend and former business partner) wrote a great story about how child molesting clerics have been honored by Catholic officials, groups and communities that refuse to comprehend the horror of sexual abuse, can’t believe that “such a nice priest” could hurt kids, or simply don’t care:

When congregants at a parish in Rancho Santa Margarita in southern Orange County were told in 2002 that their longtime pastor [Fr. Michael Pecharich] had admitted to molesting a boy three decades earlier, the first reaction by some was to name the parish hall after him. The idea was quickly dropped. Three more alleged victims have come forward since then.

Fast forward to 2012, and little has changed:
- In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a wing of a children’s home is named after Bishop Joseph Hart (a native of Kansas City, a diocese embroiled in its own criminal sex abuse and cover-up scandal) who is accused in civil lawsuits of molesting at least three boys.
- In Missouri, there’s a city park on the edge of the St. Louis University campus named after Fr. Maurice Nutt. He resigned his position on the Police Board after being accused of sexually harassing two police officers.
- Last month in Louisville, Kentucky, the Louisville Catholic Education Foundation honored Owensboro Bishop William Medley, who was personally involved in reassigning at least six predator priests, ignoring the pleas of victims and therapists, and not reporting to the police.
Honors and awards are for people who do nice things. Honoring predators and enablers (who have never accounted for their crimes, atoned, made penance or attempted to right their wrongs) is little more than salt in victims’ wounds. I don’t think Jesus would approve.
April 2, 2012