The Worthy Adversary

Tag: catholic clergy sex abuse

  • Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update

    Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update

    What the heck is going on?

    If you saw the local news this week, probably saw headlines about the $3.5 million settlement that the Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a survivor of former Mater Dei Principal Michael Harris. The diocese also put out a horrible, tone-deaf, anti-survivor, unchristian statement about the survivor and the settlement, but that’s going to be the subject of a later post.

    But back to the settlement … As a result of the news, I have been getting a ton of questions. Let’s answer a few:

    Why could this survivor come forward?

    The survivor in this case came forward because of AB 218, the California Child Victims Act. It was a law that opened the civil window for survivors of child sexual abuse, allowing them to come forward and sue the person who abused them, as well as any organization that covered up the abuse.

    How many other survivors have come forward because of this law?

    There are approximately 4000 cases pending across the State of California (this number is loose, because several California dioceses have taken the coward’s route and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy). Not all of these cases are against Catholic entities—AB 218 was written so that survivors of child sexual abuse in public schools, camps, and other youth-serving organizations could use the civil courts for justice.

    According to attorneys for survivors, there are 227 child sexual abuse and cover-up cases pending in the Diocese of Orange. In October of this year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement with approximately 1300 survivors of child sexual abuse.

    How many of these cases involve Mater Dei High School?

    I wish I could give you a good answer, but there are several challenges. The primary hurdle is that for the first 20+ years of the school’s existence, it was a part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (The Diocese of Orange was formed in 1976 and Mater Dei was founded in 1950). Cases of abuse that occurred before 1976 (and yes, there was abuse and there are documents to support survivors accounts) are a part of the $880 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

    The second challenge is that while the cases are coordinated, the much of the information is under protective order. (If there are attorneys out there repping these survivors who feel comfortable sharing info with me, please do). I do know that one firm, Jeff Anderson and Associates, has eight Mater Dei cases. Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi also has a bunch (attorney John Manly is a graduate of the school), but I don’t have an exact number. I’ve also spoken to other firms who have a case or two.

    So, while I can’t give a solid number, I can say this: the number is big and it’s ugly.

    Why did this Harris case settle while others are under protective order?

    This Harris case (as well as 9 others) were chosen as “Bellwether cases.” That means that the judge asked the two sides (the church and attorneys for survivors) to get together and choose 10 cases to take to trial. All of these cases settled before going to trial (no surprise there), but during the process, survivors’ attorneys were allowed to take depositions, conduct investigations, and gather evidence. (Spoiler alert: once this starts, the diocese starts to look reeeeeeeaaaally bad).

    Because these cases resolved somewhat peacefully, the judge has ordered a new set of bellwether cases to be released for trial. Ten of those cases are for the Diocese of Orange and two are from Mater Dei.

    The Mater Dei cases include another Michael Harris case and a child sexual abuse case against former Mater Dei football/track coach Patrick Callahan.

    Another predator on the bellwether list who will be familiar to readers of this blog is All American Boys Chorus founder and director Fr. Richard Coughlin. He was sent to OC from Boston in the 1960s because he—you guessed it—abused kids. So, he came here to OC and founded a boys’ choir. Because that’s what you do …

    Later posts will discuss other perps on the new bellwether list.

    Got other questions? Intel? Let me know!

  • Gerald Funcheon is back in the news

    Crozier priest Father Jerry Funcheon, who is the subject of the first lawsuit filed under Hawaii’s civil window, is back in the news – this time because Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis church officials “forgot” to put him on a website that lists abusive clerics. Church documents show that Funcheon may have abused up to 50 boys.

    Fr. Jerry Funcheon
    Fr. Jerry Funcheon

    NBC Minneapolis affiliate KARE posted this story yesterday, which chronicles much of Funcheon’s past, including the cover up of his actions by men like Fr. Kevin McDonough, the embattled former Vicar General of the Archdiocese. McDonough has been implicated in the cover up of numerous cases of abuse in Minnesota. He is also the brother of White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.

    Funcheon was a chaplain at Honolulu’s Damien Memorial School in the early 1980s.

  • Deadline Looming for Victims of Irish Christian Brothers

    There is little time left: Victims of the Irish Christian Brothers or victims abused at Irish Christian Brothers schools only have until August 1, 2012 to come forward and get justice in the courts.

    Last year, the Irish Christian Brothers (ICB), a Catholic religious order based in New Rochelle, New York, sought bankruptcy protection after more than 50 victims in Canada and Seattle came forward about the sexual abuse at ICB schools. The bankruptcy court instituted the deadline, otherwise known as a “bar date,” for all victims of the ICB and victims at ICB-run schools to come forward to the courts.

    The Irish Christian Brothers ran and currently run schools across the United States and Canada. For a list, click here or here. Although a school may be listed as “closed,” victims from those schools still have rights. In other places, like Los Angeles’ Cantwell/Sacred Heart of Mary, the Archdiocese booted the brothers and took over the school. Victims who were abused at Cantwell (where a convicted child abuser and at least two accused child sexual predators worked) before the ICB were kicked out also have rights in the bankruptcy.

    Other schools that were dens of abuse include Damien Memorial School in Honolulu; Palma School in Salinas, CA; O’Dea and Briscoe in the Seattle area; Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx (where Christian Brothers worked); Bergen Catholic in New Jersey; and Bishop Hendricken in RI; to name a few. Others are listed here.

    The Christian Brothers harbored men like Br. Robert Brouillette, who victimized children across IL, HI, NM, AZ and WA, until he was finally arrested in an internet child sex sting. He was eventually convicted of child pornography. The ICB also hid men such as Fr. Gerald Funcheon, who abused kids nationwide. Funcheon was then sent to Damien Memorial in Honolulu where he abused again. When he was outed, he was sent to Palma in Salinas where, you guessed it: he abused at least two boys.

    One the east coast, the perpetrator shuffle was in full swing, with men like Br. Charles Borromeo Irwin, Br. Ronald Alexius Howe, Br. Jerome Heustis, Br. Thomas Cuthbert Ford, Br. John Justin O’Connor, and Br. John Walderman were transferred from school to school after physically and sexually abusing children. Walderman and Ford were both arrested – Ford hid from the law and Walderman and his bosses kept mum on his arrest and so that he could continue working in schools. You can read more about how the ICB flew under the radar of police and prosecutors for years.

    The only way we have been able to learn about many of these men has been due to the bravery of their victims. Many of of these traumatized men and women tried to come forward sooner, but because of archaic statute of limitations in many states across the country, these victims had no rights. Now, victims are empowered and can make their evidence public to warn communities about the dangers these predators pose. But only for a short time.

    On August 2, the court doors will slam shut for many of these victims.

    Click here to learn more about the bankruptcy proceedings.

     

  • Michael Harris trial is a go …

    The Michael Harris trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 18 at 9am. Barring any last-minute settlements, you’ll see me at Dept. CX103, Orange County Supreme Court.

    It should be a barn burner.  Get ready to see some diocese dirty laundry.

    Even Bishop Tod Brown concedes Harris is a monster.

    The victim is an active duty Air Force lieutenant colonel and KC-10 pilot who has flown combat mission over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East and Europe.

    So, the Diocese of Orange chooses the word of a monster over the word of an active duty war hero — a war hero with everything to lose by coming forward.

    I’m speechless.

  • Call me crazy, but priests who admit to sexually assaulting ANYONE need to find a new job …

    I mean, c’mon. Fr. Davila pled GUILTY. He wouldn’t pass the diocese background check, yet he’s in a parish:

    Bishops Robert Brom and Cirillo Flores say that they have addressed all of the pastoral concerns. Really? How about the concerns of the victim?

    ************************************

    For immediate release: Tuesday, June 12

    For more information: David Clohessy (314.566.9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Joelle Casteix (949-322.7434, jcasteix@gmail.com)

    Victims ask US bishops to censure CA colleague

    “Denounce San Diego’s recklessness,” SNAP begs

    They’re upset that a convicted priest is back in a parish

    Clergy sex abuse victims are urging America’s Catholic bishops to denounce San Diego’s top church official for restoring a priest to ministry barely a month after he pled guilty to molesting a teenage parishioner.

    In a letter sent today to the prelates, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, express concern about Fr. Jose Alexis Davila of San Diego. In April, he pled guilty to battery for groping a then-19-year-old parishioner at her home. He was given three years’ probation. A month later, San Diego Bishop Robert Brom quietly put Davila back into active parish ministry at St. Jude’s Catholic Church.

    “It’s hard to imagine a more reckless move,” said Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, Western Regional Director of SNAP. “This basically sends the message that you can assault teenagers and go unpunished.”

    According to a press release last week from the Diocese of San Diego, officials there “have no reason to believe that women or children are at a risk because of [Davila’s] return to ministry.”

    Leaders of SNAP argue instead that his conviction shows that Davila is still a threat. They also believe that the decision to put Davila back into a parish so soon after being convicted of a sex crime flies in the face of the bishops’ sex abuse policy, and are hoping that other members of the church hierarchy will recognize the problem and work to fix it.

    “A decade ago, America’s bishops pledged to ‘correct’ each other when clergy sex cases were mishandled,” said Barbara Dorris, SNAP Outreach Director. “That’s what we want to see here. If wrongdoing is ignored, wrongdoing is encouraged. So we’re hoping that – formally or informally – at least a few bishops will be brave enough to publicly say ‘The San Diego Catholic hierarchy is acting irresponsibly.’”

    America’s bishops hold their semi-annual meeting this week. They are scheduled to discuss their ten-year old national abuse policy. SNAP wants that policy “radically revamped” to include penalties for “church officials who “ignore, hid and enable child sex crimes.”

    (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

    Contact – David Clohessy (314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688, 314-503-0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com), Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com)