The Worthy Adversary

Tag: 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!

  • LA clergy sex abuse files to be made public by end of year, judge says

    Today, LA judge Emilie Elias gave the Archdiocese of Los Angeles a concrete schedule for the public release of thousands of pages of sex abuse and cover-up documents. If all goes according to plan, the redacted files on perpetrator priests will be made public by the end of the year.

    The documents were a part of the 2007, $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of child sexual abuse. More than 200 predator clerics were named as abusers. Lawyers for the Archdiocese and accused priests have spent the past five years (and who knows how much money at $600/hr) to keep the files secret.

    Bad days in store for Cardinal Mahony

    In other dioceses (like Orange and Wilmington, DE, to name a few), similar files have shown the severe damage caused by many current and former clerics, and also show how complicit church officials ignored public safety and recklessly put children in harm’s way.

    The next hearing on the document release will be on December 10. At that time, lawyers for accused (and dead) clerics will have the opportunity to file objections. Hopefully, there won’t be any.

    In other developments, the secret personnel files of 13 priests were turned over to victims’ attorneys in preparation for the upcoming civil sex abuse trial of “runaway priest” Nicolas Aguilar Rivera. Lawyers for the Archdiocese and accused clerics had fought the release all the way to the California Supreme Court and lost.

     

  • How many accusations does it take to rename the parish hall?

    Fr. J. Michael Henry has a hall in his honor. And the number of his alleged victims just keeps growing.

    Fr. Joseph Michael Henry (also known as J. Michael Henry and Mike Henry), was a longtime priest in the Diocese of Honolulu. Most of his time was spent at St. Anthony’s Parish in Kailua on Oahu’s Windward Coast—a small-town parish with a school, preschool and active charity league.

    Fr. Henry was first exposed as a predator in 1991 lawsuit by a Kailua boy named David Figueroa. In addition, Figueroa charged that after Henry abused him, another priest at the parish, Joseph Ferrario, took advantage of the vulnerable boy  and began to abuse him as well. Fr. Joseph Ferrario became Bishop of Honolulu in 1978. Henry died in 1974. Ferrario died in 2003.

    Soon after Figueroa came forward, another Kailua boy stepped forward to say that he, too, had been molested by both priests. The initial reason Mark Pinkosh came forward was to support David. Later, he realized that it was vital for his own healing and keeping other kids safe. David’s case was thrown out on the statute of limitations, NOT the merits of the case.

    Fortunately for Mark and other victims of child sexual abuse in Hawaii, a new civil law, sponsored by Senator Maile Shimabukuro, gives Mark a chance to use the courts to seek justice, truth and accountability. While both Ferrario and Henry are dead, the people who covered up for them are not. Neither is the legacy of pain they caused.

    This week, Mark spoke publicly about his abuse and encouraged others to come forward. His attorneys were there with him to talk about the tragedy of the abuse and cover-up.

    Mark Pinkosh, age 8

    I have also spoken with another victim of Fr. Henry, who is still considering whether or not he should come forward.

    Which leads me to my problem. When television crews interviewed a St. Anthony’ parishioner, here is what she said about Fr. Henry:

    He was very good to the children … nothing could make me believe (the allegations).

    Not even two victims? What about if the victim I spoke to comes forward? What if other kids come forward?

    And …more that 20 years after Henry was accused of sexual abuse by the two boys, this sign still hangs in the parish:

    How many more victims have to come forward before they rename the hall? And believe the children?

  • A Bittersweet Anniversary

    This weekend marks the five-year anniversary of the 2007 Los Angeles Archdiocese’s $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of child sexual abuse by priests, religious, employees and volunteers. While the financial settlement has allowed many Los Angeles victims to get therapy, healing and a sense of justice, the real reason many of these victims came forward still remains elusive.

    To date, the public still has not seen the tens of thousands of pages of sex abuse and cover-up documents. Those are still “stuck in the system,” and the latest ruling by an LA judge will require that all names in the documents be redacted.

    Hundreds of former priests are still living unmonitored and unsupervised in communities full of children. Although the LA Archdiocese pays for retirements of many of these men, they refuse to take responsibility for the safety of children around these known predators.

    And Cardinal Roger Mahony, who supervised many of these predator clerics? Well, he’s enjoying retirement.

    Despite this, we cannot ignore the bravery and tenacity of the Los Angeles victims who fought long and hard – and received more justice than thousands of victims across the nation. Fortunately, the fight for justice is not over.

  • 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.