Abuse Tracker

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Stuff

Reuters | Thursday, 1 March 2007

LOS ANGELES: Victims of sexual abuse by priests said the decision by the San Diego Catholic Diocese to file for bankruptcy was a bid by church leaders to hide the truth about "horrific clergy sex crimes and cover ups."

The diocese, which has nearly 1 million members, became the fifth and largest in the United States to file for bankruptcy in the face of dozens of lawsuits from people claiming they were abused by priests who were repeatedly transferred by bishops rather than reported to police.

Speaking to reporters in front of St Joseph's Cathedral in San Diego, David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said the decision "will only delay the truth coming out."

He said Bishop Robert Brom "claims he's concerned about church assets, but SNAP and others are convinced he wants to avoid embarrassing files and damaging testimony about his role in horrific clergy sex crimes and cover-ups."

CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register

By SAM MILLER
The Orange County Register
The principal of Santa Margarita Catholic High announced to parents this week he will resign at the end of the school year, a month after he was placed on a short leave of absence over his handling of allegations of staff misconduct.

Brother Lawrence Monroe has been principal at the private school since 2002, with a reputation as a strong-willed and visible leader. A month ago, he and teacher Eric Hansen were put on leave while the Diocese of Orange investigated unspecified accusations over an annual European trip Hansen led.

Monroe was allowed to return to work shortly after, and the diocese told parents he had shown poor judgment but not "malice or any intentional disregard for (diocesan) directives."

SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Mercury News

ALLISON HOFFMAN
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego's decision to file for bankruptcy protection rather than proceed with the first trial on allegations of sexual abuse by its priests is likely to set off a fierce battle over just how much the diocese is worth.

San Diego is the fifth U.S. diocese to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the shadow of civil claims over sexual abuse. With nearly 1 million parishioners and holdings throughout San Diego County, it is by far the largest and, by all accounts, the wealthiest of the group.

Attorneys for more than 140 plaintiffs say they believe a fair settlement would be around $200 million, a record amount for such a case. It also is more money than the diocese is worth, according to documents church officials filed Wednesday with a federal bankruptcy court.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

Posted by The Star-Ledger February 28, 2007 4:45PM

The Rev. Robert J. "Father Bob" Ascolese, a former Warren County pastor accused of misappropriating nearly $1 million through a scam in which fake winners were announced during a $100-a-ticket church lottery, today rejected a plea deal that would have put him behind bars for up to three years.

The move surprised prosecutors, who were expecting Ascolese to take a plea in which he likely would have been granted entry into an intensive probation program after a few months in county jail.

The former pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Washington Borough now faces up to 10 years in state prison on second-degree theft and deception charges and third-degree forgery and tampering with public records charges.

James P. Nolan of Woodbridge, Ascolese's lawyer, said his client sought a "second opinion" from another lawyer about whether to take the guilty plea.

"Since then, he has decided he wants to retain that attorney," Melvin Wright of the high-powered Baker Botts firm in New York City, Nolan said.

NEW JERSEY
PennLive

Posted by Tom Quigley February 28, 2007 17:28PM
Categories: Breaking News, New Jersey
The former pastor of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Washington charged with stealing nearly $1 million from his church rejected a plea offer from the Warren County prosecutor's office today in Belvidere.

Warren County Prosecutor Thomas S. Ferguson has now withdrawn the plea offer to the Rev. Robert Ascolese, known to his parishioners as "Father Bob." Ascolese has selected a new attorney based in New York, and is now in the process of hiring him.

Authorities said the bulk of the stolen cash went to a failed attempt to save the parish's now-closed school and other church-related programs. It is alleged the priest stole about $650,000 from the annual St. Joseph's Powerball Raffle. He also allegedly obtained another $200,000 in matching grants from the Merck Partnership for Giving Program and $75,000 in matching grants from the Johnson & Johnson's Matching Gifts Program, officials say.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
KPBS

Feb 28, 2007
Andrea Hsu

A day after the Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced it was declaring bankruptcy, victims of sexual abuse by clergy are calling on the Diocese to reconsider. KPBS Radio's Andrea Hsu has more.

The group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests called a news conference outside St Joseph's Cathedral in downtown San Diego. In from Missouri was the group's national director, David Clohessy. He called on San Diego Bishop Robert Brom to continue negotiations in court on Friday -- per the request made earlier this week by the judge overseeing the case.

Clohessy: We ask that Bishop Brom honor that judge's order and show by his physical presence that he does want to see this resolved.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Zenit

SAN DIEGO, California, FEB. 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shortly before it was to go to trial over a clerical sex-abuse lawsuit.

San Diego is the fifth U.S. diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection.

The diocese's filing halted court proceedings that were scheduled for today in the first of 143 lawsuits leveled. Plaintiffs in the case had refused a settlement offer which the diocese made on Tuesday.

In a letter posted Feb. 21 on the diocesan Web site, Bishop Robert Brom advised the faithful that a bankruptcy filing could be necessary since "good stewardship demands that settlements not cripple the ability of the Church to accomplish its mission and ministries."

MARBLEHEAD (MA)
Marblehead Reporter

By Kaitlin Melanson/marblehead@cnc.com
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - Updated: 06:09 PM EST

A decade after allegations of sexual misconduct first surfaced against a former Star of the Sea priest, the Vatican officially dismissed 70-year-old George Rosenkranz from the priesthood last Friday.

Rosenkranz, who served as the assistant pastor of Star of the Sea Church from February 1965 until June 1970, had been placed on medical leave by the former leader of the Archdiocese of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law in 1989, just a year after allegations of sexual abuse of minors had surfaced. Since that time, Rosenkranz had been restricted from any public ministry, and was denied his request to return to active duty as a priest in 1993.

According to a timeline provided by archdiocese spokeswoman Kelly Lynch, Rosenkranz served six different parishes after leaving Star of Sea, including Blessed Sacrament in Saugus, St. Mary’s in Beverly and St. Joseph’s in Salem, his last parish before being placed on leave.

LONG ISLAND (NY)
am New York

BY JOHN MORENO GONZALES
john.gonzales@newsday.com

February 28, 2007, 4:11 PM EST

A 73-year-old defrocked priest who authorities said came to Long Island with the intention of having sex with a 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of enticing a minor, after his arrest by Nassau police could not be prosecuted under emerging definitions of internet sex crime.

Thomas J. Bender, a former Roman Catholic cleric who in court papers admitted he was banned from the church after his 1984 conviction in Allentown, Pa. for soliciting a minor, pleaded guilty to a single felony count and faces at least five years in prison.

Bender appeared befuddled as to the nature of his plea in U.S. District Court in Central Islip when Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein asked him to confess in his own words so she could formally accept the plea.

WALTHAM (MA)
Bishop Accountability

By Chuck Colbert
National Catholic Reporter
March 3, 2007

http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2007a/030207/030207h.php

Waltham, Mass. - Five years ago, internal documents of the Boston archdiocese, forced into the open by court orders, showed a pattern of bishops protecting abusers, covering up crimes, and putting children at risk. Nationwide, documents and press coverage revealed a similar phenomenon from Long Island, N.Y., to Los Angeles, from Manchester, N.H., to Louisville, Ky., to Davenport, Iowa. Never before had so much information about the Catholic church come out in the open for public scrutiny.

Since June 2003, Terence McKiernan and Anne Barrett Doyle, codirectors of BishopAccountability.org and still practicing Catholics, have been archiving the once secret files of bishops. They also have collected and put online survivors’ accounts, attorneys general reports, depositions and review board records.

The documents not only preserve a rare look behind the chancery doors at the reasoning of church leaders in a time of crisis, but they have also proven a boon to prosecutors, investigators, abuse victims and those simply looking for answers to the question of how the scandal could have grown to such outsize proportions in an institution dedicated to spreading the Christian message.

BishopAccountability.org’s largest collections of documents are from Boston (40,000 pages), Manchester (9,000 pages, all posted online), and Orange, Calif. (4,500 pages).

SANTA FE (TX)
KOBTV

Last Update: 02/28/2007 9:41:07 AM
By: Associated Press

SANTA FE (AP) - A former altar boy in the Archdiocese of El Paso alleges he was abused by a priest assigned to the archdiocese more than 30 years ago.

He’s identified only as John Doe I in a lawsuit he’s filed against the archdiocese.

He alleges the Reverend Manuel Perez Maramba sexually assaulted him while working at St. Genevieve’s Church in Las Cruces and at St. Francis Newman Parish in Silver City.

The lawsuit contends the archdiocese allowed the priest to molest him.

WEST ROXBURY (MA)
Transcript

By Jessica M. Smith
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - Updated: 12:33 PM EST

It’s been more than 50 years since a Lynn priest abused Virginia King. But on Monday night, King shared her story with the hope of reaching out to others who may have suffered the same fate.

King, 66, spoke at a Voice of the Faithful meeting at St. John’s Chrysostom Church. VOTF is a Catholic group whose mission is to strengthen and renew the Church. The group was formed to address Church issues, including priest abuse.

At the age of 13, King recalled for an audience of about 50, a priest touched her inappropriately after he slid into an empty seat next to her in her parish’s dark movie hall.

“I was frozen, terrified and in total disbelief,” said King, who at the time thought she was the only victim of Father Boucher, who died in 2001.

SOUTH AFRICA
IOL

February 28 2007 at 07:32PM

An interim interdict against a controversial Cape Town Catholic priest was made final by the Cape High Court on Wednesday, the church said.

The interdict prevents Father Fano Ngcobo from entering the precinct of St Anthony's church in the township of Langa in Cape Town, and from participating in protests on church property.

Ngcobo was suspended from his post at the church in 2006 after claims he had fathered a child with a young woman, had several girlfriends and had failed to account for church funds.

PHILIPPINES
ABS-CBN

By RONILO LADRIDO PAMONAG
The Philippine Star

ILOILO CITY – A 25-year-old woman, who earlier accused an assistant parish priest in Iloilo of rape, has filed charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice against a nun and three other priests.

In a three-page affidavit, the woman alleged that Sister Serafica Tolentino and Fathers Robert Amalay, Neil Antenor Cruz and Ramon Masculino detained her in a religious school for five days and coerced her not to file rape charges against Fr. Martin Alarcon.

Talk of the alleged kidnapping cropped up last week when the woman filed two counts of rape against Alarcon, assistant parish priest in Carles town.

Cruz, however, denied kidnapping or preventing the woman from filing the rape case, saying that they merely offered assistance to her.

OHIO
Toledo City Paper

by Todd Jarrett

published February 28th 2007

The Roman Catholic Church has been suspected of keeping secrets throughout its storied history. Some, like Father Thomas Doyle have written about this, and subsequently been censured, slandered or subjected to other retaliation from church hierarchy. According to Doyle, co-author of “Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes,” and advocate for victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse, secrecy is literally written into the canon law.

The church in the state of Ohio and the Catholic Diocese of Toledo do not represent exceptions to this rule. For this reason, the claimed victims of sexual abuse by priests, where the statute of limitations for bringing their claim to court has expired, find themselves in dismay over Ohio’s recent passing of the civil registry, rather than the victim driven Senate Bill 17. The civil registry became law under the considerable influence of the Ohio’s Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Butchered bill

According to Claudia Vercelotti, founder and leader of the Toledo chapter of SNAP, (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests), the lawmakers’ choice in 2005 was between the original Senate Bill 17, commonly referred to as “the Victim’s Bill,” and what was finally passed and signed by Governor Taft in May 2006, the amended SB 17.

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Manila Mail

WASHINGTON - The story of Rev. Rodney L. Rodis, who for 14 years led a double life as a family man and as priest in Virginia, has left Filipino Americans in the area shaking their heads.

The front page story of the Jan. 30 issue of “The Washington Post” said the church funds Rodis is accused of embezzling was about $600,000 to $700,000, possibly more," as more parishioners came up to account for their contributions through the years. The Manila Mail’s front page story (Jan. 31 issue) said the amount could rise up to $1 million because banks dispose of their records after several years.

“I was talking about this with a couple of friends, and we were like, ‘Oh my God, what was he doing?’" said a Filipino auxiliary member of the Legion of Mary in Ballston, Virginia who declined to give her name. “But my faith in the Catholic religion has not been shaken, no, of course not," she added. She said unfortunately, it was not good for the reputation of Filipinos and the Catholic faith.

LAS VEGAS (NV)
Review-Journal

By BRIAN HAYNES
REVIEW-JOURNAL

It seemed like a harmless crush at first.

Michaelina Bellamy said she hoped it would go away, but over the next few months, it only grew stronger.

He confessed his love for her and showered her with gifts and meals. But for Bellamy, a successful singer who loved music and God, it was a romance that would never be. The man who yearned for her was a Catholic priest.

Soon, what appeared to be harmless love became an obsession, one that left Bellamy beaten and bloodied on the floor of a church office, fighting for her life as the man she once respected squeezed her throat.

"He tried to kill me," Bellamy said Tuesday from the stand in Las Vegas Justice Court.

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

Steve Lopez:
Points West

February 28, 2007

I opened my Sunday paper, and wham!

A monsignor smacked me with a stinging letter to the editor regarding my column about Cardinal Roger, who had offered my bosses a free crypt at the cathedral if they'd put me in it. In the same section, another detractor took a shot at me regarding the Grand Avenue project.

The next day, a website devoted to defending the Los Angeles Archdiocese against its critics called me clueless, arrogant and self-righteous.

Whether or not these people were right, I clearly had a career-threatening image problem on my hands.

So I did what countless others have done upon finding themselves in deep trouble.

I called PR guru Mike Sitrick, the king of crisis management.

COLORADO
Denver Post

By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/27/2007 01:57:23 PM MST

A Florida attorney says he intends to withdraw from the case of an alleged sex assault victim who admitted in recorded phone conversations that he never was a victim.

"We've decided to withdraw from the case," Jeffrey Herman, attorney for Thomas Monroe, 53, said today.

Monroe filed a lawsuit in September 2005 against the Diocese of Pueblo and the Marianists Province of the United States, claiming band instructor William Mueller molested him during private trombone lessons when he was a freshman at Roncalli High School in 1968.

Monroe claimed that he was molested five times when he was 14. The lawsuit stated that during private music lessons Mueller had Monroe strip and then fondled his genitals while he played a trombone.

COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News

By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
February 28, 2007
A man with a sex abuse lawsuit against the Pueblo Catholic Diocese is looking for new representation after his lawyers said they would drop him as a client.

Thomas Roy Monroe, 54, said Tuesday he has asked the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to help him pursue his claim.

David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, said he talked with Monroe and "like any survivor who asks, I told him getting professional advice, whether therapeutic, medical or legal, never hurts."

Attorney Jeffrey Herman, of Florida, on Monday said he and other lawyers intended to withdraw from the case after The Denver Post reported that in a phone conversation recorded in September 2005, Monroe said he was not an assault victim.

OREGON
KGW

02/28/2007

By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER / Associated Press

An Oregon woman has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits, claiming she was molested by two priests as a young girl.

The unidentified plaintiff, now 48, accuses the Rev. James E. Poole and the late Rev. John Duffy of molesting her when she was 7 or 8 and a student at St. Mary of the Valley School in Beaverton.

Duffy died in 1992. Poole is in an assisted living center in Spokane, Wash.

The lawsuit alleges the Jesuits became aware in about 1960 of Poole "behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner" with minor girls at a boarding school in Alaska and transferred him to Portland in 1964 with no apparent restrictions on contact with minors or females and without telling parents or parishioners of his past.

ANCHORAGE (AK)
KTUU

by Traci Holenport
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A $5 million lawsuit filed in Oregon today claims two catholic priests repeatedly molested a young girl there in the 1960s.

One of the priests charged is Father James Poole, who is accused of sexually abusing children while he worked in Alaska.

The suit against the Oregon province of the Society of Jesus claims Poole and another priest abused the girl during visits to her home.

It also claims the church moved Poole to Oregon even though they knew that he had sexual contact with several children in Alaska during the 1970s.

TENNESSEE
Commercial Appeal

By James Dowd
Contact
February 28, 2007
The leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) acknowledged Tuesday that Southern Baptist leaders had responded to the group's initial concerns about pedophiles, but criticized the country's largest non-Catholic faith group for not doing more.

David Clohessy, executive director for SNAP, apologized for claims made last week that the Southern Baptist Convention ignored letters from the advocacy group calling for increased efforts to identify sexually abusive ministers.

It was later discovered that Baptist officials had replied to a letter sent by SNAP leaders last September, Clohessy said. The error was blamed on misplaced correspondence at the organization's Chicago headquarters.

"They did, in fact, write back to us," Clohessy said. "We apologize publicly and profusely for the mistake."

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - Updated: 02:15 AM EST

Fifteen lawmakers outraged over the sentence given to a confessed sicko who ignored the cries of a little girl being raped have filed a bill to vastly stiffen the penalty for child endangerment.

Under the proposed legislation, child endangerment would become a felony with a 10-year maximum jail term. The crime is now a misdemeanor and prison time can’t exceed 2 1/2 years.

The chief sponsor of the bill, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), said he was moved upon learning from the Herald earlier this month of the one-year jail sentence handed to a Salem man who pleaded guilty to child endangerment and witness intimidation after having sex with two women as a crying 9-year-old was raped repeatedly in the bed beside him. Patrick Doyle, 42, is eligible for parole in six months.

In 2002, Sen. Marian Walsh (D-West Roxbury) pressed for the crime to become a felony as she led the charge to institute the current child endangerment law amid the Archdiocese of Boston’s sexual abuse scandal. Lawmakers who associated the crime with the church refused to support the felony law, she said.

UTAH
ABC 4

Story by:
Ross Becker
ross@abc4.com

It was Christmas Eve and a 12 year old boy wanted to do something special for the man who baptized him into the church, but a visit to do it may have turned into a opportunity for a that man to take advantage of a child.

The former missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is now in the Salt Lake County Jail, accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child. His name is Elder Kyle Saucier, 20, and he was serving in the East Mill Creek area when the Christmas visit took place.

Salt Lake County Sgt. Rex Mulholland told ABC 4's Ross Becker that the boy's mother reported the incident to police right after it happened. According to court documents, the boy says during the Christmas Eve visit, "The defendant gave the boy a hug and reached around and put his hand down his pants."

UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune

By Stephen Hunt
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/28/2007 01:21:30 AM MST

A missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been charged with fondling a 12-year-old Salt Lake County boy he had recently baptized, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in 3rd District Court.
Kyle Saucier, 20 - who was living in the Holladay area at the time - is charged with one count of first-degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child, which is punishable by 6, 10 or 15 years to life in prison.
One factor elevating the seriousness of the alleged crime is that Saucier "occupied a position of special trust in relation to the victim," according to the complaint.
The boy told a Salt Lake County sheriff's detective that on Christmas Eve, he and his mother went to Saucier's apartment - near 4200 S. Highland Drive - to give him a Christmas present, according to the complaint.

KINGMAN (MV)
The Daily News

By JIM SECKLER/The Daily News

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 PM PST

KINGMAN - The trial for one of three remaining Colorado City polygamists charged with having a sexual relation with an underage girl suddenly ended Tuesday with his charges being dismissed.

Randolph J. Barlow's bench trial before Superior Court Judge Steven Conn resumed after a six-month delay. Barlow, 33, was charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith dismissed the charges against Barlow saying the victim, who refused to testify when she first took the stand six months ago, still refuses to testify or even answer his questions.

COLUMBIA (MO)
Columbia Missourian

By JENNIFER ENG

A former Columbia pastor was sentenced to 14 years in prison Monday in connection with the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl.

Roberto Edgar Lopez, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree statutory sodomy and second-degree statutory rape, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Gorovsky said. Judge Gene Hamilton sentenced Lopez to two consecutive seven-year sentences.

A jury trial had been scheduled for Tuesday morning, but attorneys were able to come to a plea agreement, Gorovsky said. According to Casenet, which is a database for Missouri civil and criminal cases, Lopez faced two sexual abuse charges and an additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Gorovsky said the charge of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped as part of the agreement.

PUEBLO (CO)
The Pueblo Chieftain

By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A Miami law firm will no longer represent one of the former Roncalli High School students who is suing the local Catholic diocese and a religious order over allegations of sexual abuse by a teacher.

Jeff Herman of Herman & Mermelstein said Tuesday that the firm is through representing Thomas Monroe. The announcement came on the heels of a Denver newspaper's revelation that a DVD recording of Monroe calls into question the validity of his allegations.

Monroe is one of 22 men who are suing the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo and the Marianist religious order. The men allege that Brother William Mueller sexually abused them while he was a teacher at the all-boys high school between 1966 and its closure in 1971.

Mueller faces similar allegations in Missouri and Texas. He voluntarily left the Marianist order in 1986 and now resides in San Antonio.

McALLEN (TX)
The Monitor

Kaitlin Bell
February 27, 2007 - 11:02PM
McALLEN — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville has temporarily barred the deacon of Holy Spirit church from delivering homilies during Mass, after complaints that he blamed parents for not keeping their children away from predatory priests.

Diocese spokeswoman Brenda Riojas said Tuesday that Bishop Raymundo Peña has asked Deacon Alvin Gerbermann to undergo additional training before he gives any more homilies, the remarks made during Mass that explain a selection of Bible passages.

The training will include a program about preventing sexual abuse called “Protecting God’s Children,” which the diocese created after revelations of child molestation within the Catholic Church. In addition, Gerbermann will be required to retake a course taught by the diocese on how to give homilies, Riojas said.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Press-Enterprise

10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, February 27, 2007

By MICHAEL FISHER
The Press-Enterprise

On the eve of trial, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday just hours after its final settlement offer was rejected by the attorneys for dozens of people who claim to have been sexually abused by priests.

The filing, which drew swift condemnation from victims' advocates, immediately halts the more than 140 lawsuits targeting the diocese, including a trial scheduled to start today in San Diego involving a longtime Inland priest. A Colorado woman accuses Monsignor Patrick O'Keeffe of sexually abusing her at St. Adelaide Church in Highland in the early 1970s.

Legal experts said Tuesday's bankruptcy filing will not stop litigation against the San Bernardino Diocese, named in at least 17 pending lawsuits, including some targeting the San Diego Diocese. It was unclear if Tuesday's filing will unravel the San Diego Diocese's pledge to indemnify the San Bernardino Diocese in cases alleging clergy sexual misconduct before 1978, when the San Diego Diocese managed Inland parishes.

MASSACHUSETTS
Berkshire Eagle

Wednesday, February 28

After celebrating the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's Church in West Stockbridge, the Rev. C.J. Waitekus takes a shorter route to Lenox so he has five minutes to spare before he begins the 9:45 a.m. Mass at St. Ann's Church.

Then he finishes his morning with an 11:15 Mass at St. Ann's. And that's just Sundays. There also are meetings, baptisms, funerals and daily Masses.

"I never dreamed I'd be a pastor of three parishes," said Waitekus, 45, who also oversees St. Vincent de Paul's in Lenox Dale. "It's doable, and it's definitely working, but I'm as busy as can be."

Eighteen priests manage the 29 Catholic churches still active in the Berkshires. Some, such as Waitekus, oversee multiple parishes because of the shrinking number of priests and churchgoers in the Diocese of Springfield, which oversees Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties in Western Massachusetts.

The diocese is struggling to support its 117 parishes amid a 26 percent drop in attendance between 1996 and 2006, the closure of four church buildings and the merger of two schools in the Berkshires in the past 2 1/2 years, and a $7.7 million lawsuit settlement in August 2004 involving 46 claims of clergy sexual abuse.

OLYMPIA (WA)
Spokesman Review

Staff writer
February 28, 2007

OLYMPIA – Sen. Chris Marr is running into some political headwinds in his push to change the law so all sex crimes against children can be prosecuted until the day the abuser dies.

Consider:

•A week after Marr, D-Spokane, had more than half the state Senate signed on as co-sponsors, a couple of Republicans have yanked their names off it, apparently on the grounds that their party, not Democrats, had long pushed unsuccessfully for similar changes.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Los Angeles Times

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
February 28, 2007

SAN DIEGO — The Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced Tuesday that it was filing for bankruptcy protection rather than face lawsuits from 150 people who alleged that they were sexually abused by priests. The first court case was set to begin today.

The diocese decision came despite a request Monday from a settlement judge to not file for bankruptcy until after a negotiating session set for Friday.

Bishop Robert Brom said in a statement that if the abuse cases went to court, monetary awards for those whose cases were first on the docket could "so deplete diocesan and insurance resources that there would be nothing left for other victims."

The Bankruptcy Court filing puts the cases, including the one set to begin today in San Diego County Superior Court, in abeyance as issues involving the diocese's assets are decided by a bankruptcy judge.

OREGON
The Oregonian

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

ASHBEL S. GREEN
A $5 million lawsuit filed Tuesday in Multnomah County claims that two Catholic priests repeatedly molested a Beaverton girl in the mid-1960s.

The suit against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, names the Rev. James E. Poole and the Rev. Frank Duffy.

The plaintiff, who is not named in the suit, said the priests abused her during visits to her family home.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune

By Greg Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2007

By seeking shelter in bankruptcy court from scores of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by priests, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego takes an extraordinary step into largely uncharted legal territory.

As the case unfolds, both sides will battle over complicated legal questions dealing with civil law and church law, and whether constitutional claims of religious freedom trump the bankruptcy code.

For example, some rulings by the court that tell the diocese what to do in the bankruptcy proceedings could trigger a battle over how far the state can reach into the affairs of a religious organization, experts said.

“It opens a whole Pandora's box of issues,” said Charles Zech, an economics professor at Villanova University who has written about church finances.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune

By Mark Sauer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2007

After four years of legal wrangling in the clergy-abuse scandal, attorneys for Bishop Robert Brom filed for Chapter 11 protection last night, making San Diego the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to declare bankruptcy.

In a brief electronic filing just before midnight, the diocese said it had assets of more than $100 million and estimated debts of more than $100 million.

Brom's action halts the first trial, set to start today, of about 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by 60 priests in incidents dating back decades.

Brom said in a statement: “We put money on the table that would have stretched our financial capability to the limit, but demands were made which exceeded the financial resources of both the diocese and our insurance carrier.”

SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Orange County Register

The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Tuesday that it planned to file for bankruptcy protection to put off going to trial in more than 140 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

In a letter posted on the diocese's Web site, Bishop Robert Brom wrote that the diocese had “decided against litigating our cases because of the length of time the process could take and, more importantly, because early trial judgments in favor of some victims could so deplete diocesan and insurance resources that there would be nothing left for other victims.”

Attorney Micheal Webb said the diocese planned to file for bankruptcy protection by midnight Tuesday, just hours before the first trial was scheduled to go forward in a San Diego courtroom. A Chapter 11 filing automatically halts court proceedings.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Lompoc Record

By ALLISON HOFFMAN

SAN DIEGO - The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection hours before it was scheduled to go to trial in the first of more than 140 lawsuits accusing priests of sexual abuse.

The filing automatically halted court proceedings scheduled for Wednesday.

In a letter posted on the diocese's Web site, Bishop Robert H. Brom said the diocese made its decision because any damage awards in the earlier trials could deplete "diocesan and insurance resources" and leave nothing for other victims.

The diocese claimed in the filing late Tuesday $95.7 million in property holdings and another $60.4 million in liquid assets, including stocks, bonds and operating accounts.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Charlotte Observer

By ALLISON HOFFMAN
Associated Press Writer

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Tuesday that it planned to file for bankruptcy protection to put off going to trial in more than 140 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for bankruptcy protection late Tuesday to put off going to trial in more than 140 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

The petition was lodged with the federal bankruptcy court in San Diego at 11:55 p.m., just hours before the first trial was scheduled to go forward in a San Diego courtroom. A Chapter 11 filing automatically halts court proceedings.

San Diego is the fifth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy protection under the shadow of sex abuse claims. With nearly 1 million parishioners, it is also the largest.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Diocese of San Diego

Bishop Robert H. Brom's statement on the diocese's decision to file for bankruptcy can be found at this link.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
KPBS

Feb 27, 2007
Andrea Hsu

The Catholic Diocese of San Diego is filing for bankruptcy. The announcement was posted on the Diocese's website this afternoon. KPBS Radio's Andrea Hsu has more.

In a pastoral statement, San Diego Bishop Robert Brom said settlement negotiations around cases of sexual abuse by clergy have been unsuccessful. He said the demands made by the plaintiffs exceeded the financial resources of the diocese and its insurance carrier.

Brom added that a Chapter 11 reorganization is the best way to compensate all the victims fairly and equitably... Within the resources of the Diocese. He said the Diocese will present to the court a statement of assets and a plan for compensating victims.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Monterey Herald

ALLISON HOFFMAN
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Tuesday that it planned to file for bankruptcy protection to put off going to trial in more than 140 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

In a letter posted on the diocese's Web site, Bishop Robert Brom wrote that the diocese had "decided against litigating our cases because of the length of time the process could take and, more importantly, because early trial judgments in favor of some victims could so deplete diocesan and insurance resources that there would be nothing left for other victims."

Attorney Micheal Webb said the diocese planned to file for bankruptcy protection by midnight Tuesday, just hours before the first trial was scheduled to go forward in a San Diego courtroom. A Chapter 11 filing automatically halts court proceedings.

San Diego would become the fifth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy protection.

ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Newsday

BY MICHAEL AMON
michael.amon@newsday.com

February 27, 2007, 8:44 PM EST

Two women have asked the Suffolk district attorney's office to investigate charges of sexual abuse against an embattled Diocese of Rockville Centre priest who was suspended last year during a church probe.

Terri Baumbach, of Center Moriches, and Mary Quigley, formerly of Sayville and now a Virginia resident, said they filed criminal complaints on Friday and Monday, respectively, against the Rev. William Logan, whom they accuse of inappropriate touching in the early 1970s.

The complaints were partly symbolic, the women said. The 5-year statute of limitations for sex crimes expired long ago.

"This is a protest," said Quigley, 49, who asked that her maiden name be used to protect her identity.

The district attorney's office declined to comment.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced today that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after last-ditch negotiations to settle 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse failed.

In a statement Bishop Robert Brom said that the diocese tried to settle the cases by offering a settlement that "would have stretched our financial ability to the limit, but demands were made which exceeded the financial resources of both the diocese and our insurance carrier." He said filing Chaprter 11, where all claims are settled in one court rather than having many trials, was "the best way for us to compensate all the victims as fairly and equitably as our resources will allow."

POLAND
Catholic World News

Warsaw, Feb. 27, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A Polish priest’s book on clerical collaboration with the country’s Communist regime indicts two active members of the hierarchy, according to reports based on advance copies of the text.

The eagerly awaited 588-page book by Father Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, based on his combing of archives at the Institute for National Remembrance, names Bishops Kazimierz Gorny of Rzeszow and Wiktor Skworc of Tarnow as collaborators.

Father Zaleski also charges that Archbishop Juliusz Paetz-- who was forced to resign in 2002 after accusations of sexual misconduct-- worked with the secret police while he was stationed at the Vatican, in a minor post within the pontifical household. The collaboration evidently ended when Archbishop Paetz returned to Poland, the author says.

POLAND
Poland.pl

2007-02-26, 15:27
Eight Polish bishops named in documents proving that they collaborated with communist-era security services feature in a book to be published this week by priest and historian Tadeusz Isakowicz Zaleski.

The book, based on research taken from security police files, describes the histories of 130 Catholic priests, both those who became collaborators and those who did not.

Among others, the author lists Poznań Archbishop Juliusz Paetz, who in the 1970s was involved with agents in the Vatican. Some time ago Archbishop Paetz was also at the centre of a sexual molesting scandal.

COLORADO
KOAA

Shocking developments concerning a man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by a catholic priest. Tom Monroe, 53, organized a news conference more than a year ago to announce with his attorney a lawsuit against the Pueblo Catholic Diocese. Monroe claimed he was sexually assaulted by Marianist Brother William Mueller while attending the former Roncalli Catholic High School. But Monroe's attorney has now announced that Monroe's been dropped from the lawsuit.

News First obtained several hours of home video that Monroe made, and on one tape he appears to be talking on the phone and admits he's not a victim of Mueller. "I feel worse being called a victim because I know I'm really not," said Monroe, "I know real victims who (are) not gonna get no help. But I guess what it is is, I'm being called a victim and I might get a million bucks. And these are real victims are getting nothing except more shame. And that's probably why I feel so bad about it."

LAS VEGAS (NV)
KLAS

A Catholic priest accused of attempted murder was ordered to stand trial after a church soloist testified Tuesday that he'd beaten her with a wine bottle, dragged her by the hair and sexually assaulted her in a parish office.

"I so trusted this person," the woman said at the preliminary hearing in a Las Vegas courtroom. "He's not a priest, he's a predator."

The woman says Rev. George Chaanine attacked her Jan. 26 at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church, where he served as an administrator and priest and she worked as a cantor.

Chaanine has not entered a plea on the charges, which include attempted murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and battery. He faces a sentence of life in prison if convicted.

CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register

By GWENDOLYN DRISCOLL
The Orange County Register
Officials at St. Mary and All Angels School in Aliso Viejo apologized to parents and pupils on Monday for any "concern" raised by the presence on a school panel of a man named in a $1.4 million child sexual-abuse settlement.

The man is John Merino, a former vice principal of Mater Dei High School. Merino served as one of four judges for St. Mary's "Legacy Awards," a ceremony that recognizes an exceptional student leader.

Parents whose children were interviewed for the award as well as the three other judges on the panel were sent a letter expressing "sincere apologies," according to Michelle Jordan, a New York-based crisis communications expert hired by the school.

PORTLAND (OR)
KATU

By KATU Web Staff

Related Content
Read a copy of the lawsuit
Video

PORTLAND, Ore. - Despite knowing that a priest had a history of "deviant sexual interest in young girls," Jesuit officials allowed him to transfer to Portland in the 1960s, and he went on to molest a young girl, a lawsuit filed Tuesday claims.

The suit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, is asking for more than $5 million in damages. It claims the Jesuits are negligent for allowing the priest to be around young girls and are responsible for his conduct as well as the conduct of another priest accused of molesting the plaintiff.

Lawyers for the alleged victim announced the suit at a press conference Tuesday morning.

LOS ANGELES (CA)
10 News

LOS ANGELES -- A judge attempting to fashion a settlement between the San Diego Roman Catholic Diocese and plaintiffs who have alleged sexual abuse by priests asked the diocese not to file for bankruptcy before a session set for Friday, 10News reported.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr made the request Monday after a negotiating session between lawyers for the diocese and the plaintiffs, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Bishop Robert Brom has said the diocese might file for Chapter 11 reorganization in the face of lawsuits by 150 people.

OREGON
OregonLive

Posted by Ashbel S. Green February 27, 2007 12:15PM

A $5 million lawsuit filed today in Multnomah County claims that two Catholic priests repeatedly molested a Beaverton girl in the mid-1960s.

The suit against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, names the Rev. James E. Poole and the Rev. Frank Duffy.

The plaintiff, who is not named in the suit, said the priests abused her during visits to her family home.

The plaintiff, who was born in 1958, attended St. Mary of the Valley School and St. Cecilia Church at the time.

The suit claims that Jesuit officials moved Poole to Oregon without restrictions even though they knew that he had had numerous inappropriate sexual contacts with girls in an Alaskan boarding school.

HOLLADAY (UT)
KUTV

HOLLADAY A Mormon missionary accused in the sexual abuse of a young boy now faces charges.

On Monday, the 20-year-old man was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

Court documents say the alleged incident happened shortly after the man baptized a 12-year-old boy into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

COLOMBIA (MO)
Columbia Tribune

By JOE MEYER of the Tribune’s staff
Published on columbiatribune.com Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A former Columbia minister was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl who attended his church services in Columbia.

Roberto Edgar Lopez, 37, of Monett pleaded guilty to second-degree statutory sodomy and second-degree statutory rape. Boone County Circuit Judge Gene Hamilton sentenced him to consecutive 7-year sentences.

“I’m going to pay for what I did,” Lopez told Hamilton during a brief testimony.

Lopez, whose jury trial was set for this morning, said he accepted the prosecutor’s plea bargain to avoid additional charges in the case.

ORANGE PARK (FL)
The Times-Union

By JEFF BRUMLEY, The Times-Union

An Orange Park priest and leading voice in the theologically conservative Anglican movement in America has been stripped of his clerical credentials after having "an inappropriate relationship" with an adult female church member, the parish's top lay leader said Monday.

The Rev. Samuel C. Pascoe was removed Feb. 10 from his position as senior rector at Grace Church (Anglican) and lost his ministerial license as a result of the relationship, said David Nelson, senior warden of the former Episcopal congregation.

Pascoe, who is married with three sons, said he couldn't comment on the situation and referred all questions to Nelson.

Pascoe, 56, for several years has been an outspoken critic of the Episcopal Church USA for what he and others see as the denomination's increasingly progressive interpretation of Scripture and its growing acceptance of homosexuality.

FLORIDA
The Times-Union

The text of a letter the vestry of Grace Church (Anglican) wrote to parishioners about the removal of their priest, the Rev. Samuel C. Pascoe.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Dear Grace Church Family,

There are few challenges in ministry as difficult as being called upon to give painful and sad news. Such is our responsibility today as we inform you that the Rev'd Dr. Samuel C. Pascoe has engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an adult female parishioner. As a result, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Johnston, Bishop in the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiAs), has changed Sam's clerical status within the Anglican Mission to "inactive," revoked his license to function as a priest, and removed him as senior pastor of Grace Church (Anglican). Bishop Johnston, acting in his position as our spiritual authority, has followed Anglican Mission policy for such pastoral situations, and the vestry of Grace Church fully supports his decisions. We believe these actions are consistent with a Scriptural and pastoral model for faithful, responsible ministry and accountability within the church.

LOUISA (VA)
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 2/27/2007

BY BILL FREEHLING

A Catholic priest accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from two churches in Louisa County might plead guilty March 12, his attorney said yesterday.

Rodney Lee Rodis, 50, was in Louisa Circuit Court briefly yesterday to tell Judge Timothy K. Sanner he had hired Louisa attorney Jack Maus to represent him on the embezzlement charge. The judge set Rodis' arraignment for 2 p.m. March 12.

Maus spoke with reporters outside court after the hearing. He's been reviewing the evidence and said that Rodis "may be in a position to enter a plea on March 12."

Maus also addressed questions about a woman and children who had been living in Spotsylvania County with Rodis, a pastor at St. Jude and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches for 13 years before retiring for health reasons in May.

ORANGE PARK (FL)
News4Jax

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A priest has been stripped of his clerical credentials for having an inappropriate relationship with an adult woman church member, parish officials said Monday.

The Rev. Samuel C. Pascoe, a senior rector of Grace Church, was stripped of his ministerial license by his Anglican bishop and removed from his position as a result of the relationship, said the congregation's senior warden David Nelson.

Pascoe declined to comment to The Associated Press when reached by telephone at his home. A telephone message left at the church was not immediately returned.

Parish officials do not know the identity of the female parishioner or when the relationship took place, Nelson told Jacksonville's The Florida Times-Union for Tuesday's edition. Other details, including the extent of the relationship, were not given.

ORLANDO (FL)
News 13

The Diocese of Orlando is now investigating new allegations of child sex abuse, dating back decades.

They all surround Thomas Sykes. The diocese says its received credible allegations of abuse against him.

Now, they want anyone who may have been a victim to come forward.

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Union-Tribune

By Mark Sauer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 27, 2007

LOS ANGELES – The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego could file for bankruptcy protection as early as today, despite the urging of a judge that both sides in the clergy-abuse lawsuits continue working toward a settlement.

Nearly six hours of negotiations yesterday failed to produce a deal to settle about 150 lawsuits brought by adults alleging they were molested by priests in incidents dating to the 1950s.

Optimism was in short supply as the clock ticked toward tomorrow's scheduled start of the first trial from the lawsuits, most of which were filed in 2003.

“The judge seems to feel the gap is not that wide and can be narrowed or eliminated,” said Del Mar attorney Irwin Zalkin, who represents about 30 percent of the San Diego plaintiffs.

BATH (NY)
Star-Gazette

By Larry Wilson
lwilson@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette Corning Bureau

BATH -- A former Steuben County pastor faces up to 32 years in prison following his guilty plea Monday to felony sexual abuse charges.

David J. Troup, 39, of Frog Hollow Road, Painted Post, pleaded guilty Monday to all charges in a Jan. 18 indictment. The most serious charge, first-degree course of conduct against a child, carries a maximum sentence of five to 25 years in state prison.

Troup, former pastor of the Borden Baptist Church in the town of Woodhull, will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. May 21 by Judge Marianne Furfure.

State Police arrested Troup in October following a report from the New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. They identified the victims as two boys younger than 11 years old and said the incident occurred in the town of Woodhull in July 2005.