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Science education pioneer accused of sexual abuse while teaching in Irish Christian Brothers schools

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
March 4, 2019

https://bit.ly/2EBoKc6

Science teacher, Robert Pavlica, is photographed at Byram Hills High School in Armonk March 26, 2004.

[with video]

Court documents reveal that 430 people have claimed they were abused by members of the Irish Christian Brothers order.

A well-known figure in the science education world is among several Irish Christian Brothers accused of sexually abusing students at Irish Christian Brothers schools in New Rochelle in the 1960s and 1970s, lawyers for former students alleged.

Two men alleged that Brother Robert Pavlica of Iona Prep and Brother Michael John of the Blessed Sacrament High School abused them when they were students, said lawyer Mike Reck, attorney at Jeff Anderson and Associates of New York City.

Pavlica, who died in 2007, created the Authentic Science Research Program, which would later become the model for science research programs in New York and around the country.

The alleged victims are all part of a bankruptcy lawsuit filed by the Irish Christian Brothers in 2011.

A spokesperson for the Christian Brothers confirmed these allegations were a part of the bankruptcy case. 

However, the bankruptcy case has put a freeze on any new suits that the recently signed Child Victims Act could have brought forward, Reck said.

"Survivors seeking transparency and accountability, they're prevented from moving forward because of the case," Reck said.

While both named clerics have since died, the naming of Pavlica sent shock waves through New York state because of his high profile in the science education world. After leaving the Irish Christian Brothers, Pavlica joined the faculty of Byram Hills High School in Armonk in 1970.

While at Byram Hills, Pavlica created the Authentic Science Research Program and the school's program bears Pavlica's name in his honor.

Byram Hills Superintendent Jen Lamia had little to say on the allegations, or what would be done with the name of the program. 

"I'll be having future conversations with the board, and we'll be looking into this and investigating it," Lamia said.

Lamia had not heard of any allegations about Pavlica's behavior during his time at Byram Hills.

The Christian Brothers provided the following statement.

These allegations are not new to us because they were among the claims filed as part of the bankruptcy case in 2012. These allegations took place at schools other than Iona Prep, with the exception of one claim, which dates back to 1968 – and because of the bankruptcy settlement structure, that claim was not tested for its merits.

The Province's policy for the protection of children and vulnerable adults is aimed at the prevention of abuse and any type of misconduct. It includes a swift and open response when allegations are reported. The accused is removed immediately from their ministry and/or position, followed by an independent investigation – and full disclosure and cooperation with the appropriate authorities – to ensure complete transparency and objectivity.

Hundreds allege abuse

These allegations are the latest in a long line of people claiming abuse at the hands of Irish Christian Brothers.

As a part of the bankruptcy case, the court required the Christian Brothers to notify prior students that they could join the case.

Court documents reveal that over 430 people have claimed they were abused by members of the order. However, these claims were not investigated for credibility as part of the settlement agreement. 

The Irish Christian Brothers were founded in 1802 with the purpose of evangelizing and educating young people.In addition to Iona Prep and Blessed Sacrament, the Brothers — who were headquartered in New York — have schools in New York and New Jersey as well as throughout the country.

Some other Christian Brothers schools include: 

  • Power Memorial Academy (New York, New York)
  • Cardinal Hayes High School (Bronx, New York)
  • Bishop Kearney High School (Rochester, New York)
  • Sacred Heart Grammar School (New York, New York)
  • Notre Dame/Bishop Gibbons High School (Albany, New York)
  • Essex Catholic High School (Newark, New Jersey)
  • Bergen Catholic High School (Oradell, New Jersey)
  • Cantwell High School (Los Angeles, California)
  • Palma High School (Salinas, California)

The Chapter 11 suit,which allows the school to negotiate with creditors without having to liquidate its assets, created a $16.5 million trust that will distribute funds to abuse victims.

New state law may not help victims

Other than securing a payout for victims, the bankruptcy also protected the brothers from future suits, Reck said. 

"On one hand they shielded themselves from the inquisition that's coming, and the second thing they did was a shrewd risk management decision," Reck said. "Now the Christian Brothers are effectively insulated from the Child Victims Act, because of the bankruptcy bar date."

That means if people didn't file claims against the brothers before a certain date the bankruptcy case prevents them from filing a claim against the brothers afterwards, even with the Child Victims Act. 

But victims may still sue the diocese where the school was located, Reck said.

"Those survivors, can sue the diocese where the school sits," Reck said. "For example, if Iona Prep is in the New York Diocese, survivors can sue the diocese for its role in covering up and allowing the school to be there."

Two new alleged abuse claims at Iona

Reck said more people are coming forward claiming clerics at Irish Christian Brothers' schools abused them. He said his clients cited Brother John Justin O’Connor and Brother Charles Irwin at Iona Prep as clerics who allegedly committed abusive acts on their clients.

As part of the Christian Bothers' bankruptcy settlement both O'Connor and Irwin were named in a list of alleged abusers who were accused of more than one claim of abuse. 

Blessed Sacrament High School closed in 2013, but Iona Prep remains open.

Bergen Catholic High School named

Others, outside the ICB suit, have claimed Irwin abused them in the past.

Irwin worked in many schools, mostly in New York, but during the mid-1960s he worked at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey.

Some of Irwin's Bergen victims were a part of a $1.9 million settlement in 2016. Each victim received between $65,000 and $115,000. The settlement was shared between 21 men who accused staff of Bergen Catholic High School of abusing them.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said then that at the time of the alleged abuse, from 1963 to 1978, his clients were between 13 and 17 years old. They are now between 53 and 68 years old.

Irwin also worked at:

  • St. Patrick’s Provincialate Community; New Rochelle, New York
  • Santa Maria Novitiate-Novice; West Park, New York
  • St. Gabriel’s Scholasticate Student; West Park, New York
  • Sacred Heart Community and Grammar School; New York City, New York
  • Cardinal Hayes Holy Family Community; Bronx, New York
  • Cardinal Hayes-St. Helena’s Annex; Bronx, New York
  • Power Memorial Community and Academy; New York City, New York

Irwin died in 1997.

O'Connor worked at Bergen Catholic in the late 1980s, before he left the order.

In 2017 the Irish Christian Brothers released a list of members who had more than one abuse claim against them. Claims against these men were never validated, as part of the bankruptcy settlement agreement.

  • Angel, Larry K. (deceased)
  • Barry, Gerald K. (former)
  • Beckstrom, Robert E. (former)
  • Brouillette, Robert (former)
  • Burton, David B. (Brother)
  • Carr, Michael T. (deceased)
  • Carroll, Francis (deceased)
  • Casale, Albert (former)
  • Chaney, John (Brother)
  • Cobb, Alan S. (former)
  • Collins, Donald Cecil (deceased)
  • Condon, Eugene (former)
  • Courtney, Edward (former)
  • Delamere, Frank P. (former)
  • Duffin, Thomas (deceased)
  • Dunn, James Claver (deceased)
  • Ferro, Salvatore (Brother)
  • Ford, Thomas C. (deceased)
  • French, Edward George (Brother)
  • Gardner, Stephen Justin (former)
  • Hanney, James (former)
  • Heathwood, John (deceased)
  • Heustis, Jerome (deceased)
  • Hewitt, Andrew Thomas (deceased)
  • Houlihan, James Alvarez (deceased)
  • Irwin, Charles (deceased)
  • Kealey, John (deceased)
  • Kernan, Joseph (deceased)
  • Lasik, Ronald (Brother)
  • Lawlor, John (former)
  • Medvit, Paul (deceased)
  • Murphy, Clement Adan (deceased)
  • Murphy, John E. (former)
  • Murphy, Thomas Ignatius (deceased)
  • Nash, Dermod (deceased)
  • Neary, Walter D. (deceased)
  • O'Connor, John J. (former)
  • Padilla, Ruben Mark (former)
  • Post, Robert (former)
  • Ralph, Alan Gerard (Brother)
  • Reycraft, Paul S. (former)
  • Ryan, Daniel Peter (deceased)
  • Satterthwaite, Robert (deceased)
  • Stoyles, Michael E. (deceased)
  • Thompson, James (former)
  • Thorne, Harold (Brother)
  • Walderman, J. Matthew (Brother)
  • Walsh, Michael (deceased)
  • Warren, James V. (deceased)




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