Former Promoter of Justice for Congregation of the Faith Addresses Canon Law Society about Abuse Situation: For Whom Is Canon Law Designed?

From the blog: Bilgrimage
Link: http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2013/10/former-promoter-of-justice-for.html

In my previous posting, I referred to a report Fr. Thomas Reese has published at National Catholic Reporter regarding Bishop Charles Scicluna’s recent address to the Canon Law Society of America. Scicluna was previously the Promoter of Justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. In that capacity, he was, as Reese notes, roughly the equivalent of the Vatican’s “chief prosecutor” for cases of clerical abuse in the Catholic church.

As I read what Scicluna has to say about how canon law addresses abuse cases, I’m struck by the following:

1. The emphasis of Scicluna’s reading of canon law (and this reflects the emphasis of canon law itself) is far and away skewed in the direction of protecting the rights and serving the needs of clerics–while the rights and needs of lay Catholics, and notably of lay Catholics abused by clerics, are only distantly addressed by canon law.

2. Scicluna notes that canon law envisages three ends in any process considering the guilt of a cleric: these are “reparation of scandal, restitution of justice and the conversion of the accused.” Only the second of these ends can in any way be said to address the needs of those abused by priests, and it does so only in a glancing way.

3. What’s very clear in Scicluna’s presentation is that canon law itself sees the primary problems in an abuse case as tamping down all reports that can lead to scandal and as “converting” the priest himself. Canon law has almost no room at all for considering the needs of lay Catholics who have been sexually abused by a priest, or for addressing the hurts and mending the injuries done to those who have been abused.

4. Scicluna makes three affirmations that, to my way of thinking, are mind-boggling, in that they cannot possibly hang together, and one cannot coherently affirm all three statements at the same time:

1. Pastoral leaders must find “the courage to tell victims to move on,” to stop creating “a persona out of being victims.”

2. “A tragic consequence of abuse is the loss of faith — a loss of faith in a God who is compassionate, merciful and loving. I have met victims who have renounced the faith as a consequence of what they suffered, and my attitude is silence and prayer.”

3. “The victims evangelize us.”

As I say, these three affirmations cannot possibly hang together. How is it possible for victims to evangelize us, when we tell victims that they must move on? How can someone who is not there evangelize the rest of us?

How can someone we’ve told to consider herself or himself as less than the rest of us, as an unworthy part of the body of Christ–Just move on–possibly evangelize any of the rest of us in the body of Christ? When we make people invisible, how do they retain the ability to evangelize us, to remind us of good news?

And so in what way does it make any sense at all to speak of victims renouncing “the faith,” when the faith itself clearly renounces them by informing them that they must move on, must stop being professional victims? There is, isn’t there, something egregiously evil about blaming those who are victims for their loss of faith when we ourselves–Just move on!–have created the conditions for victims’ loss of faith by treating victims of clerical sexual abuse as less than human?

What gives any human being the right to tell another human being suffering from childhood sexual abuse that it’s time to “move on,” to stop suffering, to shut up and get over it? Where does such astonishing hubris come from on the part of Catholic pastors and canonists, and how can Catholic pastors and canonists possibly imagine that they’re behaving pastorally when they engage in such hubristic, insensitive, cruel behavior?

As I wrote recently,

As long as we have bishops (with canonists who think as Rev. [Reginald] Whitt [of St. Paul-Minneapolis] does to advise them) who assume that their primary pastoral responsibility as bishops, bolstered by canon law itself, is to “save” pedophile priests while ignoring the needs of the people of God, we’ll continue to have dangerous priests placed by bishops in positions in which they’ll have access to minors. And we’ll have cover-ups.

The roots of the abuse crisis in the Catholic church begin with the very governing system of the church itself, and are inscribed in that governing system’s code of canon law, which creates a two-tiered system that allocates power exclusively to the ordained, and excludes the non-ordained from all governing power and from fundamental rights within the church. Until that deeply unjust system of governance, which is itself a recipe for abuse, is rectified, the abuse will continue. And it will continue to be covered up.

Catholic priest recalls fleeing after sex abuse confession

9/9/13 By Gillian Flaccus of Associated Press

From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/catholic-priest-recalls-fleeing-after-sex-abuse-confession?stay=1

This undated photo shows a man identified as Carlos R. Rodriguez on the “Megan’s Law” online sex offender registry maintained by the state of California. Rodriguez, 57, was a priest with the Vincentian order who confessed to molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1987. His confidential personnel file was released Monday, Sept. 9, in Los Angeles along with those of five other priests from three religious orders.

 

The Rev. Carlos Rodriguez’s account of his flight after confessing to molesting a boy was among files released Monday under the terms of a lawsuit settlement.

LOS ANGELES — The orders the Rev. Carlos Rodriguez got from his religious superiors after he confessed to molesting a 16-year-old boy just hours before were swift and decisive: Leave immediately. Check into a motel. Don’t tell anyone where you are going. Await further instructions.

Rodriguez, then 31, picked up cash and waited by the phone. The next day, the regional leader of his religious order called and told him to book a plane ticket out of state. By the time the victim’s family went to police, he had checked in at a residential treatment center for troubled priests in Maryland.

“I felt like a fugitive. But what else could I do under the circumstances. I had no other choice but to follow orders,” he wrote years later in an essay that was included in his Vatican petition to be defrocked.

The essay was part of a 303-page confidential personnel file on the priest that was released Monday along with files for five other priests who were also accused of molesting children while working for their Roman Catholic religious orders — the Vincentians, the Norbertines and the Augustinians — while on assignment in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Rodriguez’s file stands out because it includes a candid and detailed autobiographical account of his actions in 1987 and the steps his religious superiors took to shield him from the family and civil authorities.

The file also makes clear that officials with Rodriguez’s religious order, the Vincentians, and the LA archdiocese worked together to intercede. Both knew of Rodriguez’s confession, but no one spoke with police until the boy’s family filed a police report a month later, according to the file.

“The thing that Carlos Rodriguez does is, he lays out the truth, the underbelly, and exposes that for all that it is,” said Ray Boucher, a lead plaintiff attorney in the clergy litigation who secured the release of the files.

The religious order files are the second set to be released and more are expected in the coming weeks as religious orders comply with the final terms of a 2007 settlement with hundreds of clergy abuse victims in Los Angeles.

The archdiocese itself released thousands of pages under court order this year for its own priests, but the full picture of the problem has remained elusive without records from the religious orders, which routinely assigned priests to work in Los Angeles parishes.

Without access to Rodriguez, the police case dried up and the priest was back at work within seven months, where he molested two brothers. Rodriguez, who was defrocked in 1998, was convicted of that abuse 17 years later, in 2004, and sentenced to prison. He was released in 2008.

Now 57, he lives as a registered sex offender in Huntington Park, a gritty, industrial city southeast of Los Angeles. He has been accused of abuse in at least five civil lawsuits.

“It still weighs heavy on me,” Rodriguez, who wore a cross around his neck, said on Monday when reached at his apartment. “It’s nothing proud to talk about. I still feel remorse and it still hurts.”

The Rev. Jerome Herff, the Vincentian regional provincial who told Rodriguez to leave LA after his 1987 confession and placed him back in ministry the following year, said he urged him to leave because the boy’s family was irate and he feared for the priest’s safety. The treatment center, he said, was recommended by a law enforcement authority, although he declined to say who.

“I did what I thought was best and had to be done and what happened, happened,” Herff said in a brief phone interview. “I’ve lived with this for years and I just don’t want to go back there anymore.”

Rodriguez’s troubles began when he took two teenage boys on a trip to the Grand Canyon in 1987, roughly a year after he was ordained. The three checked into a Holiday Inn in Flagstaff, Ariz., and in his essay, Rodriguez wrote he began molesting one teen who was asleep on the floor.

The boy awoke and the novice priest, terrified at being discovered, drove nearly 500 miles through the night to deliver both teens to their families and immediately went back to his parish, where he took a shower and confessed.

The Vincentians sent him to the residential treatment center. While there, Rodriguez fretted in letters home about the “seriousness of the law in Arizona” that could get him up to 15 years in prison and asked the Vincentians for character references that would convince the Arizona prosecutor not to press charges.

When the family contacted the Los Angeles police a month later, Rodriguez’s superior told the investigating detective that the “church was aware of the situation and the defendant was currently hospitalized,” according to court papers.

The victim’s former attorney, Drew Antablin, said his client, who could not be reached for comment, was part of a larger settlement with the church in 2007.

After his release, Rodriguez was assigned to work for the archdiocese’s office of family life in Santa Barbara in 1988 and then to St. Mary’s Seminary in Santa Barbara. He took a leave of absence in 1993 after complaints of abuse surfaced again — but his superiors soon discovered he was saying Mass in a neighboring county in violation of his status.

In 1996, Rodriguez asked the Vatican to be defrocked and was exiled from the priesthood two years later.

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to molesting two brothers whom he met in 1988, just after his return to ministry. “He used his position in the church and used the victims’ faith as a weapon against them,” said Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold, who handled that case. “It was outrageous and unforgiveable.”

Associated Press Writer Greg Risling reported from Los Angeles and Huntington Park, Calif.

Cardinal Roger Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog

Cardinal Roger Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog

2/2/13 By Gillian Flaccus

From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/cardinal-defends-legacy-on-church-abuse-in-blog

Cardinal Roger Mahony

On his blog on Friday, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was ill-equipped to deal with sexually abusive clergy when he took over the archdiocese in 1985 and quickly sought to develop policies and consult with leaders in other dioceses.

LOS ANGELES — The public rebuke of retired Cardinal Roger Mahony for failing to take swift action against abusive priests adds tarnish to a career already overshadowed by the church sex abuse scandal but does little to change his role in the larger church.

Mahony can still act as a priest, keep his rank as cardinal and remain on a critical Vatican panel that elects the next pope.

While Archbishop Jose Gomez’s decision to strip Mahony of his administrative and public duties was unprecedented in the American Roman Catholic Church, it was another attempt by the church to accept responsibility for the abuse scandal that has engulfed it.

Victims were quick to point out that Mahony’s new, paired-down local standing was in stark contrast to his continued position among the prelates at the Vatican.

The decision “is little more than window dressing. Cardinal Mahony is still a very powerful prelate,” Joelle Casteix, the Western regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said at a Friday news conference outside the Los Angeles cathedral. “He’s a very powerful man in Rome and still a very powerful man in Los Angeles.”

The Vatican declined to comment Friday when asked if the Holy See would follow Gomez’s lead and take action against Mahony.

Tod Tamberg, the archdiocese spokesman, said Mahony was in Rome several weeks ago for meetings unrelated to Thursday’s announcement. He said he did not know if Pope Benedict XVI was aware of Gomez’s announcement.

The cardinal and Gomez both declined interview requests from The Associated Press.

In a letter to Gomez posted on Mahony’s blog Friday, the cardinal said he was ill-equipped to deal with sexually abusive clergy when he took over the archdiocese in 1985 and quickly sought to develop policies and consult with church leaders in other dioceses. He reminded Gomez that he was well aware when he took over in 2011 of the steps Mahony had taken to safeguard children.

“Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices, or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors. I have stated time and time again that I made mistakes, especially in the mid-1980s,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then. But when I retired as the active Archbishop, I handed over to you an archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth.”

Gomez’s public criticism is almost unheard-of in the highly structured church institution and would have been cleared by the Vatican in advance, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer who worked for the Vatican’s Washington, D.C., embassy.

“He’s an archbishop — he cannot order a cardinal around,” said Doyle, who co-authored a 1985 report warning of a coming clergy sex abuse scandal. “The Catholic church is a monarchy. If you’re one of the princes of the realm and you’re a duke, you don’t dump on a prince without the king’s permission or you’re no longer a duke. That’s what the deal is.”

Gomez went as far as he could within this authority, but only the Pope has the power to sanction a cardinal or laicize him, he said.

Gomez made the announcement Thursday as the church was forced by a court order to turn over thousands of pages of confidential priest personnel files after a bruising, five-year legal fight. The archbishop also accepted a resignation request from one of Mahony’s top aides, now-Bishop Thomas Curry.

The move came two weeks after other long-secret priest personnel records showed Mahony and Curry, in particular, worked behind the scenes to protect the church from the engulfing scandal.

Mahony is a member of three Vatican departments, including the Holy See’s all-important economic affairs office, and he remains a member of the College of Cardinals. At 76, he is still eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

The Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, Bishop Charles Scicluna, has said Canon Law provides for sanctioning bishops who show “malicious or fraudulent negligence” in their work, but has acknowledged that such laws have never been applied in the case of bishops who covered up sex abuse cases.

In the past, lower-ranking members of the church hierarchy who have spoken out about their superior’s handling of the clergy abuse crisis have been rebuked by the Holy See.

In 2010, for example, Viennese Cardinal Cristoph Schoenborn criticized the former Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in an interview for his handling of a notorious sex abuse case. Schoenborn didn’t use Sodano’s name in his critique, but was nonetheless forced to come to Rome to explain himself to the pope and Sodano.

The Vatican publicly rebuked Schoenborn, saying that only the pope has authority to deal with accusations against a cardinal.

The Vatican’s silence after Thursday’s announcement indicates they were aware of it, said Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine monk and priest and vocal church critic who consults on clergy abuse cases.

“Gomez was as brilliant as a sniper the way he orchestrated this because he did not overstep his authority against the Pope and yet at the same time it appears that some type of penalty is being imposed,” said Wall. “He cannot force Mahony to resign. It’s brilliant and this has never happened in the U.S.”

Mahony will reduce his public appearances, including numerous guest lectures nationwide on immigration reform, and no longer perform confirmations, Tamberg said. However, he remains a priest in good standing and will continue to live in a North Hollywood parish and can celebrate the sacraments with no restrictions, he said.

Several of the documents in the newly released files echo recurring themes that emerged over the past decade in dioceses nationwide, where church leaders moved problem priests between parishes and didn’t call the police.

Studies commissioned by the U.S. bishops found more than 4,000 U.S. priests have faced sexual abuse allegations since the early 1950s, in cases involving more than 10,000 children — mostly boys.

In one instance, a draft of a plan with Mahony’s name on it calls for sending a molester priest to his native Spain for a minimum of seven years, paying him $400 a month and offering health insurance. In return, the cardinal would agree to write the Vatican and ask them to cancel his excommunication, leaving the door open for him to return as a priest someday.

It was unclear whether the proposed agreement was enacted.

“I am concerned that the Archdiocese may later be seen as liable — for having continued to support this man — now that we have been put on notice that one of the young adults under his influence is suicidal,” a top aide wrote in a memo about the priest to Mahony in 1995, urging him to stop paying benefits to the priest.

The cardinal added a handwritten note: “I concur — the faster, the better.”

In another case, Mahony resisted turning over a list of altar boys to police who were investigating claims against a visiting Mexican priest who was later determined to have molested 26 boys during a 10-month stint in Los Angeles. “We cannot give such a list for no cause whatsoever,” he wrote on a January 1988 memo.

Mahony, who retired in 2011 after more than a quarter-century at the helm of the archdiocese, has publicly apologized for mistakes he made in dealing with priests who molested children.

Associated Press writer Shaya Tayefe Mohajer contributed to this report.

Catholic priest sentenced to 50 years for child porn

9/12/13 By Associated Press

From the link: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/catholic-priest-sentenced-to-50-years-for-child-porn?stay=1

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing or attempting to produce child porn.

Prosecutors had asked that he get 10 years in prison for each of five victims after he pleaded guilty to five counts of producing and trying to produce child porn.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City-area priest whose child pornography case led to a criminal conviction against a Roman Catholic bishop was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in federal prison.

Prosecutors had asked that the Rev. Shawn Ratigan be sentenced to 10 years in prison for each of five young victims after he pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing and trying to produce child porn.

Ratigan, 47, was charged in May 2011 after police received a flash drive from his computer containing hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.

Bishop Robert Finn, head of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, was convicted last September of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse to the state.

Prosecutors said the diocese learned about the photos on Ratigan’s computer on Dec. 16, 2010, after a technician found them on the priest’s laptop and alerted church officials. A day after the images were found, Ratigan missed Sunday Mass and was found unconscious in his garage with his motorcycle running and a suicide note nearby.

Instead of reporting Ratigan or the photos to law enforcement, as required by state law, Finn waited until the priest was released from the hospital and sent him out of state for psychiatric counseling.

When Ratigan returned to Missouri, Finn ordered him to stay at the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist, a facility in Independence, where he could say Mass for the sisters.

The diocese turned the photos over to police in May 2011 after receiving reports that Ratigan had violated Finn’s order to avoid contact with children.

For Minnesota Catholics, troubling new abuse scandal

By Amy Forliti of Associated Press

From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/for-minnesota-catholics-troubling-new-abuse-scandal?ocid=msnnw

Unlike other abuse revelations that have rocked theJennifer Haselberger, the allegations in Minnesota aren’t decades old or involve perpetrators long retired or dead.

ST. PAUL, Minn.  — When Jennifer Haselberger uncovered what looked like recent, troubling sexual behavior by several Minnesota priests — a stash of possible child pornography on one priest’s computer hard drive, another with a well-documented history of sexual compulsion still leading a parish — she tried to ring alarm bells at the top ranks of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese.

But Haselberger, who resigned last April as the archdiocese’s chancellor for canonical affairs, said she felt ignored. She has since gone public with concerns that Minnesota’s archbishop and top deputies failed to truly reform how they handle problem priests, despite repeated promises to do so.

“I do not believe it can be said that the archdiocese is honoring its promise to protect” children and young people, Haselberger said last week in a statement to the media.

Unlike many of the abuse revelations that have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church, the allegations Haselberger brought to light aren’t decades old or involve perpetrators long retired or dead. They all happened after 2002, when U.S. bishops held a high-profile meeting in Dallas and approved broad policy changes meant to quickly remove predatory priests from parishes and restore the church’s tattered credibility with millions of Catholics.

“They weren’t just going to sweep stuff under the rug. They weren’t going to move him around,” said Joe Ternus, who in 2004 found what he called “a ridiculous amount of pornography” on the hard drive of a computer he purchased at a church rummage sale and that had belonged to Jonathan Shelley, a parish priest.

Ternus, whose parents and sister attended Shelley’s church, turned the hard drive over to archdiocesan officials.

“I was given assurances that this wasn’t going to happen, but that’s exactly what happened,” Ternus said.

Haselberger’s allegations have the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese playing defense. Last week, Archbishop John Nienstedt accepted the hasty resignation of his top-ranking deputy, the Rev. Peter Laird, who wrote in his resignation letter that he hoped to “repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse.” Nienstedt also convened what he said would be an independent task force to examine the way church leaders officials have handled accusations of sexual misconduct by priests.

But church leaders weren’t initially so eager to deal with the cases. Minnesota Public Radio News obtained a letter from Nienstedt to Cardinal William Levada, the now-retired Vatican official who ran the office that oversees errant priests, spelling out who an archdiocese investigator found pornographic images on Shelley’s hard drive that were at least “borderline illegal, because of the youthful looking male images.”

“My staff has expressed concern the fact that CD-ROMs containing the images remain in the cleric’s personnel file could expose the archdiocese, as well as myself, to criminal prosecution,” Nienstedt wrote to Levada.

The archdiocese declined to make Nienstedt or Laird available for interviews. Spokesman Jim Accurso said media coverage of the recent allegations “leave a false impression about the commitment of the archdiocese to identify and address sexual misconduct by priests.” He said eliminating any form of abuse is the “highest priority” for the archdiocese.

Tom Wieser, an attorney for the archdiocese, has called Haselberger “a disgruntled former employee.” She worked at the archdiocese from 2008 to last April, when she resigned because of concerns about the way sexual abuse allegations were handled.

According to a police report, Haselberger found computer discs and a white three-ring binder in the vault last year that appeared to be evidence from a 2004 internal investigation into the images. A police report said Haselberger told Laird what she found, and was instructed to “put them back in the vault.”

Shelley’s lawyer said there was no child pornography on the disc. And an attorney for the archdiocese said a computer forensics expert also found no evidence to support Haselberger’s allegations. Police also found no evidence of child pornography, but acknowledged they didn’t have the computer itself.

Police received new information from Ternus on Friday, and on Tuesday afternoon they announced they were reopening the child pornography investigation. In his initial report, lead investigator Sgt. William Gillet openly wondered whether the archdiocese turned over all the pertinent evidence.

In the other case at issue, the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was allowed to remain in ministry despite ample evidence that archdiocesan leaders knew of sexual misconduct. He is now in prison for sexually abusing two children and possessing child pornography.

Haselberger told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday that she raised concerns with her superiors in 2008, and again last year.

“Having worked on similar cases in other dioceses, I was completely unprepared for the responses I received in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis,” she wrote.

The new policies formulated by bishops in 2002 were specifically designed to quickly root out problem priests. One church leader instrumental in that process was Harry Flynn, Nienstedt’s predecessor in St. Paul-Minneapolis. Flynn is implicated in some of the decisions that Haselberger brought to light; he could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

“Since 2002, there was a real sea change, and I believe most bishops got it,” said Nicholas Cafardi, a former church canon lawyer who was involved in drawing up the new policies. Now a professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Cafardi said he would be personally shocked to learn that top officials in any diocese sheltered potential abusers since then.

Cafardi cautioned that he’s not familiar with the new allegations, and noted in particular that finding a priest in possession of legal pornography raises thorny questions for his supervisors in the church. But if it’s proven that church leaders failed to live up to the 2002 policies, he said, it would damage the church’s efforts to move beyond past scandals.

“Any diocese that’s not following that makes people question the credibility of the policy,” he said. “That then harms the entire church in the U.S., because people will think if this bishop does it, then is another bishop doing it?”

Pope Francis urges decisive action against sex abuse

4/5/13 By Philip Pullella of Reuters

From the link: http://news.msn.com/world/pope-francis-urges-decisive-action-against-sex-abuse?ocid=msnnws

In a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, the new pope declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility.”

VATICAN CITY— Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to “act decisively” to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday.

Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important “for the Church and its credibility”, a statement said.

Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children. It was believed to be the first time he had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on March 13.

Mueller is head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department which includes the office of the “promoter of justice”, or sex crimes prosecutor, which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests are to be defrocked.

Francis said the department should continue to “act decisively as far as cases of sexual abuse are concerned, promoting, above all, measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past (and) the necessary procedures against those who are guilty,” a statement said.

It said the pope wanted Catholic bishops around the world to promote and put into place “directives in this matter which is so important for the witness of the Church and its credibility”.

A victims’ group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said the statement did not go far enough and criticized it for saying that the Church’s stance against sexual abuse was “a continuation” of the line wanted by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict.

“Action, not discussion, is needed,” SNAP said in a statement.

“We can’t confuse words with actions. When we do, we hurt kids. We must insist on new tangible action that helps vulnerable children protect their bodies, not old vague pledges that help a widely-discredited institution protect its reputation,” it said.

SNAP and other victims groups say there is much still to be discovered about how the Church behaved in the past and want more bishops who were aware of abuse to be held responsible.

The Catholic Church’s crisis began in Boston in 2002 when media began reporting how cases of abuse were systematically covered up and abusive priests shuttled from parish to parish instead of being defrocked and handed over to civil authorities.

Since then, the Catholic Church in many countries has set up new guidelines to deal with cases of past abuse, prevent new cases, report abuse to police, and stop potential abusers from entering the priesthood in the first place.

Church whistleblower says she ‘didn’t do enough’

By Amy Forliti of Associated Press

From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/church-whistleblower-says-she-didnt-do-enough

ST. PAUL, Minn. — After she made her First Communion as a little girl, Jennifer Haselberger was distraught to learn the Catholic church had no saint Jennifer, and she had no saint to call her own. So her mom opened up a book and pointed to Joan of Arc.

“There. That’s yours,” she said.

Years later, Haselberger is in a fight of her own after going public with claims that archdiocese leaders in St. Paul mishandled allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. Turns out, Haselberger may have borrowed a little bravery from the headstrong French heroine she has long admired.

Haselberger, a former canon lawyer for the archdiocese, took on leaders of the church she loves after she felt her warnings about troubled priests were being ignored, setting off a firestorm in the local church.

“If a child was hurt, Jenny would do everything within her power to stop that. The lengths that she went to were probably heroic,” said Anne Maloney, Haselberger’s former college adviser.

Haselberger resigned in April after she says Archbishop John Nienstedt and others did not respond appropriately when she found pornography, including images of possible child pornography, on computer disks that once belonged to a priest who was still in ministry. This came after she says church leaders ignored her repeated warnings dating back to 2008 about another priest who went on to molest two boys in his camper in 2010.

“I can never undo what happened to those boys, and that hangs incredibly heavy on me,” Haselberger told The Associated Press. “I didn’t do enough.”

Haselberger said she resigned because church leaders weren’t listening, and she went to authorities and to the media because they wouldn’t change. Since then, Nienstedt’s top deputy has stepped down, and the church set up an independent task force to review its policies. Police are also investigating.

“I came to the conclusion that I was going to do whatever it took, that this was not acceptable … and let the chips fall where they may,” she said.

Haselberger has gone to law enforcement about two priests, and she says she had brought concerns about others to church leaders. She declined to elaborate, but said she expects more details will emerge.

Jim Accurso, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said he could not comment on Haselberger or her resignation because it is a personnel matter. Accurso has said the information portrayed in the media is incomplete because it has been presented without context.

Tom Doyle, founder of the Catholic Whistleblowers group, said it is still rare — and risky — for someone from within the church to come forward and challenge bishops, who he likened to absolute rulers.

“Everyone I know of who has been a whistleblower has sacrificed their career,” said Doyle.

Haselberger, a Minnesota Wild fan and equestrienne, grew up in a Polish-Catholic family with a great uncle and a great aunt who both went into religious life. While she never considered that herself, she calls the church her “home,” and still stands behind it and the many clergy she respects and considers heroes.

While an undergrad at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy. She also became a leader of a student group that opposed abortion and advocated for valuing human life, Maloney said.

“I never once saw Jenny back down from a conversation or dispute,” Maloney said. “She believed being anti-abortion was the best way to be a feminist.”

Inspired by a religious sister, she also began writing to a man on death row in Angola, La. She is against capital punishment and became his spiritual director. The man’s death sentence was vacated when Hurricane Katrina destroyed prison records, but she said the experience taught her about striking a balance between caring for offenders and protecting the innocent, something she says could also apply to accused clergy.

“I despise the acts that they committed, but I don’t hate them,” she said.

Haselberger earned her doctorate of philosophy at the University of London. While waiting to defend her thesis, she began taking classes at Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium, where she earned her licentiate in canon law and graduated with highest honors in 2004.

While living in a prestigious academic community in London, Haselberger organized a lecture about a woman who went to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated atrocities committed during the apartheid era, to seek amnesty not for violence or any other crimes — but for her apathy in apartheid-controlled South Africa. Her example inspired Haselberger.

“That really resonated with me at the time … it’s such a phenomenal example of personal accountability,” Haselberger said.

When Haselberger began working for the archdiocese in 2008, Nienstedt called her “studious” and “thoughtful.”

That contrasts with statements made after her allegations. Archdiocese attorney Tom Wieser said in a recent court hearing that Haselberger was a “disgruntled former employee” who was unauthorized to investigate allegations of child pornography but did so anyway, something he called “unsophisticated and imprudent.” According to a court transcript, Wieser said Haselberger decided for herself that the images were illegal, and went to authorities, who found no evidence of child pornography. St. Paul Police have since reopened their investigation.

Now outside the chancery walls, Haselberger is a consultant, available to help victims of abuse, or others, navigate the ins and outs of canon law.

She knows she’ll likely never work for the church again, and her eyes get watery when she talks about how much she would have loved serving in the church of Pope Francis. But she said her only regret is not speaking out sooner.

“I certainly always attempted to make my points using facts and reason and to do so respectfully,” she said. “But I would hope that people would say that ‘She was incredibly passionate about this.’ Because I would be disappointed in myself if I wasn’t.”

 

Pastor of West Side Cleveland church charged with soliciting sex while being HIV-positive

By Ron Rutti, The Plain Dealer
on October 12, 2013 at 6:40 PM, updated October 12, 2013 at 9:50 PM

From the link: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/10/pastor_of_west_side_cleveland.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Rev. James McGonegal, pastor of a West Side Cleveland Catholic church, was charged today with soliciting sex while being HIV-positive. He had been arrested Friday in Edgewater Park.

In the incident report released today, an off-duty Cleveland Metroparks ranger said McGonegal offered the ranger $50 to help him “get off,” then exposed himself and masturbated, all while sitting inside his late-model Jeep SUV.

The report said McGonegal had three sex devices in his Jeep when he was arrested around 12:45 p.m.

The priest, 68, was released on personal bond from Cleveland City Jail this morning other media reports said. He has not been arraigned as the charges were not filed until around noon.

McGonegal has been pastor at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, at Lorain Avenue and West Boulevard, since the mid-1980s. He has been a priest since 1971.

At a mass this evening at the church, the only mention of the incident was at the start when a lector greeted the 140 people in attendance and said, “Today we pray for this parish, and our pastor.” A priest in residence at St. Ignatius said the mass.

St. Ignatius was on the chopping block in March 2009, when the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland decided to close a number of parishes. St. Ignatius parishioners and their pastor, however, were able to convince Bishop Richard Lennon to keep open the church, which has a towering steeple that can be seen from many parts of the city’s West Side.

After the mass, parishioners approached for comment declined to talk.

McGonegal was also charged with public indecency and abusing harmful intoxicants.

The report said inside the Jeep was a bottle that contained an intoxicant. During questioning after his arrest, the priest said he bought the product at a sex shop and smells the contents to get “a buzz.”

Later Friday, McGonegal told workers at the jail that he is HIV-positive, the report said.

The report said McGonegal made eye contact with the ranger as the priest drove his black SUV into a parking lot at Edgewater. The ranger was off-duty and wearing civilian clothes.

The ranger said he walked to a trail, then looked back and saw that McGonegal had rolled down the driver-side window of the Jeep, and was tapping on the door frame and waiving at him.

The ranger wrote that he continued walking until he was out of sight, waited two minutes, then headed back.

By then, the report said, McGonegal was pulling out to leave the area, but returned to the parking spot when he saw the man returning.

When the ranger got near the Jeep, the two began to talk, with McGonegal saying he was “cruising.”

The report said the ranger asked McGonegal if he wanted to go for a walk, but the priest declined, stating he knew of people who had been arrested in the park by rangers.

The ranger wrote that after he refused an offer to get into the Jeep, the priest suggested that they go to his nearby home.

The two then shifted the conversation to what McGonegal wanted and how much he would pay, the report said.

A HIV positive priest, Rev. James McGonegal has been arrested for soliciting and masturbating in public.

A HIV positive priest, Rev. James McGonegal has been arrested for soliciting and masturbating in public.

Rev. James McGonegal is arrested for soliciting sex and masturbating.

A HIV positive priest, Rev. James McGonegal has been arrested for soliciting and masturbating in public.

The priest of  St. Ignatius of Antioch Church on the west side of Cleveland came to be arrested this past Friday after he he went on to unwittingly offer an off duty Cleveland Metroparks ranger a fun trick to the tune of $50.

Offering the ranger $50 to get him off in a crowded parking lot, Rev. James McGonegal went on to masturbate before being arrested.

The reverend’s subsequent disclosure that he was HIV positive also came after being booked.

Goes on to explain gawker:

The police report makes the whole incident even sadder, as it inventories the priest’s cruising stash of poppers and cock rings:

While conducting a tow inventory of McGonegal’s vehicle three sexual devices, commonly referred to as “cock rings,” were located. One of these rings was wrapped around the lid to a bottle labeled “Pig Sweat.” The bottle logo was of a pig/man figure wearing buttocks-free chaps. Below the name of the bottle was writing stating the product was nail polish remover. The labeling also indicated that the product contained isobutyl nitrate, a harmful intoxicant.

Asked to explain what ‘Pig Sweat’ referred to, Rev. James McGonegal went on to tell he would buy the sweat from a sex shop and smelling the product would give him “a buzz.”

McGonegal, who has been a priest since 1971 and the pastor at St. Ignatius since the 1980s, now faces charges of soliciting after positive HIV test, public indecency, and abusing harmful intoxicants. He was released Saturday morning on a personal bond.

At the 11 a.m. mass Sunday morning at his Cleveland parish, McGonegal was absent and no mention was made of his arrest other than a prayer: “Today we pray for this parish, and our pastor.”

Commentators on the web have gone on to speculate whether the reverend had planned to tell a potential partner if he was HIV positive and to what degree he could be held in contempt for his behavior. Others have gone on to express dismay that the reverend has gone on to abuse his post whilst others wonder if the church itself has served to perpetuate a kind of warped and latent sexual yearning that the reverend felt he had no recourse but to explore…. and how.

Trial Transcripts and Statements for Father Robert Kapoun

Trial Transcripts and Statements for Father Robert Kapoun Trial

These are links to the statements and trial transcripts to the Trial of Father Robert Kapoun. These transcripts show the evil perpetrated upon victims of child rape and how the leaders covered up these crimes and rewarded the pedophile rapist priest and punished the victims.

Deposition of Archbishop John R Roach

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784191-deposition-of-archbishop-john-r-roach-july-24-1989.html

HIGHLIGHTS:

Archbishop Roach: “At the same time that he was complaining of back problems… he was also directing a band called the Polka Padres…” pg. 3

Archbishop Roach: “I really wasn’t sure he wanted to be a priest…” pg 4

“[Fr. Srnec] felt that there was something clearly wrong with him…” pg 4

“I would see billboards of the Polka Padre out with his accordion and here’s a guy who wasn’t performing.” pg 5

Archbishop Roach testimony: Difficulty remembering pg 7

“I wanted to know, really, what I could do to be some help to him.”  pg 14

“Was there any question by you about [the victim] and how he was doing…?” pg 14

Archbishop Roach: “Those things certainly I would have tried to do.” pg 17

Jeff Anderson: “You also I think this morning talked about a vault…” pg 17

“He is probably right about Kapoun.”  pg 19

Msgr Stanley J Smec Disposition:

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784190-msgr-stanley-j-srnec-deposition-july-7-1989.html

Highlights:

Msgr. Srnec recalls a parishioner alerting him to “impropriety between Father Kapoun” and a boy  pg 5

Father Robert Kapoun Court Documents I

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784213-court-documents-1995-96.html

Highlights:

Dale Scheffler initiates lawsuit against Kapoun and archdiocese, Sept. 2, 1994. pg 1

Scheffler complaint, Sept. 2, 1994.  pg 2

Andrew Eisenzimmer signs for summons, Sept. 7, 1994. pg 10

Dale Scheffler’s allegations against the Rev. Kapoun  pg 10

Archbishop John Roach deposition, pp. 68-81, July 24, 1989. pg 68

Judge grants punitive damages claim against Kapoun in 1989 suit, April 20, 1990. pg 89

Judge grants punitive damages claim against Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1989 suit, April 20, 1990. pg 90

Kapoun 1989 deposition, pp. 105-137 

A jury awards Scheffler $550,000 in damages. pg 140

A jury finds archdiocese liable for $600,000. pg 141

Scheffler awarded reimbursement of legal fees. pg 143

Scheffler awarded reimbursement of legal fees. pg 144

Judge rules for Scheffler and against the archdiocese in the amount of $1.2 million. pg 147

Judge amends case title to identify Dale Scheffler, July 3, 1996.  pg 149

Trial dates. pg 154

Judgment of Aug. 9, 1996 I.  pg 154

Judgment of Aug. 9, 1996 II. pg 155

Court of Appeals ruling, legal fees, Aug. 20, 1997. pg 158

Court of Appeals reverse lower-court ruling – syllabus. pg 161

Court of Appeals reverse lower court decision I, May 20, 1997. pg 167

Court of Appeals reverse lower court decision II, May 20, 1997.  pg 168

Judgment, March 1, 1996. pg 174

Mark Schutz deposition, pp. 228-246 , April 20, 1994. pg 228

Scheffler complaint, pp. 292-299. Sept. 2, 1994 pg 292

Father Robert Kapoun Court Documents II

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784217-court-documents-1995-96-ii.html

Highlights:

James Drummond complaint, suit commenced on June 23, 1994; filed Feb. 7, 1995.  pg 2

Kapoun signs receipt for Drummond summons, Aug. 12, 1994. pg 10

Archdiocese signs receipt for Drummond summons, June 27, 1994. pg 12

James Drummond deposition, March 17, 1995, pp. 22-40.  pg 22

Lttr. regarding the Rev. James Porter, Aug. 24, 1967. pg 63

Lttr. regarding the Rev. James Porter, Oct. 9, 1968. pg 64

Lttr. regarding the Rev. James Porter, Aug. 6, 1969. pg 65

Lttr. regarding the Rev. James Porter, Nov. 3, 1970. pg 66

Lttr. regarding the Rev. James Porter, undated.  pg 67

Mark Schutz, jury award, March 25, 1996 pg 69

Kapoun deposition, pp. 97-115, March 7, 1995. pg 97

Victim describes the nature of the abuse pg 121

Victim describes the nature of the abuse (cont.) pg 122

Judgment against Mark Schutz in favor of archdiocese for $3,312.04, Aug. 2, 1996. pg 172

Order amending title of Schutz lawsuit, allowing Schutz to be namd, Aug. 2, 1996. pg 173

Judgment against Schutz due to statute of limitations, March 28, 1996. pg 176

Kapoun responses to interrogatories, Drummond case. pg 177

Kapoun parish-assignment timeline, Dec. 12, 1994. pg 180

Deposition of Curt Raymond, April 14, 1995. pg 370

Judge dismisses Drummond’s case, June 13, 1995. pg 390

Judge in Drummond case uses Mark Schutz case to make decision. pg 392

Drummond case judge rejects argument that sexual abuse perpetrated by a few priests does not require archdiocese to be suspicious of all priests. pg 393

Mark Tuma initiates his lawsuit against Kapoun and the archdiocese, Sept. 15, 1993. pg 395

Archdiocese lawyer, Andrew Eisenzimmer, signs receipt for summons, Sept. 29, 1993. pg 396

Kapoun signs summons receipt, Sept. 23, 1993. pg 398

Mark Tuma deposition, pp. 404-406. pg 404

Mark Tuma complaint, Sept. 15, 1993. pg 406

Deposition of Mark Tuma, pp. 463-471, May 20, 1994.Untitled Note pg 463

Mark Tuma answer to interrogatories, Feb. 1, 1994. pg 472

Deposition of the Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, pp. 509-515, July 1994. pg 509

Deposition of Jane Steinhagen: Kapoun turned religion class to sexual topics, April 30, 1995. pg 521

Steinhagen deposition: Kapoun likened Communion with intercourse with Christ, April 30, 1995. pg 522

Judge dismisses Tuma suit against archdiocese, June 9, 1995 pg 532. 

Judge rules that archdiocese should not have known that Kapoun posed threat to Tuma. pg 534

Judge rules that archdiocese should not have known that Kapoun posed threat to Tuma. pg 536

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts I

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784474-kapoun-trial-transcript-vol-i.html

Highlights:

Jeff Anderson says Kapoun abused several parish children, took them swimming and on overnight trips 

Archdiocese lawyer asks judge to block testimony by other alleged victims of Kapoun 

Archdiocese lawyer: Kapoun was not acting as an employee of the archdiocese when he sexually abused children 

Anderson says Archdiocese knew Kapoun sexually abused a boy in 1973 and did nothing 

Kapoun takes two boys to his cabin, sexually abuses them, attorney says 

Kapoun abuses a sleeping boy at the cabin 

Kapoun’s victim “suffered in secrecy, silence and shame and told no one for years” 

Mother tells a priest in 1973 that Kapoun sexually abused her son 

John Roach, future archbishop, dismisses abuse report in 1973, “Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not” 

Attorney for victim: The archdiocese swept the allegations under the rug, allowed the abuse to continue. 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts II

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784217-court-documents-1995-96-ii.html

Highlights:

Archdiocese lawyer: Kapoun wasn’t acting as a priest when he took the boys to the cabin 

Kapoun’s attorney blames the media for putting priests in a “very unenviable position,” says Kapoun “has a black cloud hanging over his head” 

Kapoun’s attorney says there’s no evidence of the abuse, just the testimony of Kapoun and “the accuser” 

“Why Father Kapoun? Father Kapoun is the polka padre.” 

Archbishop Roach says the vicar general “has always played a very rigorous part in the administration of the diocese.” 

Archbishop Roach says he doesn’t remember the report about Kapoun in 1973 

Roach says he knew Kapoun had emotional problems in the 1970s 

Attorney Jeff Anderson asks Archbishop Roach why he suddenly recalls a conversation he previously said he forgot 

Roach says Polka Padre spent most of his time playing the accordion and made excuses for skipping mass 

Another victim testifies that Kapoun manipulated him after his father died 

Victim recalls how Kapoun would try to touch him while swimming in the lake 

Victim tells his mother about Kapoun’s actions 

Victim says he was scared that Kapoun would hurt him again 

Victim says he heard nothing from the archdiocese after he reported sexual abuse 

Priest tells Roach of abuse, says Roach said, of abuse allegations against Kapoun, “Well, maybe he did and maybe he didn’t” 

Priest says he was confident in Roach’s ability to know whether someone was lying about abuse 

Kapoun admits that he was sexually attracted to boys, but says he no longer feels that way 

Kapoun claims he didn’t realize that he was harming the boys  

Kapoun says he took a boy to his family cabin “just to have a good time.” 

Kapoun says he didn’t abuse one boy because he “just didn’t have any curiosity” about him 

Kapoun says he dropped a raw egg down a boy’s pants  

Kapoun says he exercised with a boy in his underwear 

Attorney to Kapoun: “Did you have a sexual interest in this boy?” Kapoun: “Yes, minimum” 

Kapoun offers vague testimony on his sexual interest in boys 

Kapoun explains why he asked a boy to stay overnight, “It was a curiosity of about his genitals.” 

Kapoun claims that a boy touched him in a car, says he didn’t ask the boy to do it 

Kapoun says he brought a boy to his parents’ home and asked him to get into the shower because of his “curiosity” 

Kapoun again claims that a minor touched his genitals without any prompting 

Kapoun admits to touching a boy 

Kapoun of one victim: “I would say he had more interest in me than I did in him.” 

Kapoun admits that he invited a boy to stay with him overnight “probably to see him undressed” 

Kapoun says he didn’t have any sexual interest in Dale Scheffler 

Kapoun says the Archdiocese knew that boys tried to lock him out of their bedrooms 

Another man describes how Kapoun tried to sexually abuse him as a child 

Curt Raymond tells Kevin McDonough about the abuse in 1988 or 1989 

Victim recounts being confused by Kapoun’s abuse. “I was thinking to myself, is this a sacrament?” 

Kapoun victim watches TV report on clergy sex abuse. “It was like somebody hit me with a baseball bat between the eyes.” 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts III

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784482-kapoun-trial-transcript-vol-3.html

Highlights:

Michael Dearing describes Kapoun taking him to the Cold Spring cabin 

Plaintiff expert says victim Dale Scheffler has a “classic and severe learning disability” 

Plaintiff expert says trauma can make a learning disability more severe 

Therapist says Dale Scheffler “was afraid that the abuse was continuing and feared for the kids” 

Dale Scheffler’s therapist describes how the abuse led to other problems in Scheffler’s life 

Therapist describes Scheffler’s fear that the church will retaliate against his family; describes how Scheffler saw Kapoun by chance on the freeway 

Therapist says Scheffler used alcohol and drugs to push away memories of the abuse 

Therapist says Scheffler will likely need at least 150 hours of therapy over five years 

Archdiocese attorney questions victim’s commitment to therapy 

Archdiocese attorney suggests the lawsuit, not the abuse, was the source of Scheffler’s stress 

Archdiocese lawyer grills therapist on the reasons why Scheffler started drinking and using drugs 

Archdiocese lawyer claims that the victim’s father was an alcoholic 

Attorney asks why a boy’s parents allowed him to stay with Kapoun at the cabin. “Because he was our priest and supposedly it’s supposed to be safe.” 

Archdiocese attorney picks apart details about the overnight trip to the cabin, focuses on whether Kapoun’s mother was there and whether one of the boys slept in a sleeping bag 

Archdiocese attorneys asks a man to describe the cabin he visited when he was 11 years old 

Kapoun’s attorney grills a witness about the details of the overnight trip to the cabin 

Kapoun’s attorney asks a witness to recall a visit to Kapoun’s cabin when he was 11 years old. Asks what the boys ate, and whether the food was cooked or cold 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts IV

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/800661-transcript-vol-4-from-anderson.html

Highlights:

Next Dale Scheffler describes how his family trusted Kapoun and allowed the priest to take him on an overnight trip when he was about 13 years old 

Previous Next Scheffler describes how Kapoun abused him while swimming in the lake  

Previous Next Scheffler, recounting abuse, “I felt nothing. I don’t know what to feel.” 

Previous Next Archdiocese attorney questions Scheffler about his dating history 

Previous Next Archdiocese attorney questions Scheffler about whether his father is an alcoholic 

Previous Next Archdiocese attorney grills Scheffler on whether the other boy at the cabin slept in a sleeping bag 

Previous Next Archdiocese attorney asks Scheffler if he told his mother specifically that “Father Kapoun had touched you with his penis and had tried to put it in your butt?” Scheffler says, “I don’t know … I was a little kid.” 

Previous Archdiocese attorney suggests Scheffler may have been traumatized by his father’s struggles with arthritis 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts V

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784486-kapoun-trial-transcript-vol-5.html

Highlights:

Kapoun explains how he got the nickname “Polka Padre” 

Kapoun says his behavior with Michael Dearing was “very very wrong” 

Kapoun claims he slept in between two boys because he “didn’t want any horseplay between the two individuals” 

Kapoun: “I never abused Dale Scheffler.” 

Anderson asks a doctor to compare the stress of the lawsuit to the stress of knowing that Kapoun remained a pastor; Archdiocese attorney objects 

Archdiocese attorney says the lawsuit may have caused Scheffler’s stress 

Expert witness for the archdiocese says Scheffler was not severely mentally ill 

Expert witness for the archdiocese lists Scheffler’s stressors; he includes “litigation over alleged abuse by priest,” does not include the abuse itself 

Expert witness for the archdiocese says Scheffler blamed others for his problem “and until he starts taking some responsibility for making changes in his life, I was not optimistic that he would respond to treatment” 

Expert witness for the archdiocese says Scheffler’s progress in therapy should be closely tracked because “there is always the danger of someone who has a problem with depression and who is being very blaming and having a lot of old baggage … [will] continue to dwell on that …” 

Jeff Anderson fires back at archdiocese expert about whether Scheffler has taken responsibility for making changes in his life 

Expert witness for archdiocese says, “There are some people who don’t really want to be happy.” 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts VI

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/800662-transcript-vol-6-from-anderson.html

Highlights:

Archdiocese’s attorney: “If he was abused, we are not saying he wasn’t harmed by that to some extent.” 

Archdiocese attorney: Victim knew right away that he had been sexually abused 

Archdiocese attorney says a reasonable person in the victim’s situation would’ve realized that being sexually abused led to shame, guilt and personal problems.. 

Archdiocese attorney: If Kapoun sexually abused Scheffler, he wasn’t acting as a priest when he did it. 

Archdiocese attorney expands on argument that Kapoun wasn’t acting as a priest when he abused children. 

Archdiocese attorney: Any abuse by Kapoun took place during Kapoun’s time off. 

Archdiocese attorney tries to cast doubt on testimony about the church’s knowledge of the abuse in the 1970s. 

Archdiocese attorney says someone has to be mistaken about the overnight trip with Kapoun and two boys because witnesses have different recollections of whether they took a shower or slept in a sleeping bag. 

Instructions to the jury: “What sum of money will fairly compensate dale Scheffler for his damages up to the date of trial?” 

Archdiocese lawyer tells the jury that Scheffler should receive no more than $2,548 for past medical, therapy and counseling expenses. 

Archdiocese attorney says jurors have no proof that Scheffler lost earnings because of the abuse. 

Archdiocese attorney advises jury to award no more than $80,000 for compensatory damages. 

Archdiocese attorney: Scheffler does not appear to be suffering financially because he took a vacation to the Black Hills. 

Archdiocese attorney tells jury that they should award no more than $40,000 for future damages. 

Kapoun’s attorney: Abuse allegations are “15 years stale” 

Kapoun’s attorney cites conflicting testimony on whether the boys had sleeping bags 

Previous Next Kapoun’s attorney says alleged victim was looking for someone to blame for his personal problems 

Previous Next Kapoun’s attorney suggests the alleged victim could be making false accusations to get money 

Previous Next Kapoun’s attorney says Scheffler and his mother should’ve known it was abuse right away if the story was true 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson to jury: “I will not be eloquent but I will be honest.” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson: “Bringing this case … has been and is one of the gravest responsibilities I have ever taken or undertaken as a person and as a lawyer” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson says pedophiles like Kapoun need to be punished and removed from ministry 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson: “Dale after the abuse began a descent into hell and there is no question about that.” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson, of Scheffler after the abuse, “He began these processes of burying and copying and without a clue why his life was so messed up. He isolated, he changed his friends, he began to use drugs and alcohol. All the while thinking there is something wrong with him and not knowing or having a way to know why this is.” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson calls the suggestion that Scheffler should’ve immediately known it was sexual abuse “offensive” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson says mother allowed her child to spend time with Kapoun because he was a priest, “the man they were taught to worship God through.” 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson casts doubt on Archbishop Roach’s testimony 

Previous Next Jeff Anderson suggests that jurors award Scheffler $134,000 for future loss of earnings 

Previous Jeff Anderson asks jurors to decide in favor of his client “to share in the rage and to be a part of his recovery and how he walks that road ahead” 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts VII

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784496-kapoun-trial-transcript-vol-7.html

Highlights:

Attorneys discuss how Kapoun had previously admitted sexually abusing another boy in 1969 

Archdiocese attorney says “there was no proof” that Kapoun was “acting in the scope of employment” when he took the boys to the cabin 

Archdiocese attorney claims that punishing the church would violate the U.S. Constitution 

Jury awards victim $277,742 for damages that occurred prior to trial 

Jury awards victim $272,258 for future expenses, lost earnings, disability, emotional distress and embarassment 

Judge Gary Larson threatens to sanction Archdiocese lawyer $1,000 a day until Archbishop Roach returns from Florida to testify 

Judge Gary Larson shows frustration, suggests he wouldn’t be surprised if Archbishop Roach had left the country 

Archdiocese lawyer: Archbishop Roach is actually leaving the country 

Attorney Jeff Anderson offers to charter a plane to fly Archbishop Roach to Minnesota to testify 

Judge Gary Larson explains that jurors need to determine whether it’s likely the archdiocese “acted with willful indifference to the rights or safety of others.” 

Judge Gary Larson explains how the jury should decide the amount of punitive damages 

Kapoun meets with top church leaders in 1984 and admits to touching a boy; Church leaders ask Kapoun to resign from his parishes 

Kapoun resigns as pastor to prevent a victim’s family from calling police 

Kapoun says he talked with Bishop Carlson in 1987 about his sexual abuse of boys, Carlson asks Kapoun to seek a psychological evaluation 

Kapoun tells his parishioners he’s going on a vacation, spends that time receiving a psychological evaluation for child sexual abuse 

Top church deputy Kevin McDonough asks Kapoun in 1989 if he sexually abused one boy, Kapoun admits it 

Kapoun says Bishop Carlson told him in 1987 that the statute of limitation had expired on some of his unreported crimes 

Kapoun says church officials told him in the late 1980s not to spend time with boys but did not restrict him in any other way 

Kapoun says vicar general Kevin McDonough required him to attend therapy and confess his sins once a month 

Kapoun says he realized in therapy that he had a compulsive sexual interest in boys 

Archdiocese attorney asks Kapoun to assure jurors that his conduct at a parish since 1984 “has been above reproach” 

Archdiocese attorney asks Kapoun for his opinion on whether the church has put enough restrictions on him to protect children; Kapoun says restrications were “absolutely sufficient” 

Anderson asks Kapoun if he’s considered the impact of denying that he abused young men who are coming forward about abuse as children; Archdiocese lawyer objects 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts VIII

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/800665-transcript-vol-8.html

Highlights: None

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts IX

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784498-kapoun-trial-transcript-9.html

Highlights:

Jeff Anderson cross examines Archbishop John Roach 

Archbishop John Roach: “Would it help you if I would tell you a little bit about my style of administration?” Jeff Anderson: “No, it would help me if you would answer the question.” 

Jeff Anderson to Archbishop Roach: “You were gambling not with money but with children’s lives, weren’t you?” Roach: “Not intentionally.” 

Archbishop Roach says he transferred Kapoun out of St. Patrick’s Church because the victim’s parents were threatening to call police 

Archbishop Roach admits that “it was certainly a gamble” to reassign Kapoun knowing that he had sexually abused children in the past 

Archbishop Roach says he never met with anyone abused by Kapoun 

Archbishop Roach: “I made a judgment that there had been a dramatic change in Father Kapoun’s life and in his pattern and that he was safe in dealing with other people as proved to be true.” 

Anderson asks Archbishop Roach what he did to help the victims of Kapoun; Roach says, “I am sure we were concerned about them and I can’t tell you, Mr. Anderson, what we did about them.” 

Archbishop John Roach claims God intervened and changed Kapoun’s heart and soul 

Archbishop Roach says Kapoun was a “dramatically changed person” who was believable, holy and honest about his past actions 

Archbishop Roach says he hasn’t met with any of Kapoun’s victims and doesn’t know whether anyone on his staff has done so, either 

Vicar General Kevin McDonough: “Mr. Anderson has taught us a lot of things, and the victims he has represented have taught us a lot of things.” 

Vicar General Kevin McDonough describes restrictions placed on Kapoun 

Vicar General Kevin McDonough says parishioners weren’t told anything about Kapoun’s past until a victim sued 

Vicar General Kevin McDonough says Kapoun has already been “punished by public disclosure of his offenses … limitation on his ministry … mandated assessment and mandated treatment.” 

Jeff Anderson asks McDonough: “When you continued (Kapoun) in the parish, you in effect allowed him to continue to deny the abuse of all of those boys publicly?” McDonough: “That’s correct.” 

Father Robert Kapoun Trial Transcripts X

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/784500-kapoun-trial-transcript-10.html

Highlights:

Archdiocese “avoided scandal” by keeping abusive priests in ministry 

Archdiocese attorney says, “Certainly the attitude and the conduct of the Archdiocese at times has been inappropriate and lacking in the type of response we would all today expect from the Archdiocese.” 

Church lawyer says, “Certainly the Archdiocese has been punished over and over for these mistakes of the past.” 

Church lawyer says the archdiocese “has been punished severely” by clergy abuse lawsuits 

Church lawyer says the archdiocese has “clearly learned from these mistakes of the past” and should be encouraged, not punished 

Church lawyer says “hope has emerged … that the church has seen the path that leads in the direction of prevention of future harm” 

Jeff Anderson says the church profitted by keeping clergy sex abuse secret 

Jeff Anderson says the archdiocese “create a danger and a menance, and it has been there for every day since.” 

Jeff Anderson says his earlier lawsuits “have had no affect on the way they are doing business … the way they are gambling with the lives of these kids every time they put a predatory priest in a parish.” 

Jeff Anderson asks jurors, “Did you hear Father McDonough say shockingly that when these come forward now we report them to the police if they are recent but not if they are older. What is going on here?” 

Jeff Anderson tells jurors they have a “solemn obligation to … serve as an example and to return a verdict that strikes the bell and delivers a blow, and that is no less than ten million dollars.” 

Jury finds that the archdiocese should pay $600,000 in punitive damages