1) And one of the seven messengers who had the seven bowls drew near and spake with me, saying,__ hither! I will point out to thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth upon many waters, 2) with whom the rulers of the earth committed harlotry, and they who were dwelling upon the earth were made drunk with the wine of her whoredom. 3) And he carried me away into a desert in Spirit. And I saw a woman, sitting upon a scarlet wild-beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4) And the woman was arrayed with purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls,__ having a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations and the corruptions of her whoredom; 5) and upon her forehead a name written, a secret; Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. 6) And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I was puzzled when I beheld her great astonishment. 7) And the messenger said unto me__ wherefore wast thou puzzled? I will tell thee the secret of the woman and of the wild-beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. 8) The wild-beast which thou sawest was and is not, and is about to climb up out of the abyss and into destruction goeth away! And they who are dwelling upon the earth will be astonished, when they see the wild-beast, because it was and is not, and shall be present. 9) Here is the mind that hath Wisdom ! The seven heads are seven heights whereupon the woman sitteth, 10) and are seven rulers: five have fallen, one is, the other hath not yet been, and whensoever he is to be he must remain a little while,__ 11) and the wild-beast which was and is not, he is an eighth, and is of the seven,__ and into destruction goeth away! 12) And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten rulers,__ who indeed have not received sovereignty as yet, but authority as rulers shall receive when with the wild-beast in a due time! 13) These have one mind, and their power and authority unto the wild-beast they give. 14) These with the lamb will make war, and the lamb will conquer them; because He is Lord of lords, and King of rulers,__ and they who are with Him are called and chosen and faithful! 15) And he saith unto me__ the waters which thou sawest where the harlot sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16) And the ten horns which thou sawest and the wild-beast__ these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and her flesh shall they eat, and shall burn her up with fire! 17) For God hath put into their hearts to do His mind, even to do one mind,__ and to give their sovereignty unto the wild-beast until the words of God shall be completed! 18) For the woman whom thou sawest is the great city which hath sovereignty over the rulers of the earth. Rev 17:1-18
Toronto July 26, 2002:- After wowing 400,000 adoring young people with extraordinary stamina for a man his age, Pope John Paul rested on Friday ahead of the main events this weekend at the Roman Catholic Church's global youth jamboree. "This is a case of the soul dragging the body," said papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. (See the words of Eph 2:2;2Th 2:7-12). Since he arrived in Toronto on Tuesday the 82-year-old Pope has shown unusual resilience despite his sometime frail health due to Parkinson's disease and severe arthritis. The stamina of the leader of some one billion Roman Catholics was most evident on Thursday night at the official welcoming ceremony for World Youth Day, which has attracted young Catholics from some 170 nations. He enthralled the huge crowd by reading all of his address in a clear voice in English and French, and reading greetings in a number of other languages as the audience sang and danced. The crowd was the biggest to date during his 97th trip overseas, which will also take him to Guatemala and Mexico next week. At a briefing for reporters, Navarro-Valls said the Pope's condition was largely attributable to the rest his aides have inserted in his schedule. Three of his first four days in Canada have been rest days, largely to allow him to recover from jet lag.
Navarro-Valls said this may be the model for future papal trips but it would be difficult to impose rest on the Pope at the Vatican because of his many commitments. He said John Paul's apparent reinvigoration was not due to any change in medication for his Parkinson's disease. The Pope's better than anticipated health has delighted his Canadian hosts and the crowds of young people, who had been expecting to see a frailer, weaker man. Later on Friday the Pope was to host a simple lunch for 14 young people representing five continents at his retreat on Strawberry Island north of Toronto on Lake Simcoe, which residents have dubbed "The Holy Sea."
At the big opening ceremony on Thursday night on the shores of Lake Ontario, the Pope referred to himself an old man with a young heart and told the crowd that material pleasure was no match for spiritual happiness. "Dear young people, many and enticing are the voices that call out to you from all sides: many of these voices speak to you of a joy than can be had with money, with success, with power. Mostly they propose a joy that comes with the superficial and fleeting pleasure of the senses," he said. He referred to the events of Sept. 11, saying that last year humanity had seen "the tragic face of human malice" and what can happen "when hatred, sin and death take command." World Youth Day festivities, which culminate on Sunday, are the Roman Catholic Church's main international jamboree for young people, sometimes called a Catholic Woodstock after the 1969 U.S. rock music festival. ("Thus saith the Lord Yahweh; when all the earth is rejoicing a desolation will I make thee!!" Eze 35:14).They are punctuated by religious awareness events, charity workshops and promotion of vocations to the religious life. The celebrations, which take place every two years in a different country and are always attended by the Pope, aim to give like-minded Catholic youths a chance to mingle. Some of the young Catholics, who have flocked to Toronto from around the globe said they treasured what might be Pope John Paul's last World Youth Day. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. None of us will get a chance to see him again, probably," said Jennifer Lee, 16, of Toronto.
Cambridge, Massachusetts June 21, 2002: - Retired Rev. Paul R. Shanley has been indicted for child rape and indecent assault, becoming the latest Boston Roman Catholic figure to face charges resulting in the pedophile priest scandal. Shanley, 71, has been jailed since May when he was arrested and returned from California to face three counts of child rape, which were included in Thursday's indictment. He has pleaded innocent to those charges and was being held on $300,000 bail. "These latest revelations will undoubtedly open up the deep and painful wounds of those who have been abused in the past," Cardinal Bernard F. Law said in a statement. The allegations against Shanley span from 1979 to 1989, when he was at St. Jean's parish in Newton, a suburb of Boston. The indictment includes 10 counts of child rape and six counts of indecent assault and battery. Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said the investigation into Shanley remains open.
Prosecutors said Shanley would take one of the boys, who is now 24, out of religious classes and abuse him in the rectory, the bathroom of the church or a confessional. Prosecutors have refused to identify any of the victims. "In an ideal world we would not have sexual abuse of children. In a better world, adults would protect children," prosecutor Martha Coakley said. Shanley became a key figure in the scandal earlier this year when the archdiocese released personnel files indicating that church officials had received complaints about Shanley dating to 1967, and that he had made comments expressing advocacy for sexual relationships between men and boys. Law said in a letter distributed to parishes in May that he did not become aware until 1993 of any abuse allegations against Shanley. State Attorney General Thomas Reilly ( news, bio, voting record) has convened a grand jury to investigate whether Law and other church leaders put priests in situations where they could sexually abuse minors. The nationwide church scandal erupted after church documents made public in Boston revealed that Law knew of accusations against former priest John Geoghan but still transferred him between parishes. Geoghan is serving up to 10 years in prison for molesting a boy, and has been accused of abuse by 130 people. In his statement released Thursday, Law said the archdiocese owes "a debt of profound gratitude to abused persons who bring such acts into the light." "My sorrow is compounded whenever such acts involve the betrayal of trust by a priest, For this I apologize from the bottom of my heart," Law said.
Memphis, Tennessee July 11, 2002: — The only Jew Matthew Eastburn remembers knowing until recently was his sinus doctor. But earlier this month, the 20-year-old Baptist walked into the orthodox Baron Hirsch Temple and started cheering. Joining his pastor there, Mr. Eastburn waved an Israeli flag as local rabbis and a Republican congressman lashed out at Yasser Arafat and expressed their loyalty to the Jewish state. "It was thrilling," he said afterward. When the rally was over, he heeded a call for Christian conservatives nationwide to place a phone call to President Bush expressing support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The White House comment line was jammed.
The activism by the part-time college student was part of an extraordinary political alliance that has burst into view during the current Mideast crisis. Advocates for Israel, who once looked to liberal Democrats as the bulwark of U.S. support, now find equally conspicuous support from conservative Christian Republicans they once suspected of intolerance or even anti-Semitism. That shift is having far-reaching consequences. More than any other single factor, it explains why there has been so little pressure from a Republican White House on Israel to curb its crackdown on Palestinians. President Bush, himself a born-again Southerner with far more instinctive sympathy for Israel than his father displayed, has taken advantage of the new climate by repeatedly expressing understanding for Israel's tactics in response to terror attacks. House Republican leader Dick Armey of Texas has gone so far as to suggest that Palestinians, not Israelis, ought to be the ones to surrender land in the quest for peace.
London, April 29, 2002: - I have not touched on the resounding scandal of the Catholic church because I thought all commentary would be premature and, as they say, subject to revision until the Pope had spoken. I now realise what a friend called "a wise precaution" was actually a sign of a false assumption on my part, a misunderstanding I share with probably millions of people outside the Catholic faith. A misapprehension, I hate to confess, about the way the Roman Catholic church is run. Which is the notion that the Vatican does not simply symbolize a universal faith but is the headquarters, the GHQ, of a vast army of doctrinal foot soldiers who receive the Pope's Sunday battle orders and carry them out in their own parish in his name. In the contemporary jargon, one reporter from Rome puts it, "It's the delusion that every priest monitors every word of Father John's Sunday homilies in the service of a micro-managing Pope." Not so. Rather the Pope is like a supreme commander, like Eisenhower, who issues the terms of the strategy - "subject the enemy to defeat in his own land and require the total surrender of his forces" - and then leaves the doing of it - the war, the battles, the tactics - to the commanders in the field who are the cardinals and especially the bishops in each parish.
The heart of Catholicism, its doctrine, is watched over in the Vatican by about a dozen men only. They're the night watchmen, looking out for any breaches of orthodox doctrine anywhere in the world. If they hear of a priest somewhere who wants to change the form of a mass, or proclaims his belief in abortion, then no doubt there will arrive from the Vatican, possibly from the Pontiff himself, a reference back to an early encyclical, or other papal declaration of faith, one of those long thoughtful pontifications on a single theme - concerning marriage, concerning the poor, so on. The Catholic doctrine on birth control - and so far as this Pope is concerned, the final word - was laid down in Humanae Vitae (Of Human Lives) in 1968. (Note: the Word of the True Living God proclaims abortion, remarriage and oppression of the poor to be wrong as well, but there is no acknowledgement of the Catholic Church system whatsoever in His Word, outside of His wrathful Judgment on it! It is referred to in Scripture as "the abomination of desolation" see Dan 9:27)!
So far as I know there has never been an encyclical concerning paedophilia, or the sexual abuse of the young, although there can hardly be a man alive who so far as priestly abuse is concerned, knows more about it than the Pope. I doubt that a month goes by when he does not receive a report of a priest resigning or being defrocked or exiled by his bishop. Only a month ago a Polish archbishop, a friend and former personal assistant to the Pope, resigned in the wake of sexual abuse charges. In Australia 51 priests were sentenced in the past nine years. In Canada over 2,000 compensation claims have been filed by Indians alone. The church in Ireland faces, in the words of the Irish Times, "the greatest institutional crisis in its modern history", with the Irish taxpayer contributing about one fifth of $500m required to pay off claims of abuse by over 3,000 victims covering 30 years. In the past week the Associated Press has reported hundreds of resignations, firings or financial settlements in dozens of countries, most prominently Canada, United States, Ireland, Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Poland and Britain. It will be news to some of us that in England 21 priests were convicted of sexual molestation in the past seven years. The weird and scarcely believable end piece to this long survey is the note that few, if any, cases have been reported in Portugal, Spain, Lithuania, Switzerland and Italy. The comparative purity of Italy is tempered by the comment that in such an overwhelmingly Catholic country as Italy, if such things occurred it is almost impossible that a priest would be accused.
Now before we jump to the conclusion, which many millions of people have already done, that this is exclusively a Catholic problem the Associated Press is already compiling a substantial record of paedophilia in boarding schools, in boys camps, scout troops, regular grade schools - but the priesthood, plainly, seems to attract men who are wittingly or not inclined to pedophilia. Quite simply the sexual abuse of small boys is a worldwide phenomenon, practised since time began and will no doubt go on till human time ends. Why then should the whole topic have sprung at us in America only a few months ago with the shock and violence of an earthquake - an American earthquake? Because of nothing more complicated than television. The televising of the sentencing to gaol of a Boston priest who, it came out, had an appalling record of offences claimed by over 130 men reporting his abuse of them as boys sometime during the past 30 years. And what turned this record into a national and a Catholic scandal was the revelation that the man's bishop, who is now the cardinal in Boston, had time and again, having had reports of the man's misdeeds, simply, quietly, reassigned him to another parish and to another and again and again - and several times had presided over the secret financial settlement of confirmed claims. I ought to say that this suddenly notorious priest was convicted on a single charge of having fondled one small boy. He was charged at all only because this incident happened during the past five years. All the far more serious charges of abuse fell outside the statute of limitations when legal action can no longer be taken. This period varies from state to state. The Boston case of the sentenced priest opened the floodgates to hundreds of similar cases in a dozen states and wherever a reporter, or a member of the congregation probed they came on the same story of a financial cover up - payoffs which have drawn ruinously on the coffers of many a parish. In one state a seminary closed for the given reason that it was attracting too few young men to be priests. In fact because it was going bankrupt. These sordid truths came at us so suddenly and in such a tide that it was only in the past month or two that ordinary people, religious or not, on the outside, caught their breath and began to realise that here we had thrown at us out of the innocent blue a rainstorm of crimes - the active abuse itself, criminal assault, endangerment of children - worse - obstruction of justice by bishops dispensing hush money.
Many of us expected to hear and see in states which allow television of court hearings a whole raft of trials and sentencing because surely what was going on 30 and 20 and 10 years ago is going on now. But there haven't been, that I've seen, any more public trials. In Boston parades began of members of the cardinals congregation calling for his resignation. Protest placards pleaded or shouted "Jail Time for Priests". And then we came on the realisation that the Catholic church is a law until itself, or rather is controlled by a body of law known as "canon law". In the past quarter century or so the bishops have lived by bypassing our civil laws by simply not reporting these cases and mainly that is the way they've behaved because, on the subject of crime and punishment, the Catholic church has always given overriding concern to the doctrine of penitence and redemption. So that when the Pope finally spoke, at that cardinals assembly, he first helped the bishops - the field commanders of all the parishes - by in effect saying now they have a duty to report cases of paedophilia to the civil authorities. Until now all they had to go on was a clause in the code of canon law which since 1917 has been, you might say, the constitutional law of the church. Clause 1395 says that "a priest who violates his vow of celibacy with a minor is to be punished with just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case so warrants". "Just penalties" were at the definition of the bishop and there has been, until now, no public demand from Catholic congregations for action to be taken in civil or criminal courts. But while we outsiders of whatever religion paid most attention to the Pope's first paragraph, Catholics were more likely to give equal weight to the second.
Here is the first: - "People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young. Such abuse is by every standard wrong and is rightly considered a crime by society. It is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God." (Note: so is the mere existence of the Catholic Church, its hierarchy and its "faithful" followers)!Now the second and final sentence: "We cannot forget the power of Christian conversion, that radical decision to turn away from sin and back to God which reaches to the depths of a person's soul and can work extraordinary change." Well one cardinal, at least, has believed steadily in the possibility of extraordinary change, even after 20 and more years of switching parishes for the Boston priest, whom another American cardinal in Rome called "a moral monster". In all this we've heard nothing, except from the Pope, of grief for the child victims. One Catholic journalist here has written: "The bishops' compassion for their colleagues is as florid as it is chilling." This public absence of care and compassion for the former victims is the great divide between the elders of the church and the general public - between, if you like, the cocoon of canon law and the wide world of the law that binds the rest of us. And what has not been settled - and many Catholics believe will have to be settled - is the question of why bishops and cardinals should be exempt from the punishment that would face any non-Catholic citizen who enabled sex abusers - and raised close to a billion dollars in hush money out of the Sabbath dollar offerings of the faithful.
Vatican City April 22, 2002: - American church leaders who arrived in Rome on Monday for meetings with the pope and Vatican officials said they will take whatever steps are needed to assure American Catholics that a sex abuse scandal is under control. Asked about a report that prelates would push the Vatican to ask Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston to resign, some said they knew of no public effort to force him out. "If some felt very strongly, they would speak to him privately. I can't see a cabal," said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington. He said he didn't think Law should step down. "The trouble began on his watch and he wants to fix it. Give him a chance," McCarrick told reporters gathered near St. Peter's Square. Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said if there were any discussions about Law he felt it was "not appropriate" to talk to the media about it. The cardinals planned to meet privately later in the day with Pope John Paul II before two days of formal talks begin Tuesday. "I think we'll talk about whatever the cardinals want to talk about because we want to make sure that we handle this and that we are able to say to our people that this is under control, that it won't happen again and we're moving in that direction," McCarrick said.
The spotlight was on Law, the Boston archbishop facing demands that he resign for his handling of cases of sex abuse by priests in his jurisdiction — especially the cases of two known abusers who were moved from parish to parish. The Los Angeles Times, quoting an unidentified cardinal, reported Monday that several U.S. cardinals will push the Vatican to ask Law to resign. The cardinal, who spoke to the Times on the condition his name not be used, said other senior prelates had asked him to take the Law case directly to Vatican officials close to the pope. He said he and others would do so Monday during private meetings at the Vatican. Upon arriving in Rome, Law declined any comment, other than to note his remarks Sunday in Boston when he called the scandal a "wake-up call" for the Catholic Church in the United States and said that it "must spark immediate and decisive changes." Law made a secret visit to the Vatican earlier this month and issued a statement last Tuesday that he had discussed a possible resignation and that he was encouraged to stay on as archbishop. Gregory said that "American Catholics are rightfully disturbed but I don't think that people have lost their faith." He said he hoped the meetings "will lead to a greater security and future that will be safe for all our children." The Vatican, which has been accused by American Catholics of moving too slowly, called the extraordinary meeting following the visits by Law and Gregory. The cardinals will be looking to the Vatican for guidance and support on a wide range of issues, foremost among them whether the church should cease reassigning any sex offenders and set about creating a uniform American policy for reporting abuse claims to police. The meeting could also set off talks on such usually taboo subjects as the celibacy requirement and the ordination of women and gays in the priesthood.
All 13 U.S. cardinals were invited to the meeting, but 81-year-old Cardinal James Hickey, the retired archbishop of Washington, was too frail to make the trip. Gregory and the conference vice president will also attend. The prelates will sit down in morning and afternoon sessions, meeting with three top Vatican officials: Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re of the Congregation for Bishops. John Paul will address the Americans at the start of the meeting. Since revelations began pouring out early this year, the pope's only public reference to the issue came in a pre-Easter letter to priests March 21. He said a "dark shadow of suspicion" had been cast over priests "by some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of ordination." Scandals have cropped up in other countries in recent years, including Austria, Ireland, France and Australia. Last month, an archbishop in John Paul's native Poland was forced to resign, accused of making sexual advances on young seminarians.
Washington April 4, 2002: - A majority of U.S. Catholics believe the pedophilia scandal in the Roman Catholic Church is a crisis and many are angry at the way the church has handled the issue, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Beliefnet poll released on Wednesday. Some 71 percent of Catholics say the scandal is a crisis for the church and an equal number say it is a major problem that demands immediate attention, the poll said. The survey of more than 1,000 adults found that among all Americans, 74 percent said church officials have tried to cover up the problem of priests who sexually abuse children. Two-thirds of Catholic respondents expressed the same view. Nearly eight in 10 Catholics polled said failure of the church to notify police of such charges is a major part of the problem. Eighty-four percent said they strongly disapprove of the practice of transferring accused priests to other parishes. Dioceses in Boston, Maine, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire have all removed priests since the trial earlier this year of now-defrocked Boston priest John Geoghan. He is serving a prison sentence for molesting a child and has been accused of similar actions by about 130 other people. Court documents say Boston Cardinal Bernard Law and five other church leaders knew of Geoghan's problems but continued to move him from parish to parish. According to the poll, 36 percent of Catholics say they are angry at the way the church has handled this issue, while another 34 percent said they were dissatisfied with the response from church officials. Eighty percent of Catholics and non-Catholics alike said the church should be required by law to report abuse allegations to police. Sixty percent of Catholic respondents also said the church should be legally required to inform parishioners of accusations against priests. The poll of 1,086 adults, including 503 Catholics, was conducted March 25-28 and has a 3.5 percentage point margin of error for the full sample and a 4.5 percentage point margin error for Catholics.
Dublin, Ireland January 31, 2002: - After years of denials and painful negotiations, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland agreed late Wednesday to pay $110 million to Irish children who were sexually abused by priests, nuns and other church officials in decades past. The landmark deal was designed to conclude a 10-year struggle by the church in this predominantly Catholic nation to overcome sex scandals involving its clergy going back to the 1940s. A stream of accusations against priests, brothers and nuns - more than 20 of whom already have been convicted of molesting children, with much of the abuse taking place in state-funded, church-run schools - has exposed both the government and church to potentially gargantuan legal bills from victims' lawsuits. In exchange for the church's financial commitment, the government agreed to indemnify the church against further legal action by victims in Ireland. "I think the religious orders have been extremely generous in the way that they have responded," said Bishop Eamonn Walsh of the Catholic Bishops' Child Protection Committee. "This is putting their money where their mouth is, and I think they should be congratulated. It must have put extreme strain on their resources."
But sex abuse campaigners and opposition lawmakers branded the church's offering inadequate. They said total claims by an estimated 3,000 victims to a new government-run compensation fund could exceed $350 million, so taxpayers would cover most of the tab. The church's offer includes $32 million in cash, approximately $70 million in property to be donated to the state and $8 million to fund counseling services for sex-abuse victims. Crucially, any victim who accepts money from the fund must agree to drop legal action against the church or state. "The church has gotten away very cheaply," said John Kelly, spokesman for a lobbying group called Survivors of Child Abuse.
Education Minister Michael Woods, who oversaw negotiations with church authorities, said successive governments must share the blame for allowing cases of individual or systematic sexual abuse in certain Catholic-run schools to go unpunished for decades. Governments, he said, had been "responsible for placing the children in the institutions involved." Roisin Shortall, spokeswoman on children's issues for the opposition Labor Party, questioned the church's commitment to funding counseling services. "It is patently obvious that any counseling service that would have a connection with a religious institution would present huge problems for any victims of abuse," she said.
The 1990s saw the stature of the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland plummet under the weight of scandal, starting in 1992, when Bishop Eamonn Casey was exposed as having an illegitimate son in the United States whom he had secretly supported from church coffers. Casey fled the country for South America. Within a few years, much darker revelations of pedophilia within the clergy were exposed case by case. In 1994, one Irish government collapsed over allegations that it suppressed the extradition of a priest, Brendan Smyth, to neighboring Northern Ireland to face charges of molesting and raping former altar boys. Smyth eventually was convicted in courts in both parts of Ireland of abusing more than 30 children as far back as 1958. Church leaders admitted they had long known about some complaints but chose to transfer Smyth to new parishes rather than hand him over to police.
Tucson AZ January 30, 2002: - In an agreement that Bishop Manuel D. Moreno says will have "painful" financial consequences, the Catholic Diocese of Tucson has reached an out-of-court settlement with 10 men who say they were sexually abused by local priests. Since the affected men, their families and the diocese took the matter to a private mediator, the amount of the settlement is not public record. Neither side is revealing a dollar figure, though diocesan officials said the effect on their operating budget will be significant. Similar lawsuits in other dioceses have settled for millions of dollars. The diocese, which represents 350,000 Catholics in Southern Arizona, will print a special report from Moreno to parishioners in its Catholic Vision newspaper this weekend that outlines the lawsuits and diocesan policy on child abuse. "In terms of what's right for the victims, this is what's right," said Tucson attorney William G. Walker, who along with attorneys Lynne M. Cadigan and Kim Williamson represented plaintiffs. "We are very hopeful that this signals a new era in the diocese of Tucson."
The men said they were molested during the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Churches named in the 11 civil suits include Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church and school, 1800 S. Kolb Road; St. Francis Church and school in Yuma; and Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morenci. The settlement means that none of the cases will go to trial, and details of the abuse that weren't contained in the lawsuits may never be known. But the diocese on Tuesday, after announcing the settlement, issued public apologies to all the men and is taking steps with the Vatican to permanently remove two of the accused clergymen from active ministry. "We acknowledge openly and with sorrow that there have been failings in the past by some within our diocese and that you have suffered greatly," Moreno and Coadjutor Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas wrote in a letter to the men, which was also distributed to local Catholic parishes. "To any other person who may have suffered because of acts of abuse by priests or any employees of the diocese, we again express our profound and deep sorrow and regret," the letter states. In addition to the 10 men, six of their family members were part of the settlement. Attorneys say more young men may have been abused, but at this time they have no plans to file additional lawsuits. "There are always only a percentage of victims that come forward where there is an ongoing sexual molestation. We're sure there were others," Walker said.
The attorneys said their clients were pleased and felt "vindicated" by the settlement. None of the men was talking to the media on Tuesday, attorneys said. Cadigan said the men are looking forward to getting on with their lives after what has been an extremely painful process. The allegations in the civil actions give accounts of clergy befriending and earning the trust of young boys, plying them with drugs and alcohol, and then molesting them. The lawsuits allege that priests repeated the behavior while officials within the diocese turned a blind eye or covered up the incidents. "They are very serious cases, and there were serious damages to the clients," Walker said. "The public apologies were a very important part of the settlement for the victims because it erased any doubt as to whether the claims were true. It was a public acknowledgment in good faith.'' The diocese said it would continue to pursue action against two of the clergymen named in several of the suits. Those two, Monsignor Robert C. Trupia and the Rev. Michael Teta, are no longer active priests in the local diocese, though the diocese does continue to pay them on a monthly basis - $1,475 per month for Trupia and $900 for Teta.
Trupia, 52, now lives in Maryland. Teta's last known address was in the Tucson area, but he could not be reached for comment. Trupia, who taught and lived at Our Mother of Sorrows from 1976 to 1981, was jailed briefly last year over criminal charges in Yuma related to the molestation but was released because charges violated the criminal statute of limitations. The civil statute of limitations in Arizona makes it easier to file suit for events that happened in the past when repressed memory is involved. Yuma Detective Sgt. Jan Schmitt conducted the investigation of Trupia and remains concerned about the priest's current activities in Silver Spring, Md., where he lives. "A pedophile does not wake up one day and say 'I like adults now' unless he has incredibly strong willpower," Schmitt said. "That Trupia may be volunteering has always been a concern of mine." The diocese is awaiting final action from the Vatican on Trupia's status in the priesthood. Trupia, a canonical lawyer, has appealed the diocese's suspension of his priestly duties, and the diocese is awaiting results of that appeal. "The diocese will continue to do all in its power to make sure that Monsignor Trupia is unable to resume active ministry and will never be employed in active ministry, as he has not been since 1991," Moreno's letter to parishioners states. Neither Trupia nor his attorney could be reached for comment.
Cadigan, who began filing the civil actions in 1997, was particularly complimentary of Kicanas, the diocese's new coadjutor bishop, for easing the settlement process. Kicanas, a well-respected auxiliary bishop from the Archdiocese of Chicago, was appointed by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 30 to assist Moreno in overseeing the Diocese of Tucson. Moreno had asked the pope for some help last fall. In addition to the lawsuits settled Tuesday, three other civil actions alleging sexual abuse by local clergy have been settled. "The victims are very grateful to everyone who told the truth. Many victims who were not plaintiffs came forward and told the truth," Cadigan said. "And they are so glad it's over. It's very painful to go through a trial.'' Now the process of healing will begin for local Catholics, said Monsignor Thomas Cahalane of Our Mother of Sorrows Church, the parish where some of the affected men and their families attended church and school. Moreno is expected to be at Our Mother of Sorrows for services Sunday. "Sexual abuse strikes at the heart of what is most precious in priestly ministry," writes Cahalane in a letter he will read to his parishioners this weekend. "When trust in priestly service is wounded and eroded, even though it is the outcome of the behavior of very few priests, we are all wounded."
Tucson AZ January 29, 2002: - The Catholic Diocese of Tucson has reached an undisclosed settlement to allegations of child sexual abuse by local clergy. The diocese, which represents about 350,000 Catholics in Southern Arizona, is expected to make a public statement later Tuesday. Attorney Lynne M. Cadigan, who represented 10 victims in 11 lawsuits, said this morning that all the cases were settled late last week, but that as part of the agreement the deal was not made public until today. The victims said they were abused by local clergy during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
"The victims are very vindicated and empowered, with reassurances by the diocese of new policies on this kind of abuse. They want to end the battle and start the healing process," Cadigan said this morning. Cadigan said the victims are currently not speaking to the media, but looking forward to moving on after what has been a painful process. She was particularly complimentary of Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, the diocese's new coadjutor bishop, for easing the settlement process. Cadigan filed the first of the lawsuits in 1997. The diocese prior to this month has settled three other civil actions alleging sexual abuse by clergy. "The victims are very grateful to everyone who told the truth. Many victims who were not plaintiffs came forward and told the truth," she said.
The diocese later today may reveal whether it will take further action to deactivate the priesthood status of Monsignor Robert C. Trupia, who was named in six of the legal actions. Trupia, now living in Maryland, according to the lawsuits befriended and earned the trust of young boys in Yuma and Tucson, plied them with drugs and alcohol and then molested them. The lawsuits said that diocesan officials turned a blind eye when Trupia repeated the behavior. Trupia was jailed briefly last year over criminal charges related to the molestation but released when it was shown the charges violated the criminal statute of limitations. The civil statute of limitations in Arizona makes it easier to file suit for events that happened in the past, when repressed memory is involved.
Vatican City January 25, 2002: - Pope John Paul II closed a remarkable gathering of religious leaders on Friday by thanking them for making a communal commitment to end violence in the name of god. Leaders representing 12 major religions - Islam, Christianity and Buddhism among them - made the pledge Thursday during a remarkable daylong retreat Thursday led by the pope in the historic, hillside town of Assisi. The 200 delegates were in Rome on Friday for a farewell luncheon with the pontiff. ``I thank you above all for your willingness to work for peace, and for your courage in declaring before the world that violence and religion can never go together,'' the pope told them. Click here for more on this!
The day before, in Assisi - the home of St. Francis, the medieval monk associated with peace - Buddhist chants and Christian hymns resounded inside a huge plastic tent decorated with an olive tree, a symbol of peace. ``Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again!'' the pope said Thursday in closing remarks to the delegates. One by one, religious leaders holding small, glass oil lamps lined up at the podium and read each of the 10 points of a communal commitment touching on the need for world peace, economic justice and basic human rights. ``We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion,'' the Rev. Konrad Raiser of the World Council of Churches said in the first pledge.
The pope, who suffers from the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, appeared in fine form throughout the day, playfully waving his cane to the crowds as he left Assisi under a steady rain. ``He was positively glowing,'' said Rabbi Ron Kronish, director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel. ``He had so much spiritual energy. He sort of radiated it to everyone.'' It was one of the largest gatherings ever of Christian groups, bringing together Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Quakers and Mennonites, among others, along with Orthodox Christians headed by the ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew I. They joined representatives of 11 other religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Jianism, Confucianism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and followers of Tenrikyo and African tribal religions. Christians prayed together in the frescoed Lower Basilica of St. Francis, restored after a powerful 1997 earthquake. Members of other religions were accommodated in the brick cells of a convent near the tomb of St. Francis, with crosses and other religious objects removed for the occasion. Muslims knelt on rugs and prayed in Arabic in a room facing Mecca. Kronish said he was going home ``spiritually empowered'' by the day's events, even though he acknowledged it would be difficult to know whether the retreat was a success. ``Does it resolve anything tomorrow? No, it doesn't. Will it have impact in the long run? I hope so,'' he said. Click here for a more Godly view!
Cambridge Mass., January 18, 2002: - Already defrocked by the church, former priest John Geoghan was found guilty by a jury of sexual assault Friday against a 10-year-old boy a decade ago. NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reports that after nine hours of deliberations and three sets of questions for the judge, the jury came back with the verdict Friday afternoon. Geoghan had smiled and chatted while waiting for the jury, but his attorney said that his demeanor changed after the verdict was read. "I would have to characterize it essentially as shock," defense attorney Geoffrey Packard said. "He was clearly stunned, I think." Geoghan, 66, still faces two other criminal cases and 84 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse of children. "I am very happy to see that Father Geoghan after all these years is going to serve time," mother of another alleged victim Maryetta Dussourd said.
An unnamed 20-year-old college junior testified that Geoghan had grabbed his buttocks when he was swimming at the Waltham Boys and Girls Club in 1991. Other alleged victims said after the verdict was read that they were happy Geoghan was convicted. "It felt like a real long time. But I'm really, really happy," alleged victim Mark Keane said. "I can't put it into words -- overjoyed." A clergy friend and Geoghan's sister were there until the end. "Her reaction is basically this, that she is devastated," Packard said. "That she thinks that her brother is the best brother in the world and that she loves him." The prosecution had admitted that this case was not the strongest one against Geoghan, but District Attorney Martha Coakley said that the trial was necessary.
"Although the allegations in this case to some may have seemed slight, those of us who work with children and particularly with child victims know that even one incident of unwanted sexual contact or conduct can be harmful to that victim," Coakley said. Next Wednesday, the judge and the attorneys will get together to talk about when the formal sentencing will take place. In the meantime, Geoghan's bail was revoked, and he is being held in Middlesex County Jail. Geoghan also faces two other criminal sexual abuse cases, the first of which is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 20 in Suffolk Superior Court. Since 1995, more than 130 people have claimed Geoghan fondled or raped them during the three decades he served in Boston-area parishes.
Cambridge Mass., January 18, 2002: - Defrocked Roman Catholic priest John Geoghan, accused of molesting more than 130 children over about 30 years, was convicted on Friday of fondling a 10-year-old boy as the two swam together more than a decade ago. A Massachusetts jury found Geoghan, 66, who was kicked out of the priesthood in 1998, guilty of indecent assault and battery on a person younger than 14. Geoghan was taken into custody by court officers. Jurors deliberated about four hours on Thursday and several more hours on Friday before reaching their verdict. The case was the first to go to trial among about 84 civil and three criminal complaints outstanding against Geoghan. In all, more than 130 people have accused him of molesting them over a span of three decades as his superiors in the Boston diocese moved him from parish to parish. The Boston diocese already has paid $10 million to settle about 50 such civil cases. The young man and his mother, whose names have been withheld by the court, are plaintiffs in a civil complaint. The case has shaken the U.S. Catholic church and implicated Boston Cardinal Bernard Law and five bishops, who are named in many of the lawsuits and accused of knowing about Geoghan's abuses and ignoring them.
Cambridge Mass., January 17, 2002: - The first child molestation case of defrocked Catholic priest John Geoghan, accused of sexually abusing more than 130 children over the course of three decades, went to a Boston jury on Thursday. The jury, after hearing closing arguments and deliberating about four hours, adjourned without reaching a verdict. They were expected to resume deliberations on Friday morning. Geoghan, 66, was accused of fondling a 10-year-old boy while the two swam together in a community pool in Waltham, Massachusetts, a decade ago. Charged with indecent assault and battery on a person younger than 14, he faces 10 years in prison if convicted.
Allegations against Geoghan have rocked the U.S. Catholic church and implicated Boston Cardinal Bernard Law and five bishops, who are named in many of the lawsuits and accused of knowing about Geoghan's abuses and ignoring them. In closing arguments, defense attorney Geoffrey Packard said the young man's memory of the alleged 1991 incident was faulty and that differences between the story he told the court and the testimony of his mother cast enough doubt on the events to warrant an acquittal. ``They disagreed on almost every aspect'' of the story, Packard said. During the trial, the young man, whose memory of Geoghan's touch was specific enough that he could testify the priest used his right hand to squeeze his right buttock, was unable to remember how old he was when the incident took place, what grade he was in or most other details. Packard also argued that the alleged incident did not hurt the young man. ``There were no physical injuries. Not a single day of school was missed and by all accounts the young man had a highly successful career (in school),'' Packard said. But the prosecution argued the young man's memory was clear enough, and that the alleged touching was criminal. ``The truth is that he knew when he was touched, it was a bad touch,'' Assistant District Attorney Lynn Rooney said in her closing argument. ``When a grown man puts his hand inside the shorts of a 10-year-old boy, and touches skin on skin, it's wrong, it's indecent and it's a crime,'' Rooney said. ``I felt a hand going up the back of my leg,'' the man, now 20, told the court in a very quiet and steady voice on Wednesday. ``It went up my right leg and reached my butt and my butt was squeezed.'' At the time, Geoghan was helping the young man learn to dive at the Waltham, Massachusetts, Boys Club. After about 15 minutes together, the boy dived into the pool and Geoghan touched him, according to testimony. ``It was kind of like alarm bells went off. I got really nervous,'' the young man recounted. He said he pushed away from Geoghan and swam across the pool where he climbed out, got dressed and left with his family. The young man and his mother, whose names have been withheld by the court, also are plaintiffs in a separate civil lawsuit. The Boston diocese already has paid $10 million to settle about 50 such civil cases. In all, Geoghan faces some 84 civil and three criminal complaints. More than 130 people have accused him of molesting them over a span of three decades as his superiors in the Boston diocese moved him from parish to parish.
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