Posts Tagged survivors/victims

No one is monitoring former abusive priests / National Catholic Reporter

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 12, 2017

“Many abusive priests, like the one above, have voluntarily left or been removed from the priesthood, which begs the question, who is monitoring them now? The answer: nobody.”

The parents of boys who accused a priest of sexual abuse wrote to the Chicago Archdiocese more than two decades ago: ‘Your repeatedly asking ‘what do we want’? is one more insult. ‘What we want’ should be totally obvious. We want something done about these priests.’

“Next week, June 15, marks the 25th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s announcement of the intent to create a review board to remove priests, such as the one mentioned by the parents. While publicly available files clearly document that church officials knew about the priest’s behavior since at least the late 1980s, they did not report him to the authorities or remove him from ministry.

“It was not until 2005 that the priest resigned from being a pastor and moved to a ‘monitored’ setting. Two years afterwards, the priest had a young relative stay in his bedroom overnight while the priest’s monitor was out of the country. After this incident occurred, the archdiocese began the process of laicization, or removing him from the priesthood.

“Many abusive priests, like the one above, have voluntarily left or been removed from the priesthood, which begs the question, who is monitoring them now? The answer: nobody.”

By Nicole Sotelo, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …

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N.Y. cardinal’s new compensation program for victims will keep sex abuse hidden / National Catholic Reporter

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 25, 2016

“While the fund certainly will help some victims, its biggest beneficiary will be Dolan and his management team. This is a legal strategy in pastoral garb, a tactic by the powerful archbishop to control victims and protect the church’s assets and its secrets.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan is trying something new. After years of successfully opposing legislation that would give New York abuse victims more time to sue, he has launched a victims’ compensation program — a first for the New York archdiocese …

“The surprise move is winning the cardinal praise. The often critical New York Daily News commended him, citing his ‘remarkable moral courage.’

“As a researcher of the Catholic abuse crisis, I see his plan differently. While the fund certainly will help some victims, its biggest beneficiary will be Dolan and his management team. This is a legal strategy in pastoral garb, a tactic by the powerful archbishop to control victims and protect the church’s assets and its secrets.

“On its face, the plan is reasonable. A victim submits a claim form with documentation about rape or molestation by a priest or deacon. If deemed credible, the victim receives an award, which the archdiocese promises to disburse quickly — within 60 days …

“But there’s a catch — two catches, actually. Victims must sign a legal agreement to abide by ‘all requirements pertaining to privacy and confidentiality,’ and they must release the archdiocese from future liability — i.e., never sue it. (See section III, paragraph G of the IRCP’s Protocol webpage.)”

By Anne Barrett-Doyle, co-director, BishopAccountability.org, in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.

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