Cases of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church

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There have been an estimated 1,400 sexual abuse lawsuits launched against Roman Catholic priests in the United States since 1985.

Contents

[edit] Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Current settlements in the Boston, Massachusetts suits could reach up to $100 million. In some cases insurance companies have balked at meeting the cost of large settlements, claiming the actions were deliberate and not covered by insurance.

[edit] Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas

In 1997 a jury awarded $120 million to victims in a sex abuse case against the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Texas. The transcript of this trial is 9,000 pages. 3,000 of those pages have been edited by 5 volunteers to remove the names of victims to protect them and their families. These pages have been posted online at http://www.wearethechurch.org/kos/. They include the testimony under oath of Bishop Charles Grahmann where he admitted to never having taken the time to read the personel file on Fr. Kos. This included the 4 year history of allegations before he came to Dallas and the allegations that continued after he was bishop. In about April of 1992 a child abuse expert who only knew a small part of this documented history declared Rev. Kos to be a "textbook pedophile." Bishop Grahmann still did not read the record and allowed Rev. Kos to have access to children for almost one full year more. The last documented incident of abuse was 11 months later.

[edit] Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu

  • Reverend Arthur O’Brien, formerly of the Archdiocese of Boston, was incardinated into the presbyterium of the Honolulu diocese by Msgr. Joseph Anthony Ferrario, only to be convicted in 1992 of four counts of sexual assault on a ten-year old boy. Father O’Brien entered into a plea bargain with the prosecutor. The subsequent suggestion of the prosecutor that Father O’Brien's conviction be erased was rejected by the judge due to the gravity of the offense. He was permanently retired from clerical ministry by Msgr. Francis X. DiLorenzo in 1994.
  • Reverend Mark Matson (priest), C.R., former chaplain at Tripler Army Medical Center and a member of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence, was convicted in Honolulu on March 8, 2000, of molesting a thirteen-year old boy at Maunalua Bay Beach Park on August 5, 1998. At the time of his arrest, Father Matson was not affiliated with the Diocese of Honolulu, and was living in the Hawai‘i Kai neighborhood known as Portlock. He is currently serving a twenty-year prison term at the Halawa Correctional Facility on O‘ahu.

[edit] Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville

  • Fr. Louis Miller - Louisville, Kentucky, United States. On March 31, 2003, Rev. Miller pled guilty to 44 counts of "indecent or immoral acts" and six charges of first degree sexual abuse, relating to incidents involving at least 21 children between 1957 and 1982. Miller also pled guilty to 14 further charges in Oldham County, Kentucky. Miller was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on the Louisville convictions. The Archdiocese of Louisville made a $25.7 million dollar settlement involving 243 victims of sexual abuse, which was approved by a Louisville court on August 1, 2003.

[edit] US bankruptcy

Citing monetary concerns arising from impending trials on sex abuse claims, the Archdiocese of Portland (Oregon) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin, becoming the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. If granted, bankruptcy would mean pending and future lawsuits would be settled in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese had settled more than one hundred previous claims for a sum of over $53 million. The filing seeks to protect parish assets, school money and trust funds from abuse victims: the archdiocese's contention is that parish assets are not the archdiocese's assets. Plaintiffs in the cases against the archdiocese have argued that the Catholic church is a single entity, and that the Vatican should be liable for any damages awarded in judgment of pending sexual abuse cases.

The Diocese of Tucson likewise filed bankruptcy in September, 2004, as has the Diocese of Spokane in December of that year. The Diocese of Tucson reached an agreement with its victims, which the bankruptcy judge approved June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement. The diocese of Spokane in Washington as part of its bankruptcy has agreed to pay at least 48 million dollars as compensation to people abused by priests. This payout has to be agreed with by the victims and another Judge before it will be made. [33]

On February 27, 2007, the San Diego Catholic diocese also filed for Chapter 11 protection, [34] hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard. San Diego became the largest diocese to postpone its legal problems in this way.

[edit] Outside of the U.S.

  • Fr. Paul McGennis - Dublin, Ireland. He abused Marie Collins when as a thirteen year old she was in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in 1961. Collins was later told that McGennis had admitted abusing children. However the Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin, Desmond Connell, refused "on legal advice" to supply his file on McGennis to the Irish police. McGennis was nevertheless convicted and gaoled. Marie Collins subsequently received an apology from Cardinal Connell.
  • Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, a Catholic order of priests originating in Mexico. Nine former seminarians of his order accused Maciel of molestation[1]. One subsequently retracted his accusation, saying that it was a plot intended to discredit the Legion. Maciel has always denied the accusations.
In early December 2004, a few months before Pope John Paul II's death, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who would replace him as Pope, becoming Benedict XVI) reopened a Vatican investigation into longstanding allegations against Maciel[2]. Father Maciel then declined to be elected again as general director of the Legion on 20 January 2005 at the order's annual meeting; a spokesman denied that this decision was related to the investigation.
On 19 May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI ordered 86-year-old Father Marcial Maciel to give up his ministry and retire to a life of "prayer and repentance". A Vatican statement said that he had only escaped a full trial in an ecclesiastical court because of his "advanced age [and] frail health"[3]. The statement noted that the sanctions had been personally endorsed by the Pope. Commentators said that this was a clear departure from the timorous policy of Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, and appeared to be a first step toward fulfilling the new pontiff's vow to sweep "filth" from the church.

[edit] Abuse in literature

A number of victims have written, see Pedophilia in literature, about the abuse they suffered from priests,including Andrew Madden in Altar Boy: A Story of Life After Abuse and Carolyn Lehman's Strong at the Heart: How it feels to heal from sexual abuse.

[edit] See also

[edit] External Links

  • Child Abuse Cover-Up - Recent evidence reveals that acts of sexual abuse against children were orchestrated by US Church officials
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