June 29, 2004
Priest, bishops named in suit
4th abuse
case for O'Donoghue Priest transferred often within Worcester
diocese
WORCESTER-
Daniel W.
Cronin, now a resident of Los Angeles, filed suit in Worcester
Superior Court alleging he was sexually abused by the Rev.
Brendan E. O'Donoghue when he was an 8-year-old altar boy at St.
Peter Church.
The suit, which was filed May 13, also names
the late Cardinal John J. Wright, first Worcester bishop, and
the estate of the late Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan for failing to
properly supervise Rev. O'Donoghue.
Case filing Worcester superior
court: WOCV2004-00929 Cronin vrs O'Donoghue
June 28, 2004
Worcester Bishop
Robert J. McManus words ring empty in first five months.
Bishop
McManus
just before noon on March 1 received a voice mail from the
secretary of the papal nuncio in Washington, D.C., informing him
of his appointment to as fifth Bishop of Worcester. This
announcement was greeted with relief and joy by many area
Catholics who had high hopes for the new bishop. He was coming
into a diocese that had miserably failed to deal with the sexual
abuse crisis among some of its priests and church workers.
..............
Friday, May 7, 2004, the bishop-elect of the Worcester Diocese
said he wanted to make certain every priest, parishioner, and
Catholic politician in the county understood precisely what it
means to be a Catholic.
"I want to know exactly what the situation is and what needs
to be done," he said.
What it means to be Catholic to Bishop McManus has been
projecting false imagines for the sake of diocesan reputation.
Like so many bishops before him.
The powerful and well-heeled got in but not one clergy abuse
victim or advocate was invited. Seating in the cathedral was by
invitation only. Clergy abuse victims stood out on the street in
front of their cathedral and could not go inside The cathedral
was built in the 19th century with the pennies of
many Worcester-area faithful working-class Catholics, many of
them who immigrated from Ireland.
Bishop Robert J. McManus failed to
follow the teaching of Jesus
Christ an embrace the abuse victims, and welcome them inside.
Like so many bishops before him.
complete article on link provided
New clergy abuse civil suit filed in
Worcester superior court
Cronin v
O'Donoghue et al WOCV2004-00929 filed May 13, 2004
June 25, 2004
Opus Dei firms hold property empire worth millions of euro
A RAFT of companies linked to low-profile Catholic organisation
Opus Dei are sitting on a property empire worth tens of millions
of euro. ...........They were, he said, controlled by the
companies' directors, many of which, but not all, were members
of the organisation.
The Opus Dei-linked companies have dozens of directors including
accountants, doctors, lawyers, engineers, farmers, teachers,
retired civil servants and priests.
June 22, 2004
Opus Dei founder set to be honored at St. Paul's Mass
WORCESTER-
Bishop Robert
J. McManus, who attended the canonization of St. Josemaria
Escriva in Rome in 2002, will celebrate a special Mass in honor
of the founder of the Opus Dei movement at 7:30 p.m. Friday at
St. Paul's Cathedral.
The organization has members in this area but
Opus Dei does not release its membership lists. ............Opus
Dei has its supporters but some see it as being overly secretive
and encouraging behaviors such as self-flagellation and keeping
women in subservient roles.
Voice note: It is
becoming apparent that Bishop Robert McManus has time for all
the "ceremonial" endeavors of those he chooses to acknowledge.
However, Bishop McManus as of this date, still fails to
deal with the pending clergy abuse issues and terrorization
portrayed upon the people of Worcester all in the name of God,
to protect the sins of his predecessors.
June 21, 2004
Father Raymond Messier financially
doing fine now.
Father Raymond Messier, removed from his parish assignments
by the Diocese of Worcester and subject to civil suits alleging
sexual abuse of minors, filed for bankruptcy on November 15,
2002 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Worcester.
In the bankruptcy proceedings, Father Messier stated he owns
$700 in firearms, a 1997 Chevrolet Astro Van worth $5,500, a
boat and motor, clothing, household items and a chalice worth
about $100. Father Messier also listed a mortgage on his
waterfront Charlton home at more than $57,000.
Within two years of bankruptcy on January 15, 2004, Father
Messier was able to obtain a
$86,000 mortgage from Athol Credit Union. Father Messier's
outstanding $57,700 mortgage of May 17, 2001 was satisfied and
discharged on January 26, 2002.
Complete story available on link
June 17, 2004
Panel eyes Murphy's role
A federal grand jury in Boston is investigating Bishop William
Murphy's role in certifying to the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs that a Boston priest whose file included several memos
warning about the priest's attraction to boys had no "adverse
information" that would disqualify him as a Catholic chaplain at
a California VA hospital, according to sources familiar with the
probe.
The federal probe is also examining Murphy's handling of sex
abuse incidents in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the sources
said. The criminal investigation by Michael Sullivan, the U.S.
Attorney for Boston, centers on the case of Rev. William Scanlan,
a retired Boston priest
Ex-nun Calls for RICO Investigation of Catholic Church
Westbrook, MAINE Sixty-one year old ex-nun, Pauline
Salvucci, is calling on the Federal Government to begin a RICO
investigation of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
June 16, 2004 .......Bishops talk
about cleaning up their act, and simultaneously speak as if the
church sexual abuse crisis is over. It isn’t.
Salvucci said, “This tragedy was not the result of one
incompetent bishop. It was the result of the determined and
systematic efforts by many, if not most bishops, to cover up
crimes by their priests — and even by themselves.
June 16, 2004
Transfer of priest under
scrutiny
Cardinal Bernard F. Law and at least two former high-ranking
bishops of the Boston Archdiocese have testified before a
federal grand jury investigating the case of a Boston-area
priest who was transferred to a California Veterans Affairs
medical facility despite notations in church records of possible
sexual misconduct.
In addition, the records contain a federal "investigative
request for employment data" signed by Bishop William F. Murphy,
who today leads the Rockville Centre diocese on Long Island.
Murphy signed the document as vicar general for the Boston
archdiocese on May 12, 1999, attesting that there was no
"adverse information" about Scanlan's employment, including
questions about Scanlan's "mental or emotional stability."
But an additional church document shows that in 1986 Scanlan
referred himself to the House of Affirmation, a Whitinsville
facility for troubled priests that was subsequently closed,
because of "depression and anxiety." The church document also
says Scanlan experienced conflict "related to sexual thoughts
and fantasies, which make him very uncomfortable."
Voice Note: DA Conte, continues to
turned a blind eye to the "House of Affirmation' yet every other
legal authority understands the association with this treatment
facility and "Sexual Predators" . Let us not forget DA Conte made a
"deal" with the bishop, and failed to prosecute Rev Kane for
"double books". One can only wonder who ELSE profited from the sale of all that propriety?
A volunteer group of therapists and advocates for children
released a report yesterday criticizing an investigation of
sexual abuse allegations against the chief canon lawyer for the
Archdiocese of Boston, accusing the archdiocese of ignoring its
own policies and canon law in handling the complaint.
Contrary to policies in effect at the time of the
investigation of Monsignor Michael Smith Foster, the report by
the Victims' Rights Committee says, the archdiocese failed to
conduct a thorough and objective investigation, did not protect
the reputation of alleged victim, Paul Edwards, and denied him
access to information generated during the investigation.
June 13, 2004
Our deepest condolences to the Bosk family.
We pray for the loss of their beloved 17 year old son Joseph.
Joe, was the son of lawyer John A. Bosk and
Ingrid M. Wheeler.
Mr. John Bosk is a defense lawyer known for
taking on civil liberties cases.
Listen Kings. I myself will sing
to the Lord I will make music to the Lord, Judges 5: 3
June 9, 2004
Small protest against Cardinal Law at Rome
church
By Associated
Press,
ROME (AP) A
few dozen right-wing protesters demonstrated Wednesday against
the appointment of Cardinal Bernard Law to a Rome church, saying
the U.S. sex abuse scandal should disqualify him.
Last month, Pope John Paul II appointed Law the former Boston
archbishop who resigned in the midst of the scandal to the
largely ceremonial post of archpriest of Rome's St. Mary Major
Basilica, a position often given to retired prelates.
''He
covered up 20 years of abuse against children,'' said Gino
Castellino, a 27-year-old activist with the far-right Fiamma
Tricolore party. ''We had to be here as Roman citizens to defend
our Christian tradition.''
The protesters placed a banner in front of the church reading,
''Pedophiles get out of the temple.''
Law was
named in hundreds of U.S. lawsuits accusing him of failing to
protect children from known child molesters. After 18 years
leading the nation's fourth-largest archdiocese, Law resigned in
December 2002 in an effort to defuse the scandal.
St. Mary Major was closed at the time of the protest, and
officials could not be reached for comment.
June 3, 2004
Priest
agrees to settle abuse suit
MILLVILLE -- The Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon, now on
administrative leave from St. Augustine Parish, has agreed to
settle a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a Worcester
teenager in the 1980s, attorneys involved in the case said
yesterday.
The deal calls for the case against
Gagnon and Tremblay to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it
cannot be refiled, and for the priests to pay Staney an
undisclosed "nominal" sum, the attorneys said.
Lawsuit settled involving priest
WORCESTER-
Timothy P.
Staney, formerly of Worcester and now of Wesley Chapel, Fla.,
has partially settled his lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by the
Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon and Raymond Tremblay, a former religious
education teacher.
Mention of the settlement was recorded Friday in Worcester
Superior Court, but the actual settlement papers are not filed
with the court.
The lawyers involved would not discuss terms of settlement, but
no paperwork filed with the court shows there was admission of
guilt by Rev. Gagnon or Mr. Tremblay, or if any payment had been
made.
Staney et al v
Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester et al see court docket
entries
Voice note: Are we
now seeing the beginning of Bishop McManus starting to cut off
the "unlimited cash" flow to theses attorneys, who under Bishop
Daniel Reilly operated under the pretense that "the cupboard was
wide open."
June 2, 2004
Howie Carr
How much has Bernie Law grabbed
out of this archdiocese since he was run out of town on a rail
back in December 2002?
All weekend, I waited for that shoe to drop, but in the
paprs and on TV it was just old Lithuanian ladies crying and
forlorn wedding partieis an angry parents and redheaded kids in
parochial school uniforms.
Follow the money folks. It's the lesson of Watergate, and of all
organized crime, and that's what Bernie was running here - a
racketeering enterprise.
And now, like Lucky Luciani, he goes into exile in Italy.
Until he got his new "job" running some tourist-trap church in
the Vatican, did you know Bernie was still drawing a paycheck
from the archdiocese? Funny how it wasn't in the press release.
The word is, clergymen at his level collect between $19,000 and
$29,000 a year, but for cardinal, even a disgraced one, that
would just be the beginning.
June 2, 2004
Worcester diocese pays accused Priest
$17,018 yearly, tax free.
Worcester parish denounces
closing of St. Joseph's Church in June of 1993 and prevailed
over Bishop.
Bishop Robert McManus, new bishop of the Diocese of
Worcester, is a beacon of hope on the horizon for many faithful
Catholics. We wish him the best and pray and hope that he will
bring needed change and reform to the diocese. He has a tough
job ahead of him and both he and the Church of Worcester need
our help and prayers at this critical time. Some faithful
Catholics have said openly the diocese is in chaos.......
We know that “taxes” - called the cathedraticum - are placed
on every parish in the Worcester Diocese. Seven percent of all
money collected in the baskets at Mass is sent to the chancery
in Worcester.. ........
We also know from bankruptcy records that Father Raymond
Messier, who last was pastor in Athol and Petersham, told the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2002 that the
Worcester diocese
continued his $1,418 a month - tax free - after he was
removed when allegations were made against him. That's $17,018
tax free dollars a year. He told the court he expected the
payments to continue.