|
Judge updated on
suits in diocesan abuse cases
March 30, 2004
JUDGE LOCKE DIRECTS CLERGY ABUSE
CIVIL CASES, :THIRTEEN ATTORNEYS ATTEND
Judge Jeffrey Locke in Worcester Superior Court today
asserted his position as the specially-assigned justice in the
civil suits involving the Worcester Diocese alleging clergy
sexual misconduct. He reviewed pending civil cases against the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester to whom Judge Locke referred
to on several occasions as the "Bish".
Each case was presented and motions were addressed.
Individual circumstances and particulars were heard so all cases
will now follow the same tracking order.
One case,
MICV2002-01939,
which names the Rev. Robert Kelley as defendant and
was filed by Attorney James Ponsetto in Middlesex court, will be
transferred to Worcester for consistency purposes.
Representing the plaintiffs were Michael Wilcox of
Worcester, Carmen Durso, Nance Lyons, James Ponsetto of
Boston, Robert Rice of Fitchburg, and Daniel Shea of Houston,
TX.
The lawyer for Travelers Insurance, Ms. Joanne Goulka,
represented herself as being party to all but two
cases involving Monsignor
Richard Carelli.
James G. Reardon Jr., lawyer
for the Worcester diocese, presented himself as a party in all
cases. Attorney Pierce represented the Boston Archdiocese.
Attorneys Ed Ryan, James
Gribouski, Michael Wilcox, Robert Casey and Sharon Bent
all represented accused Worcester dioceses clergy.
In conclusion, Judge Locke ordered the attorneys to present
to him by August 2, 2004 a motion covering all particulars that
are of "common," which he stressed need not be fancy. He will
return his ruling by August 6, 2004 on this motion. Some
particulars of commonality which were mentioned but not all
agreed upon were, the first amendment, statue of limitations,
and charity immunity statute.
March 29, 2004
DA Conte in his 2003
performance report on his detective unit takes credit for
removal of Catholic priests accused of sexual misconduct.
 District
Attorney John J. Conte in his
2003 detective unit report states over the past two years,
all (clergy abuse) cases have been investigated: As a direct
result of these efforts, several clergy have been indicted and
prosecuted in Worcester Superior Court and several priests
have been placed on
administrative leave.
If DA Conte's contention is to be viewed as accurate, then
DA Conte must take responsibility for allowing the reassigning
of Rev. Peter Inzerillo in December 2000 to St. Leo's parish
in Leominster directly after a $300,000 payment was made to
settle a civil suit where he was accused along with the Rev.
Brendan O'Donoghue of sexually abusing a young man.
This reassignment directly endangered the children of St
Leo parish. Another man filed a
civil lawsuit March 1, 2004, alleging sexual abuse
allegations at age 15 (fifteen) at
St Leo's parish by Fr. Inzerillo. This suit was initiated
by John Doe after he felt Fr. Inzerillo had made inappropriate
contact with him in 2003.
Yet in Worcester County, District Attorney Conte refuses to
adhere to documented legal facts and opinions. Dangerously,
DA Conte still represents the
Worcester Diocese as a primary "witness", continues
campaign fund donations to the Catholic Church, and refuses to
investigate the Worcester diocese and Bishop Daniel Reilly for
criminal activity. All while failing to assist local advocates
to gain the release of accused clergy names, leaving our
children and young people as noted in the
civil lawsuit filed March 1, 2004 still at great risk and
peril.
Complete article:
DA John Conte
March 26, 2004
Lawyer appeals to state for
reports from Conte
A lawyer who represents local clergy sexual
abuse victims appealed to the Secretary of State's office this
week to force Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte to
release copies of state police reports tied to a criminal
investigation against him.
March 25, 2004
The House of Affirmation, Rev Thomas Kane, and a defense.
Ms Joanne Goulka, Travelers Insurance representative has been
identified as the attorney of record in the
Barry v Roman
Catholic Bishop/Worcester suit filed on April 22,
1993, in Suffolk Superior Court, which
was settled for $42,500 in 1995.
The Rev. Thomas
Kane, was sued in 1993 for child sex abuse by Mark Barry of Uxbridge and named in a
second suit by Barry Houle and Robert Malo of Northboro, all former altar boys.
Today,
Rev Kane remains in a undisclosed location presently outside the United
States.
In the second suit, Houle et al v
Roman Catholic Bishop/Worcester Ms Goulka represented the bishop of
Worcester, and the House of Affirmation.
The Rev.
Victor A. Frobas, a resident at Kane's House of Affirmation, was placed at
St. Rose of Lima in Northboro in 1978, where the abuse allegedly occurred in Mr.
Houle's case.
The House of Affirmation, was located at 120 Hill St., Whitinsville,
MA 01588, it was established in 1973 as a rehabilitation center for
pedophiles and other troubled clergy and ended in financial
scandal in the late 1980s.
When the story of Kane's alleged fiscal misdeeds first broke in the
Telegram & Gazette in September 1987, Kane owned an inn in Isleboro,
Maine (he sold that for $650,000 before the settlement), a farm on
Islesboro (he sold that to actress Kirstie Alley), three
condominiums in Boston in total worth more than $200,000, two condos in
Florida worth more than $120,000, a home in Whitinsville worth $98,700 and
at least several other properties in this and other states.
Suffolk Superior Court
documentation now establishes
that Ms Joanne Goulka who represented Travelers Insurance
Company would have had reasonable knowledge of the magnitude of
clergy sexual abuse allegation within the Worcester Dioceses for
at least a decade. The confidential settlements arraigned by Ms Goulka, while representing Travelers Insurance
Company directly
protected the Worcester Diocese from public exposure.
At what point is a company that profits from providing a service
that ultimately protects the violator from public exposure,
which then places innocent children at risk, legally
responsible?
March 24, 2004
One judge to hear clergy sex-abuse cases
WORCESTER- The 20 pending civil lawsuits
against the Catholic Diocese of Worcester involving clergy
sexual abuse cases are being assigned to Judge Jeffrey A. Locke,
a former commissioner of the state Department of Social
Services.
Judge Locke has scheduled a meeting for 2 p.m. Tuesday in
Worcester Superior Court with lawyers representing alleged
victims in these cases and the lawyers for the diocese.
Voice note:
This special Appointment has been reported by the Voice Mach 1,
2004. What has happen to our Worcester Telegram ???????
March 22, 2004
Travelers Insurance Company and defense expense.
The Worcester dioceses Catholic church is insured by Travelers
insurance Co. The legal representation when liability claims
arise has been covered by the law firm of
Griffin and Goulka. Ms
Joanne Goulka has represented herself to the court as being the
attorney of representation in civil cases resulting in
allegation of clergy sexual abuse for the Roman Catholic
Bishop of Worcester.
Representation by Ms Goulka can be traced back to 1995 in the
case of McCormick
et al v Roman Catholic Bishop of Worc et al. This case
pertained to sexual abuse allegations against
Rev Thaddeus Kardas
by a female who was eleven (11) years old at the time of the
alleged abuse incident. Without acknowledging liability,
Travelers Insurance, represented by Ms Goulka settled the case for $55.000
in 1997.
Ms Goulka's legal responsibility is clearly outline in a
sample policy provided by
Travelers insurance company.
This policy states. THE
LIMIT OF LIABILITY AVAILABLE TO PAY SETTLEMENTS OR JUDGMENTS
WILL BE REDUCED BY DEFENSE EXPENSES, AND DEFENSE EXPENSES WILL
BE APPLIED AGAINST THE RETENTION. What this means to the
settlement of clergy sexual abuse allegation cases is that any
monies spent on legal defense will be deducted against total
payment available on policy. By structuring the policy in
this fashion, Travelers insurance company will face no
additional expense for extending all legal avenues before facing
settlement options.
Insurance Companies with policies written in this fashion appear to be very
lucrative clients for any attorney representing the Insurance
Company. With legal expenses deducted from policy payment
amount, the only
party to be at a disadvantage appears to be the victim.
March 15, 2004
Judge Jeffrey Locke issues procedural order
On March 2, 2004 Judge Jeffrey Locke issued a special
procedural order, to all attorney's involved in cases associated with civil
actions pertaining to
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester.
Each attorney was requested to attend a status hearing in Worcester
Superior Court March 30, 2004 at 2pm.
During this hearing Judge Locke will
seek to gain answers to his questions presented to each attorney pertaining
to motions, scheduling and time estimates of civil cases currently pending
in Worcester Superior Court.
Lawyers
handling clergy abuse civil litigation in Worcester include Michael Wilcox,
Louis Aloise, and Laurence Hardoon of Worcester, Carmen Durso of Boston;
Nance Lyons of Boston; Robert Rice of Fitchburg, Daniel Shea of Houston, TX, Michael Ascher of Springfield,
Gary Leblanc of Gardner, Joseph Dever of Lynnfield, CT and James Ponsetto
and Jeffrey Newman of Boston.
March 12, 2004
Consultors to elect diocesan administrator Monday
WORCESTER – The diocesan College of Consultors is to meet at 11
a.m. Monday at the Chancery to elect a diocesan administrator,
according to Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, judicial vicar/vicar for
canonical affairs.
As soon as the announcement was made, the responsibility for
running the diocese fell to Bishop Rueger, as auxiliary bishop,
and will remain in his hands until the 12-member College of
Consultors elects by majority vote a bishop or priest to be
diocesan administrator. Bishop Reilly or Bishop Rueger could be
chosen, but Bishop McManus could not, Msgr. Pedone said.
Worcester
Diocese, Rueger added to suit
Texas litigation linked to Rev. Teczar
The Diocese of Worcester and Auxiliary Bishop
George E. Rueger have been named as defendants in a civil
lawsuit filed in Texas by two men who allege they were sexually
abused as teenagers by the Rev. Thomas H. Teczar after the
Catholic priest relocated from Worcester to the Fort Worth area
in 1988. ......
"The evidence in this case will show that despite the knowledge
of Harrington, Rueger, Delaney and the dioceses of Worcester and
Fort Worth that Teczar was a chronic and dangerous sexual
predator toward adolescent boys, he was transferred and assigned
to the Fort Worth Diocese as a priest and subsequently promoted
to pastor. Their cooperation gave him the position, access,
opportunity and the means to sexually molest minor boys in Texas
including plaintiffs John Doe I and John Doe II," the suit
alleges.
Voice note: Filing of this civil attachment was reported by the
"Voice' on February 2, 2004. see attached article on linked
paged
March 11, 2004
Lawyer to file
suit against Dupre
The lawyer representing two men who say the former Roman
Catholic bishop of Springfield sexually abused them when they
were boys said he will file suit against the bishop and seek to
question under oath more than a dozen clerics, including
Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, about what they knew, and
when they knew, of the allegations.....But MacLeish said he
believes O'Malley and a group of other clerics, including
outgoing Bishop Daniel P. Reilly of Worcester and up to a
dozen priests in the Springfield diocese, have information
that is relevant to the lawsuit against the diocese and Thomas
L. Dupre, who stepped down last month as bishop of Springfield.
March 10, 2004
Ruling Leaves Diocese Potentially Liable
A Superior Court judge has refused to
release the Norwich Diocese and its former bishop, Daniel P.
Reilly, from potential liability for alleged sexual abuse by a
priest, in a strongly worded ruling that could represent a
legal sea change in how such cases are handled....
Silbert stressed that "a contemporary court cannot ignore"
findings of a national study released last month by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops that, between 1950 and 2002,
4,392 priests - or 4 percent of the clergy - had sexual abuse
allegations lodged against them.
McManus to head diocese
WORCESTER- Auxiliary Bishop Robert J.
McManus of Providence yesterday was named the fifth bishop of
the Diocese of Worcester by Pope John Paul II, who also accepted
the resignation of Bishop Daniel P. Reilly.
The bishop's seat in Worcester is now vacant - or sede vacante -
until the diocesan consultors elect an interim administrator
within the next week. The new bishop will be installed May
14........."We need new leadership in this diocese," said Laurie
A. Letourneau of Shrewsbury, a Catholic active in anti-abortion
and anti-gay marriage causes. She said she wants to meet with
the new bishop to discuss concerns about lack of leadership on
the local chancery's part.
Transitions for Worcester,
Springfield
March 9, 2004
BOSTON --
The
Catholic dioceses of Worcester and Springfield will be under the
watch of two newly assigned bishops.
McManus, 52, the auxiliary bishop of
Providence, will succeed retiring Worcester Bishop Daniel
Reilly. McManus was ordained a priest in May 1978.
Bishop Reilly's
replacement announced today at the Vatican,
Bishop Robert Joseph McManus
VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2004 (VIS) – The Holy
Father:
- Appointed Bishop Robert Joseph McManus,
auxiliary of the diocese of Providence, U.S.A., as bishop of
Worcester (area 3,966, population 762,207, Catholics 390,207,
priests 373, religious 650), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop Daniel
Patrick Reilly whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same diocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the
age limit.
Due to the enormous amount of email
generated from the new link and story below, we ask all who have
contacted us to be patient when awaiting a reply. We will
attempt to be in contact with all those who have presented
information in a timely manner. All communications are
confidential.
If you feel you must speak to us
immediately please call us directly 978-466-6823
March 8, 2004
Worcester Diocese must now accept
responsibility for endangering catholic children with
reassigning in 2001.
A
civil suit has been filed accusing the Rev. Peter
Inzerillo, who formerly served in Leominster and Fitchburg
parishes, of sexual misconduct with a minor. The man filed as
John Doe but the court filing says that he currently lives in
Connecticut.The Worcester diocese with this filing can no
longer deny accusations that Father Inzerillo had a history of
sexual abuse of minors.
Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, whose own history shows that he
was named in more than
30 lawsuits in
Rhode Island because of his handling of sexual abuse
allegations in the Providence diocese,
reassigned Father Inzerillo in December 2001 to St. Leo’s
parish, Leominster. The diocese, under direction of Bishop
Reilly, then knowingly hid and
denied truthful
information about Father Inzerillo’s past.
Additionally, on May 3, 2002 the Worcester diocese and Dr.
F. John McLaughlin, president of the St. Leo School Board,
concocted a false allegation of child neglect against Mrs.
Mary T. Jean to inhibit her ability to give truthful
information about Father Inzerillo’s past. These actions had
devastating effects on the Jean children, who were forced to
endure seven home invasions by workers from the state
Department of Social Service, and 11 months of extreme
emotional distress not knowing each day whether they would be
stolen from a family that loved them and taken from their own
home.
According to the latest lawsuit, this man alleges he was
molested by Father Inzerillo at St. Leo parish in Leominster
during 1993 and 1994. He was assigned to a Fitchburg parish at
the time.
When a fair hearing date of May 1, 2003 was finally
assigned,
Bishop Reilly was
subpoenaed to testified. He would have to testify
under oath about Father Inzerillo and his past. The issue was
quickly resolved before the bishop was placed under oath and
DSS dropped its case against Mrs. Jean. The accusation of
neglect against Mrs. Jean was
reversed
within 24 hours.
Mrs. Jean and her two sons have become additional victims
of Father Inzerillo and the Worcester diocese that sought to
protect him from exposure.
Voice note: Please see new link
Diocese Defense. This
link has been provided so that the legal firms that
remained silent and allowed the reassigning of Father Peter
Inzerillo to occur from within the
Worcester Diocese can be identified.
March 6, 200
Priest accused in suit of sexual assault, battery
WORCESTER- The
Rev. Peter J. Inzerillo, formerly of St. Leo's Church in
Leominster, is named in a civil suit filed in Superior Court
charging him with sexual assault and battery of a teenage boy a
decade ago.
On various dates between 1993 and 1994, Rev. Inzerillo, still
the pastor of the Fitchburg church at the time, allegedly told
the youth he loved him, hugged him, and fondled him. The two
came in contact when the youth, who lived in Leominster at the
time, visited St. Leo's. Rev. Inzerillo was a regular
visitor to the Leominster parish as well.
March 5, 2004
DA: 'Probable cause'
Bennett said at a press conference that an already sitting
grand jury will soon begin considering a variety of possible
charges, including sexual abuse, failure to report sexual
misconduct to proper authorities, concealment of sexual abuse,
and other matters regarding the reporting of abuse by the
diocese while Dupre was in a position to influence reporting.
Dupre retired effective immediately Feb. 11, the day after The
Republican confronted him with the allegations he sexually
abused two boys beginning more than 25 years ago.
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Peter J. Higgins headed the
investigation into allegations against Dupre, the former bishop
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. Bennett personally
interviewed both alleged victims, now 40 and 39.
Voice note: Written documentation
supports the fact that Bishop Daniel Reilly is responsible for
the reassigning and concealment of factual information
pertaining to inappropriate sexual allegation of a clergy member
in the year 2002. Why has DA Conte refused to investigate?
Studies of sexual
abuse analyzed
Catholic Free Press
By Jerry Filteau
WASHINGTON (CNS) —..........The
report sharply criticized bishops who ignored allegations by
victims, who protected abusive priests, who prized secrecy to
avoid scandal, who treated victims more as a legal problem
than a pastoral concern. It said many bishops relied too heavily
on the advice of therapists in deciding to return offending
priests to ministry......
It called for further steps to make bishops more accountable
for their actions, including “greater participation by the
laity in the life of the church.”
March 4, 2004
Consultant helps
parishes to cope
Bernard Swain has not had time for a haircut,........Swain,
a management consultant with a doctorate in theology and
longstanding ties to the local Catholic community, is now a hot
commodity. Once fired as editor of a Catholic weekly by the
Catholic Diocese of Worcester, Swain, 55, has emerged as a
go-to person in the tense negotiations among church leaders in
eight Greater Boston communities. All parish leaders must
produce a consensus by Monday, the deadline set by Archbishop
Sean P. O'Malley............
Swain was editor of the Catholic Free Press, the newspaper of
the Worcester Diocese, from 1988 to 1991. He was fired abruptly,
but acknowledges that his dismissal came after his paper's
favorable coverage of the film, "The Last Temptation of Christ."
"I came to the conclusion that I was fired for insufficient
docility," he said. "Docility is not one of my gifts."
March 1, 2004
Judge Jeffrey A. Locke
appointed to presided over clergy abuse cases in Worcester
Superior Court.
Chief Justice Suzanne V. Delvecchio has appointed Judge Jeffrey
A. Locke to hear and act on all clergy sexual abuse suits
pending in the Diocese of Worcester.
The lawyers representing victims of clergy sexual abuse are
pleased with this ruling because it creates a system similar to
Boston where Judge Constance Sweeney judged all the sexual abuse
cases in the Archdiocese of Boston which lead to release of much
hidden information on extent of sexual abuse by clergy in
Eastern Massachusetts.
The Diocese of Worcester currently has more than a dozen law
suits pending and lawyers and victims say no action is being
taken by the diocese to settle these suits.
Judge Delvecchio added in her February 11, 2004 order that
any future suits filed involving the Diocese of Worcester and
clergy sexual abuse are to be handled by Judge Locke.
Within the past year, lawyers were forced to face judicial
rotation, making consistency in rules hard to acquire. This
became increasingly obvious with the recent ruling in Worcester
Superior Court where motions were answered by one judge.
However, when the actual court date arrived, that justice had
been moved to another location because of the rotation system in
the superior court system.
Now with
Judge Locke in place further action can be initiated within the
court system for clarification of the release of names and files
of all accused clergy member in the Worcester dioceses.
Currently without legal prompting several bishops in Tuscon AZ, Los Angeles,
CA and Washington DC have released the names in view of protection of
children rather than protection of diocesan reputation.
Lawyers
handling the suits in Worcester include Carmen Durso of Boston;
Nance Lyons of Boston; Daniel Shea of Houston, TX; Michael Ascher of Springfield,
Gary Leblanc of Gardner and James Ponsetto of Boston.
New side
link CIVIL ACTIONS contains
more information and listing of civil cases presently pending
in Worcester Superior Court.
|