[my personal assistant forgot to remind me to brush my teeth before filming...
Monday, March 25, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Cardinal Mahoney Plays the Fiddle in Rome while his Archdiocese pays out 10 million for his mistakes with Pedophile Priests
Roger the Dodger Mahony is in Rome fiddling while his Archdiocese burns to the tune of 10 Million dollarsLA diocese and Cardinal Roger Mahony settle $10 million sex abuse case
Announcement made as Mahony assists with election of new Pope
Published Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 7:45 AM
Updated Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 12:22 PM
Cardinal Roger Mahony and the Catholic Church archdiocese of LA have settled a child sex abuse deal for $10 million. Shamed Cardinal is currently in Rome taking part in the conclave, at the Vatican
Photo by AP
The Catholic Church archdiocese of LA and former Cardinal Roger Mahony have settled a child sex abuse deal for one cent short of $10million brought by four victims of a former priest.
The announcement was made as Mahony attends the Conclave in Rome
Monday, March 11, 2013
Maciel-like Jimmy Savile: Police 'failures' to stop abuse criticise
Famous and beloved British comedian Jimmy Savile abused minors for decades and got away Scot free
A recent report by British authorities reveal Police neglect
Reality is stranger -and worse- than fiction
We take no notice, we do not report, we say nothing, sweep it under the carpet, we are too embarrassed, we do nothing and children continue to be abused.
Real sins of omission.
A recent report by British authorities reveal Police neglect
Reality is stranger -and worse- than fiction
We take no notice, we do not report, we say nothing, sweep it under the carpet, we are too embarrassed, we do nothing and children continue to be abused.
Real sins of omission.
Police forces failed to “join the dots” and missed opportunities to apprehend Jimmy Savile, a critical report says.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said forces had failed to understand the depth of the DJ and TV presenter's sexual offending, and had mishandled complaints and intelligence.
The report reveals the earliest known complaint was in Cheshire in 1963.
The HMIC also warned that failures to share intelligence on a prolific offender could happen again.
The report, which was commissioned by Home Secretary Theresa May, was an attempt to find out how much police knew about Savile before he was exposed as a sex offender in 2012.
The former presenter of the BBC's Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It, who also worked as a Radio 1 DJ and received a knighthood in 1990, died aged 84 in October 2011 - a year before the first allegations were broadcast in an ITV documentary.
'Acting with impunity'
Mrs May said the HMIC report had brought into "sharp focus police failings that allowed Savile to act with impunity over five decades".
The police watchdog said that it had found five reports made to the police about Savile prior to his death and two pieces of intelligence, all of which had been mishandled in different ways.
In contrast, police have received about 450 allegations spanning several decades in the wake of last year’s revelations. Detectives have assessed 214 of them as being definite crimes, including 32 of rape.
A joint police and NSPCC report released in January outlined offences committed by Savile over 50 years at a number of venues, including BBC premises, schools and hospitals.
The allegations uncovered by HMIC include information passed to the Metropolitan Police’s paedophile unit and a separate anonymous letter which details some of Savile’s methods.
The earliest known missed opportunity to investigate Savile was in 1963 when a male victim reported to Cheshire police that he had been raped by Savile, according to the report. An officer told the victim to “forget about it”.
The man was one of eight people who tried to report Savile but failed to get the police forces involved to do anything. Other victims had contacted Merseyside Police, West Yorkshire Police, the Met and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Anonymous letter
In 1964 intelligence about Savile was entered into a ledger used by the Met’s paedophile unit. It said the DJ had visited an address used by girls who had absconded from Duncroft Approved School in Surrey. There is no record of any investigation.
The Met received further detailed, but anonymous, allegations about Savile’s behaviour in a letter in 1998. In 2003, the Met also compiled a crime report relating to a complaint about a 1970s incident.
“In the light of what is now known, the 1998 MPS anonymous letter makes distressing reading,” said the HMIC report. “Its detail provided the police with an opportunity to pursue enquiries that might have confirmed its veracity.”
Ten years later, officers with Sussex and Surrey Police realised they were both investigating Savile after receiving separate information.
In 2007 Surrey Police compiled a report after complaints from three victims and the following year a Sussex report focused on a complaint from one victim.
The HMIC report said: “Both officers appear to have alerted each other to the reluctance of their respective victims and both decided that neither was able to support the other. As a result, opportunities for mutual support were lost.”
The watchdog said that police had systems and processes to enable forces to “join the dots” and to spot patterns, but these had been either used incorrectly or not at all.
Drusilla Sharpling, HM Inspector of Constabulary, said it would be wrong to claim the same failures could not happen again.
“The findings in this report are of deep concern, and clearly there were mistakes in how the police handled the allegations made against Savile during his lifetime,” she said.
“However, an equally profound problem is that victims felt unable to come forward and report crimes of sexual abuse.”
'Lessons to be learned'
Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The true nature and extent of the allegations against Jimmy Savile are appalling.
"The public rightly want answers to how victims' voices were ignored for so long. This report brings into sharp focus police failings that allowed Savile to act with impunity over five decades.
"While we can never right this wrong, we must learn the lessons to prevent the same from ever happening again."
She said she had ordered work to ensure that the interests of victims were prioritised and "the specific vulnerabilities of children are recognised and addressed".
Chief Constable Mike Barton, who speaks on intelligence for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “We have a national intelligence system which is capable of being interrogated by any trained officer across the UK, to identify suspects, offenders and patterns of behaviour.
“However, our review has highlighted that the Police National Database currently has limitations and although many of them are capable of being addressed, this will have to be over a period of time rather than immediately and will require more money.”
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
3 Priest from Mass Defrocked by Vatican
IN THE MIDDLE, THE FOUNDER OF 'HOUSE OF AFFIRMATION', A PLACE OF RECOVERY FOR PRIESTS WITH VARIOUS PROBLEMS, FR. THOMAS KANE, OFFICIALLY DEFROCKED BY VATICAN
The priest also was a co-founder and director of the former House of Affirmation in Whitinsville, a treatment and counseling center for priests, including those suspected of sexual abuse. He left the post in 1986 amid allegations of financial improprieties brought by 11 center managers and executives.
The House of Affirmation, which was under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, was closed in 1989
[THE BLOGGER FINDS NO PLEASURE IN RELAYING THE FOLLOWING; THE BLOGGER HAD ADMIRED THE WORK OF THE HOUSE OF AFFIRMATION...].
Daniel J. Shea, a lawyer in Houston who has represented alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests, told the T&G this week that he met Rev. Kane after Mr. Shea became a deacon in the Catholic church and was studying for the priesthood in Providence in the early 1970s.
Mr. Shea said that then-Monsignor Daniel P. Reilly, who was chancellor of the Providence Diocese at the time and now is bishop of the Worcester Diocese, recommended that Mr. Shea go to the House of Affirmation in 1974 because he had a problem with "authority."
Mr. Shea said he came to know Rev. Kane in Whitinsville and has corresponded with him recently via e-mail.
When allegations surfaced in the 1980s of fiscal mismanagement at the House of Affirmation, Worcester lawyer Samuel R. DeSimone was retained by the diocese to investigate. Mr. DeSimone concluded there was evidence that Rev. Kane had spent House of Affirmation funds for purchases that in some cases went to buy personal property. At the time, Rev. Kane had acquired real estate holdings in Massachusetts, Florida and Maine.
Mr. DeSimone declined to provide specifics on his findings. Rev. Kane paid an undisclosed sum to the House of Affirmation in an out-of-court settlement that included a provision prohibiting disclosure of its details.
Rev. Kane's real estate holdings included one house each in Upton and Whitinsville, an inn and a farm in Maine, three condominiums in Boston, two condominiums in Florida and an interest in trusts that owned other Boston properties.
In 1993, Rev. Kane was accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed by Mark D. Barry of Uxbridge. That suit also was settled out of court with a nondisclosure provision.
Mr. Barry's suit maintained that in the summer of 1968, Rev. Kane, then a visiting priest at St. Mary's Church in Uxbridge, took him to a cottage in Upton and sexually abused him. Mr. Barry was 9 years old at the time.
His suit contended that the abuse in Upton was the first of dozens of sexual encounters between the two that occurred at the House of Affirmation, at St. Mary's Church and elsewhere. It stated that Rev. Kane plied the boy with liquor, and gave him expensive gifts and money.
The lawsuit described the abuse as becoming more bizarre over the years, with the gifts and money escalating. Mr. Barry said he was taken to rural retreats, where Rev. Kane offered him to other priests to have sex with.
The lawsuit described Rev. Kane as a voyeur who offered the boy money to have sex with other men. It stated that Rev. Kane would watch and sometimes take photographs of those encounters.
ON MARCH 5, 2013, IT WAS ANNOUNCED:
Three former Central Massachusetts priests, David Blizard, Thomas Kane, and Robert A. Shauris have been "laicized" or defrocked by the Vatican (T&G FILE PHOTOS)
WORCESTER — The Vatican has "laicized," or defrocked, three Central Massachusetts Roman Catholic priests, who had been accused of sexual improprieties.
Bishop Robert J. McManus said that, as a result of the Vatican's actions, David Blizard, Thomas Kane, and Robert A. Shauris "are no longer in the clerical state."
According to chancery officials, the Vatican's Congregation of the Faith decided to oust Mr. Blizard from the priesthood. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI, before stepping down as pontiff last Thursday, accepted the "voluntary laicizations" of Mr. Kane and Mr. Shauris.
Chancery officials said that the three men may no longer function in any capacity as priests.
The Vatican made the decision to strip the three men of the priesthood late last year but held off announcing anything until the period allowing for any appeals expired.
"I ask the Catholic community to join with me in prayer for healing for anyone who has been abused by these men or anyone in the Catholic Church," said Bishop McManus. "Allow me to echo the poignant words of Cardinal Francis George at the meeting of cardinals in Rome on Monday that 'The wound is still deep in their hearts and as long as it's with them it will be with us.' May we never lose sight of this."
The bishop urged that anyone who has been harmed by a member of the clergy in any way to contact the diocesan Office of Healing and Prevention at (508) 929-4363.
Mr. Shauris, who was accused of molesting children in the 1980s, has been on leave from the Diocese of Worcester since 1991.
The diocese, in 2002, settled a civil case involving Mr. Shauris that was brought by a Derry, N.H., man and a Deerfield Beach, Fla., man.
The two charged that Rev. Shauris engaged in acts of nonconsensual sex with them in the 1980s, when they were students at St. Bernard's Catholic High School in Fitchburg.
Mr. Shauris, at the time, was assigned to the school and was a music teacher. He was not specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuit and a stipulation of dismissal in the case was filed July 15, 2004.
In a 2002 interview with the Telegram & Gazette, one of the plaintiffs said the sexual abuse incidents occurred at a residence used by several priests off South Street in Fitchburg.
He said he was shown pornographic films and given alcoholic drinks, including Black Russians. The sexual abuse included fondling and other sexual acts.
He said the sexual improprieties occurred from 1983 to 1985 when he was 14 or 15 years old.
The man said a number of teenage boys hung around the residence and that some actually lived there with the priests.
Mr. Shauris was also named with a group of other priests in a confidential settlement agreement of a 1993 lawsuit by a man who accused Mr. Kane of molesting him for several years, beginning when he was 9.
The agreement, obtained by the Telegram & Gazette, absolved Mr. Shauris.
The abuse allegedly took place at the House of Affirmation in Northbridge, a treatment center for priests with sex abuse and other problems which was co-founded by Mr. Kane.
The facility closed in 1989.
Mr. Shauris, a Worcester native, studied for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Boston and was ordained in 1974 by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan.
He was assigned to St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge before being appointed in 1978 to the faculty at St. Bernard's.
Mr. Shauris later taught at St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic High School in Worcester before he joined the staff at Anna Maria College in Paxton in 1991.
He also served for a time as a part-time faculty member at Curry College.
Mr. Kane was removed from the ministry in 1993 by then Bishop Timothy J. Harrington for sexual misconduct that occurred in the 1970s.
He was ordained in 1969 and was in residence at several parishes, including St. Mary's in Uxbridge and St. Joan of Arc in Worcester, while he continued his studies in psychology.
After his assignment at the House of Affirmation, Mr. Kane served, beginning in 1992, as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Gardner
Meanwhile, Mr. Blizard was removed from the ministry in 1988 by Bishop Harrington after local church officials determined that the allegations made against him were credible.
Mr. Blizard was ordained in 1974 and served at the following parishes: St. Roch in Oxford, Our Lady Immaculate in Athol, Christ the King in Worcester and Holy Angels in Upton.
Chancery officials said he was in residence at various parishes when he was assigned to the Catholic School Department from 1983 to 1988.
Another diocesan priest, Thomas Teczar, was laicized in 2011.
He was found guilty of sexually molesting a young boy in Texas, where he is now serving jail time.
Bronislaus B. Kush can be contacted at bkush@telegram.com.
Bishop Robert J. McManus said that, as a result of the Vatican's actions, David Blizard, Thomas Kane, and Robert A. Shauris "are no longer in the clerical state."
According to chancery officials, the Vatican's Congregation of the Faith decided to oust Mr. Blizard from the priesthood. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI, before stepping down as pontiff last Thursday, accepted the "voluntary laicizations" of Mr. Kane and Mr. Shauris.
Chancery officials said that the three men may no longer function in any capacity as priests.
The Vatican made the decision to strip the three men of the priesthood late last year but held off announcing anything until the period allowing for any appeals expired.
"I ask the Catholic community to join with me in prayer for healing for anyone who has been abused by these men or anyone in the Catholic Church," said Bishop McManus. "Allow me to echo the poignant words of Cardinal Francis George at the meeting of cardinals in Rome on Monday that 'The wound is still deep in their hearts and as long as it's with them it will be with us.' May we never lose sight of this."
The bishop urged that anyone who has been harmed by a member of the clergy in any way to contact the diocesan Office of Healing and Prevention at (508) 929-4363.
Mr. Shauris, who was accused of molesting children in the 1980s, has been on leave from the Diocese of Worcester since 1991.
The diocese, in 2002, settled a civil case involving Mr. Shauris that was brought by a Derry, N.H., man and a Deerfield Beach, Fla., man.
The two charged that Rev. Shauris engaged in acts of nonconsensual sex with them in the 1980s, when they were students at St. Bernard's Catholic High School in Fitchburg.
Mr. Shauris, at the time, was assigned to the school and was a music teacher. He was not specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuit and a stipulation of dismissal in the case was filed July 15, 2004.
In a 2002 interview with the Telegram & Gazette, one of the plaintiffs said the sexual abuse incidents occurred at a residence used by several priests off South Street in Fitchburg.
He said he was shown pornographic films and given alcoholic drinks, including Black Russians. The sexual abuse included fondling and other sexual acts.
He said the sexual improprieties occurred from 1983 to 1985 when he was 14 or 15 years old.
The man said a number of teenage boys hung around the residence and that some actually lived there with the priests.
Mr. Shauris was also named with a group of other priests in a confidential settlement agreement of a 1993 lawsuit by a man who accused Mr. Kane of molesting him for several years, beginning when he was 9.
The agreement, obtained by the Telegram & Gazette, absolved Mr. Shauris.
The abuse allegedly took place at the House of Affirmation in Northbridge, a treatment center for priests with sex abuse and other problems which was co-founded by Mr. Kane.
The facility closed in 1989.
Mr. Shauris, a Worcester native, studied for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Boston and was ordained in 1974 by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan.
He was assigned to St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge before being appointed in 1978 to the faculty at St. Bernard's.
Mr. Shauris later taught at St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic High School in Worcester before he joined the staff at Anna Maria College in Paxton in 1991.
He also served for a time as a part-time faculty member at Curry College.
Mr. Kane was removed from the ministry in 1993 by then Bishop Timothy J. Harrington for sexual misconduct that occurred in the 1970s.
He was ordained in 1969 and was in residence at several parishes, including St. Mary's in Uxbridge and St. Joan of Arc in Worcester, while he continued his studies in psychology.
After his assignment at the House of Affirmation, Mr. Kane served, beginning in 1992, as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Gardner
Meanwhile, Mr. Blizard was removed from the ministry in 1988 by Bishop Harrington after local church officials determined that the allegations made against him were credible.
Mr. Blizard was ordained in 1974 and served at the following parishes: St. Roch in Oxford, Our Lady Immaculate in Athol, Christ the King in Worcester and Holy Angels in Upton.
Chancery officials said he was in residence at various parishes when he was assigned to the Catholic School Department from 1983 to 1988.
Another diocesan priest, Thomas Teczar, was laicized in 2011.
He was found guilty of sexually molesting a young boy in Texas, where he is now serving jail time.
Bronislaus B. Kush can be contacted at bkush@telegram.com.
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