The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport has acknowledged in court papers that it documented 32 accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests associated with a parish here over 40 years.
The diocese made the admission last week in contesting a lawsuit filed by the estate of Michael Powel, who died last year. Mr. Powel had claimed that he was sexually abused at St. Theresa’ Parish in Trumbull between 1968, when he was 9, and 1972, when he was 13.
However, while the diocese admits the abuse, it refuses to accept responsibility — and it is seeking to suppress proof of the abuse:
The diocese is contesting a request from Mr. Powel’ lawyers to turn over all documents regarding sexual abuse by priests at the parish. In its filing in Superior Court in Waterbury, the diocese said it had compiled 126 boxes of documents and files detailing 32 accusations of abuse by eight priests at St. Theresa’. …
Mr. Powel’ lawyers said that the motion by the diocese was a “bait-and-switch” to avoid producing documents by Wednesday, a date previously agreed upon to provide discovery materials.
The Diocese of Bridgeport is one of 50 dioceses and bishops that donated a total of $550,000 to undermine marriage for same-sex couples in Maine, even as parishes and church charity programs back home are closing for lack of funding.
“The Family” is the Christian fundamentalist group that is responsible for Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. Sen. John Ensign is one of its “key men”. This ABC Nightline report focuses on how Ensign slept with his best friend’s wife and possibly broke laws in the cover-up. The Family played a role in keeping the tawdry affair quiet. Enjoy the “morality” of those who seek to “protect marriage” from healthy GLBT couples.
Via Andrew Sullivan… Patsy McGarry, writing in The Irish Times about the child sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church, finds something absolutely fascinating in the Dublin Archdiocese report…
One of the most fascinating discoveries in the Dublin Archdiocese report was that of the concept of “mental reservation” which allows clerics mislead people without believing they are lying.
According to the Commission of Investigation report, “mental reservation is a concept developed and much discussed over the centuries, which permits a church man knowingly to convey a misleading impression to another person without being guilty of lying”.
It gives an example. “John calls to the parish priest to make a complaint about the behaviour of one of his curates. The parish priest sees him coming but does not want to see him because he considers John to be a troublemaker. He sends another of his curates to answer the door. John asks the curate if the parish priest is in. The curate replies that he is not.”
The commission added: “This is clearly untrue but in the Church’ view it is not a lie because, when the curate told John that the parish priest was not in, he mentally reserved the words ‘…to you’.”
…
It [the report] continued that Cardinal Desmond Connell had explained the concept to the commission as follows:
“Well, the general teaching about mental reservation is that you are not permitted to tell a lie. On the other hand, you may be put in a position where you have to answer, and there may be circumstances in which you can use an ambiguous expression realising that the person who you are talking to will accept an untrue version of whatever it may be — permitting that to happen, not willing that it happened, that would be lying.
If you lead someone to a false conclusion and, trusting you, they jump in, it isn’t your fault they jumped. Now, think of all the half-truths, disingenuous sloganeering and…yes…outright lying you’ve witnessed coming from various right wing “moral leaders” in the decades of the gay civil rights struggle. Did it seem like their book of virtue was full of holes? Well…yes…loopholes. For them.
Do you see how so horribly many cases of child abuse were not only allowed to happen here, but Could happen to begin with? The first assault on those kids was to their sense of trust. After that, the rest was easy. When you dismiss your neighbor’s trust you dismiss their humanity along with it. What these gentlemen did, was construct a situational ethics that allowed them to look someone in the face and lie through their teeth and still see themselves as moral people. And it took their brakes away. And that wholeheartedly absolute trust of a kid was of no more moral value then that of John’s knocking on his parish priest’s door. To consciously deceive someone, man woman or child, isn’t immoral behavior if you’re doing it for the greater good. Or your own.
But there is no greater good at the end of a road paved with self-serving lies. Just that dead end where civilizations die after all trust between neighbors is lost. The next time one of these self righteous creeps tells you they’re acting for the good of society laugh in their face.
Keep repeating this until the hypocrite walks away, head bowed in shame.
As far as I know, there has never been a huge, multi-decade scandal of gay activists molesting children. No GLBT community centers raided and shuttered. No billion dollar lawsuits against gay bars for abusing children.
Sure, one can always find a rotten apple, but the GLBT barrel – for the most-part – is stocked with the organic, red, shiny, healthy variety.
The same cannot be said of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to a new report released today that was ordered by Ireland’s government, Catholic leaders in Dublin, in collusion with the police, spent decades protecting and covering up the illegal, sinful behavior of pedophile priests.
What went on – for decades – was so incredibly sick and downright evil, that it borders on satanic. Dublin’s current Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin, said he felt deep shame and sorrow for how previous archbishops handled the child abuse.
Today’s 720-page report focused on why church leaders in the Dublin Archdiocese did not tell police about a single abuse complaint against a priest until 1995. Yet, there had been at been at least 100 parish priests who had sexually molested children since 1940. Those files had remained locked in the Dublin archbishop’s private vault.
The investigators also uncovered a paper trail documenting the church’s clandestine insurance policy, taken out in 1987, to cover potential lawsuits. Dublin church leaders publicly denied the existence of the problem for a decade afterward but since the mid-1990s have paid out more than $15 million in settlements.
The report cited documents showing how church officials learned about some cases only when Catholic police received complaints from children or their parents, but handed the investigation back to church leaders so they could engage in cover-ups.
It is hard to believe, but this high level of pious pathology, ethical corruption and sin occurred under the “leadership” of THREE Dublin archbishops: John Charles McQuaid (1940-72), Dermot Ryan (1972-84) and Kevin McNamara (1985-87).
The commission found that these moral luminaries eschewed public scandals by shuffling the abusers from parish to parish and overseas to U.S. churches – where no doubt a few of these heinous hypocrites are still loudly opposing the freedom to marry for gay couples.
Seriously, I refuse to hear lectures on wholesome values and the meaning of family from anyone affiliated with a church that engaged in such shocking and outrageous behavior. The Catholic Church has, indeed, lost its right to discuss such issues and expect thinking people to keep a straight face.
Just to reiterate, the Bishop’s and Archbishop’s have zero credibility to even discuss my healthy relationship. At least my boyfriend isn’t an altar boy.
My advice to these priests is to take their condemnation of my relationship and lock it in a private vault in the Archdiocese, along with the secret records of rampant child abuse.
Finally, I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not an attack on the millions of Catholics who are good people and oppose the handling of these child abuse cases. There are also many Catholics who support equality for all people, including a gay couples’ right to marry. This is not meant for the wonderful, charitable people who have clothed the naked, cared for the sick and fed the hungry.
However, the church hierarchy has surrendered its high ground on moral issues and must work to regain the respectability and trust it has clearly lost. Considering the behavior it has practiced, it certainly has no right to preach to those of us who have obeyed the law.
NEW YORK — Truth Wins Out (TWO) today urged world leaders and members of Congress to skip the National Prayer Breakfast, February 4th, in protest of “The Family’ (aka The Fellowship) direct role in promoting a bill that would lead to severe human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda.
“The National Prayer Breakfast is giving legitimacy to those who promote barbarism in the name of the Bible,” said TWO’ Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We hope that world leaders who care about human rights will reconsider attending this year’ breakfast. To say grace with the people pushing this hateful and dehumanizing bill in Uganda would be disgraceful.”
On National Public Radio’ Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed author Jeff Sharlet (pictured), whose book, “The Family”, is a groundbreaking expose on the clandestine group in charge of the National Prayer Breakfast. On the program, Sharlet revealed a “smoking gun”, tying The Family directly to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, which threatens liberty and life for all GLBT people living in Uganda. Here is the key part of the transcript:
GROSS: So you’re reporting the story for the first time today, and you found this story — this direct connection between The Family and the proposed [Uganda anti-gay hate] legislation by following the money?
SHARLET: Yes, it’ — I always say that the family is secretive, but not secret. You can go and look at 990s, tax forms and follow the money through these organizations that The Family describe as invisible. But you go and you look. You follow that money. You look at their archives. You do interviews where you can. It’ not so invisible anymore. So that’ how working with some research colleagues we discovered that David Bahati, the man behind this legislation, is really deeply, deeply involved in The Family’ work in Uganda, that the ethics minister of Uganda, Museveni’ kind of right hand man, a guy named Nsaba Buturo, is also helping to organize The Family’ National Prayer Breakfast. And here’ a guy who has been the main force for this Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda’ executive office and has been very vocal about what he’ doing, and in a rather extreme and hateful way. But these guys are not so much under the influence of The Family. They are, in Uganda, The Family.
GROSS: So how did you find out that Bahati is directly connected to The Family? You’ve described him as a core member of The Family. And this is the person who introduced the anti-gay legislation in Uganda that calls for the death penalty for some gay people.
SHARLET: Looking at the, The Family’ 990s, where they’re moving their money to — into this African leadership academy called Cornerstone, which runs two programs: Youth Corps, which has described its in the past as an international quote, “invisible family binding together world leaders,” and also, an alumni organization designed to place Cornerstone grads — graduates of this sort of very elite educational program and politics and NGO’ through something called the African Youth Leadership Forum, which is run by -according to Ugandan media — David Bahati, this same legislator who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“It is unconscionable to pray with a group that is actively preying on innocent people in Uganda, just because of their sexual orientation,” said Truth Wins Out’ Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We call on all world leaders who care about human rights to opt out of this year’ National Prayer Breakfast. No one should break bread with a group that is breaking the bones and spirits of gay and lesbian people.”
Earlier this month, four members of Congress wrote a powerful letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express alarm over the proposed law in Uganda.
“This egregious bill represents one of the most extreme anti-equality measures ever proposed in any country and would create a legal pretext for depriving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans of their liberty, and even their lives,” said the bipartisan letter, signed by Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc., Pictured), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). “Particularly given the United States’ substantial contribution to Uganda through the President’ Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we believe swift action is necessary to ensure Ugandan leaders understand this bill is wholly unacceptable and antithetical to democratic values.”
The United States embassy in Uganda also spoke out against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, calling it a major setback in the promotion of human rights.
“If adopted, a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda,” the embassy’ public affairs officer Joann Lockard said in an email. “We urge states to take all necessary measures to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests, or detention.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters anti-gay misinformation, fights religious extremism exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about the lives of GLBT people.
Additional coverage: The Family’s Sen. Ensign Scandal and cover-up
Today’s New York Times tells the gruesome story of Ahmet Yildiz, a gay student in Istanbul, gunned down by his own father, who had gone mad after he discovered Ahmet was gay. According to Ahmet Kaya, Yildiz’ cousin, the notion that people could go from gay-to-straight through prayer and therapy entered into the deadly equation.
“Ahmet’ father had warned him to return to their village and to see a doctor and imam in order to cure him of his homosexuality and get married, but Ahmet refused,” Mr. Kaya said. “Ahmet loved his family more than anything else and he was tortured about disappointing them. But in the end, he decided to be who he was.”
Interestingly, Exodus Global Alliance is now working its scientific sorcery in the Middle East, with its website proclaiming,“Contact the Exodus Global Alliance office in Canada for information on the work of Exodus in Middle East.”
While there is no direct link between this so-called “honor” killing and Exodus, they are the primary worldwide source of misinformation, teaching distraught, religious parents that “Change is Possible.” I do not doubt that Exodus opposes such brutality. They did not cause this killing, nor would they approve. But, once this group pushes its destructive pseudoscience on the Internet, in the Middle East and in Africa, it clearly loses control of how these messages may be interpreted.
We may never know if Ahmet Yildiz might be alive today had his father not been sold the lie that his son could be “cured”. However, we do know that Exodus’ forays into cultures they do not understand, such as Uganda, have led to serious consequences.
A very real change did occur for Yildiz. He is dead. Pushing the notion that one can “pray away the gay” can have serious ramifications that it appears Exodus has yet to grapple.
Our friend Mike Tidmus reports on his blog about an ad campaign by the American Humanist Association. The effort seeks to help people “come out” about not believing in God. The ads have been under attack from intolerant fundamentalists who believe they are superior to other Americans and want to undermine our nation’s commitment to genuine liberty.
Whether one believes in God, or not, is irrelevant. What matters is the necessity of continuing America’s commitment to ensuring a tradition of freedom of conscience. If fundamentalists have a problem with such campaigns, the answer is to exercise their First Amendment rights and make a more persuasive case for faith in God. If they fail to do so, that is a consequence of living in a country that thrives because of its free marketplace of ideas.
Sadly, there are people who prefer to bully, threaten, deface and destroy messages, and even the messengers, when they feel their religion is faced with competition. This, in my view, shows a lack of true faith on the part of such angry fundamentalists. They fear doubt will creep into their minds and undermine their narrow worldview. In trying to protect their fragile faith, too many people are willing to undermine the Constitution and destabilize democracy.
If America is to remain a free country, then all people must be able to form their own belief systems without fear of being ostracized or persecuted. The greatest monument to religious freedom in America remains that a person can openly choose no religion at all.
The moment such liberty is lost (hopefully never), is the moment the “Welcome Mat” has been placed to greet tyranny. On this Thanksgiving, let us thank God, or not, that we live in a nation where such ad campaigns can occur.
Terry Gross and Fresh Air broke this story yesterday, with an interview with Jeff Sharlet, author of “The Family.”
For those who haven’t read or followed the coverage of “The Family”, this clandestine group, which includes many nationally recognized lawmakers, is probably best known for their C Street house on Capitol Hill, which serves as a group home for some of America’ most arch-conservative, evangelical politicians (not all live in the house, but all of them are connected): Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Joe Pitts, Chuck Grassley, Sam Brownback, John Ensign, Mike Enzi, Bart Stupak and others.
HERE IS THE MAJOR FINDING:
GROSS: So you’re reporting the story for the first time today, and you found this story – this direct connection between The Family and the proposed [Uganda anti-gay hate] legislation by following the money?
Mr. SHARLET: Yes, it’s – I always say that the family is secretive, but not secret. You can go and look at 990s, tax forms and follow the money through these organizations that The Family describe as invisible. But you go and you look. You follow that money. You look at their archives. You do interviews where you can. It’s not so invisible anymore. So that’s how working with some research colleagues we discovered that David Bahati, the man behind this legislation, is really deeply, deeply involved in The Family’s work in Uganda, that the ethics minister of Uganda, Museveni’s kind of right hand man, a guy named Nsaba Buturo, is also helping to organize The Family’s National Prayer Breakfast. And here’s a guy who has been the main force for this Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda’s executive office and has been very vocal about what he’s doing, and in a rather extreme and hateful way. But these guys are not so much under the influence of The Family. They are, in Uganda, The Family.
GROSS: So how did you find out that Bahati is directly connected to The Family? You’ve described him as a core member of The Family. And this is the person who introduced the anti-gay legislation in Uganda that calls for the death penalty for some gay people.
Mr. SHARLET: Looking at the, The Family’s 990s, where they’re moving their money to – into this African leadership academy called Cornerstone, which runs two programs: Youth Corps, which has described its in the past as an international quote, “invisible family binding together world leaders,” and also, an alumni organization designed to place Cornerstone grads – graduates of this sort of very elite educational program and politics and NGO’s through something called the African Youth Leadership Forum, which is run by -according to Ugandan media – which is run by David Bahati, this same legislator who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Earlier this week, extremists within the Republican Party proposed a 10-point checklist of principles that GOP candidates would have to sign if they expect to receive Party support. Like a deranged “Social Issues Santa”, the enforcers of doctrine are descending in their sleighs to slay Republicans who are naughty and not considered nice.
According to their puritanical plan, Republicans would be required to sign 7 of 10 radical resolutions, such as, “opposing Obama’ socialist agenda.” By far the most reckless part of this pledge is the demand that Republicans agree to, “Support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troops surges.” I wonder what such pandering politicians might say to families if these wars took a turn for the worse: “I’m sorry your son died on the battlefield, but I had six campaign pledges and needed a seventh to get a windfall of dough from the Republican Party.”
Ironically, the Republican governors gathered last week and ran away from such extremism. According to The New York Times, “There was little talk of the divisive social and political issues that Mr. Bush and Mr. Rove embraced as a way to attract independent and moderate Democratic voters and build a lasting Republican majority.”
The right wing chest thumping seen in the GOP checklist was echoed in a manifesto signed by 145 religious activists and clerics called the Manhattan Declaration. This document basically said that religious people were above the law and did not have to obey it if they deemed it unholy. Tony Perkins, the President of the Family Research Council, hailed the radical manifesto by calling it a “line in the sand” and vowing that the malcontents “will not be moved.”
Of course, growing up on the lovely beaches of Florida and Hawaii, I’ve learned that there is nothing more temporary than a line in the sand. These arrogant preachers are badly overreaching and will be surprised to find that their sinister sandcastle will succumb to history’ high tide.
The Catholic Church, in particular, is entering politically perilous territory it will soon regret. For most of American history, many voters were concerned that Catholic politicians were beholden to Rome. John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic President, won by assuring people that he was independent of the Vatican.
This week, however, Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin scolded another member of the famous clan, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), and told him he was unworthy of taking part in communion because of his pro-choice views.
Amazingly, Tobin told NBC News, “To receive a sacrament you have to be in union with the church.” To voters, this can be interpreted as: “Bow to Rome or go home.”
If the Church continues to push these boundaries, it will become toxic. It will force office holders into making a decision between voting with the Vatican, or risking nasty public spats, like the Tobin-Kennedy spectacle. In an era where people are quite fickle with faith, aspiring Catholic politicians may find it easier to avoid this dilemma and switch religions. In the future, the only remaining Catholic politicians may be hardliners, such as former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).
In fact, this backlash is already underway. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine criticized the Archdiocese of Washington this week for threatening to end contracts to feed Washington, DC’ homeless if the city allows gay couples the freedom to marry.
“I’m Catholic and I think it’s wrong,” Kaine said. “If you look at the church through history, the church will stand in tough situations and continue to do good. I think the strategy of threatening to hold back, it just doesn’t seem like the church I’ve come up in.”
Kaine was seconded by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who also is Catholic.
“I don’t understand how they can possibly do this,” O’Malley said. “I have a hard time believing that the nuns and priests who taught me about the Corporal Works of Mercy would agree that this is an appropriate response for the church.”
Inside their adoring mega-churches and towering Cathedrals, these conservative clerics are powerful demigods. Such adoration blinds them to the sobering reality that millions of people view them as power hungry demagogues. The Religious Right is still one of the strongest special interest groups in America, but they keep forgetting that they represent an immoral minority, not the Moral Majority they once fancied themselves to be.
Raging with dictatorial ultimatums and mutinous manifestos, these extremists are too far-gone to realize they have gone too far. As the “Social Issues Santas” shimmy down the chimney to deliver their dogma, it is unclear if they are simply blowing smoke or gift-wrapping future elections for the Democratic Party.
Christians, says the Declaration’s preamble, were the ones who rescued abandoned babies in trash heaps in ancient Rome, tended to the sick during the plagues, ended slavery in the West, uplifted the poor, created the conditions for democracy, and ushered in women’s suffrage. Their bizarre self-righteousness in claiming the mantle of all the great things that have happened in history makes you wonder if these modern moral crusaders have a pathological need to feel that they are good people, which is usually the first sign that they have reason to worry they are not.
Exactly!
The sooner that we, who value equality and justice, recognize this one key fact — that the anti-gay set already realizes, on some level, that they are the bad guys in this debate — the quicker we’ll win.
