August 8, 2015 Sexual predators are more prevalent among rabbis, pastors and yogis than among Catholic priests But they are not as widely reported by the secular especially the international media

Rampant Fraud in Abuse Charges?

From: alex To: Undisclosed-Recipient Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 2:05 AM

Even if only one case of abuse had happened, it would have been one case too many.

However it is also obvious that making world-wide accusations against priests AS A CATEGORY was liable to prompt cynics, out of greed or need, to take advantage of the Catholic Church’s discomfiture to try and turn a profit.

A priest in Florence told me recently that a Rumanian immigrant, whom he had once lent a hand, had come back one day to demand he hand over 20thousand euros, or else. The threat was that he would tell the world that this priest had molested him. The claim was totally unfounded but from that moment on the priest has constantly made sure he is never alone with anyone, if he can help it. Because when it comes down to "it's your word against mine", the odds - in today's climate of priest-bashing - are stacked against priests.

So it's a good thing that someone is investigating these charges with an open mind and view to establishing the truth. Alexandra Nucci, Bologna, Italy; [e-mail];


*Special Report* Los Angeles Attorney Declares Rampant Fraud, Many Abuse Claims against Catholic Priests are 'Entirely False'

http://www.themediareport.com/jan2011/special-steier-declaration.htm
January 2, 2011

In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.

Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles. In his missive Mr. Steier relayed, "One retired F.B.I. agent who worked with me to investigate many claims in the Clergy Cases told me, in his opinion, about ONE-HALF of the claims made in the Clergy Cases were either entirely false or so greatly exaggerated that the truth would not have supported a prosecutable claim for childhood sexual abuse" (capital letters are his).
Mr. Steier also added, "In several cases my investigation has provided objective information that could not be reconciled with the truthfulness of the subjective allegations. In other words, in many cases objective facts showed that accusations were false."
Mr. Steier's declaration is a stunner. He is as experienced as anyone in studying the claims of abuse against Catholic clergy in the Los Angeles area. Also among Steier's eye-opening statements:
"I have had accused priest clients take polygraph examinations performed by very experienced former law enforcement experts, including from L.A.P.D., the Sheriff Department, and F.B.I. In many cases the examinations showed my clients' denial of wrongdoing was 'truthful,' and in those cases I offered in writing to the accuser to undergo a similar polygraph examination at my expense. In every case the accuser refused to have his veracity tested by that investigative tool, which is routinely used by intelligence agencies." "I am aware of several plaintiffs who testified that they realized that they had been abused only after learning that some other person - sometimes a relative - had received a financial settlement from the Archdiocese or another Catholic institution." "In my investigation of many cases, I have seen the stories of some accusers change significantly over time, sometimes altering years, locations, and what activity was alleged - in every case, the changes seemed to have enabled or enhanced claims against my clients, or drastically increased alleged damages."
"I am aware that false memories can also be planted or created by various psychological processes, including by therapists who might be characterized as 'sexual victim advocates,' if not outright charlatans."
"Most of the approximately seven hundred psychiatric 'Certificates of Merit' filed in these Clergy Cases, as required by [California] Code of Civil Procedure § 340.1, were signed by the same therapist." (!) (Note: A "Certificate of Merit" from "a licensed mental health practitioner" is required in California before filing an abuse lawsuit.)
Steier signed and submitted the declaration "under penalty of perjury" November 30, 2010. Los Angeles County Superior Court officially filed it at 11 a.m. on December 15, 2010. (Images of Steier's declaration: pages 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10.)
Steier also took aim at the outspoken advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests):
They maintain an interactive Internet website with a user 'Forum' and 'Message Board,' among other features, where people can share detailed information between alleged victims pertaining to identity of specific alleged perpetrators, their alleged 'modus operandi,' and other details of alleged molestation. In effect, a person who wanted to make a false claim of sexual abuse by a priest could go to that website and find a 'blueprint' of factual allegations to make that would coincide with allegations made by other people. Law enforcement also uses the S.N.A.P. website to attempt to locate new victims and allegations against Catholic priests.
Needless to say, SNAP had a fit at the sight of Steier's declaration. In a frantic press statement dated December 13, 2010, SNAP derided Steier's declaration as a "legal maneuver" that was "among the most outrageous and hurtful ever made by a church defense lawyer." In addition to claiming it will file a complaint with the California Bar Association, it demanded that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony "denounce Steier's claims and to disclose how much archdiocesan money has been paid to Steier." (Gee, the last time I checked, SNAP steadfastly refused to divulge how much of its income is derived from the number of lawyers with whom it closely collaborates!)
Yet there is a glaring absence from SNAP's statement. The organization does not refute nor deny any of the specific claims made by Steier. It simply labels them as "outrageous" and "hurtful." That is hardly a blow to the explosive declaration aired by the veteran attorney.
Yes, Catholic priests terribly abused minors, and bishops failed to stop the harm. That's an undeniable truth. There are few crimes that revolt more than sexual abuse. The abuse of minors is a dark episode that the Church will forever have to live with. Yet major media outlets have largely ignored a major element to the entire Catholic abuse scandal narrative.
Here is Wall Street Journal writer Dorothy Rabinowitz:
"People have to come to understand that there is a large scam going on with personal injury attorneys, and what began as a serious effort has now expanded to become a huge money-making proposition."
Surprise: Ms. Rabinowitz made her remark in 2005. Since then, the Church has doled out an additional $1 billion in settlements.
Will 2011 be the year that the media finally begins to take a closer look at many of the claims being made? What about the suspicious relationships between SNAP, lawyers, and many in the media? (Vincent Carroll at the Denver Post is a rare voice of acknowledgement: "[F]raudulent or highly dubious accusations are more common than is acknowledged in coverage of the church scandals — although they should not be surprising, given the monumental settlements various dioceses have paid out over the years" (Oct. 10, 2010).)
Stay tuned.
Dave Pierre is the author of the heralded book, Double Standard: Abuse Scandals and the Attack on the Catholic Church. Dave is also the creator of TheMediaReport.com and is a contributing writer to NewsBusters.org, the popular media-bias blog of the Media Research Center.
Study: No Single Cause of Clergy Abuse in US - Says Crisis Is Historical Issue; Notes Sharp Decline After 1985

http://www.zenit.org/article-32607?l=english

Washington, D.C., May 18, 2011

A study on sexual abuse by clergy in the United States concludes that neither celibacy nor homosexuality can be pinpointed as the cause for the crisis, and that the problem is largely a historical one.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released the study today by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, which is the second of two reports completed by the college.

The first -- "The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002" -- was published in 2004 and focused on the description and extent of the problem.

The second is titled "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010," and it sought to understand why sexual abuse of minors by clergy took place.

The study, which integrated research from "sociocultural, psychological, situational, and organizational" perspectives, concluded that "no single 'cause' of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests is identified as a result of our research."

"Social and cultural changes in the 1960s and 1970s manifested in increased levels of deviant behavior in the general society and also among priests of the Catholic Church in the United States," it explained. "Organizational, psychological, and situational factors contributed to the vulnerability of individual priests in this period of normative change."

The study also noted "the historical time period of the problem: the increase in incidence until the late 1970s and the sharp decline by 1985." The report added that while it could find no "specific institutional cause for the increase in incidence," there were factors specific to the Catholic Church that "contributed to the decline in the mid-1980s."

"Analyses of the development and influence of seminary education throughout the historical period is consistent with the continued suppression of abuse behavior in the 21st century," it said.

Protecting children

Karen Terry, John Jay's principal investigator for the report, underlined in a statement released by the U.S. bishops that "the bulk of cases occurred decades ago."

"The increased frequency of abuse in the 1960s and 1970s was consistent with the patterns of increased deviance of society during that time," she said, adding that "social influences intersected with vulnerabilities of individual priests whose preparation for a life of celibacy was inadequate at that time."

Noting the specific factors that led to a decrease in incidences of abuse in the Church, Terry noted that the development of human formation elements in seminary training could be linked to fewer current cases in the United States.

She also added that the number of incidences decreased more rapidly within the Church than within society in general.

Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, who chairs the USCCB Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, found hope in the report, as it shows that "what we are doing works" in addressing child sexual abuse.

He said that the inability to predict individual sexual deviance "makes the safe environments programs valuable and necessary."

"The Catholic Church has taken a position of zero tolerance of any cleric who would sexually abuse a child," the bishop added. "Such a position protects children. But it also protects the tens of thousands of priests who have suffered greatly in this crisis, all the while quietly serving with honor and self-sacrifice every day of their lives."

"The shame of failing our people will remain with us for a long time," said Bishop Blase Cupich. "It should. Its sting can keep us resolute in our commitments and humble so as to never forget the insight we came to nearly a decade ago in Dallas. We cannot do any of this on our own."

In 2002 in Dallas, in response to the sexual abuse crisis, the U.S. bishop adopted The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which has since guided the response in dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

A model

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement released earlier today that the report "adds valuable insight and understanding to how and why the crime and sin of sexual abuse occurred in the Catholic Church." He reiterated that the report is not a result of the research of the USCCB, but rather of the John Jay College, and that the bishops in the United States have "been noted as the first group anywhere to contract a professional agency ... to examine the 'causes and contexts' of this scourge."

"The report makes clear that the vast majority of sexual abuse occurred during the 1960's through 1980's, even as it examines the various conditions that led to this abuse," he said. "It also concludes that the incidence of sexual abuse of minors has declined sharply in the Catholic Church since 1985." He said that the results of the report coincides with the experience of the Archdiocese of New York, as the reports it receives of abuse "are almost exclusively from decades ago."

"This does not minimize the damage done to the victims of abuse, as I once again offer an apology to anyone who may have been harmed by a priest or any other person acting in the name of the Church, however long ago," he added.

"The study also points out that there was no single cause that led to the sexual abuse crisis. Neither celibacy, as some have suggested, nor homosexuality, as others have claimed, have been found to be a reason why a person would engage in sexual abuse of a minor," he continued.

"Providing safe environments for our young people is perhaps the most important way to prevent sexual abuse," Archbishop Dolan said.

"Earlier this week, the Holy See released a circular letter to bishops' conferences around the world, urging them to develop polices for dealing with sexual abuse within their own countries," he concluded. "The letter outlines such steps as listening to and caring for the victims of abuse, creating safe environment for minors, proper formation of priests, cooperating with civil authorities, and taking proper care of priests who have been accused of abuse.

"It is my hope that the experience of the Church in the United States, as illustrated in this study, might help serve as a model, not only for the Church in other countries, but for all of society which is still learning how to deal with the awful problem of abuse."

The complete report of John Jay College: www.usccb.org/mr/causes-and-context-of-sexual-abuse-of-minors-by-catholic-priests-in-the-united-states-1950-2010.pdf
Archbishop Dolan's statement: www.zenit.org/article-32604?l=english

The study is titled "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010."

Today's release of The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010, a report conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, adds valuable insight and understanding to how and why the crime and sin of sexual abuse occurred in the Catholic Church.

Keep in mind that the study released today is a report to the bishops of the United States, not from them. The sexual abuse of minors is a tragedy that affects every family, religion, school, organization, institution, and profession in our society. The Catholic Church in the United States has been noted as the first group anywhere to contract a professional agency -- in this case, the John Jay College here in New York City -- to examine the "causes and contexts" of this scourge.

I start with this fact because some of the early reaction has already -- no surprise here -- criticized the bishops for the conclusions of the study! Once again, they are not our conclusions at all, but those of an acclaimed academic institution specializing in this sensitive area.

The information provided in the Causes and Context study closely mirrors our own experience here in the Archdiocese of New York. The report makes clear that the vast majority of sexual abuse occurred during the 1960's through 1980's, even as it examines the various conditions that led to this abuse. It also concludes that the incidence of sexual abuse of minors has declined sharply in the Catholic Church since 1985. The reports of abuse that the Victims Assistance Coordinators for the Archdiocese receive today are almost exclusively from decades ago. This does not minimize the damage done to the victims of abuse, as I once again offer an apology to anyone who may have been harmed by a priest or any other person acting in the name of the Church, however long ago.

The study also points out that there was no single cause that led to the sexual abuse crisis. Neither celibacy, as some have suggested, nor homosexuality, as others have claimed, have been found to be a reason why a person would engage in sexual abuse of a minor.

Instead, the Causes and Context report indicates that various vulnerabilities in an individual priest, in combination with situational stresses and opportunities, raise the risk that a priest might abuse.

Here in the Archdiocese, as elsewhere in the Church, many steps have been taken to combat this evil. As the study points out, providing safe environments for our young people is perhaps the most important way to prevent sexual abuse. In the Archdiocese, 74,000 adults have undergone safe environment training, and 82,000 have had background checks, with 170,000 children trained each year. In addition, our seminary formation program provides rigorous screening, and more intensive and comprehensive human and emotional development, which better prepares our future priests to live out their commitment to serving God and His Church. Codes of Conduct, both for clergy and for laity, have been established to clarify what is and is not appropriate behavior for those who work with or are associated with minors.

When an allegation of abuse is made, our policy and procedures are well-established, widely published, and effective. First and foremost, we continue to encourage anyone who has an allegation of abuse against a cleric, an employee, or volunteer of the Archdiocese to report it immediately and directly to the appropriate civil authorities. If the Archdiocese of New York has reason to believe that an act of abuse of a minor has occurred, it immediately contacts the appropriate civil authorities, cooperating with the district attorneys and other civil authority in their investigations of suspected cases of abuse.

Our Independent Lay Board, comprised of judges, lawyers, psychiatrists, social workers, parents, teachers, and those experienced in working with sex abuse victims, reviews these allegations after the civil process has completed. Using all the information that the Archdiocese has been able to gather, they determine if an act of abuse occurred, and advise the Archbishop of New York if the priest can be returned to ministry. Should a cleric be found to have committed even a single act of sexual abuse of a minor, he will never be permitted to serve in ministry again.

Earlier this week, the Holy See released a circular letter to bishops' conferences around the world, urging them to develop polices for dealing with sexual abuse within their own countries. The letter outlines such steps as listening to and caring for the victims of abuse, creating safe environment for minors, proper formation of priests, cooperating with civil authorities, and taking proper care of priests who have been accused of abuse. It is my hope that the experience of the Church in the United States, as illustrated in this study, might help serve as a model, not only for the Church in other countries, but for all of society which is still learning how to deal with the awful problem of abuse.

Vatican hits back strongly at scathing UN report - Spokesman says UN was not entitled to attack Church teachings

http://www.ucanews.com/news/vatican-hits-back-strongly-at-scathing-un-report/70261 Source: CatholicCulture.org

February 10, 2014

Vatican City: In a sharply worded and detailed response to UN committee’s critical report on the Vatican’s response to sexual abuse, the Vatican’s chief spokesman has said that the committee’s recommendations “seem to go beyond its competencies and to interfere in the very doctrinal and moral positions of the Catholic Church.”

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, released a lengthy response to the report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on February 7. In his 3-page statement charged that committee had neglected to pay attention to information submitted by the Vatican, relying instead on reports from groups critical of the Church. The Vatican spokesman strongly suggested that the report had been drafted in advance, without waiting for the Vatican’s own report.

Most important, Father Lombardi charged, the UN committee had overstepped its jurisdiction to attack the Church’s moral teaching. He said that “the Committee’s comments in several directions seem to go beyond its powers and to interfere in the very moral and doctrinal positions of the Catholic Church, giving indications involving moral evaluations of contraception, or abortion, or education in families, or the vision of human sexuality, in light of own ideological vision of sexuality itself.” Father Lombardi made an extra effort to reaffirm the Vatican’s support for the UN, and for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. He said that the Holy See recognized the value of “serious and well founded” criticism regarding the Church’s response to the sex-abuse scandal. However, he said that the UN committee’s report was a biased presentation. The Church has suffered from “unjustly harmful” media scrutiny in the sex-abuse crisis, Father Lombardi said, and the enormous attention accorded to the UN committee’s report was an example of that unequal treatment. He pointed out that the same committee’s reports on other nations have rarely been given media attention, even when the reports point to grave violations of children’s rights.

Father Lombardi also complained that the UN committee’s report shows a “lack of understanding of the specific nature of the Holy See.” The Vatican, he explained, does not control the behavior of priests in every country, and cannot be responsible for law-enforcement efforts outside its own limited jurisdiction. He observed that this point had been made repeatedly to members of the UN committee, and “one is entitled to amazement” that the point had not been absorbed.

A Crisis of Saints

http://www.catholic.com/library/A_Crisis_of_Saints.asp

By Fr. Roger Landry, April 2002 [All emphases are mine]

Headlines were captured in February by the tragic reports that as many as seventy priests in the Archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts, allegedly have abused young people whom they were consecrated to serve. In the wake this news, allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have sprung up nationwide. It is a huge scandal, one that many people who dislike the Catholic Church because of its moral teachings are using to claim that the Church is hypocritical and that they were right all along. Many people have come up to priests like myself to talk about it. I imagine many others have wanted to but have refrained out of respect or from not wanting to bring up bad news.
We need to tackle the issue head-on. Catholics have a right to it from their clergy. We cannot pretend it doesn't exist, and I would like to discuss what our response as faithful Catholics should be to this terrible situation.

THE JUDAS SYNDROME
The first thing we need to do is to understand this scandal from the perspective of our faith in the Lord. Before he chose his first disciples, Jesus went up the mountain to pray all night (Luke 6:12). He had many followers at the time. He talked to his Father in prayer about whom he should choose to be his twelve apostles-the twelve whom he would form intimately, the twelve whom he would send out to preach the good news in his name. He gave them power to cast out demons. He gave them power to cure the sick. They watched him work countless miracles. They themselves worked countless others in his name.
Yet one of them turned out to be a traitor. One who had followed the Lord-who had seen him walk on water and raise people from the dead and forgive sinners, one whose feet the Lord had washed-betrayed him. The gospels tells us that Judas allowed Satan to enter into him and then sold the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, handing him over by faking a gesture of love. "Judas," Jesus said to him in the garden of Gethsemane, "would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 24:48).
Jesus didn't choose Judas to betray him. But Judas was always free, and he used his freedom to allow Satan to enter into him, and by his betrayal Jesus was crucified and executed. But God foresaw this evil and used it to accomplish the ultimate good: the redemption of the world.
The point is, sometimes God's chosen ones betray him. That is a fact that we have to confront. If the early Christians had focused only on the scandal caused by Judas, the Church would have been finished before it even started to grow. Instead they recognized that you don't judge a movement by those who don't live it but by those who do. Rather than focusing on the betrayer, they focused on the other eleven on account of whose work, preaching, miracles, and love for Christ we are here today. It is on account of the other eleven-all of whom except John were martyred for Christ and for the gospel they proclaimed-that we ever heard the saving word of God, that we ever received the sacraments of eternal life. We are confronted by the same scandalous reality today. We can focus on those who have betrayed the Lord, those who abused rather than loved the people whom they were called to serve. Or we can focus, as did the early Church, on those who have remained faithful, those priests who are still offering their lives to serve Christ and you out of love. The secular media almost never focuses on the good "eleven," the ones whom Jesus has chosen who remain faithful, who live lives of quiet holiness. But we the Church must keep the terrible scandal that we are witnessing in its true and full perspective.