Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer - Herdegen

Cardinal(s) Wrong

Paul Kiesel — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:30:26 GMT

Cardinal George is wrong on his stance of Obama addressing this year's graduating class at Notre Dame University.

Ten priests in the Roman Catholic order that helps run the University of Notre Dame want the school to reconsider having President Barack Obama deliver this year's commencement address. They're wrong, too.

Why? Because it's not their graduation. It's the students' graduation. And what do the seniors who will be graduating from Notre Dame think: They appear to strongly back the university's invitation to Obama. The campus newspaper reports that 97 percent of the letters that have come in on the subject from graduating seniors are supportive.

So why does the American Life League, a Catholic pro-life organization, want to remove Notre Dame from future Catholic foundation funding? Because they don't think the students at the school are Catholic enough and, frankly, they likely disapprove of many of President Obama's policies.

This "political" and theological stunt by poorly advised cardinals and priests comes down to the disapproval of one's, in this case Obama's, political ideologies and they're turning a joyous occasion for many hard-working seniors into a publicity stunt, unfairly stealing the attention that should be focused squarely on the graduating class and the President's upcoming appearance.

However, this isn't the first time the Catholic church has had its priorities out of whack. Look at what took place in Fresno last week, as Bishop John T. Steinbock felt vindicated by a Fresno's jury verdict: Jurors unanimously agreed that Monsignor Anthony Herdegen molested two brothers from 1959 to 1972 while Herdegen was a priest at St. John's Catholic Church in Wasco. The jurors didn't find the church liable.

In a statement, Bishop Steinbock expressed regret that Herdegen had abused the Santillans, "even though the diocese learned that they were abused years after it occurred [FLAT OUT LIE]."

"Bishop Steinbock emphasized that if even one child is sexually abused, that is one child too many," the statement said. "Child sexual abuse afflicts all of society, and no community or institution is free from its effects -- even the church [SECOND FLAT OUT LIE]."

Steinbock's position on sexually abused children is sadly disingenuous: A little over two years ago, a Fresno jury found Father Eric Swearingen guilty (9-3) of molesting a former altar boy, however, Bishop John J. Steinbock has continued to allow this man to work with children at the Holy Spirit Parish in Fresno, California.

If this is the best the Catholic church has, when it comes to its leaders and rank and file members throughout the country, I'm unimpressed.

However, kudos to Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, who said in a statement last month that the invitation does not mean the university supports all of Obama's positions but that he will be honored as an "inspiring leader."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Closing Arguments at Fresno Clergy Sex Abuse Trial

Paul Kiesel — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:54:06 GMT

From CBS 47:

An emotional sexual abuse trial is nearing the end. Closing arguments are underway in the case against the Fresno Catholic Diocese.

Wednesday morning, the alleged victims' attorneys made their final arguments to the jury. The defense was scheduled to present their close after lunch.

Anthony DeMarco, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs said, “There were several moments in this trial I had chills running down my spine.” He said those chills were because of testimony by Bishop Joseph Madere, Bishop John Steinbock and Cardinal Roger Mahony.

In testimony, Bishop Madere said that when people came to him with complaints about their priests, he asked them to write down those complaints and then call the person they were complaining about and tell them what they were writing before they sent that letter. He said, “I don’t want to run the Diocese by rumors.”

Bishop Steinbock had told jurors that in 1995 he was contacted by Monsignor Anthony Heredigen, the priest in the case, who said there were rumors about him sexually abusing a child. Herdegen admitted to the Bishop that he had been indiscrete but would not specify what indiscrete meant so the Bishop did not investigate.

In Cardinal Mahony's testimony, he told the jurors multiple times, “that is not what I would have done” referring to the way things were handled by others involved in the case.

(Stay tuned.)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

AP: Catholic Hierarchy was Aware of Pedophile Priest Problem in the 1950s

Paul Kiesel — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:10:02 GMT

From The Associated Press:

The founder of a religious order that treats Roman Catholic priests who molest children concluded in the 1950s that offenders were unlikely to change and should not be returned to ministry, according to his letters, which were obtained by plaintiffs' lawyers.

The Rev. Gerald Fitzgerald, founder of the Servants of the Paraclete, was so sure of the priests' inability to control themselves that he tried to buy an island to isolate them.

Fitzgerald discussed the issue with Pope Paul VI and in correspondence with several bishops, according to the National Catholic Reporter, an independent newspaper that reported the full content of the letters Monday.

The documents challenge recent statements by U.S. bishops that before the clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in the 1980s and again in 2002, they were unaware of the risks of moving predators among parishes.

"I myself would be inclined to favor laicization for any priest, upon objective evidence, for tampering with the virtue of the young, my argument being, from this point onward the charity to the Mystical Body should take precedence over charity to the individual," Fitzgerald wrote in a 1952 letter to Bishop Robert Dwyer of Reno, Nev.

"Moreover, in practice, real conversions will be found to be extremely rare," he continued. "Hence, leaving them on duty or wandering from diocese to diocese is contributing to scandal or at least to the approximate danger of scandal."

The Los Angeles law firm Kiesel, Boucher & Larson, which has brought many abuse cases against California dioceses, persuaded a judge in New Mexico to unseal the letters in 2007, according to Helen Zukin, an attorney at the firm.

The attorneys then verified that the documents were authentic during depositions with Fitzgerald's successor as the Paracletes servant general, the Rev. Joseph McNamara, Zukin said.

Leaders of the Servants of the Paraclete could not be reached for comment Monday.

Fitzgerald set up the Paraclete treatment center in the late 1940s in Jemez Springs, N.M., mainly to help clergy struggling with alcoholism and emotional troubles. Soon, bishops began sending him priests who had molested young people or could not keep their celibacy vows.

In a 1957 letter to Bishop Matthew Brady of Manchester, N.H., Fitzgerald wrote that abusive priests only pretended to repent and change "to be again in a position where they can continue their wonted activity." He said eventually the church would have to establish "a uniform code of discipline and of penalties" to protect the priesthood.

More than four decades later, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did just that. It created a national discipline and child protection policy after news reports and court files unsealed in 2002 showed that many bishops had moved guilty priests from assignment to assignment without notifying parents or police.

Under the new plan, offenders are barred from church work or ousted from the priesthood altogether. American dioceses have paid more than $2.6 billion in abuse-related costs since 1950, according studies commissioned by the U.S. bishops.

By the 1960s, Fitzgerald was losing control over the direction of the religious order, and medical and psychological professionals began working at the center — a change he had resisted. Those experts said some abusers could return to ministry.

The New Mexico treatment center closed in the 1990s in the face of lawsuits over priests who had molested children while staying at the Jemez Springs site or after being treated there.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Governor Paterson Opposes Sex Abuse Bill, More Worried with Churches Going Bankrupt

Paul Kiesel — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:59:02 GMT

For reasons that are seemingly illogical, New York Governor David Paterson told Newsday that he opposes an Assembly bill that would allow sex abuse victims to have their day in court.

In siding with the Catholic Church, Gov. Paterson told Newsday, "These types of cases could go back, 20, 30, 40 years, and since the evidence probably doesn't exist in any way to convict the perpetrator [. . .] the accusation would hinder the career of any person who was accused."

Probably? How would the governor know that each case filed would PROBABLY have no evidence to back any claims of sexual abuse by priests? He doesn't know that and is speaking rather glibly.

In fact, a clergy sex abuse case involving the Fresno Diocese has exhibited evidence that is 20 and 30 years old (many other sex abuse cases have admitted evidence that is 30 or more years old, too). The evidence has shown several instances of sex abuse by the priest who abused two brothers, Father Herdegen, and that other bishops and priests had knowledge of some of the molestation that was taking place.

If Gov. Paterson's only concern is that lawsuits may bankrupt certain dioceses in New York State, then maybe the Catholic Church should have been more accountable and tried eradicating this problem 20, 30 or 40 years ago. If and when the bill passes, hopefully churches that were complicit in child molestation (at the very least, they allowed it to occur and the perpetrator priests went unpunished) will have to reap what they've sowed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

CBS News: Father Craig Takes the Stand in Fresno Clergy Sex Abuse Trial

Paul Kiesel — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:59:29 GMT

From CBS 47:

On Thursday, attorneys for the church called a key witness to the stand. Father Rod Craig grew up in Wasco and attended the church where two brothers claim they were sexually abused by a priest for 14 years.

Father Craig said he not only knew George and Howard Santillan but was good friends with them and grew up with them.

On the stand, Father Craig said that he didn’t believe then and still does not believe today that for 14 years the brothers were being abused by their Wasco priest, Monsignor Anthony Herdegen. He said that he too was an alter boy and never saw any suspicious behavior but at one point he conflicted himself on the stand after some probing by the plaintiff’s attorney. Father Craig said, “Sometimes Monsignor would give us long hugs after serving mass... It was longer than I was comfortable with but never inappropriate."

That statement also conflicts with a statement Father Craig made in his deposition where he said he did find Monsignor Herdegen’s behavior suspicious and he had feelings but never had any proof that anything suspicious was going on.

Closing arguments could begin in the case as early as next Wednesday.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel

Bishop Madera: People Came to Him with Complaints of Priest Abuse and He'd Suggest They Write and Send a Letter to the Abuser

Paul Kiesel — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:06:44 GMT

From CBS 47 in Fresno:

MISTRUTHS WATERED-DOWN

The former Bishop of the Fresno Archdiocese takes the stand in the sexual abuse trial against the Catholic Church.

Bishop Joseph Madere told jurors on Wednesday that he never knew of alleged abuse by a Wasco priest.

The topic for much of the morning’s questioning was about the priest file for Monsignor Anthony Herdegen. The Bishop told jurors that during his time as Bishop, he never knew of or never received any complaints about the Monsignor and alleged sexual abuse by the Wasco priest.

The plaintiff’s attorney questioned whether or not he didn’t know about the allegations because of his handling of complaints of priests. The Bishop told jurors that when people came to him with complaints about their priests, he asked them to write down those complaints and then call the person they were complaining about and tell them what they were writing before they sent that letter. He said, “I don’t want to run the Diocese by rumors.”

The plaintiff’s attorney say this brings to mind the question of whether the Bishop didn’t receive complaints because people were deterred by his process or even intimidated by it. They were afraid of complaining because they would have to confront the person they were complaining about.

The Bishop was on the stand most of the morning and was expected to return after the lunch break.

MORE FACTS

In what had to be one of the more bizarre moments in court proceedings this morning, one of the plaintiff's attorneys was allowed to question Bishop Madera regarding the existence of the Ramierez documents (documents that would contradict Madera's earlier testimony), but was not allowed to ask about the actual documents, refer to the documents' contents or discuss any details of the complaints, including when the letters were written. This led Bishop Madera to deny any memory of these documents, but the Bishop constantly challenged the plaintiff's attorney by answering, "If such documents exist, why don't you show them to me?" The attorney then held up the document in front of the Jury, prompting the Defense to object that the document was not in evidence. The Judge, based on his earlier instructions, was forced to sustain all objections regarding this individual matter. This occurred for 45 minutes.

When the morning session was over, the Judge finally ruled that Delgado, a key witness for the prosecution, would be allowed in, which, on the surface, would be a major, major turning point in this trial, but only if the Judge allows the Ramierez documents to be admissible as evidence. If the Judge allows for the Ramierez documents to admitted, along with Delgado testifying, Bishop Madera will wish he wasn't so wily with Mr. Santillan's attorneys earlier today.

Comeuppance, anybody?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Kiesel