John Paul II Pedophile Priest in San Antonio

Clergy sex abuse victims expose sexual predator

Religious order admits ‘credible allegation’ in writing

Until recently, priest taught at local Catholic university

His supervisors quietly transferred him overseas last year

Cleric has never been publicly accused before as a predator

Now he's still being paid, living and working at church facilities in Rome

WHAT
At a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will make public copies of a previously secret, two-page letter signed by a high-ranking Catholic official. The letter admits that a never-before-‘outed’ predator priest (who recently worked in San Antonio) is “credibly accused” of molesting a teenager.

The victims will also
--- urge anyone who suffered, saw or suspected his abuse or misdeeds to call police, and
--- prod university and church officials to use every resource at their disposal to reach out to anyone who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes and/or misdeeds

WHEN
Today, Monday, Feb. 16, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside St. Mary's University, 1 Camino Santa Maria St (corner of Cincinnati Ave), San Antonio

WHO
Several men and women who were victimized by clergy and belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

VISUALS
The group will have 3 color photos of the predators and copies of the two-page church letter admitting that the allegations are ‘credible.’

WHY
Fr. Charles H. Miller, is “credibly accused” of “sexual misconduct” against a teenager in San Antonio in 1980. Miller has never been publicly exposed as a molester before.

That's according to a previously-secret, two-page letter signed in 2007 by the #2 US official in the Marianists, the religious order to which Miller belongs. The letter says Miller will “be removed from any public ministry, resign from any position at St. Mary’s, and may not publicly administer the sacraments.” It also recommends that Miller get a diagnostic mental health evaluation.

The victim first approached the Marianists in 2005. However, the organization essentially took no action against the predator for almost two years. He resigned his university positions in 2007.

Despite repeated pleas from Miller's victim, neither church nor college officials have publicly announced that the accusations against Miller are 'credible,' nor have they made a concerted effort to find and help any others who Miller may have hurt.

After the allegation was deemed 'credible,' Miller was transferred to Rome. He remains a priest on the payroll and is believed to be living at a church facility in Italy.

From 1979-2000, Miller taught theology at St. Mary's and was the dean of the humanities department. In 2000, he worked in Rome at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. In 2001, Miller worked in Jerusalem at the Ratisbonne Pontifical Institute Christian Center. From 2003-2007, he was back at St. Mary's teaching again. Throughout his career, Miller has led tours to Rome and the Holy Land.

During the 1970s, Miller worked at St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO.

SNAP strongly suspects there are others who saw, suspected or suffered similar abuse and exploitation by Miller either as teens or as vulnerable adults. The group is urging victims and witnesses to come forward, get help, call police, and contact independent sources of support.

CONTACT:
Barbara Garcia-Boehland of San Antonio, San Antonio SNAP Director (210) 725 8329
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director (314) 566 9790 cell
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Coordinator (314) 862 7688


Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
www.snapnetwork.org

John Paul II Pedophile Priest abused San Francisco boy for a decade

Recently sentenced pedophile priest molested a San Fran boy for a decade

New child sex abuse lawsuit is filed against Mother Teresa's 'confessor'

Victim's mother, who lives in California, will speak publicly for the 1st time

Despite being already jailed for 25 years, cleric still faces more criminal charges

Nationally known predator was just defrocked last year and abused just 4 years ago

WHAT

At a sidewalk news conference, a mom whose son was molested for a decade by a just-sentenced predator priest will
--- disclose and discuss her son's new child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit against the cleric & his supervisors,
--- beg Catholics to ask friends & family if they were hurt by the pedophile and if so, to report promptly to police, &
--- urge local church officials to aggressively reach out to others who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes.

The accused is perhaps the most prominent US Catholic priest to ever have been convicted of child molestation. For decades, he belonged to perhaps America's most prominent Catholic religious order, the Jesuits.

WHEN
TODAY, Monday, Feb. 23, at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside San Francisco University, 2495 Golden Gate Avenue, in San Francisco

WHO
Child sex abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a Milwaukee therapist who is the organization's long-time Midwest Director

WHY
On Feb. 11, Fr. Donald McGuire, an internationally-known Jesuit, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting. kids. He is the most high-profile Catholic priest to ever be convicted for sexually abuse, having been Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor, spoken at hundreds of schools and churches, and led retreats across the globe. In the 1970s, he taught at the University of San Francisco.

Late Friday, a new child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit was filed against McGuire and his supervisors. It charges that McGuire repeatedly assaulted a boy for ten years (1988-98) at several places in California, at a Jesuit facility in suburban Chicago, and on retreats across the country.

In Feb. 2006, McGuire was found guilty of molesting two other boys in Wisconsin. Last March, prosecutors in Phoenix AZ filed more criminal charges against McGuire for molesting two other boys there between 1998 and 2002.

At least seven civil molestation suits have been filed against McGuire.

McGuire, now in his 70s, was finally defrocked last year, even though his Jesuit supervisors received repeated reports of his crimes as far back as the 1960s.

The victim is represented by attorneys Kevin McGuire (949) 510 1229, Jeff Anderson (612) 817 8665, and Marc Pearlman (773) 368 0142. For the victim's privacy, his mother does not want her last name or hometown used but will give interviews and answer questions.

CONTACT
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP outreach director (314) 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell
Joey Piscatelli of Martinez, SNAP Bay Area director (925) 262 3699 cell
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP national director (314) 566 9790 cell


Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
www.snapnetwork.org

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

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SNAP Press Statement

For immediate release: Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Statement on Jesuits Filing for Bankruptcy

Statement by Barbara Dorris, National Outreach Director, 314-862-7688

Shame on the Jesuits for exploiting the Chapter 11 process to shield their secrets and continue concealing their complicity. And shame on them for using deceptive, insensitive language to minimize and deny their culpability and further hurt those already in deep pain.

At least 28 child molesting Jesuit clergymen have been publicly exposed as serial predators in the Northwest. We suspect there are at least that many others who've never faced legal action and whose identities are known only to secretive church officials.

History, psychology and common sense suggest that there are at least that many other Catholic officials, Jesuit and diocesan, who knew of or suspected these terrible crimes, but stayed silent or helped hide them.

So it's deceitful for Jesuits to call this awful, on-going scandal the result of "a few men."

Consider the rest of the Jesuit's language. Years of deceit and child rape in unsuspecting parishes and native villages become a "sad chapter in our province's history." Devastating felonies against innocent kids by dozens of alleged spiritual leaders become "the actions of a few men." Deeply wounded men and women who were raped and sodomized as kids become "claimants." Long-standing and largely successful but callous and reckless efforts to hide these crimes become ignored. (There's no mention whatsoever of the role of the Jesuit hierarchy in all of this, conveniently helping church officials keep the focus on the 'bad apple' predator priests.)

Finally, the Jesuits' claim of 'limited resources' is equally deceptive. We believe it's disingenuous for a bishop to pretend to be poor, isolated and helpless, adrift from the rest of the world-wide Catholic institutions and structures, and unable to do what's right to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded. It's even more deceptive for an obviously huge, world-wide institution like the Jesuits to split silly hairs and claim false distinctions and act like one 'province' is entirely separate from the rest.

What's the right way to respond? Treat victims as individuals, not as cattle. Immediately help those victims who are in desperate need of short term financial help for therapy and medical costs. Let victims who want to go to court go to court. Settle with those who want to settle. Disclose the names of all the predators. Disclose and discipline those who enabled or ignored the abuse, especially those who destroyed evidence, stonewalled police, intimidated witnesses, fired whistle blowers, deceived Catholics and lied to or threatened victims and their families. Publicly beg others who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups to come forward, call police, get help and start healing. Stop splitting absurd hairs and drawing false distinctions. Use the extensive resources of this massive global enterprise to do what's right. If need be, borrow money from other Catholic institutions (even Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston did this, taking a $25 million loan from the Knights of Columbus.)

Finally, start acting like compassionate shepherds, not cold-hearted CEOs.

Contact
David Clohessy, National Director of SNAP 314-566-9790
Barbara Blaine, President of SNAP 312-399-4747
Bill Crane, Oregon SNAP leader 503-781-5245
Tom Keenan, Alaska SNAP leader 907-229-4131

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
www.snapnetwork.org
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Suits send Jesuits to file Chapter 11
Abuse alleged - Liabilities facing the five-state province add up to $62 million
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
BRYAN DENSON and NANCY HAUGHT
The Oregonian Staff
The Northwest's Jesuits filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday in Portland, citing civil lawsuits resulting from allegations of clergy sex abuse.

Formally known as the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, the Roman Catholic order declared assets of $4.8 million and liabilities of nearly $62 million, according to the 123-page filing posted in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon.

The five-state Jesuit province is listed as a defendant in nine active lawsuits in Alaska, Idaho and Washington. Another suit was settled last September in Multnomah County. The suits were brought by plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse by priests.

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"Our decision to file Chapter 11 was not an easy one, but with approximately 200 additional claims pending or threatened, it is the only way we believe that all claimants can be offered a fair financial settlement within the limited resources of the province," said Oregon's provincial, the Rev. Patrick J. Lee, in a written statement.

Although the Oregon province is the largest geographically in the world, it remains the poorest financially of the Jesuits' 10 provinces in the United States, according to the order's Web site.

According to the Portland-based province, the Jesuits have settled at least 200 legal claims since 2001, paying more than $25 million, not including payments by the province's insurers. The bankruptcy filing listed assets of $1.2 million in real property and $3.7 million in personal property.

"Our hope is that by filing Chapter 11, we can begin to bring this sad chapter in our province's history to an end," Lee said. "We continue to pray for all those who have been hurt by the actions of a few men, so that they can receive the healing and reconciliation that they deserve."

Lee said the filing will allow the province to resolve its pending claims, manage its financial situation and continue its ministries in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The province includes more than 250 Jesuits.

The Jesuits came to the Northwest in 1841 after being invited by the Flathead tribe from what is now Montana.

The Oregon province, created in 1932, has two universities -- Seattle University and Gonzaga University in Spokane -- and four high schools, including Jesuit High School in Beaverton. In 2001, the order established St. Andrew Nativity School in Northeast Portland.

Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614; bryandenson@news.oregonian.com Nancy Haught: 503-294-7625; nancyhaught @news.oregonian.com

New York new Archbishop Dolan covered-up John Paul II Pedophile Priests

SNAP group says Archbishop Dolan lax on abusive priests

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Feb. 6, 2009

Amid speculation that Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan might be named to head the New York Archdiocese, an organization representing victims of clergy sexual abuse said Friday that Dolan has not done enough to rid the archdiocese of pedophile priests or punish those who covered up their crimes.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests released the names of three priests, one deceased, it alleged had substantiated histories of abuse but had never been publicly identified.

The two surviving men, it said, remain priests in good standing in violation of a 2002 U.S. bishops charter requiring such clergy to be removed from ministry and not be presented publicly as priests.

"We're concerned that when the Vatican promotes a bishop, what he's done on the sexual abuse issue seems to be no concern at all," said SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely.

Dolan was unavailable to comment Friday. Archdiocesan spokeswoman Julie Wolf said all three of the priests were members of provincial orders - a Jesuit, a Franciscan and a Salvatoran - and that the archdiocese has no authority over them.

"Archbishop Dolan has worked with the provincials to address the issue of sexual abuse, but he can't force them to distribute names," she said.

SNAP identified the priests as:

• Father Joseph Mika, a Franciscan who SNAP said is believed to be living in Franklin. His name appears in his order's December 2008 newsletter as one of its longest serving friars. Mika was accused in 2004 of sexually abusing a female student when he served at a Catholic school in Pulaski.

A 2008 document signed by the Franciscans' provincial minister, Father Leslie J. Hoppe, said Mika expressed sorrow and would be allowed to remain in the order "under appropriate restrictions." A letter signed last month by Hoppe to the victim says the order had already paid nearly $16,000 toward her counseling to deal with the abuse and could no longer afford, given the downturn in the economy, to help her.

Hoppe was out of town and unavailable to comment Friday.

• Father Joseph Turner, a former associate pastor at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Wauwatosa, who died in 2001. SNAP provided a 2002 letter written by Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba saying he was convinced that Turner had sexually assaulted a man then serving a life sentence in a Minnesota prison. The assault happened in the 1960s, when the man had attended St. Pius parish.

Father David Bergner, provisional supervisor of Turner's order, the Society of the Divine Savior, was out of town Friday and unavailable to comment.

• The Journal Sentinel is not identifying the third priest, a Jesuit, because it could not obtain documentation verifying the allegations against him. SNAP alleged he had been accused of abusing children in South Dakota but provided no documents. The California law firm that SNAP said had the documents declined to provide them.

Father Luis Rodriguez, assistant provincial for the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, said the priest had been removed from the ministry in 2003 but reinstated. Rodriguez said reinstatement suggested the allegations were deemed unfounded.

John Paul II Pedophile Priest Army in Minnesota

John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army outnumber the Roman Legion and the army of King Herod. In the USA there are more than 5,500 pedophile priests whose victims were settled by dioceses at the cost of more than 2 billion dollars. The victims of more than 12,000 American boys and girls sodomized and abused by the John Paul II pedophile Priests Army outnumber the 5,000 victims of 9-11 World Trade Center attacks….John Paul II was a worse leader than Osama ben Laden because he covered up these most heinous crimes against children in the Catholic church’s history. John Paul II does not deserve to be called a `saint` by American lips and by American children.

Here is one of the latest settlements in Minnesota. But the largest numbers of pedophile priests are in Boston and Los Angeles and now a grand jury is investigating the cover-up of Cardinal Mahony even after he has settled and paid the largest amount of 660 million dollars for his hundreds of pedophile priests. See the John Paul II Millstone for in-depth coverage of Cardinal Mahony the deceiver www.jp2m.blogspot.com For more coverage go to www.bishopsaccountability.org

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Crosiers will pay $1.7 million to priests' sex-abuse victims

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 02/05/2009 12:01:00 AM CST

A former Onamia man and eight others who were abused by clerics in the Catholic order of Crosiers — including one priest at St. Odilia in Shoreview — won a $1.7 million settlement from the group.

Bob Skjonsby, now 43 and living in Port Orchard, Wash., was molested by Wendell Mohs, 56, when he was a 17-year-old altar boy at Sacred Heart parish in Wahkon, Minn., in the early 1980s.

"It's been a long, hard journey," Skjonsby said today at an afternoon press conference at attorney Jeff Anderson's office in St. Paul. "But this is a victory for us victims and all the survivors out there... It's not our fault."

The settlement also involved three men who were abused by Gerald Funcheon, known as "Father Jerry," who worked at St. Odilia parish in Shoreview and taught at the church school there.

David Bidney, 49, said Funcheon molested him for almost three years, beginning when he was 10. He trusted the priest, he said.

"I thought he was God's right-hand man," said Bidney, who now lives in Hinckley. "I was just a kid."

Mohs has admitted that he victimized Skjonsby and that his supervisors knew he molested kids even earlier in his career, but they kept moving him around to other positions involving children, according to the lawsuit by Skjonsby.

In addition to the money, the Crosiers agreed to disclose names of other former members still alive who had "credible allegations" of sexual abuse made against them, said attorney Mike Finnegan. The religious order also will disclose documents related to the alleged abusers, he said.

The settlement "goes a long ways toward protecting children," Finnegan said. He congratulated Skjonsby for coming forward.

"He's a huge champion of children," he said.

In a statement issued today, Thomas R. Carkhuff of the U.S. Crosier Province said the group hopes the settlement helps the victims move toward "peace and healing."

"We are deeply sorry for these wrongs that were committed in the past by some Crosiers, and for the pain that this abuse has caused these men and their families," Carkhuff said.

The other priests and brothers involved in the settlement were Roger Vaughn, Gregory Madigan and Gabriel Guerrero. The men were moved around among Crosier communities, including a boarding school seminary for boys in Onamia, Holy Cross Parish at the seminary, Sacred Heart Parish in nearby Wahkon, the Teens Encounter Christ program, St. Odilia in Shoreview and a community in Indiana, Anderson said.

Mohs, a native of Blackduck, Minn., has worked in Onamia, Belle Prairie, Minneapolis, Coon Rapids, St. Paul, Anoka and St. Cloud. He is believed to be living in Rice, Minn.

"The best thing about this whole thing is maybe someone will see this and know that it's better to come out than to hide," Bidney said.