This Week's Catholic Pervs and Paedos List > Three Manitoban Paedophile Priests; UPDATE: Community wants Catholic Church gone

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Priest arrested in sexual assault of 8-year-old girl in 

Little Grand Rapids First Nation, RCMP say

UPDATED

Mounties say they've already identified other possible victims,

ask anyone with information to come forward

Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News · Posted: May 30, 2023 9:13 AM PDT | 

Arul Savari, a Roman Catholic priest, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation of a young person, luring a child and forcible confinement. (Submitted by Archdiocese of St. Boniface)

A Roman Catholic priest has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation — and Manitoba RCMP say they've identified other possible victims.

"We do not wish to traumatize or further traumatize the young victim by sharing her experience in such a public manner," Supt. Scott McMurchy, Manitoba acting criminal operations officer, said at a news conference on Tuesday. "However, we believe that other children may have been harmed in a similar way."

The eight-year-old girl was alone with the priest after he asked her to help him clean the church when he allegedly touched her inappropriately on Saturday, McMurchy said.

The girl told investigators when she tried to leave, the priest forced her to stay in the building, he said. When she was able to get away, she ran home and told her mom, who reported the incident to police.

Manitoba RCMP Supt. Scott McMurchy says an eight-year-old girl was alone with a priest in Little Grand Rapids First Nation when the priest allegedly touched her inappropriately. (Megan Godard/Radio-Canada)

Little Grand Rapids First Nation is a remote community about 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

Priest served 2 communities

McMurchy described the priest as someone the girl trusted. While he would not specify how many other possible victims Mounties have identified, he said his understanding is there is a "religious connection" with all of them.

Arul Savari, 48, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation of a young person, luring a child and forcible confinement. He remains in custody.

Savari was also the priest at nearby Pauingassi First Nation, McMurchy said. As far as RCMP are aware, the priest only served in those two First Nations while in Canada.

Savari, who is originally from India and lives in Winnipeg, has been in Canada for six years and served in Little Grand Rapids for the same amount of time, McMurchy said. He serves the Catholic Church under the Archbishop of St. Boniface.

Following his arrest, Savari was suspended from all ministerial duties and "forbidden to have anything to do with former parishioners and children," according to a Tuesday press release from the Archdiocese of St. Boniface. 

The Archdiocese says it will fully cooperate with the RCMP in their investigation. 

"The Archdiocese of St. Boniface expresses its deep sorrow to the victim who has come forward as well as to that person's family, and the entire community of Little Grand Rapids who have been affected by the allegations," the release says.

"The Archdiocese will do all it can to assist the victim who has come forward and any who may make known their suffering."

Anyone with information or who wishes to make a report related to Savari is asked to call RCMP in Little Grand Rapids at 204-397-2249 or visit the community's detachment in person, McMurchy said.

Help for people affected by sexual assault is available toll-free through Klinic's sexual assault crisis line at 1-888-292-7565 and Manitoba Justice victim services at 1-866-484-2846, he said.

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

UPDATE  -  Community wants Catholic Church gone

Josh Crabb · CBC News · Posted: May 31, 2023 3:00 AM PDT 

Chief Oliver Owen of Little Grand Rapids First Nation told CBC that's the sentiment he heard during a regularly scheduled band meeting Tuesday.

"I brought that up to the band meeting about our priest and the community right away said, 'you know what, we don't want that person here in the community, we don't want him to come back and we don't want the church here,'" Owen said in a phone interview. 

In a statement Tuesday, Southern Chiefs' Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said they stand with the girl who was harmed.

"First Nations have sadly experienced predatory behaviour for generations when it comes to the churches," Daniels said in a news release. "The leaders of the Catholic church have much work to do in repairing relationships with our nations."

Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said Tuesday leaders of the Catholic church have much work to do in repairing relationships with First Nations people in the wake of allegations against a priest in Little Grand Rapids. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in a news release the allegations could affect the whole community.

"We still have residential school survivors that suffered similar abuses, and this ... may be very triggering to those survivors," Merrick said. "My heart is with the people of Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi at this time of sorrow."

Owen said there are two other churches in the community and that if the Catholic church does as the First Nation wishes and leaves, the impact will be minimal.

"We have our own local churches here," Owen said. "Community members run those churches. It's not like we're going to be without a church."

Former principal, teacher at Winnipeg's St. Paul's among

Jesuit priests accused of sexually abusing minors

'It is with deep sorrow that I share these names,' says St. Paul's president Kevin Booth

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Mar 14, 2023 7:31 PM PDT | Last Updated: March 14

The name of Father John Pungente is on a list released by the Jesuits of Canada this week of priests and brothers the order says have been 'credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.' (John Pungente/LinkedIn)

Two former teachers at St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg, one of whom also served as principal, are on a list of accused sexual abusers in the Jesuits of Canada.

"I am incredibly saddened," St. Paul's president Kevin Booth said in a statement posted Monday on the school's website, after it was revealed two former St. Paul's educators — Father John Pungente and Father George Topp — were on the list of 27 priests and brothers released Monday by the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church.

The people on the list were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors over the past six decades, Jesuits of Canada said.

"It is with deep sorrow that I share these names and I painfully recognize the life-long impact that the trauma of abuse has on the victims," Booth said in the St. Paul's statement.

Topp was a teacher at St. Paul's from 1968 until 1974. He has since died.

Pungente was a teacher at St. Paul's from 1964 until 1967, and again from 1971 until 1976. He served as principal from 1976 until 1983.

CBC made multiple attempts to contact Pungente on Tuesday, but did not receive any replies.

The list released Monday includes people accused of abuse dating back to 1950. Along with each priest's name, it documents each of the places they were assigned to work. 

CBC News has not independently verified the allegations against the priests, many of whom have died.

The religious order announced in December 2019 that it would release the names, after conducting a comprehensive audit of 60 years worth of files with the help of King International Advisory Group, a third-party risk assessment organization.

The Jesuits originally planned to release the list by January 2021, but attributed the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Jesuits hope that this act of accountability and reconciliation will help victims and their families in the healing process and continue to seek forgiveness from all those who have been hurt by this profound betrayal of pastoral care," Booth's statement said.

"The Jesuits believe that it is the right thing to do to promote institutional transparency and accountability, an important step to help correct the causes of the crisis."

Booth also asked for prayers "for the victims who have been gravely harmed by those who betrayed the trust placed in them."

"While we cannot change the past, I want to assure our students, parents, alumni and community that we are and have been dedicated to doing everything we can to prevent abuse."

Former Winnipeg priest sentenced to 15 months for 

sexually abusing teenage boy

Roland Lanoie, 72, pleaded guilty earlier this month to offences dating back to 1980s

CBC News · Posted: Jun 26, 2020 10:15 AM PDT | Last Updated: June 27, 2020

Roland Lanoie, who is retired now, was working as an ordained priest, holding various positions within the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, at the time of the offences, police said at the time of the former priest's arrest. (terredazur/YouTube)

A former Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused a 15-year-old boy almost four decades ago has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.

Roland Lanoie, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault earlier this month.

His jail sentence will be followed by two years of supervised probation, during which time he must not work or volunteer in a position of trust involving children, a recommendation made by Crown attorney Dayna Queau-Guzzi.

At Lanoie's sentencing on Thursday, provincial court Judge Ryan Rolston talked about the importance of a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offence and the responsibility of the convicted person. The multiple sexual assaults suffered by the victim resulted in trauma, Rolston said.

So, you gave him 15 months, not 15 years! Go figure! Allegedly, 6 years of sexual assaults! Canada's criminal-friendly 'justice' system! It makes me sick!

Police launched an investigation into Lanoie in early 2018 after a man told them he was the victim of a series of sexual assaults from 1982 to 1988.

Lanoie, who is retired now, was working as an ordained priest, holding various positions within the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, at the time of the offences, police said at the time.

The abuse started when the boy was a youth and resident student at the St. Boniface Minor Seminary, but continued after Lanoie left, court was told.

Illinois List; WVa Suing; Pope's Odd Decision; 139 Charges; Jesuits Sued on This Week's Catholic PnP List

About 390 Catholic priests, 6 nuns in Illinois named as alleged sexual abusers on massive list

Some known abusers were moved to parishes "with direct access to children," according to the new report

Patricia Gallagher Marchant, a victim of clergy abuse, speaks during a press conference outside the Archdiocese of Chicago on Jan. 2, 2019 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP - Getty Images file

By Corky Siemaszko

A law firm that represents clerical sexual abuse victims released a massive list Wednesday of Roman Catholic priests in Illinois, along with six nuns and a handful of lay people, who have been credibly accused of molesting children.

Some of the accusations in the 185-page Anderson Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese and Dioceses in Illinois stretch back more than half a century. The 395 names listed are nearly double the number that church officials in the state had previously released.

“The data reveal the horrifying scale of priests sexually assaulting minors to the present day,” the report states. “Perhaps most shocking among the discoveries is that some perpetrators were intentionally transferred and retained in trusted positions with direct access to children even after they were known to sexually abuse children.”

But only one of the priests in the report, Father Michael O’Connell in Chicago, continues to tend to a flock, attorney Jeff Anderson said at a press conference in that city where the report was unveiled. The rest are either dead or no longer in the ministry.

“It’s incomplete, but it is a start,” said clerical abuse survivor Cindy Yesko. “What this means to me is transparency. These names are now brought to light.”

Image:Joe Iacono, right, pauses as he is comforted by attorney Jeff Anderson during a news conference on March 20, 2019, in Chicago. Kiichiro Sato / AP

Yesko first came forward with allegations in 2006 against two priests from the Diocese of Springfield who are named in the report, Father Louis Schlangen and Father Stanislaus Yunker. Both are now deceased.

“The priest that abused me was moved to eight different parishes,” said survivor Joe Iacano, who claims he was abused by a now-dead Chicago priest, Father Thomas Francis Kelly. “He abused in every parish he went to.”

Anderson’s report was unveiled four months after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan revealed that officials have received allegations of sexual abuse against nearly 700 priests and clergy members in the state. Those complaints are now under investigation.

The Archdiocese of Chicago and the dioceses of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield orchestrated “an institutional coverup of enormous magnitude,” Anderson said.

Even with 395 names in the report, it’s an undercount, the report says.

“It is believed that the Dioceses in Illinois have not publicly made available the full histories and their knowledge of their sexually abusive agents and employees,” the report states.

Several of the names in the Anderson report had been released earlier by the Jesuits, including the names of several priests who taught at St. Ignatius College Prep, an elite Catholic high school in Chicago — Father Allan Kirk, Father James Condon, Father Stanley Wisniewski and Father Bernard Knoth.

Kirk, Condon and Wisniewski are dead. Knoth is living in Florida and declined to be interviewed.

The Anderson report listed 116 priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago who had been accused. In a statement, the archdiocese said “it reports all allegations we receive to the civil authorities.”

Asked specifically about the status of Father O’Connell, spokesman Alejandro Castillo said both allegations against him “were reported and were judged by civil authorities and the archdiocese to be unsubstantiated.” He remains a parish priest.

The Diocese of Rockford said in its statement that only one of the 22 priests named by Anderson, Ivan Rovira, had not previously been divulged. It said Rovira was a parish priest in the diocese for just two years.

West Virginia suing Catholic diocese of violating consumer protection law by hiring pedophile priests

The state attorney general accused the diocese and a former bishop of "intentional concealment."

Image: Bishop Michael Bransfield of the Wheeling-Charleston Roman Catholic Diocese leads mass in Montcoal, West Virginia, on April 6, 2010.

By Corky Siemaszko, U.S. NEWS

The West Virginia attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming that a local Roman Catholic diocese and former bishop failed to protect children from predator priests and teachers — and violated consumer protection laws by not alerting parents there were abusers on the payroll.

The suit takes what appears to be a novel approach by using state consumer protection laws, with parents as "purchasers" of services for their children.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey claims in the suit that former Bishop Michael Bransfield and the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese engaged in "intentional concealment."

"Omissions of these material facts caused the purchasers of their educational and recreational services to buy inherently dangerous services for their children for many decades,” the court papers state.

The lawsuit, which cites the specific West Virginia code that Bransfield and the diocese allegedly violated, is seeking a permanent court order “blocking the diocese from continuation of any such conduct.”

The attorney general told NBC News through his spokesman, “We believe this is the first lawsuit of its kind against the church.”

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speaks at a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 27, 2018. Toya Sarno Jordan / Getty Images file

Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer featured in the film, “Spotlight,” who is best known for going after predator priests in Boston, agreed.

“I have never heard a similar action brought such as that in West Virginia,” Garabedian said in an email to NBC News. “The action certainly will raise concerns for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston because of the transparency which will be provided through litigation and because of the adverse economic effect on the Diocese the end result may provide.”

Marci Hamilton, a law professor and head of CHILD USA, a nonprofit that fights child abuse, said she too has not heard of anyone using this legal strategy against a Catholic diocese.

A database search of news stories found that in 1994 lawyers for a Michigan man allegedly abused by a local priest charged in a lawsuit that the Archdiocese of Detroit had engaged in fraudulent concealment, which is a legal strategy that is usually used in consumer protection cases.

Hamilton in that story said the tactic "has merit" but it was not immediately clear if the strategy employed by the lawyers worked.

Bishop Michael Bransfield speaks at a press conference in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 2004.Dale Sparks / AP file

In a statement, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston said it learned from the media that Morrisey had filed a lawsuit alleging the diocese had "violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act."

"The Diocese will address the litigation in the appropriate forum," it said. "However, the Diocese strongly and unconditionally rejects the Complaint’s assertion that the Diocese is not wholly committed to the protection of children."

Bransfield retired as bishop in September 2018 and could not be reached for comment.

In the lawsuit, Morrisey charged that the diocese’s advertised mission was to provide children a safe learning environment, but instead it knowingly hired priests who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse and hired lay workers without doing adequate background checks.

Pedophile assigned to Elementary school

Among others, the complaint alleges that the diocese covered up for a priest named Patrick Condron, who worked in West Virginia in the 1980s and was accused of “grooming” a student for sex.

After Condron admitted that he sexually abused a student at St. Joseph Preparatory Seminary High School in the city of Vienna, the diocese sent the priest for treatment.

When Condron completed that, he was reassigned to Wheeling Catholic Elementary School from 1998 to 2001 — and parents were never notified that an admitted pedophile was teaching at the school.

Accused pedophile ordained

Another example cited in the suit is that of Victor Frobas, who worked for the diocese from 1965 through 1983. The diocese ordained him despite being aware that he had been accused in 1962 of sexually abusing a child in Philadelphia.

“Frobas was moved frequently due to suspicions of and sometimes allegations of sexual abuse of children,” the suit states.

One of those jobs was director of a Catholic summer program for children called Camp Tygart in Huttonsville, West Virginia, where he was accused of molesting more children.

After undergoing psychological treatment, Frobas got a new job in 1977 — chaplain at Wheeling Central Catholic High School, the suit states.

Frobas eventually moved to a Franciscan community in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was accused to molesting more children. He eventually served two years in prison before dying in 1993.

Morrisey charged the diocese also failed to adequately vet lay employees like Ronald Cooper, who was hired as a high school teacher in 2011 but failed to disclose that he had been convicted of third-degree rape in the Washington state back in 1985.

Cooper was eventually fired in 2013, but the diocese never told the parents of the children who attended Madonna High School in Weirton, West Virginia, that a convicted felon had been teaching their kids.

Pope rejects resignation of French cardinal

in sex abuse cover-up

Pope Francis has rejected the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin who was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence this month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, prompting surprise among Church leaders and condemnation from victims.

Cardinal Barbarin is the most senior French cleric caught up in the global paedophilia scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church (VATICAN MEDIA/AFP / HO)

The pope’s decision, announced by Barbarin in a statement and confirmed by the Vatican, comes ahead of a judicial appeal of the case.

But it also comes against the background of the Roman Catholic Church’s struggle to restore trust in its efforts to fight child abuse, with the pope saying last month that “no abuse must ever be covered up, as has happened in the past”.

In a statement issued from his see in the French southeastern city of Lyon, Barbarin said: “Monday morning, I handed over my mission to the Holy Father. He spoke of the presumption of innocence and did not accept this resignation.”

Astonishing! There is no presumption of innocence once you are convicted of a crime! Francis has made another serious error in judgement, IMHO.

Barbarin, the most senior French cleric caught up in the global paedophilia scandal, said he would remain in Lyon pending the court appeal, but added that “for a little while” he would step back from his job, allowing, at the pope’s “suggestion”, the local vicar general Yves Baumgarten to run day-to-day affairs.

The chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of France — which represents top French Catholic clerics — expressed surprise at the decision which creates an “unheard of” situation.

“I did not expect this scenario which falls between the two outcomes that we expected,” bishop Georges Pontier told AFP.

This “unheard of” situation results from the difficulty of “respecting the judicial process” along with the need to “look after the Lyon diocese”.

On March 7, a Lyon court had ruled that Barbarin, a cardinal since 2003, was guilty of failing to report allegations of abuse of boy scouts committed by a priest, Bernard Preynat, in the 1980s and 1990s.

Barbarin’s lawyer said he would appeal the guilty ruling which was hailed by abuse victims as ushering in a new period of accountability in the French Church.

The pope, who met 68-year-old Barbarin on Monday, had previously also defended him, saying in 2016 that his resignation before a trial would be “an error, imprudent”.

Victims of the sex abuse at the heart of the case Tuesday reacted with anger to news that Barbarin was staying put.

– ‘A mistake too many’ –

Francois Devaux, a co-founder of a victims’ organisation, said the pope has made “one mistake too many”.

“I think that man (the pope) is going to manage to kill off the church. It’s a mistake too many. It just shows how right we are and how this whole problem is part of the dogma,” he added.

Another member of the victims’ association, Pierre-Emmanuel Germain-Thill, termed the pope’s decision “shocking”, stressing that the initial condemnation by a court could not simply be ignored.

“We shall continue to fight,” he said, saying the situation was all the more difficult for the victims as Preynat, the priest at the heart of the abuse scandal, had not yet been judged,

He is expected to be tried later this year.

A slew of abuse scandals tainting the church has spanned the globe, from Australia to Chile and the United States.

Less than a week after Barbarin’s conviction, the Vatican’s former number three, Australian Cardinal George Pell, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Melbourne court for the “brazen” sexual abuse of two choirboys. AFP

Man Accusing Upper West Side Monsignor John Paddack Of Sex Abuse Speaks Out

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- An alleged victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted priest is telling his story.

Rafael Mendoza attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx where now-Monsignor John Paddack was a guidance counselor, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

Mendoza, 37, is one of five former Catholic school students who have accused Paddack of child sexual abuse.

The alleged abuse occurred when Mendoza was a freshman in 1996.

"He would take me to his office and he would tell me to remove my shirt, unbuckle my pants. I can remember the coldness of the knob of the stethoscope while he's checking my heartbeat and all around my chest and slowly going down to my genitals," Mendoza said. "Just seeing his face turn bloodshot red while doing this, I go back now and think he was getting something out of this."

Paddack with Cardinal Timothy Dolan (L); Church of Notre Dame on UWS

Paddack also worked at St. Joseph By the Sea on Staten Island and the Church of the Incarnation in Manhattan.

A 2012 accusation against him was found to be unsubstantiated. In an interview with the Daily News, the monsignor proclaimed his innocence.

Mendoza wants Paddack, who is Monsignor at the Church of Notre Dame on the Upper West Side, removed from the archdiocese, Diamond reported.

Jesuit Dallas Sued Over Alleged Child Sexual Abuse

By Former Priest

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas is at the center of a lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the defendant, an unidentified child at the time, was sexually abused by former priest Donald Dickerson.

In a statement, Jesuit Dallas President Mike Earsing said regarding the John Doe lawsuit:

“We reported to the community in December that Don Dickerson was on a list released by the Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province against whom there were credible allegations of abuse of a minor. We continue to ask our community to provide compassion and support for all victims of sexual misconduct and abuse. I don’t believe it would be appropriate to discuss the specifics of this lawsuit.” 

The attorneys for the plaintiff, Hal Browne and Lori Watson released a statement in response, saying:

“We are heartened by  Jesuit Dallas’  President Earsing’s  statement released today urging his community to “provide compassion and support for all victims of sexual misconduct and abuse.” Our hope is that Jesuit Dallas and the Jesuits will recognize the injury our client has suffered as a result of Dickerson’s abuse and work with us toward a resolution of the case, as they did with Dickerson’s other victims.”

 Dickerson is deceased.

Former Catholic Priest now facing 139 charges

of historical child sex abuse in NSW

David Joseph Perrett charged with further New England historical child sex abuse offences by Armidale detectives

Breanna Chillingworth, The Northern Daily Leader

Behind bars: David Joseph Perrett outside Armidale Local Court in 2017.

He now faces 139 charges of historical child sex abuse.

A FORMER Catholic priest now stands accused of sexually abusing or molesting 37 children while he was working in the New England, NSW, after detectives laid more charges.

David Joseph Perrett is behind bars and now faces 139 separate historical child abuse allegations from when he was a priest in the Armidale, Walcha, Guyra and wider New England area, in the 1970s, '80s and '90s.

The now 81-year-old had almost two dozen extra charges, of indecent assault on a male and buggery, laid in court on Wednesday, after further investigations by police in conjunction with the DPP.

The Leader can reveal two of those charges relate to a new alleged victim, who has come forward claiming abuse at the hands of Perrett in Lower Creek, east of Armidale.

Perrett is accused of indecent assault - the charge in place at the time - of a boy who detectives claim was about 11 or 12 at the time, near George's Junction between 1970 and 1972, while Perrett took children on a camping trip.

It's the detectives' case that Perrett was a serving Catholic priest in the Armidale area at the time.

New England police have confirmed they have taken statements in relation to 40 separate complainants - three women and 37 men - who were all young children at the time of the alleged acts of abuse in the New England and North West. 

Perrett only faces charges in relation to 37 separate complainants, and charges have not arisen from the three additional statements, but Strike Force Bennett detectives confirmed investigations were continuing.

Strike Force Bennett was established to investigate claims of historical abuse before Perrett, who is now retired, was extradited by Armidale detectives from Wallangara in May 2017.

Perrett is accused of charges including sexual intercourse with a child as young as five and, if found guilty of the offences, faces life behind bars.

The extra charges were laid in court on Wednesday by New England detectives, meaning Perrett faces 139 charges. He is yet to enter pleas.

Magistrate Michael Holmes has adjourned the case to next month for committal, to see it moved to the district court.

Perrett, who was denied bail in the NSW Supreme Court in October, made no application for bail and it was formally refused.

Perrett has been behind bars since August last year when he had his bail revoked, after a magistrate found he failed to show cause why his detention was not justified - a test under the state's bail laws.

Dozens of Perverts; Hundreds of Abused Children on This Week's Catholic PnP List

Multiple Jesuits on child sex abuse list
are still priests today

"Impeded" but never kicked out of priesthood

By: Charlie Specht

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Jesuit religious order released a list Tuesday of 50 priests who it said credibly abused children -- including eight men assigned to schools or churches in Buffalo.

But 7 Eyewitness News has discovered some of the abusive priests are still wearing a collar and acting as priests, raising questions about whether the Catholic Church continues to withhold information from the public.

The Rev. J. Peter Conroy worked at Canisius College until 2002, when two women -- Colleen O’Hara Carney and Molly O’Hara Ewing -- came forward to say Fr. Conroy inappropriately touched and groped them when they were in seventh grade in the 1970s.

“It was very inappropriate behavior for anybody,” O’Hara Carney said. “He just pulled me down on his lap and the hand drifted under the school uniform.”

The Jesuits said Conroy admitted to the abuse in 2002 and they removed him from Canisius and “impeded” him from ministry that year.

The Jesuits’ Northeast province listed no assignments for Conroy after 2002 in the documents it released Tuesday, but the church’s own records show Conroy is still very much a priest -- and he’s not the only one.

Other Buffalo Jesuits who abused minors were never “defrocked” or stripped of their status as Roman Catholic priests. Instead, some were quietly sent to retreat centers and other destinations where they serve to this day -- even after they have been placed on the Jesuits’ abuse list.

“Even today, they cannot tell the truth,” Patrick Wall said of religious orders like the Jesuits.

Wall knows much about religious order priests because he used to be one of them. The former Benedictine priest now works for one of the nation’s top clergy sexual abuse law firms, where he investigates the placement of religious order priests.

He wasn’t surprised to hear that Fr. Conroy, after 2002, was not removed from the priesthood but rather reassigned to the Jogues Retreat Center in Cornwall, N.Y., outside Poughkeepsie.

“He may have somewhat less exposure to children, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t use his office to access children,” Wall said. “He’s doing spiritual direction, he’s saying Mass, he’s hearing confessions.”

This week, a review remained posted on the retreat center’s Facebook page, where a woman wrote, “I spent an afternoon at Jogues Retreat. Father Conroy was a blessing.”

“There are no signs, there’s no disclaimers, there’s no written or verbal warning that if a parent wanted to go on a retreat, and their kids came to visit, that there would be absolutely no warning that Peter Conroy is there and about his past history,” Wall said.

Conroy did not respond to a message seeking comment for this story.

In a letter Tuesday to the public, Jesuit superior John J. Cecero, S.J., said, “Any living Jesuit with a credible allegation of abuse is removed from ministry and assigned to a community that does not serve minors where he lives under a closely monitored safety plan.”

Jesuit documents released with the abuse list show the “safety plans” mean restricted Jesuits “may be asked to participate” in psychological treatment.

In some cases, the records show, they are restricted from “public celebration of the sacraments” and they are not allowed to dress as a priest or use the title “Father” or “Reverend”.

But in other cases, the documents say they “would be permitted” to preside at community eucharist, to lead community prayer or to hear confessions of Jesuits.

William Scanlon, S.J., is another jesuit who used to work at Canisius College. The Jesuits say he admitted to abusing minors in 1994 (not at Canisius) and they “restricted” and then “impeded” him twice since then.

But that didn’t stop the order from including him in its official magazine in 2010, where he was shown giving Holy Communion. He is not listed in the 2018 edition of the Official Catholic Directory and his current whereabouts are unknown.

The Jesuits say another priest who served in Buffalo, Rev. Denny Thomas, S.J., was credibly accused of abusing minors and was “impeded” in 2002. But as recently in 2016, he donated to a charity using his religious title. He is not listed in the 2018 edition of the Official Catholic Directory and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Roman Catholic dioceses or religious orders can ask the Vatican that a priest be "laicized" or dismissed from the clerical state, a process commonly referred to as "defrocking." In some cases in the Buffalo Diocese and in one case of the Northeast Jesuits, Rome approved the laicization.

But for those who are not defrocked, the Jesuits do not list the priests’ current locations “for obvious reasons of privacy,” spokesman Mike Gabriele said in a phone interview. He said most of the accused Jesuits can no longer be prosecuted for their crimes because the statutes of limitation have expired.

“If these men were not convicted of abuse and they were to leave the [Jesuits], they could reside as a citizen and not register with law enforcement,” Gabriele said. “Even though we cannot release the address where they live, we are monitoring them and know where they are and they are not in contact with minors.”

After decades of concealing abusive behavior, the Jesuits and the church are not worthy of that trust, Wall said.

“As far as I know, I have never seen a Jesuit who is a properly trained probations officer who can truly supervise these guys,” he said. 

Retired Pittsburgh priest, 88, charged with

sexual abuse of child in early 2000s

The Rev. Hugh Lang was serving at Saint Therese of Lisieux in Munhall when the alleged assault happened, police say

by WTAE US

MUNHALL, Pa. —
A retired Catholic priest who came under investigation in the wake of last year's state grand jury report was arrested Friday on charges that he assaulted a 10-year-old boy during altar service training in 2001, Allegheny County police said.

The Rev. Hugh Lang, 88, was released on nonmonetary bond after turning himself in for arraignment by District Judge Thomas Torkowsky. Police said Lang was charged with sexual abuse of children, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors, indecent assault and indecent exposure.

Lang, of Castle Shannon, was serving at Saint Therese of Lisieux in Munhall when the alleged assault happened in June 2001, police said.

The alleged victim, identified as John Doe, told police that Lang removed him from the other boys in training and took him to a CCD room in the church basement, according to the criminal complaint.

"After Father Lang and John Doe entered the room, Father Lang locked the door. Father Lang then told John Doe that Doe was a troublemaker and instructed Doe to remove his clothes," the complaint said. "After John Doe removed his clothes, Father Lang took a Polaroid photograph of John Doe while he was standing naked. Father Lang showed the photo to John Doe and warned him that if he didn't behave, he would show the photo to others."

Lang allegedly fondled the child, exposed himself and made the boy fondle him, then told the child to clean up and returned to the other boys in training, according to the complaint.

Police said the alleged victim is now "an adult professional" who lives outside the U.S. and reported the incident after seeing news coverage of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sex abuse. Lang was not one of the priests named in the grand jury report.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh put Lang on administrative leave when the allegation surfaced in August. He cannot function as a priest or identify himself as one.

"We continue to respect the legal process, we will cooperate with it if there's any need, and he remains on administrative leave," said the Rev. Nick Vaskov, a diocesan spokesman.

‘A grave human tragedy’: Kansas City archbishop

names 22 priests credibly accused of sex abuse

BY JUDY L. THOMAS

The Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas on Friday released the names of 22 priests in its files who have had substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against them in the past 75 years.

“Each name on this list represents a grave human tragedy,” said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann in a statement published Friday in The Leaven, the archdiocesan newspaper. “Each name represents a betrayal of trust and a violation of the innocent.”

At least one, and some, perhaps, dozens of tragedies.

In addition to the 22, the list includes four priests whom the archdiocese said have had previously publicized allegations that were not able to be substantiated.

The list was compiled after a review of about 1,080 clergy files dating back more than 75 years, the archdiocese said. The review was conducted by the Chicago office of the Husch Blackwell law firm.

A report based on the findings was provided to the Kansas attorney general, the archdiocese said. Naumann said the list will be updated if new information comes to light.

Of the 22 clergy on the list, 10 were priests of the archdiocese, according to The Leaven. Eleven are dead and seven have been laicized, or removed from the priesthood. The status of some others are unknown.

Victims’ advocates said the action was long overdue.

“Survivors of abuse have been requesting the archdiocese to release names for many, many years so that others could be protected from their fate,” said Rebecca Randles, a Kansas City attorney who has represented hundreds of clergy sex abuse victims. “The archdiocese’s release today of the partial list of perpetrators is a step in the right direction but still does not provide the transparency necessary to restore trust.

“Abuse of minors by clergy is not a problem from the past; it is an ongoing issue for which the archdiocese must be proactive. It still evidences disbelief when confronted with allegations of abuse.”

Naumann said the sexual abuse of children and youth by Catholic priests “contradicts our church’s teaching on authentic love, the beauty of human sexuality and the dignity of the human person.”

Apparently, the church doesn't teach 'fear of God'. 

“What was done to victims by those who were called to be spiritual fathers is cause for great shame,” the archbishop said. “On behalf of the church, I apologize to each victim and pledge our commitment to do all that we can to assist with your healing.”

In his statement, Naumann thanked “all the victims who have courageously come forward with allegations in order to prevent someone else from being victimized as well as to assist with the progress of their own healing process.”

“I also am grateful to members of the secular press that have brought accusations to light and compelled the Church to address this evil in order to promote the healing of victims and protect our children and youth today and in the future.”

Naumann said the list is accurate “based on the information we possess at this moment.” He said there are other allegations that need additional investigation.

An accusation is considered substantiated, Naumann said, if the accused has admitted to the incident. If the accused has denied the allegation, he said, it can be substantiated if there is corroborating evidence, knowledgeable testimony of others or multiple accusations.

Naumann said releasing the names “was not a simple task.”

“The Church has a responsibility to be transparent about sexual misconduct with children or minors by those with leadership responsibilities in the Church,” he said. “I have an obligation to protect all those entrusted to my pastoral care, especially with children.

“At the same time, I have a solemn responsibility also to protect the good names of our priests — the vast majority of whom serve with selfless dedication — from having their reputations harmed by sometimes sincere but nevertheless unsubstantiated accusations.”

The priest sex abuse issue erupted in August when a grand jury in Pennsylvania released a report finding that church leaders had covered up sexual abuse by hundreds of priests over seven decades. Since then, bishops across the country have been under pressure to release the names of their credibly accused priests, and many have done so.

In Missouri, the Diocese of Jefferson City and the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau have released names of priests with substantiated allegations. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has not released names and said last week that it continues “to actively cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation of Missouri dioceses.”

“It is hoped that the Attorney General’s review will result in as thorough a list of historical abuse as possible,” the diocese said. “Our priority is to rigorously comply with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in order to make sure all children are safe from the evil of abuse. We are confident that there is no priest currently in ministry in Kansas City who has been accused of child sexual abuse.”

Yet!

The priests with substantiated allegations in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas:

John Brayley, an Oblate missionary, now deceased. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1980 while visiting friends in Roeland Park.

Lambert Dannenfelser, a Franciscan priest, now deceased. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1989. Multiple allegations.

John Fiala, Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, now deceased. Estimated time frame of abuse: mid-1980s, not within the archdiocese. Multiple allegations. In 2012, Fiala was sentenced to 60 years in prison for plotting to kill a Texas boy who accused him of sex abuse.

William Finnerty, Archdiocese of KCK, now deceased. Estimated time frame of abuse: early to mid-1960s. Multiple allegations.

James Forsythe, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2005. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1987. Multiple allegations.

Lawrence Ginzkey, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2005. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1985. Multiple allegations.

Dave Gottschalk, Capuchin Franciscans. Estimated time frame of abuse: unknown. Multiple allegations.

John J. Harrington, Archdiocese of KCK, died in 1986. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1940s and 1960s. Multiple allegations.

David Imming, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, laicized in 2011. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1980 in Oklahoma. Multiple allegations.

Martin Juarez, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, laicized in 2005. Estimated time frame of abuse: early to mid-1980s. Multiple allegations.

Marvin Justi, Capuchin Franciscans, died in 2009. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1969 in Pennsylvania.

Steven Lamping, Franciscans, deceased. Estimate time frame of abuse: 1950s. Multiple allegations.

Adrian Licktieg, Carmelites, presumably deceased. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1959.

Finian Meis, Capuchin Franciscans, died in 1997. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1972-1979. Multiple allegations.

Donald Redmond, Benedictines, removed from ministry in 2002. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1960-1968. Multiple allegations.

Barry Richardson, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2005. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1999. Multiple allegations.

Edward Roberts, Archdiocese of KCK, died in 1997. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1949 to early 1990s. Multiple allegations.

Frank Schepers, Archdiocese of KCK, died in 2002. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1976-1976.

Dennis Schmitz, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2005. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1990s and 1998. Multiple allegations. Sentenced to 32 months in prison in 2002 for inappropriately touching a 15-year-old boy.

John Henry Wisner, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2017. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1977-1984. Multiple allegations.

Chuck Wolfe, Capuchin Franciscans, current status unknown. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1976.

Camillus Wurtz, Benedictines, died in 2013. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1960.

Priests with previously publicized allegations not able to be substantiated:

William Haegelin, Archdiocese of KCK, laicized in 2004. Estimated time frame of abuse: 1983-1984.

Scott James Kallal, Archdiocese of KCK, on administrative leave. Estimated time frame of abuse: 2015. Charged in Wyandotte County in 2017 with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Case ongoing.

Anthony Putti, Diocese of Guntur, India, no longer affiliated. Estimated time frame of abuse: 2009-2010. Recalled to home diocese prior to allegation of abuse of a minor. Denies abuse. Investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Christopher Rossman, Archdiocese of KCK, removed from ministry in 2016. Estimated time frame of abuse: 2016. Law enforcement investigation is ongoing.

Fairfield University, Catholic Orders agree to $60 million settlement for sexual abuse of 133 Haitian children

By NICHOLAS RONDINONE
| HARTFORD COURANT |

Eight years after Douglas Perlitz was sent to prison for using school, shelter and food to get boys to perform sexual acts, an attorney for the 133 victims said they struck a $60 million settlement with Fairfield University and other religious charities that supported Perlitz’s charity for homeless boys in Haiti while ignoring signs of the widespread abuse.

The homeless boys, some now men, were abused in the late 1990s and early 2000s while living at a school run by Project Pierre Toussaint, a school created by Perlitz, a 1997 graduate of Fairfield University. One lawsuit includes a claim that one of the victims, a minor, was sexually abused by another person involved with the school, but that individual has not been charged criminally.

“This settlement is life changing for my clients. As you know, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,” said Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney representing the boys. “The victims were homeless without food, without clothing and without medicine... They are sick and have been sick. They are starving for the longest period. This is life changing.”

Garabedian said they have asked a federal judge in Connecticut to consider creating a class-action lawsuit and then approving the settlement fund already agreed upon by the school and charities, including the Order of Malta, Haiti Fund Inc. and the Society of Jesus of New England. The class-action lawsuit would encompass 51 current lawsuits and 82 claims vetted by attorneys, Garabedian said.

“This was a horrific situation that was allowed to take place in Haiti, and we are pleased we can help our clients move on with their lives. All of Perlitz’s victims, including the 133 we represent, as well as others who have yet to come forward, will have the opportunity to participate in the settlement," said Attorney Paul J. Hanly Jr., co-lead counsel on the cases with Garabedian.

Operating through the early 2000s, the charity shifted from a refuge for the destitute boys to a haven for Perlitz’s perversions, some affiliated with the school said during Perlitz’s 2010 sentencing. Perlitz was sentenced to serve 19 1/2 years in federal prison after emotional testimony reflected how instead of caring for the boys, he molested them.

Through lawsuits, attorneys said Fairfield University and multiple charities had influence over Perlitz and Project Pierre Toussaint but failed to stop the abuses known to staff at the school in Cap Haitien.

One worker, Robenson Gedeus, told a judge during Perlitz’s sentencing that he saw boys going in and out of the Fairfield University graduate’s bedroom and he confronted Perlitz, but was simply asked who told him of the abuses.

Gedeus told the court that he never mentioned a name. “The kids would have a real bad time if I told him. The situation in Haiti is very said. There is a lot of poverty there. If somebody is paying for school and food for them, they don’t want to lose that.”

When Perlitz was sentenced, he blamed his actions on what he described was a “dark and abusive” relationship he had with a priest while attending Fairfield University.

Is that where this story of prolific abuse started? With a priest at Fairfield? Does that priest have a legacy of dozens, if not hundreds of boys being abused? We will know when He stands before Jesus Christ.

Fairifield University officials said Friday that they still did not have any management or oversight of Project Pierre Toussaint created in 1997, but acknowledged the “concluding” settlement in a message to the school community.

“Eleven years later, in 2008, the University learned that Mr. Perlitz had grossly abused his position, sexually assaulting some of the young men in his care. Though some members of our community donated time and resources to the project, Fairfield University played no role in the management or governance of Project Pierre Toussaint. The University was not aware of Mr. Perlitz’s crimes before they were publicly reported. Regardless, our community was shaken by these revelations,” the letter from the chair of the school’s board and the school’s president read.

The church is still desperately looking for ways to disavow responsibility for the horrific sexual abuse of children in its facilities and at the hands of its representatives. This, instead of accepting responsibility and repenting of its despicable failures.

School officials acknowledged they settled a different series of lawsuits in 2013 that arose from the abuses, but did not say the amount of those settlements. Garabedian said those lawsuits, involving 24 victims, were settled for a total of $12 million.

“In the years following that first settlement, additional individuals came forward with allegations of abuse by Mr. Perlitz,” school officials said. The school said the funds for the settlement will come from its insurance carriers and that they have been planning for this outcome.

During a press conference Friday, Garabedian rebuffed the university’s statements that it was unaware and a victim itself. "Nothing can be farther for the truth,” Garabedian said, referencing efforts during the years of litigation in which they fought motions for emergency relief.

The announcement of the $60 million agreement follows revelations of settlements made by Catholic organizations in response to child sex abuse. This week, the Archdiocese of Hartford revealed the names of the 48 priests that were accused of sexual abuse or molestation in which associated settlements cost the diocese more than $50 million.

In October, the Archdiocese of Bridgeport announced it had paid $52 million to settle sexual abuse lawsuits filed against its priests.

“The settlement in this case underscores the consequences, here in the United States as well as in other countries, of the Catholic Church’s continued failure to implement appropriate safeguards against abuse,” Hanly said in a statement.

Garabedian, who was involved in litigation against the Catholic church, called on Pope Francis to take action in light of abuses by Perlitz and others. He said it is no longer time for discussion but for the church to put programs in place to prevent this from happening.

“It’s time for Pope Francis to take action to help not only the victims in Haiti but also across the globe,” Garabedian said.