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Stained glass windows at The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Detroit. Paul Sancya/AP Photo
Superior Diocese releases names of clergy with credible claims
of child sex abuse
By Danielle Kaeding
Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2022, 9:15am
Updated: Wednesday, November 23, 2022, 3:00pm
The Catholic Diocese of Superior has released names of almost two dozen clergy that it says have had credible claims of sexually abusing minors made against them, including one placed on leave from the ministry as recently as September.
The diocese published 23 names of alleged abusers on its website Tuesday evening. Many of the allegations refer to abuse that took place 30 years ago or more. However, records show Father James Bartelme, 71, is on administrative leave after being removed Sept. 8 for alleged abuse that took place in Superior from 1990 to 1991.
The website for the diocese shows Bartelme retired in 2016. He was assigned to parishes in Chetek, Barron, Cameron and Strickland. Online court records show no charges have been filed against Bartelme.
The diocese said the list stems from three separate reviews of clergy files, including one analysis by private security consulting firm Defenbaugh & Associates, Inc. Bishop James P. Powers of the Catholic Diocese of Superior apologized on behalf of the church and said he prays for healing for survivors of abuse, their families and friends.
"I wish we could go back in time and undo all of the hurt and pain, the sins of the past. But we cannot," said Bishop James P. Powers in a letter to parishioners. "What we can do is learn from the past and do everything in our power to never repeat the abuse. I firmly believe that the Diocese of Superior is clearly on the right path in protecting our children."
Maybe, but how long is that path? Are they still protecting the church as priority one?
The list of the accused includes priests and other faith leaders who have served with the diocese, including credible allegations at other dioceses outside Wisconsin.
Nate’s Mission, an advocacy group seeking to end clergy abuse, questioned the legitimacy of the list released by the Superior Diocese. Peter Isley, the nonprofit’s program director, said such a list is only as truthful as the people compiling it. He criticized the timing of the list’s release after 5 p.m. on a Tuesday before a holiday weekend.
"That alone should be of concern because that's not taking it very seriously," said Isley.
Isley said Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul needs to verify whether Superior’s list is accurate, as well as those published by the state’s four other dioceses.
"He needs to get in there into that diocese, and they should cooperate with him," Isley said. "They have no excuse not to cooperate anymore."
Last year, Kaul launched a statewide independent review of reported abuse by clergy and leaders of faith organizations. In April of this year, Kaul said officials had received 204 reports that led to criminal charges in one case. The list of names from the Catholic Diocese of Superior brings the total number of individuals accused statewide to nearly 180. The Wisconsin Department of Justice didn’t return a request for comment.
Dan Blank, administrative services director with the diocese, said the diocese is regularly in touch with the Attorney General’s office. Even so, Blank said the diocese didn’t provide a copy of the list to state justice officials prior to its publication. The diocese also hasn’t released its files to the state. Blank cited issues surrounding separation of church and state, adding that law enforcement must establish probable cause to secure a subpoena for any records.
Last year, Kaul said not all of the state’s five Catholic dioceses were cooperating with the statewide inquiry. In June 2021, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee challenged a request for documents as part of the review, saying it was "unreasonably broad" in scope. The diocese also challenged Kaul’s authority to launch the investigation and raised concerns that the review only targeted the Catholic Church.
The Superior Diocese was the last of the state’s five dioceses to release names of clergy with credible allegations against them. The diocese launched its review in 2019 and hired Defenbaugh & Associates.
Blank said the firm provided a report to the diocese in December that year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the diocese began an internal analysis of the findings with its abuse review board to determine a legal standard for naming individuals with long-standing abuse reports dating back many years. Blank said the diocese finalized its research and documentation over the last several months before releasing the names.
"It wasn't as simple as just taking (the independent consultant’s) report and saying, 'Here's who they think we should list,'" said Blank. "The Bishop had to review them personally. He had to go through the process…and that took a lot of time."
Blank said the board’s review continued off and on during the pandemic, examining 40 to 50 cases flagged for potential abuse. Even so, he said there were no cases that Defenbaugh identified that weren’t reflected by the diocese’s list.
In the case of Father Bartelme, Blank said the retired priest was placed on administrative leave last fall, noting the diocese received reports from middle-aged adults around 2014. The reports referred to an incident when they were teenagers. He said the diocese didn’t refer the case to authorities because the victim and witness did not want to involve law enforcement. Blank added Bishops Peter Christensen and Powers struggled with how to handle the case based on the facts and Bartleme’s version of events. Bartleme didn’t return a request for comment.
"The Bishops felt that he was safe to minister despite the known report. Let's just say there were precautions and supervisions put in place," said Blank, who didn't divulge specific examples.
Blank said naming Bartleme was long overdue, adding there’s never been a safer time at the diocese. He said there’s been a dramatic culture shift to embrace more openness and transparency, crediting victims for their bravery in highlighting abuse.
"If a fresh report came in, there would be an immediate administrative leave for an internal investigation and cooperation with law enforcement depending on the nature of the report," Blank said. "If there was a report of a current minor, we have mandatory reporting rules to make a report to law enforcement immediately."
Blank said he’s aware of no other reports of abuse, although the diocese is prepared to receive any additional allegations that may result from its list.
Nate’s Mission claims that dioceses are still withholding names of alleged abusers, including 69 names in addition to 48 that have already been published by the Diocese of Green Bay. The group turned over whistleblower documents to the Wisconsin Department of Justice this year that Isely alleges demonstrate a systematic cover-up of abuse at each of the state’s five dioceses.
"To a victim, they can often recover from the assault and the abuse itself, it often takes a long time," said Isely. "But, the thing that is most difficult, that is an unending wound, is the cover-up of these crimes."
Blank said the Superior Diocese didn't cover up reports of abuse, noting there wasn't as much public pressure to disclose abuse in the past.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice has encouraged victims to report abuse committed in any religious organization. The department has said any information provided by victims will not be shared or acted on without their consent. Those who report abuse can remain anonymous, and people can make reports online or by calling 1-877-222-2620.
The DOJ plans to issue a report of its findings once the statewide review is complete.
Polish church defends Pope John Paul II’s record on child sex abuse
NOV 21, 2022 |
Notes from Poland
The Catholic church in Poland has defended Polish Pope John Paul II’s response to child sex abuse during his pontificate. It says “media attacks” claiming he was negligent are an “attempt to undermine his authority and question his sanctity” because his ideas “do not correspond to contemporary ideologies promoting hedonism”.
John Paul II – born Karol Wojtyła – served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. He remains a widely revered figure in Poland not only for his spiritual leadership but also for the role he played in helping bring about the end of communist rule in his homeland and the wider region.
However, recent years have seen growing questions over his response to sexual abuse of minors by clergy – including senior church figures – during his pontificate.
In 2020, the Vatican itself released a report showing that John Paul II had promoted Theodore McCarrick to be archbishop of Washington and a cardinal in 2001 despite claims of sexual misconduct against him. In 2019, McCarrick was found guilty of sexual crimes by a church investigation and dismissed from the priesthood.
Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who for decades served as personal secretary to John Paul II, has also been accused of ignoring cases of sexual abuse. However, a Vatican investigation this year cleared Dziwisz of wrongdoing during his time as archbishop of Kraków.
A number of other Polish bishops have, though, faced punishment from the Vatican in recent years for their negligence in responding to cases of abuse.
In a statement issued last week, the Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP) – the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland – noted that there are “ever more questions in the public sphere about the attitude of John Paul II towards the tragedy of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people”.
It added that there is now “a kind of fashion” for claiming that John Paul II “did not approach such acts properly and did little to solve this problem, or even concealed it”. These “fit in with the attempts to undermine the authority of John Paul II, and even to question his sanctity”.
The “media attack” on the former pope – who was made a saint in 2014 – is motivated by the fact that “the theology…preached by him does not correspond to contemporary ideologies promoting hedonism, relativism and moral nihilism”, continued the statement.
The KEP pointed out that in 1983 John Paul II introduced a new code of canon law that explicitly obliged members of the clergy guilty of sexual abuse to be punished and then took further steps in the 1990s to ensure greater protection of children and young people.
Then, in 2001, he issued an apostolic letter, Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, that brought jurisdiction over cases of sexual abuse of minors by clergy under the direct control of the Vatican. “This unprecedented decision showed that John Paul II realised the scale and global nature of the crisis,” wrote the KEP.
And yet, the church tried for years after that to claim the Vatican had no jurisdiction over individual dioceses and orders.
“From the actions of John Paul II in the face of the crisis there emerges the image of a shepherd who courageously and decisively wanted to face it…[and] also help society to counter the scourge of sexual crimes against minors and the vulnerable,” concluded the Polish episcopate.
In response to the statement, OKO.press, a liberal investigative journalism and fact-checking outlet, claimed that the points made in defence of John Paul II contained numerous “manipulations” and that the former pope had in reality done little to deal with the problem of abuse in the church.
Archbishop says revulsion over scale of child sex abuse is 'justified'
by Sarah Mac Donald
22 NOVEMBER 2022, THE TABLET
The Archbishop of Dublin made his comments at Blackrock parish in the wake of new revelations
of child sexual abuse. John McElroy
The anger and revulsion over recent revelations of “horrendous sexual abuse of children” by members of the clergy or religious communities and the “whitewashing of those crimes” is understandable and entirely justified, Archbishop Dermot Farrell has said.
The Archbishop of Dublin made his comments at Blackrock parish in the wake of revelations of child sexual abuse at a number of Catholic schools run by the Spiritan order in Ireland.
“Too often those in leadership in dioceses and religious orders failed to safeguard those entrusted to their care, whether through ignorance, misplaced loyalty or a sense of self-preservation,” Archbishop Farrell said.
He said it was right that the truth of these crimes comes to light so that the abuse itself can be named, the pain, injustice, and offence to the integrity and dignity of the person accepted, and the long journey of healing undertaken and supported.
The total number of Spiritans and staff members against whom allegations have been made now stands at 78. Four of those alleged to have abused are still alive. Almost 300 people have contacted the congregation which has spent more than €5m (£4.4m) in settlements since 2004.
Spiritan Provincial, Fr Martin Kelly, told RTE News that a number of people had come forward with fresh allegations following an RTE Radio 1 documentary “Blackrock Boys” which aired on 7 November and told the story of two siblings, Mark and David Ryan and their abuse by Fr Tom O’Byrne at Blackrock College in the 1970s and 1980s.
“What was done to you as innocent children was cruel and indefensible. We, as Spiritans, are ashamed,” Fr Kelly told a press conference in Dublin.
Mark Vincent Healy, who was abused by two priests during his time at St Mary’s College in Dublin between 1969 and 1973 when he was aged between nine and 12, has called for an independent inquiry to determine the scale of abuse suffered by pupils in Spiritan schools.
Some of the abusers were sent overseas on mission. Mr Healy said: “Only an inquiry can determine the numbers affected.”
More than 5,000 students today attend schools linked to the Spiritan Congregation, formerly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, including Blackrock College in Dublin, St Michael’s College in Dublin, St Mary’s College in Dublin and Rockwell College in Co Tipperary.
Minister for Education, Norma Foley, said the Government is looking at a “survivor-led” inquiry. Meanwhile police inquiries into allegations made since the documentary was broadcast are ongoing.
