Diocese of Savannah, Ga faces lawsuit for covering up
priest’s child sex abuse allegations
by: Molly Curley
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – A lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah and its current bishop, claiming the church knew a priest was allegedly molesting children and agreed to cover up his actions.
Filed last week by Tate Law Group, LLC, on behalf of a Chatham County resident (whose name WSAV will not disclose at this time), the lawsuit accuses the church of conspiracy and fraud in its handling of allegations against Wayland Brown.
Brown died in prison last year while serving his 20-year sentence for sexually abusing two boys in the early 1980s when he was a priest in the Diocese of Savannah, assigned to St. James School.
The lawsuit alleges Brown had multiple sexual encounters with the complainant, who was 13, between 1987 and 1988.
The diocese was allegedly informed by law enforcement in 1986 that Brown was molesting children. “Despite this knowledge, the diocese placed Brown at St. James School, did not advise any parents or teachers that the diocese decided to unleash a known rapist on their students,” the lawsuit adds.
According to the Associated Press, a diocese spokesperson said they had not yet received the lawsuit.
Ex-Farmington, Mi priest charged with '77 child sex abuse
Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News
A former Oakland County priest has been charged with sexually abusing a local child, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday. The charges are part of an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse within the state's seven Catholic dioceses.
Gary Berthiaume, 78, is charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which could lead to a 15-year prison sentence if he's convicted, said Nessel.
The victim, who was 14 at the time of the alleged assault, told authorities the assault took place in August 1977 at the Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church's rectory in Farmington, where Berthiaume was a priest with the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Is it just me, or is 'rectory' a perfect name for such places as paedophile priests abuse little boys?
Berthiaume was arrested Tuesday at his home in Warrendale, Illinois. He will face extradition to Farmington, where charges were authorized last week. He also was arrested in 1977 for sexually assaulting two other minors in Michigan and served a sentence in the Oakland County jail, according to Nessel's office.
The Archdiocese of Detroit wasn't immediately able to provide a comment Tuesday about the allegations against the former priest.
After his jail term in Oakland County, Berthiaume was transferred to the Diocese of Cleveland, Nessel's office said, then to the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois in 1987.
Still functioning as a priest?
Nessel said her office seized 1.5 million paper documents and 3.5 million electronic documents through search warrants executed in October 2018 as part of its investigation of sexual abuse by individuals with ties to the Catholic Church, including Berthiaume.
The attorney general’s investigation has resulted in criminal charges against 11 people with church ties.
“My office’s investigation into clergy abuse will continue to receive, review and act upon credible allegations of abuse on behalf of the many victims who have come forward,” said Nessel in a statement Tuesday.
“Criminal sexual conduct at any level must not be tolerated, and we must ensure justice is served to those who assault others — particularly those authority figures and people in powerful positions who prey on the weak and vulnerable.”
‘Demonic desecration’: Archbishop orders to burn altar after
priest allegedly held orgy with dominatrices there
10 Oct 2020
FILE PHOTO. © Image Broker via Global Look Press/Jiri Hubatka
The sex act between a Catholic priest and two “dominatrices,” which allegedly happened on an altar of a Louisiana church, was nothing short of demonic desecration, the archbishop has ruled.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans ordered the removal and burning of the altar of the Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Pearl River, Louisiana. The move was in response to a sex scandal involving the now-former priest of the church, who was arrested on charges of obscenity last week. Travis Clark was allegedly caught filming himself having sex with two women, described as “dominatrices” by the media, on the altar of the church entrusted to his ministry.
“His obscene behavior was deplorable. His desecration of the altar in church was demonic. I am infuriated by his actions,” Aymond said in a video address on Friday. “When the details became clear, we had the altar removed and burned. I will consecrate a new altar tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, the upper echelons of the Catholic Church cannot see that the spirit involved in this act of desecration is the same spirit that is involved in paedophile priests raping little boys and girls. They are all acts of hatred toward God, rebellion, destruction of innocence, and violation of the sacred.
If the archbishop was as infuriated at paedophile priests as he is at the desecration of the inanimate altar, then we might be getting somewhere.
According to court papers, Clark, 37 invited Mindy Dixon, 41, and Melissa Cheng, 23 to the church to engage in group sex. It reportedly involved sex toys and was filmed in a semi-professional setting, which included lighting equipment.
An onlooker spotted what was happening and called the police, who arrested the three at the scene and seized the incriminating pornographic evidence. One of the women reportedly bragged on social media that she was about to “defile a house of God” before going to the encounter.
The scandal is one of two that have rocked the New Orleans archdiocese recently and which Aymond addressed in the statement. The other involves Pat Wattingy, who was suspended from the ministry and reported to secular authorities after confessing that he had sexually abused a child in the past. Wattingy, 53, also stands accused of “grooming” a male student at Pope John Paul II High School, where he served as a chaplain until his resignation several weeks ago.
The Archbishop said the man was removed from school after repeatedly violating a policy that forbids priests from exchanging text messages with students, but that contrary to what the lawyers for the family claim, the exchanges were not sexual in nature. A month-long evaluation that followed the suspension resulted in Wattingy admitting to the sexual abuse, Aymond said.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that Clark was appointed to replace Wattingy as the school chaplain shortly before being caught up in the most recent scandal.
“Many people feel anger, betrayal and disappointment, and I feel the same way, as do my brother priests,” Aymond said, adding that the actions of the disgraced former priests were “unacceptable, sinful and cannot be tolerated.” Neither of them would serve ever again in the Catholic ministry, he promised.
Buffalo Priest Placed on Leave After Child Sexual Abuse Allegations
By Spectrum News Staff City of Buffalo
Oct. 10, 2020
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A priest is on administrative leave following child sexual abuse claims made against him.
Buffalo's Apostolic administrator has placed Reverend Donald Lutz on administrative leave pending an investigation into two allegations of sexual abuse from the 1970s.
Lutz is the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Buffalo.
One survivor is suing while the other is not, but reported the abuse to the victim assistance coordinator.
While on leave, Lutz will be restricted from presenting himself or functioning as a priest until the investigation is over.
A parish administrator for Our Lady of Perpetual Help has not yet been named.
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