I don't think that the numbers are important. 1 was bad enough.
Has the Jehovah's Witness computer data base number totaling 23,720 child molesters on file in Patterson, New York created a public nuisance by keeping the names secret ?
by Sol Reform 30 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
-
-
MeanMrMustard
@Simon:
Almost all authoritarian regimes keep records because information is POWER that they may need to use against someone one day ... they just can't resist hanging on to things.
If they were interested in doing the right things they would simply hand the information over to the proper authorities but instead they like to keep control of everything they can.
Ok, I can get behind this. But I have a hard time believing, if there is a DB, that it will be accessible from anywhere except the legal department at headquarters. It just seems like a major screw up for them to make a DB and yet put it on a network accessible from outside that building. This stuff about Anonymous getting the DB from hacking seems cheesy. Now, if they want to infiltrate - get into the building somehow.. or get a lawyer or IT guy working there to get the info and leak it out, that's different.
MMM
-
Sol Reform
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/287471/ Published December 30, 2013, 03:57 PM
Duluth Diocese to reveal list of 'credibly accused' priests
The announcement comes several weeks after a lawsuit was filed in State District Court seeking the release of information on 17 priests.
By: News Tribune staff, Duluth News Tribune On Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013,
Sirba will release the list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse, during a 10 a.m. news conference at the diocese’s headquarters, communications director Kyle Eller said. (2009 file, Bob King / News Tribune)
The Duluth Diocese will release the names of its priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse Tuesday, a spokesman said today.
The announcement comes several weeks after a lawsuit was filed in State District Court seeking the release of information on 17 priests.
The suit, filed Dec. 9 on the behalf of an anonymous victim, claimed that the diocese was negligent in allowing abuse to continue and has created a nuisance by not releasing the names of accused priests.
Earlier this month, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona released lists of credibly abused priests, following a court order. That order stemmed from a suit brought by Twin Cities law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates, which also filed the Duluth suit.
Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba will release the list during a 10 a.m. news conference Tuesday at the diocese’s headquarters, communications director Kyle Eller said.
-
Sol Reform
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/244918641.html
In a first, judge orders archbishop to testify about clergy sex abuse
Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: February 12, 2014 - 5:41 AM
Nienstedt must testify under oath and the archdiocese must release a list of priests accused of abuse after 2004, judge ruled. Archbishop John Nienstedt Photo: Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune Star Tribune photo galleries
Archbishop John Nienstedt and former vicar general Kevin McDonough must testify under oath about how the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis responded to allegations of child sex abuse by local priests, a Ramsey County district judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge John Van de North also ordered the archdiocese to create a list of all priests accused of sexually abusing minors since 2004.
The list, which must be prepared by Feb. 18, is in addition to a list of clergy accused before 2004, which was released in December and would include all priests who had been the subject of abuse complaints, not just those church officials had determined were “credibly accused.” He also said attorneys could begin reviewing internal church documents that shed light on how it handled clergy abuse complaints.
The case that led to the historic rulings was filed in 2013 on behalf of a man who claimed he had been abused decades earlier by the Rev. Thomas Adamson, who later left the priesthood. It contends that church officials here and in Winona put children and others at risk of abuse by failing to disclose information about priests who had been accused of abuse.
“This is a very important case … This has become a bellwether case,” said Van de North, referring to the demands that the archdiocese provide information.
A ‘giant move forward’ St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, lawyer for the alleged victim identified only as John Doe 1, called it a “giant move forward.”
He said it is the first time an archbishop in Minnesota has been required to submit to a deposition that was not limited to just one alleged abuser. It’s also the first time that a court has allowed such a range of internal church documents to be made available, he said.
“Today a door has been opened, light can shine in,” Anderson said.
Former Twin Cities Archbishops John Roach and Harry Flynn had been questioned under oath in other lawsuits, said Mike Finnegan, an attorney with Anderson’s law firm. “But this is the first time the scope of the questions will not be limited to one individual perpetrator,” he said
. “We’ll be able to ask about all the perpetrators that have worked in the archdiocese and the archbishop’s and Kevin McDonough’s role in covering up the abuse.” According to the court order, the depositions must be taken within 30 days. Because of the volume of documents at issue as the case moves forward, Van de North also said he would seek a “special master” attorney to work with him on the case.
The archdiocese issued a written statement Tuesday after Van de North ruled. “The archdiocese looks forward to working with the Court and all affected parties to promote the protection of children, the healing of victims and the restoration of trust of the faithful and our clergy who are serving our communities nobly and with honor,” the statement said. The John Doe 1 lawsuit alleges that Adamson abused the boy from 1976 to 1977.
The suit against the archdiocese and the Winona Diocese was the first filed since Minnesota temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on older abuse cases. Archdiocesan attorney Daniel Haws argued that the scope of investigation — from decades-old church records to depositions of church leaders — was not relevant to the case of John Doe 1, whose reported abuse occurred more than 30 years ago.
Nienstedt has been archbishop since 2008, he said, and McDonough was new to his job as point person in the chancery on clergy misconduct complaints, Haws told the court. Judges typically limit the discovery of evidence on cases to the period during which the alleged problems occurred, he said.
But Anderson argued that the lawsuit sought to prove the church had created a public nuisance, and to do that, it would need to show a pattern of abuse.
Limits imposed on testimony Van de North, however, did limit the scope of the sworn testimony. He said Nienstedt could testify under oath for a half day and McDonough for a full day. The judge also narrowed the scope of discovery for the “negligent supervision’’ charges in the case to the period of 1970 to 1985.
Van de North also ruled that Anderson could take testimony under oath from the Rev. John Brown, now retired in Maplewood, whom Anderson alleged had abused children in the 1950s and 1960s. How the archdiocese handled his case could shed light on its handling of Adamson’s and others, Anderson claimed.
The archdiocese opposed releasing the names of priests who had been accused of abusing children since 2004. That list would be different from the names released in December, because the priests on the earlier list had been determined by the archdiocese to be “credibly accused.” The new list would contain the names of all priests who had been the subject of child abuse complaints to church officials.
The archdiocese argued that priests who had been falsely accused of abuse could have their reputations tarnished. In response, Van de North said the new archdiocese list could be filed “under seal, accompanied by a through explanation of why public disclosure is unreasonable.” The names could be disclosed by later court action.
The archdiocese said Tuesday that protecting those falsely accused remained critical. “We strongly assert our pursuit of justice for any who are falsely accused,” the archdiocese wrote in its statement. “All of these goals are the basis for every action and decision we are making regarding this ongoing disclosure.”
-
Sol Reform
WHOA! This could get a little nasty.
Archdiocese files to prevent Archbishop Nienstedt's deposition
By Emily Gurnon
[email protected] Posted: 02/14/2014 12:01:00 AM CST | Updated: 73 min. ago
Archbishop John C. NienstedtA day after releasing a financial report that pledged greater accountability, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has filed a motion to prevent depositions of two top officials and "sweeping disclosures" regarding priests accused of sexual abuse.
Church officials want Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North to stay his Tuesday decision allowing depositions of Archbishop John Nienstedt, former Vicar General Kevin McDonough and accused priest Rev. John Brown, while the archdiocese prepares to appeal to the state Court of Appeals. The archdiocese also wants Van de North to stay his order, pending appeal, that it turn over names and other information of priests accused of child sexual abuse since 2004. In the motion, filed in Ramsey County District Court late Thursday, the archdiocese said the "legal basis for the broad discovery permitted and the disclosures ordered by the court are highly questionable" and "cannot be undone once they are made by the archdiocese."
The depositions and other discovery, requested by sexual abuse plaintiffs' attorney Jeff Anderson, "impact the archdiocese's constitutional due process, equal protection and free exercise rights of the United States Constitution," attorneys for the archdiocese wrote in the motion. In a statement issued late Tuesday, the archdiocese had said it "looks forward to working with the court and all affected parties to promote the protection of children, the healing of victims and the restoration of trust of the faithful and our clergy ... At the same time, we strongly assert our pursuit of justice for any who are falsely accused."
Two days after that, the archdiocese released for the first time a full audited financial report for fiscal year 2013. A letter by Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piche, posted on the archdiocese website, said the church opted for fuller disclosure "because we are accountable to the people we serve." Anderson said Friday's legal maneuver showed "their actions (are) not matching their words."
Instead of accountability and transparency, he said, "they are dedicated to secrecy and deception." The archdiocese issued a written statement Friday defending the move. "Over the past five months, the archdiocese has taken unprecedented actions to address open questions regarding clergy misconduct and our handling of these cases," including creating an independent task force and hiring an outside firm to review clergy files, it said.
It committed to "ongoing disclosure of substantiated claims" of sexual abuse of children. It was trying to halt Van de North's rulings because "his sweeping order allows for discovery efforts that are not related to the specific case before the court" involving Adamson, the statement by spokesman Jim Accurso said. "Our appeal also seeks justice for any clergy who have been and may in the future be falsely accused," Accurso said.
The Diocese of Winona also filed a motion for a stay of Van de North's order. Anderson's firm filed memoranda opposing the motions late Friday. Van de North had the authority to order the discovery, and the information the plaintiff seeks "is necessary to prove (his) ... claims," attorney Michael Finnegan, with the Anderson firm, wrote.
The issue is "purely a discovery dispute," Finnegan continued. "If every party were allowed to appeal a discovery decision they were unhappy with, there would be a flood of appeals resulting in piecemeal litigation," the memo said. The depositions were to take place within 30 days of the Feb. 11 order.
Van de North told the archdiocese to submit the names of accused priests by Feb. 18. Those names were to be filed under seal, with disclosure to only the court and opposing attorneys, for now. Van de North's actions came in the case of John Doe 1 vs. the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of Winona and Thomas Adamson. Adamson is a former priest who has been sued more than a dozen times for allegedly sexually abusing children
. Doe 1 is a Twin Cities man who sued in May, saying Adamson molested him in 1976 or 1977 when the priest served at St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park. The plaintiff also alleged that the archdiocese and diocese failed to respond adequately -- moving Adamson from parish to parish as allegations arose.
Anderson also wants to take the deposition of Rev. John Brown, a 93-year-old priest living in Maplewood. Brown has been accused of sexual abuse by a different plaintiff.
-
Sol Reform
http://theworthyadversary.com/2483-the-politician-and-the-priest-two-brothers-and-a-fall-from-grace
The Politician and the Priest: Two brothers and a fall from grace
Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 19, 2013 in Clergy Abuse Crisis, Corporate Ethics |
One brother is Obama’s chief of staff.
The other is an embattled former top deputy to St. Paul’s Archbishop, charged with covering up sex abuse and refusing to cooperate with the police.
Put together, the McDonough brothers show how bad timing and bad moral decisions may push two former “superstars” into very public and very embarrassing falls from grace. Denis McDonough – The Politician Denis the Politician Appointed White House Chief of Staff in January 2013 after a career as a foreign policy advisor, “hard-charging” Denis has been called one of the most efficient chiefs of staff in recent memory. Insiders on both sides of the political spectrum say that the White House “has never worked better.” Unfortunately, that may be not enough to save him. According to the New York Times:
Mr. McDonough’s failure to head off the health care problems surprised those who see him as a man of discipline and attention to detail. But current and former administration officials say that after 10 months on the job, one problem may have been that he stretched himself too thin and tried to do too much himself. “Denis is playing the role of chief of staff, legislative director, chief strategist and head of the accountability and implementation office,” said a former colleague who asked for anonymity to speak more candidly. “One man can’t play all of the infield.” In the months before the rollout, Mr. McDonough worked closely with Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, but did not see the warning signs clearly. He expressed confidence in the system only hours before the Oct. 1 kickoff. “There’s hundreds of people who worked all through last weekend as they have now through many, many weekends, to make sure that everything is in place, tested, firm, ready to roll,” he said as he walked the South Lawn.
While the ACA rollout was in the works far before he started the job, its utter failure will require a “fall guy.” After Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Denis’ fall might be next—the result of bad timing and too much trust. Kevin McDonough – The Priest Kevin the Priest Older brother Kevin is facing a fall from grace of his own. But unlike Denis, this fall is of his own making—what many are calling his “insidious and criminal” cover-up of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Now, he’s refusing to cooperate with the police. For 17 years, Kevin was top-deputy to the archbishop, one of the most powerful jobs in the archdiocese. As Vicar General, McDonough was. according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “revered for his work with the poor” and “charmed legislators as chaplain of the Minnesota Senate.” But while he was charming cops and politicians alike, recently exposed documents show that he was actively covering up for child sex offenders in the priesthood.
Although McDonough was the chief child protection officer in the Archdiocese, he, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “had a key role in at least three cases of alleged priest sexual misconduct that, combined, have resulted in a lawsuit against the archdiocese, a priest in jail, the resignation of a top archdiocesan official and calls for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.“ Since allegations of the cover-up of abuse came to light, McDonough has been removed as Vicar General and stripped of his position on the board of St. Thomas University.
The politician and the priest: One is in need of prayers. The other? He doesn’t have a prayer.
- See more at: http://theworthyadversary.com/2483-the-politician-and-the-priest-two-brothers-and-a-fall-from-grace#sthash.qiVkWdCO.dpuf
-
Band on the Run
There is no proof that the JW database exists.
-
rebel8
Band, the wts, when given the opportunity, did not deny there are records. See link on pg 1 of this thread.
Paul Gillies from the Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information in the UK said: "It is not meaningful to focus on the number of names we have in our records".
-----------
I don't think that the numbers are important. 1 was bad enough.
Well, yes, 1 is horrifying and unacceptable, no doubt.
But numbers and names are important IMO. It documents the extent of the conspiracy and crimes, and provides a basis for prosecution.
And to invoke Godwin's Law, if Hitler gassed 1 Jew, of course it would be horrifying. But knowing the extent of his crimes was useful information for the Nuremberg Trials and posterity.
-
Sol Reform
Vatican to be sued.
http://www.startribune.com/local/260547781.html?page=1&c=y
Minnesota Child Victim's Act generates nearly 40 lawsuits, church reforms
Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: May 24, 2014 - 11:03 PM
Older misconduct cases may not have ever surfaced without Child Victim’s Act.
One year after the Minnesota Child Victim’s Act was passed by the Legislature, the Catholic Church in Minnesota has been hit by a legal cyclone.
A woman who stepped forward this year to report abuse because of the law change was photographed recently in attorney Jeff Anderson’s St. Paul office. Photo: GLEN STUBBE • [email protected], Star Tribune photo galleries
One year ago this month, Minnesota opened its courtroom doors to alleged victims of child sex abuse that occurred decades ago — a step that has rocked the Catholic Church as never before. More than 40 lawsuits have been filed since then under the new Minnesota Child Victim’s Act, implicating at least 30 Catholic priests in sex crimes against children.
The lawsuits claim the church has mishandled, or covered up, serious abuse charges in every diocese in the state. Five of the six Minnesota dioceses have since made public the names of long-secret priest offenders, revealing more than 100 names to date. For those who have bottled up memories of clergy abuse for decades, too nervous or fearful to report it, the law has spurred some to step forward, said Christy, a St. Paul mother who sued her abuser last year. “It’s like a weight lifted from my shoulders,” said Christy, who did not want her last name used.
Christy said she didn’t have a clue that her priest had been accused of molesting others before. Only after hearing news reports about the church’s pattern of moving offenders from church to church did she Google his name and discover she was not alone. “That’s when I decided to sue,’’ she said. The new law lifts the civil statute of limitations for child abuse cases, opening a three-year window for people to sue over older cases such as Christy’s. For nearly 20 years, Minnesotans sexually abused as children had until age 24 to sue their abusers.
Child advocates, however, argued that some victims took decades to come to terms with their trauma, and that the time limits for filing claims thus needed to change. Minnesota is the fourth state to approve a temporary window for filing older lawsuits. Similar legislation is pending in three other states, said Marci Hamilton, a New York law professor and national advocate for such changes. California witnessed more than 1,100 lawsuits during its one-year window, Hamilton said.
About 170 lawsuits were filed in Delaware and about 75 in Hawaii during their two-year windows. Minnesota, in many ways, has followed the trajectory of its predecessors. Clergy have been charged with offenses ranging from one-time molestation to repeated rape lasting years. The incidents happened from the 1970s to just a few years ago. ‘A pace never before seen’
“But in Minnesota, we’re moving at a pace, at a depth, at a breadth never before seen in other states,” said St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, the lead attorney who has filed clergy sex abuse lawsuits in the three other states too.
Instead of filing lawsuits on behalf of one victim against one clergy member, Anderson has filed “nuisance claims” in Minnesota. Lawyers argue the church’s pattern of handling abusive priests, often moving them from parish to parish, constitutes a public nuisance. That allows them to petition the court for a broad array of information on priests and practices across a diocese.
As a result, the Twin Cities archdiocese alone is producing 40,000 documents for the court. Top church officials were required to submit to questioning, including Archbishop John Nienstedt and former Archbishop Harry Flynn. Add a whistleblower — former archdiocese canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger — and intense media scrutiny, and the past year has seen a storm of controversy that even the law’s sponsors did not predict. Rep. Steve Simon, DFL- St. Louis Park, a key author of the Child Victim’s Act, said he never anticipated such a chain of events. “I didn’t know that within a year, there would be so much attention to so many claims,” Simon said.
Church: Law is mistake
The archdiocese, which opposed opening the statute of limitations, still believes time limits “are an important part of ensuring that the civil justice system remains fair to all parties,” Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens said in a written statement.
“We accept and embrace responsibility when we have made mistakes, and will continue to work with courts, victims and attorneys to pursue justice for all parties during this three-year period,” Cozzens said.
Likewise, the Rev. Karen Bockelman, retired Lutheran chair of the Minnesota Religious Council — which lobbied against the bill — still believes the law is too broad and reaches too far back. It makes defense difficult, she said.
“Documents have been lost,” said Bockelman. “Memories have faded. People have died. The insurance company no longer exists.”
Looking forward, the Vatican is likely to become part of the equation. Anderson, who sued the Vatican in 2010 in a Wisconsin case, is likely to do the same here.
“Will the Vatican be sued?” he asked. “Yes. How soon? I can’t say.”
Beyond the civil cases, where punishment does not entail jail time, some abusers will face criminal charges, said Patrick Wall, an investigator at Anderson’s law firm. County attorneys can press charges up to three years after abuse is reported to them. More activity in court Last week, for example, the Dakota County attorney filed charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against Francis Hoefgen, a former St. John’s Abbey monk now living in Columbia Heights, for allegedly abusing a boy from 1989 to 1992.
His arrest followed the victim’s lawsuit filed last year. Meanwhile, more schools, nonreligious organizations and individuals are likely to be summoned to court, said Anderson. Donors pull back support Three lawsuits have been filed against former drama teacher Lynn Seibel at Shattuck-St. Mary’s boarding school, said Anderson, as well as three against a former Bemidji public schoolteacher who committed suicide last year.
The Catholic Church, meanwhile, has faced financial repercussions, as some donors have balked at continuing their fiscal support. The Twin Cities archdiocese released an audit of the chancery in February showing a $3.9 million deficit. But the report stated, “The financial condition of the archdiocese is solid,” even with the liability stemming from the recent wave of lawsuits. Meanwhile, alleged victims of clergy sex abuse continue to step forward.
Christy, for example, said she was sexually molested by the Rev. Robert Thurner, now 88. Transferred to her church after admitting to abuse in his Hopkins parish, Thurner became a family friend, invited to dinner at her parents’ home, where the abuse occurred, she said. Christy said the incident led to years of confusion and shame and feelings of helplessness. The new law changed that. Said Christy: “Now I feel like I’m in control for once.”
Simon calls the past year “an occasion to reflect on what went wrong” and to learn from it. “It’s a painfully teachable moment,” the representative said. “And it’s about healing for a lot of people who for a long time were ignored or dismissed or worse. They are finally getting their justice.”
-
