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Latest from Australian Royal Commission
by gerry injust received this update.
http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8e90fa1e64ebb08847cc04916&id=fcec86ae2b&e=0670c7af59.
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Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - from the state of New York - and non Jehovah Witness victims, along with all supporters
by Sol Reform injehovah witness victims of childhood sex abuse - from the state of new york - and non jehovah witness victims, along with all supporters - you're all invited to a press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform.. .
press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform .
advocates for reform of ny's too-weak childhood .
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http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cardinal-dolan-establishes-fund-for-abuse-victims
Critics claim it's the archdiocese's attempt to circumvent Child Victims Act
NEW YORK (ChurchMilitant.com) - The New York archdiocese is implementing a program to compensate victims of sexual abuse, as long as they promise never to sue the archdiocese. The program is receiving backlash from all quarters.The Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program will allow victims with credible allegations of abuse to apply for compensation, with payment handed out within 60 days of the claim. Victims must also sign a confidentiality agreement as well as a release freeing the archdiocese of any litigation over related claims in the future."I wish I would have done this quite a while ago," said Cdl. Timothy Dolan in early October. "I just finally thought: ‘Darn it, let's do it. I’m tired of putting it off." Dolan claimed it was Pope Francis' announcement of the Year of Mercy that inspired him to launch the compensation fund.Critics are claiming the program isn't as simple or as benevolent as it seems, however. In fact, some believe there's a clear strategy by the archdiocese to sweep sexual abuse claims under the rug and obfuscate the truth, while also circumventing the Child Victims Act, which would abolish the statute of limitations for sex abuse lawsuits.New York state senator Brad Hoylman is expressing skepticism about the program. "It should also be acknowledged that this is a canny legal strategy devised to reduce the archdiocese's liability for decades of crimes and cover-ups," said Hoylman, chief sponsor of the Child Victims Act.Currently, New York law places a cap on filing lawsuits once the victim reaches his 23rd birthday, after which he may not bring a claim. Often victims are not ready, however, to bring a claim at that age, only working up the courage to do so later in life. The statute of limitations prevents them from doing so. The bill would also open up a one-year window for victims to sue their abusers.The bill was introduced in April 16 and has 22 co-sponsors in the state senate. But the New York archdiocese has doggedly fought the bill, spending $2 million in lobbying efforts against it, arguing that the one-year window to re-open old cases would bankrupt parishes. The bill failed to pass this year, but will be back on the table in 2017."Cardinal Dolan sees the writing on the wall," said Gary Greenberg, an abuse victim who supports the bill. "He knows the Child Victims Act will pass next year.""This is an obvious attempt to circumvent justice by creating a committee of members that he selects who will offer priest abuse survivors the opportunity of a settlement outside the legal system, and only in return for sacrificing (victims') rights," he added. "It's disgusting. Cardinal Dolan should be ashamed of himself."If a claimant chooses to accept a final payment pursuant to this Protocol, the claimant will be required to sign a full Release [which] will waive any rights the claimant or his/her heirs, descendants, legatees and beneficiaries may have against the Archdiocese of New York or any potentially responsible party to assert any claims relating to such allegations of sexual abuse, to file an individual legal action relating to such allegations, or to participate in any legal action associated with such allegations.In other words, once the victim accepts compensation, he must promise never to sue the archdiocese on related claims. The program would also keep victims in the dark about their perpetrators, as all information concerning those who abused them would be held from them.Mary Caplan, former director of the New York chapter of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a group that lobbies on behalf of victims, stated she would "encourage victims to think long and hard before approaching Church officials or their representatives."The program is reminiscent of some of the agreements of sex abuse cases in Boston, which ended up benefiting the archdiocese and the victims' attorneys while keeping the public in the dark about sex abusers, many of whom went on to molest more victims.In the case of John J. Geoghan, a notorious abuser of hundreds of children, as many as 30 abuse cases were settled in private that required confidentiality agreements. Mitchell Garabedian, who filed numerous lawsuits against Geoghan, commented that settling cases in secrecy leads to victims feeling "more unnecessary guilt about the sexual molestation, even if it's years later."Jeffrey R. Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer who has represented more than 1,000 sex abuse victims, has also criticized confidentiality agreements. "I am greatly offended by the frequency and number of confidentially settled agreements. The Church overwhelms lawyers and survivors into silence and secrecy ... and I don't like it." -
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ACTION ALERT: PA Survivors of child sex abuse, we need you to call PA Attorney General’s Office 1-888-538-8541
by awareness inlast april, the pa attorney general’s office established a toll-free phone number for survivors of child sex abuse (who were pa residents, or were abused by someone in pa) to call if they wanted to file a report of being sexually abused or molested as a child under 18 no matter how long ago the abuse happened or no matter who committed the abuse.. .
the ag’s office is asking victims from all the places/institutions and all the alleged criminals that have literally gotten away with soul murder.
hopefully, the ag’s office will be able to take further steps to expose the criminals and the criminal institutions that aided and abetted the perps.. .
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ACTION ALERT: PA Survivors of child sex abuse, we need you to call PA Attorney General’s Office 1-888-538-8541
by awareness inlast april, the pa attorney general’s office established a toll-free phone number for survivors of child sex abuse (who were pa residents, or were abused by someone in pa) to call if they wanted to file a report of being sexually abused or molested as a child under 18 no matter how long ago the abuse happened or no matter who committed the abuse.. .
the ag’s office is asking victims from all the places/institutions and all the alleged criminals that have literally gotten away with soul murder.
hopefully, the ag’s office will be able to take further steps to expose the criminals and the criminal institutions that aided and abetted the perps.. .
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Search warrant served on Catholic Diocese of Erie
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Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General agents descend on offices of Erie-based diocese
By Dana Massing Erie Times-News
Special agents from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General descended Monday on the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Erie, serving a search warrant related to a state probe of clergy sex abuse. A diocese spokeswoman read the statement, which was handwritten because employees at the center weren't being allowed access to computers at the time.
An Attorney General police truck and an SUV were parked in front of St. Mark Catholic Center, 429 E. Grandview Blvd., as men in shirts proclaiming them to be a "special agent" or "police" went in and out of the building Monday shortly before noon. None was available for comment.
The diocesan building remained open Monday, with employees and visitors coming and going. Officials said they weren't requested by the Office of Attorney General to cancel any events there.It wasn't known how long the Attorney General agents would be on site or if they would return another day.The search warrant came a little more than two months after a subpoena.
Former Attorney General Kathleen Kane launched the statewide probe after the release of a grand jury report in March on Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. That report said two former bishops there had helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by priests and other religious leaders over four decades.Dana Massing can be reached at 870-1729 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmassing. -
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Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - from the state of New York - and non Jehovah Witness victims, along with all supporters
by Sol Reform injehovah witness victims of childhood sex abuse - from the state of new york - and non jehovah witness victims, along with all supporters - you're all invited to a press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform.. .
press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform .
advocates for reform of ny's too-weak childhood .
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https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/editorial-church-has-earned-our-healthy-skepticism
Editorial: The church has earned our healthy skepticism
- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York gives the commencement address at the May 14 graduation ceremony at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. (CNS/Benedictine College)
NCR Editorial Staff | Oct. 28, 2016EDITORIALNew York Cardinal Timothy Dolan may have the purest of motives in designing the new compensation program for victims of clergy sex abuse. He must realize, however, that he is working against a history of activity, including his own, of members of the U.S. hierarchy that hardly inspires trust.Dolan's effort, understandably applauded in some quarters as an act inspired by Pope Francis' Year of Mercy, sets a legal framework for compensating victims outside of court procedures. The process will be administered by respected professionals, by most measures impeccably independent, and the compensation offered will be delivered quickly.So, what's not to like about it? Anne Barrett Doyle does a service to abuse victims and to the Catholic community at large in raising serious questions about the process and whether the plan is an unalloyed benefit to all victims.Doyle is co-director with Terry McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org, a unique repository of data and arguably the most extensive catalogued collection anywhere of newspaper stories, court records, depositions, analyses and internal church correspondence having to do with the Catholic church's clergy sex abuse scandal.Consequently, it is not too much of a stretch to say that Doyle knows more detail about the scandal than most people, including bishops, ever will.NCR's award-winning reporting and commentary are possible because of support from people like you. Give today.The devil, in this instance, is in both the details and the larger context. Two details raise concerns for Doyle:- Victims are required to sign a legal agreement that appears to bind them to privacy and confidentiality.
- As part of the agreement, victims receiving an award agree, in releasing the archdiocese from future liability, not to sue the church in the future.
That second point is important because of the context. The archdiocese is engaged in an ongoing and persistent effort to keep New York state from passing the Child Victims Act, which would extend the statute of limitations allowing victims a longer time to sue following abuse. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to make passage of the bill a priority in 2017. Dolan's timely initiative could also be a legal strategy aimed at eliminating those who might make future claims against the church under a new law.If that appears terribly cynical, there is the matter of history and some fundamentals to the long and ugly narrative that cannot be ignored.First, the initial reaction by the Catholic hierarchy when the scandal first broke in 1985, and carried through for 17 years until public opinion forced the bishops to openly deal with the matter, was protection of the institution and the clergy culture.That approach was taken often to the long and deep detriment of abuse survivors.Second, the U.S. bishops have never been accountable to anyone.Unlike what has occurred in other countries, notably Ireland and Australia, where national investigative bodies were able to subpoena records and conduct inquiries throughout the church, the revelations in the United States have occurred piecemeal.Deep revelations have ensued only in those dioceses where legal procedures or grand jury investigations occurred. All of the other information gathered by bodies as a result of the U.S. bishops' 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People has been volunteered by the very bishops and other church entities under scrutiny.Finally, in those instances where civil investigations have resulted from grand jury investigations and court cases, invariably the numbers of abusers and abused are greater, often far greater, than those previously volunteered. And the circumstances surrounding the numbers are often far more sinister than earlier imagined.The U.S. bishops have never been receptive to our persistent pleas over the years for the establishment of independent truth commissions comprising trusted professionals who would have unfettered access to the files and thus the ability to compile thorough reports, without divulging confidential information, at least about the numbers involved.Notable exceptions to the norm have occurred — and they have been reported in these pages — but the exceptions have been rare. Dolan — in his previous position as archbishop of Milwaukee, he tried unsuccessfully to protect church assets from claimants — was not one of them.The New York archdiocese's new victim compensation program may indeed be the best route for some who wish to be believed, gain a bit of justice, and move on without concern of revisiting the awful issue in the future.We also believe caution is in order. The church has earned our healthy skepticism. Only abuse survivors can know what is in their best interest. Understanding the full context may help in making a decision. -
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Let's Be Honest - You or One of Your Ancestors Was an Idiot
by Simon inwhy were we ever a jw?
were we mad?
we must have been .... well, my excuse is that i knew nothing else.
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"People who know nothing about cults besides the horrors of Jim Jones and Charles Manson will wonder: What kind of parents give up their daughter in the first place? The two cult experts I spoke to — New York psychotherapist Daniel Shaw, who has counseled former cult members for over 20 years, and Dr. Marc Galanter, professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center — were saddened by the story of River Road, but not surprised. Anyone can fall into a cult under the right circumstances.“Nobody joins a cult,” Shaw said. “You join a community that you believe will have positive benefits and goals.” Galanter agreed, noting people who feel vulnerable, displaced, or unhappy are at the highest risk of joining a cult — they’re searching for a lost connection.For many members of River Road, this was true: They first knew Barnard as a fellow member of the Way International, a nondenominational Christian sect that fell apart in the mid-1980s, after the group’s founder and his successor were both accused of brainwashing and having sex with female followers. When Barnard founded River Road years later, he promised them it would be different. He lied.Barnard developed trademark signs of a religious cult leader, whom Shaw defines as a “traumatic narcissist”: He claimed perfection and that he was one with the divine (“Jesus Christ in the flesh”) and considered himself exempt from the group’s social and moral standards. These were all red flags, but few seemed to notice the dangers of Barnard’s ascent.“They’d stick around because they loved him,” an ex-member told me of the people who stayed. Another woman argued it wasn’t so simple. “I can’t say to somebody this is how we got tricked,” she said. “He’s using people’s faith and their pain and their suffering and their longing for comfort — he’s using all of that.”River Road members’ blind dependency on Barnard could have been mutual, according to Shaw: The cult leader — deluded, psychotic, and highly functioning — comes to rely on followers to worship him and validate his supposed perfection. Often, people decide to leave cults only after their sense of self is destroyed. “It’s not just because you’ve come to know information about the leader,” Shaw explained. “It’s more because you have reached a point of utter despair and emptiness. You’ve been abused to a point where you can’t take it anymore.” That moment came around 2008, when a group of husbands confronted Barnard about his affairs with their wives and approached the local sheriff.River Road soon unraveled, though John Carlson, who was Pine County’s attorney at the time, declined to press charges. “The sad truth is, these individuals admit they were essentially ‘brainwashed’ by Barnard and readily and willingly did what he wanted them to do,” he wrote. Reports of child sexual abuse were deemed “merely suspicion.” Many followers eventually left the cult, including C and B, amid rumors of bankruptcy and Barnard’s sexual exploits. Dozens of others moved with Barnard to Washington State.C and B came forward in 2012, accusing Barnard of sexually assaulting them for years. At the time, both of their mothers were reportedly in denial. Approached by an investigator, B’s mother “did not want to hear it.” C later recalled telling her parents that Barnard raped her: “My mom said the blood of the lamb covers it all,” she told Fox 9. “Jesus Christ forgives.” C and B waited two years for the county to finally charge Barnard, after Fox 9 investigative reporter Tom Lyden produced an award-winning segmentthat exposed Barnard’s crimes. “How in the world could you pass on this case?” Lyden told me, referring to the county attorney. “This kind of story doesn’t exist.”http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/rape-victims-minnesota-cult-leader-victor-barnard-sexual-assault.html -
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Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - from the state of New York - and non Jehovah Witness victims, along with all supporters
by Sol Reform injehovah witness victims of childhood sex abuse - from the state of new york - and non jehovah witness victims, along with all supporters - you're all invited to a press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform.. .
press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform .
advocates for reform of ny's too-weak childhood .
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NY cardinal's new compensation program for victims will keep sex abuse hidden
- Cardinal Timothy Dolan presides at a Mass June 1 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)
Cardinal Timothy Dolan is trying something new. After years of successfully opposing legislation that would give New York abuse victims more time to sue, he has launched a victims' compensation program -- a first for the New York archdiocese.This is the Year of Mercy, and the cardinal said he was inspired by the "grace and challenge" of this fact."I just finally thought: 'Darn it, let's do it,' " he told The New York Times.The surprise move is winning the cardinal praise. The often critical New York Daily News commendedhim, citing his "remarkable moral courage."As a researcher of the Catholic abuse crisis, I see his plan differently. While the fund certainly will help some victims, its biggest beneficiary will be Dolan and his management team. This is a legal strategy in pastoral garb, a tactic by the powerful archbishop to control victims and protect the church's assets and its secrets.NCR's award-winning reporting and commentary are possible because of support from people like you. Give today.On its face, the plan is reasonable. A victim submits a claim form with documentation about rape or molestation by a priest or deacon. If deemed credible, the victim receives an award, which the archdiocese promises to disburse quickly -- within 60 days.The program is being administered by Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the 9/11 fund and mediated the settlements between Jerry Sandusky's victims and Penn State.But there's a catch -- two catches, actually. Victims must sign a legal agreement to abide by "all requirements pertaining to privacy and confidentiality," and they must release the archdiocese from future liability -- i.e., never sue it. (See section III, paragraph G of the IRCP's Protocol webpage.)So the fund implements a strategy. If the Child Victims Act ever passes in New York -- and Gov. Andrew Cuomo promises it will be a priority in 2017 -- Dolan will have already flushed out and shackled many of the victims who might have filed suit.And unlike the Penn State claimants, the victims in Dolan's program will be signing releases without the benefit of any information about how their perpetrators were managed. Did archdiocesan officials know or suspect that the priest was a risk to children before the victim suffered abuse? Did the priest have other victims? What happened to him after the archdiocese learned of his crimes? Are children protected from him now? Under Dolan's plan, all of this stays hidden.Of course, agreeing not to sue is an easy concession right now for child sex abuse victims in New York. Thanks in part to lobbying by Dolan and his brother bishops, victims remain effectively powerless: the state's restrictive civil statute of limitations gives them only until age 21 to sue complicit employers. For the vast majority of victims, this is not enough time.In terms of its statute of limitations for child sex crimes, New York state is an outlier: only Alabama and Michigan limit victims as severely.This is bound to change. While the Child Victims Act was defeated yet again last year, it generatedtremendous public support.When it passes, the Act will give future victims more time to take action, and it will include a "look-back" clause: for a limited period, it will revive the currently expired civil claims of all abuse victims in New York.This retroactivity is what worries Dolan. Lawsuits by victims will result not only in payouts by the church, but the disclosure of its secret abuse files, revealing what archdiocesan managers knew and when.To date, because of New York's predator-friendly statute of limitations, the massive archdiocese's abuse problem has appeared tiny. Its only tally of accused priests occurred in 2004, when Cardinal Edward Egan claimed an implausible total of 49 accused priests since 1950 -- one percent of its active priests for that time period.Consider that in Boston, with far fewer total priests, Cardinal Sean O'Malley conceded in 2011 that 250 priests since 1950 had been accused. In Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony counted 244 accused clergy. Even the small rural diocese of Manchester, N.H., concedes more accused priests than Dolan has acknowledged in New York.Obviously, Dolan knows that his potential exposure is enormous, and one victim at a time, his new program will chip away at this perceived threat. Every participant will represent a case that will never be brought to light; a perpetrator's name that may never be made public; and perhaps, a story of archdiocesan mismanagement that will never be revealed.Inevitably, his plan will exploit those who are desperate: I'll give you quick money, but you must keep my secrets.Dolan has pre-empted victims before. In his prior post in Milwaukee, shortly before an expected state Supreme Court decision that would allow victims to sue for fraud, the archbishop quietly transferred$57 million in church funds into a special cemetery trust that would be off-limits to plaintiffs.In this year of "grace and challenge," the cardinal should do things differently. Mercy cannot come with chains. Dolan should eliminate requirements for the victim to stay silent about any aspect of the mediation. And he should accompany the fund with radical transparency.After all, there is the promise of his fund's title: the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program. The cardinal is using our church's language to sacramentalize his scheme, so let him follow through. As every First Communicant knows, "reconciliation" occurs only with disclosure and confession. Dolan should come clean, before the courts force him to do so. He should publish a list of accused clerics, as more than 30 other U.S. bishops have done. He should release the archdiocese's secret files on all of its abusers. And he should tell his lobbyist in Albany to cease and desist.Without transparency and honesty, Dolan's fund becomes just another tactic to make sure the New York archdiocese doesn't answer for its actions -- an accountability dodge that ultimately hurts children, victims, parishioners, and the church's own chance for redemption.[Anne Barrett Doyle is co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an independent non-profit based in Waltham, Mass., founded in 2003, to research child abuse by priests and religious and on the management of those cases by bishops, religious orders and the Holy See.] -
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Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - from the state of New York - and non Jehovah Witness victims, along with all supporters
by Sol Reform injehovah witness victims of childhood sex abuse - from the state of new york - and non jehovah witness victims, along with all supporters - you're all invited to a press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform.. .
press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform .
advocates for reform of ny's too-weak childhood .
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COLUMN: Catholic Church is trying to buy silence of victims
- Ken Tingley
- The New York Roman Catholic archdiocese has announced it is willing to pay off the victims of pedophile priests in exchange for their silence.
Any records of such abuse and what the church did about it would also remain private.It’s an attempt by the church to again avoid accountability and responsibility for the abuse of children.It should hit home in this community.It should be an outrage here because of what Father Gary Mercure did in Queensbury and Glens Falls.He served as priest at Our Lady of Annunciation in Queensbury from 1982 to 1991.He was the campus minister at Adirondack Community College from 1982 to 1999.He was the principal at St. Mary’s-St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School from 1991 to 1995 as well as a priest at St. Mary’s.And he was convicted in a Pittsfield, Massachusetts, courtroom in 2011 of three counts of forcible rape on a child younger than 14.The then-63-year-old was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and the judge said he was “no more than a common thug.”But it gets worse.In 2013, 88 of the 563 pages of his secret church personnel file were unsealed as part of a lawsuit filed by one of his victims.It has previously been reported that Mercure stole money from the church and used it to lavish young men and boys with cash and gifts while remaining active sexually. They also showed that the priest used his position to gain the trust of parents whose sons he raped and abused.During the trial in Massachusetts, The Times-Union reported that the mother of one of the victims testified she found five pairs of her son’s bloodied underwear stuffed inside a wall in his bedroom. The victim testified he hid the underwear after Mercure raped him.A monster right here in our community.And we have no way of knowing how many victims there were.When accusations were first made against Mercure in the 1990s, his personnel file shows the diocese sent him away for therapy, but he was eventually returned to the ministry with no restrictions regarding children.Mercure was never held accountable for any sins in New York.Or for the alleged abuse of children in this community. That’s because New York has a statute of limitations. Adults victimized as children have until their 23rd birthday to bring a case. From what we know now about the trauma inflicted on these victims, it is an absurd standard.The New York State Legislature had another chance to make it right this past spring when it considered the Child Victims Act. The law would have eliminated the statute of limitations and provided a one-year civil review of past crimes.The New York Daily News, which took up the law as a cause this past year, reported last June that the Catholic Conference, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, had spent $2.1 million since 2007 to top lobbying firms across the state — including Behan Communications in Glens Falls — to block the proposed law.They succeeded.The law was not passed.So let’s connect the dots.When I first wrote about the Child Victims Act last June, I received emails from both Heath Bromley of Queensbury and Pierre Lafond of Oswego. They both wanted to talk. They had both been victims.Bromley said his abuse started at age 6. The word he used was “terrorized.”Think about that for a second.Lafond said his started at age 8.Bromley, who is now 41, was one of the two victims who testified against Mercure in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.After the archdiocese announced its offer on Oct. 6 to compensate New York victims if they agreed to keep the abuse and the church’s response secret, I contacted both men.I wanted to know what they thought of the offer. I wanted to know what they thought about the Child Victims Act not passing in the Legislature.“Everything they do is about silence,” said Lafond, who is now 63. He said he would not seek a settlement.“Just another tact to defer real law coming into place. They are protecting pedophiles. This is an admission of guilt, but the whole thing is backwards. We are going to the perpetrators and asking for a solution,” said Bromley. “It shows you the putrid nature of our politicians.”Bromley also said he would not seek a settlement.Shortly after the legislative session ended in June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he supported the removal of the statute of limitations, but that the Legislature must proceed carefully.The bill will be introduced again.Perhaps the archdiocese is worried more about what it will cost than making amends.“I do know of other victims of Gary Mercure,” Bromley said. “It’s crazy how close to home this was.”“They have never apologized to any of Gary Mercure’s victims,” Bromley said.“The Pope says you have to take care of victims, yet they lobby against the victims,” Lafond said of the archdiocese.The Times-Union reported that Gary Mercure is still receiving his pension from the church.Ken Tingley is the editor of The Post-Star and may be reached via email at [email protected]. His blog, “The Front Page,” discusses issues about newspapers and journalism. You can also follow him on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/kentingley. -
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NYTimes Article - As Pennsylvania Confronts Clergy Sex Abuse, Victims and Lawmakers Act
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/us/pennsylvania-clergy-sex-abuse.html?emc=edit_au_20160404&nl=afternoonupdate&nlid=60657855&_r=0.
as pennsylvania confronts clergy sex abuse, victims and lawmakers act.
by laurie goodsteinapril 4, 2016 .
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w84 5/15 & g68 10/8 on display at 2:24 minute. -
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Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - from the state of New York - and non Jehovah Witness victims, along with all supporters
by Sol Reform injehovah witness victims of childhood sex abuse - from the state of new york - and non jehovah witness victims, along with all supporters - you're all invited to a press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform.. .
press conference and movie screening in support of statute of limitation reform .
advocates for reform of ny's too-weak childhood .
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no password
May happen in 2017.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-church-settlements-step-child-victims-article-1.2821574Gov. Cuomo says New York Archdiocese’s cash settlements for child sex abuse victims is just first step toward justice
Gov. Cuomo has promised to make the issue of statue of limitations in child abuse cases a priority in the 2017 legislative session after the Child Victims Act failed to pass.
(TODD MAISEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)NEW YORK DAILY NEWSUpdated: Friday, October 7, 2016, 3:04 PMA New York Archdiocese plan offering cash settlements to sex abuse victims with no statue of limitations is a positive step — but hardly the last one, Gov. Cuomo says.A Cuomo spokesman, one day after Timothy Cardinal Dolan unveiled his Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, said new laws were needed to provide compensation to all targets of sexual abuse.“We must continue to work to ensure all victims have the opportunity to get the justice they deserve and this means a global legislative solution,” said gubernatorial spokesman Rich Azzopardi.Cuomo has promised to make the issue of statue of limitations in child abuse cases a priority in 2017 after the Child Victims Act failed again this year in the state Legislature.Currently in New York, victims must bring civil suits before their 23rd birthday against their attackers.The Daily News led efforts earlier this year to pass the oft-defeated legislation, first introduced a decade ago.The church’s IRCP would only apply to victims of church clergy sexual abuse within the boundaries of the archdiocese. Some of the first 170 cases involved date back decades.Under the plan announced by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, victims who accept a settlement from the Archdiocese surrender their right to file a civil suit.
(THEO WARGO/GETTY IMAGES)Critics of Dolan’s response to the sex scandal in the Catholic Church stood outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral to express their skepticism.“One of my questions for Cardinal Dolan is ‘Where have you been?’” said Bob Hoatson, president of the victims’ support group Road to Recovery. “We find the timing of this suspicious.”Hoatson suggested the new program was pre-emptive because of the inevitability of state legislation reforming the statute of limitations aspect of the law.Victims who accept a settlement from the Archdiocese surrender their right to file a civil suit under the program’s rules.Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston attorney who has represented hundreds sex abuse victims, said there was a feeling among some that the settlement deals would allow the church to keep its secrets.“They feel the church just wants to throw money at them and get rid of them,” said Garabedian. “It is time for Cardinal Dolan and the archdiocese to step to the plate and open the secret files. Show the truth.”The Catholic Church fails abuse victims: Cardinal Dolan still opposes the one bill that would make a real difference
NEW YORK DAILY NEWSSaturday, October 8, 2016, 5:00 AMTimothy Cardinal Dolan says he is on the side of children and an ally of survivors fighting for the passage of the Omnibus Child Victims Act, which would finally fix New York’s shameful failure to let victims of sexual abuse pursue justice in state courts. He says he supports an even stricter bill — one introduced by Sen. Andrew Lanza and Assemblyman Michael Cusick.The cardinal is being economical with the truth.The truth is that the Roman Catholic Church opposes legislation that ensures those who rape and molest our children will be held accountable. The bill the church is championing instead would ensure that New York’s sex offenders stay on our streets, protected by the laws.ADVERTISINGAn honest comparison of the two bills in question reveals that there is not one area where the bill the church supports is tougher than the Omnibus Child Victims Act.Both bills apply to public and private institutions.Both the Child Victims Act and the Lanza-Cusick bill eliminate criminal statutes of limitations for future sexual abuse against children.The Child Victims Act eliminates civil statutes of limitations too, whereas the Lanza-Cusick bill extends them by five to 10 years. The problem here is that research shows it takes the average survivor 21 years to disclose their abuse.Another vital difference: The Child Victims Act establishes a one-year window allowing survivors of past abuse previously denied justice to identify their perpetrators by bringing forward civil claims. The Lanza-Cusick bill has no such window.The lack of such a window protects the priestly perverts that the Roman Catholic Church have moved from parish to parish to escape prosecution or publicity, as seen in the film “Spotlight.”The Lanza-Cusick bill does make members of the clergy mandated reporters of crimes against children, but not if they are acting in their “professional character as spiritual advisor.” In other words, that provision doesn’t apply when they are doing their job!In sum, Dolan seems more intent on protecting the Roman Catholic Church’s secrets than on safeguarding New York’s children. While in his previous job in Wisconsin, he moved nearly $57 million into the church’s cemetery fund to shield it from lawsuits by abuse victims; the courts made him put it back.Here in New York, the Archdiocese spent more than $2 million of church money lobbying for priorities that included defeat of the strongest legislation protecting children from abuse. Then, Dolan was silent when Bill Donohue of the Catholic League accused victims of trying to “rape” the church.Thursday’s announcement that Dolan is setting up a compensation fund to help victims, overseen by the church, adds up to just another distraction. The cardinal sees the writing on the wall; he knows the Child Victims Act may well pass this year.Offering priest-abuse survivors the opportunity of a settlement outside the legal system, and only in return for sacrificing their rights to pursue claims, is a bad bargain.Only the Child Victims Act provides survivors with justice under the law and New York’s children the protection they need.The church’s continued resistance to passing sensible legislation to protect children prevents child abusers from being held truly responsible. The courts are the place to bring predators to justice, not the Roman Catholic Church or any religious authority.Jesus said, “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” The head of the New York Archdiocese should ensure that they don’t. Isn’t that his job?Greenberg is the founder of the Fighting For Children PAC. Willis is CEO of the Stop Abuse Campaign. Blow is COO of the Stop Abuse Campaign.
