Federal judge says no safety concern in Milwaukee Archdiocese

A federal judge says she has not found evidence that people should be concerned about current employees of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. The judge made comments in court weeks after advocates for sex abuse victims said the Archdiocese faced a personal safety crisis.

“From my independent review, without an agenda, my review shows there is no public safety concern. None whatsoever,” Judge Susan Kelley said.

Earlier this month, lawyers for victims of sexual abuse said there were 100 new sex offenders identified in more than 8,000 accounts of sexual abuse (in their claims). This number was well publicized.

Members of SNAP (The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) called those numbers a “personal safety crisis.” The group wants an investigation into who these people are in case there are current members of the Archdiocese identified in court documents.

In response, the church says they have received calls from concerned parents terrified that sex offenders were still employed by the church.  [exactly what Lassa-Pasch coalition wants]

The church argues all of the cases, including the newly-identified offenders, are from the past. On Tuesday, Archbishop Jerome Listecki released a statement to members of his church saying “Attorneys said there are 75 new priests named in claims who are not listed on the Archdiocesan website. What they neglected to say is that all of the priests are either dead or have been reported to the district attorney.”

 Fox6

WTMJ reporting:

Not only did federal judge Susan Kelley disagree, she called Wednesday's hearing a distraction, by people with an agenda.

Abp. Listeck blasts Lassa-Pasch coalition, sloppy MJS reporting, sets the record straight

My emphasis:

Since my return from Rome last week, I have been catching up on all the things that happened while I was away for the ad limina trip and the consistory where my friend and predecessor Timothy M. Dolan was elevated to the office of Cardinal.

The first thing that confronted me was the media coverage of the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 proceeding and statements made about the number of abuse claims filed and the safety of children in the Church today.
Any instance of sexual abuse of a minor is a disgusting sin and a horrible crime. My heartfelt apology goes out to anyone who has been harmed. When Pope Benedict visited the United States in April 2008, he rightly referred to the sexual abuse of children by priests as “evil” and a “sin,” acknowledging that the crisis was “sometimes very badly handled by Church leaders.”

However, statements reported as facts in the media, go beyond the adversarial rhetoric we have come to expect in this proceeding. On top of that, several state legislators, without having access to factual information regarding any of the claims, compounded the issue by calling for the state attorney general to investigate, unaware that both old and new claims have been turned over to and been reviewed by district attorneys for more than a decade.

The combination of these two actions is, to me, the equivalent of shouting “fire” in a crowded movie theater and it set off a number of anxious inquiries from our people to which I feel compelled to respond. Here are the facts about the archdiocese’s policies and protocols that have been rigorously followed since 2002.

First, of all the claims filed in the archdiocesan bankruptcy only one (1) claim alleges sexual abuse occurring since 2000. That means the vast majority of claims allege incidents of abuse that date back decades, in some cases more than 70 years.[the Lassa-Pasch coalition and MJS support prosecution of dead priests] This means the Safe Environment education and protocols implemented by the archdiocese in the mid-1990s are working. As a point of comparison, there have been more than 40 cases of sexual abuse in our state involving public school personnel since 2000 -- and those are just the cases where a person was convicted in court.

Second, it is true that some new names of diocesan priests did surface in the claims process. In those instances, if the accused is still alive, the claim has been sent to the appropriate district attorney’s office for review. If the district attorney chooses not to pursue the case, the archdiocese follows its policies and conducts an independent investigation. During that time, the priest is restricted from public ministry. In addition, any claim against a religious order priest is sent to the religious order with a copy of the allegation sent to the district attorney. This has been diocesan policy for years and it was at my insistence that we worked with the claimants’ attorneys to ensure we could continue this investigative process in Chapter 11. We encourage anyone making a claim involving a lay person to also follow our lead and report the claim to the district attorney.

Third, and just as important, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has listed the names of diocesan priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor on its website since 2004. When Cardinal Dolan made the decision to list these names, he faced a tremendous amount of criticism since the majority of those listed were never convicted of a crime. No other organization that I am aware of has taken such a drastic step to publicly identify perpetrators within its own organization. Our state legislators should demand public school districts to do the same for teachers and school employees who have been charged with sexual abuse.

Fourth, claimants’ attorneys said there are 75 new priests named in claims who are not listed on the archdiocesan website. What they neglected to say is that all of these priests are either dead or have been reported to the district attorney.

Fifth, claims filed in the Chapter 11 totaled approximately 570 claims. Attorneys representing abuse survivors have attempted to make the pool of claims as large as possible, including at least three tort attorneys who purchased television advertising to solicit clients. In a claims process, anyone can say anything about anybody. Now the system will evaluate those claims.

There is no excuse for what happened within the Church. But there is also no excuse for public officials or media to hold the Church to a different standard than other institutions in society.

As a Church, WE voluntarily hold ourselves to a higher standard. I wish each perpetrator could be punished under criminal law, but as the district attorneys tell us, that is not possible. Instead, the Church has imposed its own rigorous standards and consequences, as proven by the 44 priest-perpetrators listed on the archdiocesan website who either are no longer priests or can no longer serve in any public ministry. We exercise this degree of accountability regardless of the criminal statutes of limitations and it goes beyond what civil authorities can impose.

Since 2004, the archdiocese voluntarily implemented a mediation system that allowed abuse survivors to seek the resolution the criminal courts would not allow, namely, a way to receive assurance their perpetrator was held accountable and that they themselves received pastoral, spiritual, therapeutic and financial considerations. We fought to try and continue this mediation system in the bankruptcy proceeding, but claimants’ attorneys said “no.”

Our Safe Environment initiatives have trained more than 30,000 people who work with children; conducted criminal background checks on staff and volunteers; and provided tools and training for people to recognize suspicious behavior.

These continued attacks on the Church are to be expected. They’ve been happening in different forms for centuries. They have been elevated during this past decade when the Church has admittedly been humbled by the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Reporters, editorial writers and some legislators will use this opportunity to try and weaken the Church’s teaching authority, especially on social issues such as marriage, abortion, workers’ rights, health care and religious freedom. I will not allow that to happen.

In the Chapter 11 proceeding, our goals remain the same. The archdiocese wants to reach resolution with abuse survivors and continue its essential ministries for those who rely upon the Church for assistance.

During this penitential season of Lent, we must humble ourselves in front of our Lord, asking forgiveness for our sins and demonstrating our resolve to ensure nothing like this can ever happen again. As the leader of this Catholic community, I must also call for all involved in this proceeding to act justly and speak truthfully as we continue to reach out and attempt to bring healing through the mandate of Christ to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

In His Name,

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki

Arch Milwaukee

Wow!
 
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Wisconsin Democrats want probe into Milwaukee Archdiocese sex offense

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - Nine Democratic state lawmakers have asked the Justice Department to investigate an attorney's claim that eight-thousand sex offenses were committed by people connected with the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese.

At a court hearing last week, Jeff Anderson said up to 100 previously undisclosed offenders committed the crimes.

If it's true, the legislators said it's nothing short of a "public safety crisis." And they said the hiding of the offenses might have resulted in hundreds of other abuses against children as well.

Justice spokeswoman Dana Brueck says the agency will review the lawmakers' request.

Anderson made the allegation to a judge investigating compensation claims by over 570 victims of sex abuse by priests. Those claims were made as part of the church's Chapter 11 bankrtupcy reorganization.

Peter Isley of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said he would welcome a Justice Department review. The lawmakers seeking it are Senators Julie Lassa, Lena Taylor, Bob Jauch, and Jessica King -- and Representatives Sandy Pasch, Chris Taylor, Kelda Helen Roys, Robert Turner, and Terese Berceau.

WTAQ

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal endorses Lassa-Pasch bill - cites "religious leaders" opposition

Past efforts to pass a child victims bill ran into opposition from religious leaders in Wisconsin and their insurers. Concerns that small churches, in particular, might have to go bankrupt and close their doors because of financial claims from past victims have some merit and deserve consideration.

But Pasch argued that closing doors has not been the experience in other states where such laws have been passed, California and Delaware. The Lassa-Pasch bill is modeled on those laws, and there is no reason to expect a different outcome here.  [Better worded legislation is what will convince me, not, nobody has used the loopholes yet - it will be fine]

And in the case of the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese, that boat has sailed. The archdiocese is already in a bankruptcy proceeding as a result of claims from victims of clergy abuse but has assured parishioners that church doors won't be closed as a result.  [Bankrupting the dioceses of Wisconsin is the goal here??  Why don't they take a look at Milwaukee's pastoral plan.  Parishes are already being consolidated.]

The partisan divide in Madison is deep and bitter, but the Child Victims Act is not a partisan measure. It's a measure aimed at helping past and future victims of abuse. Even though it is being introduced by two Democrats, all legislators should see beyond the divide and support this bill.  [Not discussed, how much money each victim should be awarded(not to mention where that money comes from), or the ongoing work that the Milwaukee Archdiocese is already doing with victims.  Nobody can undo the past, only to help victims with their grief and work to put safeguards in place so that it never happens again.  This bill doesn't put any safeguards in place, and it doesn't put predators behind bars.]

MJS

Nobody's quoting Jeff Anderson anymore which makes me think his motives have become a little too transparent.  His fake rallies do a disservice to victims really.  It makes it look staged - like there aren't really victims out there hurting, and treat Catholic Dioceses like cigarette companies adding arsenic to tobacco.  Do they want to take money away from our orphanage in Peru?  Those eeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!  Excuse me, but bishops don't make money, we do, and then we give it to them to do good works(including healing of victims).  Victims do need funds for healing, but so do orphanages in Peru.

I would totally support this bill if it had something to do with criminal prosecution of abusers.  But it doesn't.  And it doesn't stop it from happening again.  What does it have to do with?  Say it with me:

Those eeeeeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!