De Hoop Tweede kans voor patienten

Beantwoording Kamervragen over de rol van de IGZ en het OM bij een psychiater die veroordeeld is voor het bezit van kinderporno en nog steeds werkzaam is

Minister Schippers (VWS) beantwoordt vragen van de Kamerleden Bruins Slot en Oskam (CDA) over de rol van de Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (IGZ) en het Openbaar Ministerie (OM) bij een psychiater die veroordeeld is voor het bezit van kinderporno en nog steeds werkzaam is.

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As church files revealed this week, Bishop Thomas J. Curry chose again and again to conceal clerics' crimes and put priests' welfare ahead of helping victims.

Jan 26, 2013

 "I wish to apologize for those instances when I made decisions regarding the treatment and disposition of clergy accused of sexual abuse that in retrospect appear inadequate or mistaken."

 

A mistake the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office is now investigating.

"We have some very serious allegations of obstruction of justice at the very least by individuals, I think the community has trusted throughout for a number of decades," says Santa Barbara City Chief Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer. "And that's a disturbing fact."

And prosecutors face another challenge. Most of the files happened in the 1980's far beyond the statute of limitations.

"If an individual has actively hidden information from law enforcement, there are some ways and situations where that statute of limitations is tolled," says Dozer. "Meaning it does not preclude us from going forward."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonnen to lead the investigation against the church.

 
By Hector Becerra, Ashley Powers and Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times

February 2, 2013

 SANTA BARBARA — When he took office in 1985, Roger M. Mahony set about modernizing the operations of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He brought in computers and put women in top jobs.

He then appointed an Irish-born academic to a brand-new cabinet position: Vicar for Clergy, a human resources director of sorts for priests, brothers and nuns. Msgr. Thomas J. Curry would shape the way the nation's largest archdiocese responded to claims that its priests had molested and raped children.

In his five years in the role, Curry was a staunch defender of the church and its clergymen. And as revealed in secret church records made public this week, he chose again and again to conceal clerics' crimes from police and put priests' welfare ahead of helping victims.

 On Thursday, as his former boss was publicly rebuked, the 70-year-old regional bishop in Santa Barbara stepped down, part of an unprecedented reaction by the Catholic Church to the clergy child abuse scandal. It was a stunning fall for a man who had acted as a right hand for one of the most powerful U.S. Catholic prelates.

Over the years, Curry has issued numerous public apologies in response to the sex abuse scandal. At the same time, he has been outspoken in his criticism of government authorities who, he says, were overzealous in their investigations.
"The targeting of the Church (particularly in California), the overreaching of district attorneys and prosecutors, and the lack of due process and fairness for the Church has been tyrannical," he once wrote on a personal blog.

In another online missive, he criticized a San Diego federal judge who had upheld a California law allowing victims to sue for decades-old abuse: "Americans assume that the days of Henry VIII, when rulers declared themselves authorities in religious matters, are long gone in America. For Catholics, unfortunately, that is far from the reality."
 
In an email to The Times on Saturday, Curry said he wrote the blog posts to make the point that the Catholic Church was being unfairly blamed for a "society-wide issue."
"I do believe that it is a mistake for society to treat this as a 'Catholic Church' problem," he said.

Memos and letters
Not long after his appointment as vicar in 1985, Curry was discussing ways to keep the misdeeds of priests out of the court system, the newly released records show. Curry wrote memos and letters stating that he believed the church was not legally responsible for the harm its priests caused.

In November 1989, Curry wrote to Mahony about where to assign Father Kevin Barmasse, who had been sent to Tucson years earlier after molesting a Lakewood boy. The priest wanted to return to Los Angeles. Curry wrote: "The young boy involved is now about eighteen, so Kevin should certainly not return for another two years by which time the period for filing law suits will have passed."

In a letter that same month, he told Barmasse to stay in Arizona.
"While such suits are not effective against the Archdiocese, in that the Archdiocese was not aware of your behavior and did take action as soon as it became aware of it, they are extremely painful for all parties involved," Curry wrote. "Our experience tells us that your presence in the area ... would greatly increase the possibility of a suit against you."

He also dismissed the notion that the church bore responsibility for the acts of Msgr. Peter Garcia, a priest who targeted the children of undocumented immigrants.

In a 1990 letter, Curry wrote that he viewed a boy molested by Garcia as "the victim of a person who, as a result of his own illness, committed grave wrongs."
"Although the person was a priest, he did not perform these wrongs as a representative of the Church or even with its knowledge," he wrote.

Curry, as Mahony's delegate in handling abuse claims, dealt directly with the problem priests. After he met and corresponded with them, his sympathies often appeared to lie with the clerics.

Of one priest, George Neville Rucker, accused in 1989 by a 31-year-old woman of decades-old abuse, he wrote: "It was of great concern to him that for something that was so casual to him at the time could be so devastating to her … he stays awake at night because of this."
"The trouble it caused him and his transfer was such a trauma for him that he has never been involved in anything since that time," Curry recounted.

Curry also proposed to Mahony that another priest stay away from a therapist who "should have" contacted police but did not. And, he raised the possibility of sending an abusive cleric to a psychiatrist who was also an attorney so their conversations would remain legally confidential.

Curry declined to respond to questions on the files, saying he has "not had the time or opportunity" to review them. He said he felt "profound regret, disappointment, sorrow and sympathy" for parishioners who may have felt betrayed by the revelations.

Curry stressed that his actions related to priest abuse were at the behest of Mahony.
"I acted after consultation and consent of the Archbishop," he wrote in the email sent by his attorney. Curry said if such allegations were to come to his attention today, he would "be sure to ascertain that the matter had been reported to the secular authorities."

Church and state
Curry was ordained as a priest in Ireland in 1967. He earned a degree at University College Dublin in history and political science and soon moved to Southern California, where he worked as a parish priest in Woodland Hills and then as a high school teacher in Downey and Santa Fe Springs. He received his doctorate in American history at Claremont Graduate University.

Curry is a 1st Amendment scholar who has written and lectured extensively about the separation of church and state. He argues that since the 1940s, the government has meddled too much in church affairs.
When the church abuse scandal broke in 2002, more than a decade after his tenure as vicar ended, Curry was the Santa Barbara regional bishop. He repeatedly apologized in local newspapers, saying the church had not been equipped to deal with the problem.

That year, a group of Catholics started a chapter of the national church reform group Voice of the Faithful. Curry met with them. Marie Foley, 74, a former professor at Santa Barbara City College, said that Curry came across as a gentle scholar, an introverted intellectual who charmed people with his Irish brogue. He was far from imperious, she said.
"He expressed remorse at those meetings," Foley said. "I thought it was heartfelt. I got a sense that they were very slow in understanding sexual abuse and understanding pedophilia."

Behind closed doors, however, Curry struck a different tone.
In a 2009 civil deposition about his handling of Michael Baker, one of the archdiocese's most notorious pedophile priests, Curry said that in the 1980s neither he nor Mahony notified parishes where Baker had previously served, nor did they try to locate victims. "I wasn't trained in finding people," he said.

The bishop said he understood child molestation was a crime in 1986, when Baker first told church officials he'd abused boys, but didn't call the police because there was an understanding that Baker's admission — though not a sacramental confession — was a "confidential matter."
"If he had come in and told you he had murdered children, would you have called police?" an attorney asked.
"I don't know what I would have done in that I never dealt with such a thing," Curry replied.

Authorities believe that Baker molested as many as 23 children. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to sexually abusing two boys. Curry said that he was "disappointed" and "grieved" over the priest's transgressions, but he added: "I did not think I made a mistake at the time."
"Do you feel you bear partial responsibility for that by putting him back in ministry?" the attorney asked.
"No," Curry said.
"So your conscience is clear on that?" the attorney asked.
The bishop replied: "Yes."

'Very cordial'
In recent years, Curry had gained the respect of some Santa Barbara parishioners critical of the church's handling of the priest scandal.

Kathleen Strittmatter, 70, and her husband were so taken by the affable bishop that every Christmas they sent him a few bottles of good red wine. He didn't like Merlot, and shied away from Scotch, which gave him headaches, she said. The couple also gave Curry a series of jazz albums.
Strittmatter, who would sometimes run into Curry at the local Trader Joe's, said he often spoke nostalgically of his native Ireland.
"I felt a real connection to the man," she said. "He was very kind and very cordial."
 
When an elderly friend of hers who volunteered at Curry's residence started suffering from dementia, the bishop and Strittmatter worked together to help her.

This week, she and others were dumbfounded by what the reams of church records and correspondences revealed about the bishop's reaction to allegations of child abuse. They said they couldn't help but think about the public apologies he made a decade ago.

The local chapter of Voice of the Faithful called for Curry's resignation. But Strittmatter said she felt she owed Curry her own personal email. After a lot of prayer, Strittmatter told the bishop she hoped he would resign, adding pessimistically: "This will never happen I know."

She concluded the email: "I have spent the last week in devastation and sorrow, as I am sure have you. May God have mercy on us all."

 Becerra reported from Santa Barbara, and Powers and Kim from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Harriet Ryan, Jack Leonard and Alan Zarembo contributed to this report.

Warum die Versorgung einer "Realsatire" gleicht Psychiater Professor Jörg Fegert will sich von einer Kasse verklagen lassen.

Ärzte Zeitung.de  22.10.2012

Jörg Fegert ist Ärztlicher Direktor der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie/Psychotherapie der Universität Ulm.  Fegert ist Mediziner und Soziologe.

Stolperfallen bei der Behandlung von Missbrauchsopfern: Die Anfragen von Kassen nach den Tätern bringen Ärzte in Gewissenskonflikte, kritisiert der Ulmer Psychiater Professor Jörg Fegert. 
Jetzt will er sich von einer Kasse verklagen lassen.

bron foto

 Ärzte Zeitung: Herr Professor Fegert, warum wollen Sie sich von einer Krankenkasse verklagen lassen?
Professor Fegert: Natürlich wünscht man sich als Klinikdirektor eigentlich keine rechtlichen Auseinandersetzungen mit den Kostenträgern.
Wir Kinder- und Jugendpsychiater und Psychotherapeuten, aber auch viele Fachärzte in der Erwachsenenpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik oder auch die psychologischen Psychotherapeuten bemerken aber zunehmend, dass die Kostenträger, wenn Diagnosen wie posttraumatische Belastungsstörung gestellt werden, automatisch an die Ärzte und Therapeuten Anfragen stellen, Hinweise zum möglichen Täter oder Verursacher zu geben.

Ärzte Zeitung: Kann man ihnen das verdenken?

Fegert: Diese Anfragen sind deshalb in der klinischen Praxis äußerst problematisch, weil die Krankenkassen, um den Täter zu finden, sich eigentlich nur auf die Ermittlungstätigkeit der Staatsanwaltschaften stützen können.
Viele Opfer von Gewalttaten, auch bei häuslicher Gewalt, viele Betroffene von sexuellem Missbrauch sind aber zum Zeitpunkt, wo sie sich erstmals in Krankenbehandlung geben, weder willens noch in der Lage, Strafanzeige zu stellen und die Folgen auf sich zu nehmen.
Sie erschreckt die Vorstellung, dass Krankenbehandlung oder Psychotherapie mit diesem Vorgehen der Krankenkassen verbunden werden.

Ärzte Zeitung: Üben die Kassen Druck aus?

Fegert: Wir haben im stationären Bereich sehr schlechte Erfahrungen gemacht. Diese Schreiben werden den Patientinnen direkt ans Krankenbett zugestellt. Das hat schon Panikreaktionen bis hin zu suizidalem Verhalten ausgelöst.

Deshalb bin ich aus meiner ethischen Verantwortung für die Patienten heraus nicht bereit, diese Anfragen zu beantworten, obwohl ich gesetzlich dazu verpflichtet bin. Dies führt oft zu langem Schriftwechsel mit den Kostenträgern.

Nun hat ein Kostenträger den Weg direkt über meine Klinikverwaltung gewählt, um doch noch an diese Information zu gelangen, obwohl ich die Herausgabe ärztlich nicht verantworten kann.

In diesem Fall wünsche ich mir fast, dass die Krankenkasse versucht, mich mit rechtlichen Mitteln zur Herausgabe zu zwingen.

Ärzte Zeitung: Was versprechen Sie sich davon?

Fegert: In diesem Fall könnte man dann klären lassen, ob die grundrechtlichen Garantien für körperliche Unversehrtheit nicht vor die prinzipiell berechtigten Ansprüche zur Refinanzierung fremdverursachter Gesundheitsschäden der Kassen gehen.

Ärzte Zeitung: Schildern Sie doch einmal einen konkreten Fall.

Fegert: Typisch ist, dass ein Mädchen nach einem Suizidversuch mit Symptomen einer schweren Depression aufgenommen wird. Im Laufe der ersten Gespräche stellt sich heraus, dass es durch ein Familienmitglied sexuell missbraucht wird.
Es mag den Mann eigentlich, will aber, dass es aufhört, es will die Beziehung der Mutter nicht gefährden, will geschützt werden, ist völlig verzweifelt. Eine Strafanzeige gegen den Mann kann sich das Mädchen nicht vorstellen.
Sie zeigt immer mehr Symptome einer posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung. Diese Diagnose wird gestellt.

Daraufhin schickt die Krankenkasse ein Schreiben mit ungefähr dem Wortlaut: "Uns liegen Hinweise darauf vor, dass bei der Patientin ein drittverursachter Gesundheitsschaden zu vermuten ist. Sie sind als an der vertragsärztlichen Versorgung teilnehmender Arzt beziehungsweise als Krankenhaus nach Paragraf 108 verpflichtet, die erforderlichen Daten, einschließlich der Angaben über Ursachen und den möglichen Verursacher, der Krankenkasse mitzuteilen. Bitte machen Sie entsprechende Angaben."
In diesen Fällen versuche ich dann höflich zu begründen warum dies für die Patientin eine aus meiner Sicht nicht verantwortbare Belastung darstellen würde. Denn oftmals dauern solche Vorgänge auch administrativ relativ lange, das heißt, das betreffende Mädchen kann schon mehrere Wochen aus der akuten stationären Behandlung entlassen sein.
Erst dann taucht plötzlich die Staatsanwaltschaft in der Familie auf, ohne dass jemand damit rechnet. Wir müssten die Patientin also über die Weitergabe der Daten informieren. Dies führt meist zu einer starken Beunruhigung und Belastung und dem Wunsch, dies bitte, bitte nicht zu tun.
Häufig reagieren Krankenkassen auf meine Schreiben gar nicht, sondern man versucht es direkt bei den Versicherten, oder wie in dem bereits geschilderten Fall bei der Klinikverwaltung.
 
Ärzte Zeitung: Sind Ärzte wirklich verpflichtet, Hinweise auf mögliche Täter zu geben?

Fegert: Nach dem geltenden Recht im Sozialgesetzbuch V ausdrücklich ja. Bei dem jüngsten Hearing des Unabhängigen Beauftragten für Fragen des sexuellen Missbrauchs in Berlin haben viele Fachkollegen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Tätigkeitsbereichen, zum Beispiel der Kinderheilkunde, der Erwachsenenpsychosomatik und niedergelassene Psychotherapeutinnen sich dafür eingesetzt, dass sich dringend etwas ändern muss.
Der Gesetzgeber müsste der an sich sinnvollen Norm, die zum Beispiel dafür sorgt, dass bei einem Schulunfall nicht die Krankenkasse belastet wird, sondern die Schulunfallversicherung bezahlt, einfach einen Zusatz mit einer Ausnahmeregelung hinzufügen, dass diese Verpflichtung bei Verdacht auf sexuellen Missbrauch, Misshandlung, Vernachlässigung und anderen interpersonellen Traumata wie auch häuslicher Gewalt nicht gilt.
Nur dann hätten wir auch die Chance, ähnlich wie allen anderen zivilisierten Ländern dieser Welt, über die medizinischen Daten einen Überblick über das Ausmaß von traumatischen Belastungen in diesem Bereich zu bekommen.

Ärzte Zeitung: Gibt es denn Daten, was dies die Kassen kosten könnte?

Fegert: Nein. Manchmal wirkt die widersprüchliche Situation in Deutschland an diesem Punkt wie eine Realsatire der Bürokratie. Im derzeit geplanten Abrechnungssystem sollen die Ärzte unterschiedliche Formen der Misshandlung und des Missbrauchs mit den üblichen internationalen Codes dokumentieren.
So sehen es die Vorgaben einer dem Gesundheitsministerium nachgeordneten Behörde, des DIMDI, vor. Gleichzeitig gibt es, ebenfalls von einer nachgeordneten Behörde des Ministeriums, dem INEK, eine Kodierrichtlinie, die die Anwendung dieser Codes im Krankenhaus verbietet.
Nun hat sich das Ministerium erfreulicherweise entschlossen, bei der Vorbereitung der OPS-Codes für das nächste Jahr für die Abklärung von Verdachtsfällen der Kindesmisshandlung, der Vernachlässigung und des sexuellen Missbrauchs zum Beispiel in interdisziplinären Teams in Kinderkliniken eine OPS-Ziffer einzuführen.
Aber auch diese dürften wegen der paradoxen Regelungen nicht verwendt werden. Offensichtlich sind hier sich widersprechende, zum Teil gut gemeinte Regelungen deutlich im Widerspruch zu dem, was das SGB V will.

Ärzte Zeitung: Mit welchen Folgen?

Fegert: In der Praxis führt dies dazu, dass die Ärzte, um ihren Patienten nicht zu schaden, eher keine Angaben machen. Deshalb befinden wir uns in Bezug auf schwere Misshandlung und Missbrauch im Blindflug.
Es ist klar, dass diese Patienten in der Behandlung häufig mehr Aufwand verursachen. Deshalb ist es sinnvoll, solche Faktoren in der Abrechnung zu berücksichtigen. Dies darf aber für den Patienten nicht die Folge haben, dass er sich einem Strafverfahren aussetzen muss, das er nicht will und das ihm nicht gut tut.

Ärzte Zeitung: Was bleibt zu tun?

Fegert: Hier können eigentlich nur der Gesetzgeber und das Bundesgesundheitsministerium den gordischen Knoten zerschlagen. Ein Zusatz in Paragraf 294 a SGB V muss eingeführt werden, der die angesprochene Ausnahme regelt. Dann könnten die Ärzte die vorgesehene Kodierung zweifelsfrei anwenden.

Die Fragen stellte Anno Fricke

Lesen Sie dazu auch:
Missbrauch: Ärzte im Blindflug

 

Redress

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Bijlage: brief compensatiecommissie

Geachte heer XXXXX,

Ik heb onderstaande mailwisseling gelezen; we hebben elkaar recentelijk al gesproken over uw afschuwelijke verleden. Zoals de compensatiecommissie u schriftelijk heeft laten weten bent u definitief ingedeeld in categorie 5, hetgeen wil zeggen dat de compensatiecommissie in uw geval van mening is dat er sprake is geweest van zeer ernstig seksueel misbruik. Dat laat onverlet dat u de compensatiecommissie op grond van de regeling wel in staat moet stellen om de hoogte van het compensatiebedrag te kunnen bepalen:

De regeling zegt hierover:
Categorie 5
Artikel 19:
In alle gevallen van indeling in categorie 5 krijgt de aanvrager gelegenheid om de omvang van de door hem gestelde vermogensschade en het causaal verband met het seksueel misbruik zoals
dat blijkt uit het bewijs toe te lichten. Deze toelichting geschiedt in beginsel schriftelijk. De betrokken R.-K. instelling wordt gelegenheid gegeven tot verweer.

Artikel 20:
In alle gevallen van indeling in categorie 5 kan de Compensatiecommissie verlangen dat de aanvrager zich onderwerpt aan medische of psychologische expertise door deskundigen als door de
Compensatiecommissie aangewezen. De kosten van deze expertise worden voorgeschoten door de Compensatiecommissie en komen ten laste van de betrokken R.-K. instelling.

Artikel 21:
In geval de Compensatiecommissie binnen een categorie 5 procedure een verschijning van partijen verlangt ter zitting, bepaalt de Compensatiecommissie voor die zitting locatie, datum en
tijdstip. De datum en het tijdstip worden zoveel mogelijk vastgesteld na overleg met de aanvrager en betrokken R.-K. instelling. Een zitting kan worden bijgewoond door een externe deskundige aangesteld door de Compensatiecommissie. Orde en verloop van de zitting worden door de Compensatiecommissie bepaald.

Artikel 22:
In alle gevallen van een definitieve indeling in categorie 5 komen de redelijke kosten van rechtsbijstand van de aanvrager gemaakt in de procedure ten overstaan van de
Compensatiecommissie voor vergoeding door de betrokken R.-K. instelling in aanmerking, tot een maximum gelijk aan 15% van de toe te wijzen compensatie.

Met het indienen van de aanvraag heeft u verklaard met de inhoud van de compensatieregeling akkoord te gaan. Hoewel ik mij uw aarzeling goed begrijp om aan het verzoek van de compensatiecommissie in deze te voldoen, raad ik u toch in uw eigen belang aan om samen met uw juridisch adviseur de gevraagde onderbouwing zo compleet mogelijk aan te leveren.

Met vriendelijke groeten,  "
 

Catholic victims claim new betrayal

The Age
Cameron Houston
19-2-2012

A SUPPORT group set up by the Catholic Church to counsel victims of clerical sexual abuse is being investigated over allegations of mistreatment and breaches of patient confidentiality.

At least seven victims of sexual assaults by Catholic priests are believed to have lodged formal complaints against staff of the group, Carelink, with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Carelink was established by the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne as part of its Melbourne Response in 1996, which was the church's internal structure to deal with hundreds of sexual assault cases across Victoria.

A letter seen by The Sunday Age confirms that Carelink is the subject of an investigation by the Psychology Board of Australia on behalf of the regulator.

Some victims have claimed Carelink counsellors failed to deliver the psychological and pastoral support they required, which in some cases had exacerbated their suffering. The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne ''categorically rejects'' the allegations.

Jim Boyle, 71, has filed a complaint on behalf of himself and his deceased brother Gavan Boyle, who was raped at a Shoreham camp by Monsignor Penn Jones, a former chaplain of the Archdiocese of Melbourne who died in 1995. Gavan Boyle died in 2005 from a combination of alcohol abuse, starvation and undiagnosed cancer, while Jim Boyle has battled poor health and the mental anguish of witnessing his brother's struggle.

Mr Boyle says Carelink staff had blamed Gavan for his inability to cope with the psychological trauma caused by sexual abuse. He says Carelink also failed to offer him appropriate support after his brother's death. In his complaint, Mr Boyle claims he was discriminated against when he began to investigate the treatment of his brother.

He also alleges that Carelink breached professional confidentiality when it referred private information to the archdiocese's lawyer. Mr Boyle says he has never threatened legal action against Carelink or the church.

Another victim, who asked not to be named, has also filed a complaint with the regulator, after suffering chronic depression for decades. The 66-year-old woman says she was raped by a Jesuit brother in 1978 while undergoing treatment for anorexia at a Melbourne hospital. She claims Carelink had ignored her since June last year, when she severed ties with a psychologist who was appointed and paid for by the support agency.

''I wish I'd never gone to them [Carelink]. I feel like I've been betrayed by the church again,'' the woman said.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Melbourne rejected the specific allegations made by Mr Boyle and the unnamed victim. The spokesman said similar claims by Mr Boyle had been investigated and dismissed by the former Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria. Mr Boyle does not deny this.

''The services provided by Carelink are of the highest professional standard,'' the archdiocese spokesman said. ''The majority of victims are satisfied with the assistance they receive, whilst it is acknowledged that no amount of support can ever wholly undo the wrongs perpetrated upon them. It is inevitable that a small number of victims will be dissatisfied with and be critical of the archdiocese's attempts to help them.

''On various occasions in the past, allegations have been made against the Melbourne Response and Carelink in particular which have been examined by various external bodies and rejected.''

The spokesman said the church's lawyers only became involved when Carelink had to respond to legal threats or demands by clients or their lawyers.

Helen Last, director of victim advocacy group In Good Faith, said some victims were reluctant to seek help through Carelink but had to because they could not afford private psychologists.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency said it could not comment on any ongoing investigations.

'66

Article 17

1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 18

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI)
of 16 December 1966

entry into force 23 March 1976 (Article 49)

Netherlands Sign 25 Jun 1969 - Rat. 11 Dec 1978

United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993

Listen to those sinned against

25 June 2011

An underlying theme of the shameful story of clerical sex abuse in the Catholic Church has been the neglect of the victims. At last this is changing, and next year’s intense study of the whole issue being organised at the Gregorian University in Rome will mark a watershed in the way this aspect is treated.

The proposed symposium has the support of the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada, and will bring together experts and those with pastoral experience in the field. So far there are no plans to include victims themselves, which would be a loss. It is not simply that they need to be heard as part of a possible healing process. The marginalisation of victims represented a mindset whose origins lay in traditions of Catholic spirituality that emphasised the avoidance of sin and the recovery of sinners through penance and repentance. That mindset implied that the real tragedy of an act of sexual abuse by a priest lay in the defilement of the priestly office by the commission of an act of unchastity, rather than a grave and possibly permanent psychological injury inflicted upon an innocent and defenceless child.

Those with that mindset, blinded by the lesser evil, could not see the greater. It meant the Church, in response to acts of abuse that came to official notice, gave priority to the treatment of the transgressor and forgot about the one transgressed. This was the very essence of the clericalist deformity of ways of thinking and acting in the Church that prepared the way for all the scandals of cover-up, denial and deception.

By no means everyone in the Church has learned this lesson. The Rosminian order has failed to respond adequately to reve­lations of sexual abuse at one of its institutions in Africa. One priest involved was one of the best-known Catholic priests in London, the late Fr Kit Cunningham of St Etheldreda’s, Ely Place. Before he died, he even returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace because he felt it had been awarded under false pretences. Those whom he had served and who had loved him in London have found it hard to believe he was capable of such crimes: perhaps the knowledge of his own depravity could have added to his sensitivity as a pastor; it almost certainly lay behind his heavy drinking. It was only the surfacing of some of his victims years later, however, that exposed his true history to public view. The Cunningham case confirms what a unique and essential service to the Church victims proffer, yet it is one that the Church has barely recognised.

One key speaker at the Gregorian event will be Baroness (Sheila) Hollins, the former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists who took part in the pontifical visitation of the Irish Catholic Church. She has played a central role in placing victims at the centre of the Church’s concern. She has said that in her professional experience, men who become child abusers were invariably abused themselves when they were children. This raises the question, urgently calling for further research, into how many priest abusers were themselves abused in childhood (but not necessarily by priests). If this import­ant link in the chain of causality has been missed, that is one more damaging consequence of marginalising the victims.

US cardinal told apostolic visit off to 'a very poor start'

PATSY McGARRY
Irish Times
November 15, 2010

CARDINAL SEÁN O’Malley of Boston, who is apostolic visitor to the Dublin archdiocese, was told by a clerical abuse victim last night that his concelebration of Mass in Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral yesterday with two bishops named in the Murphy report was “a very poor start” to his visitation.

Among the concelebrants with him and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin were Bishop Dermot O’Mahony and Bishop Éamonn Walsh.

Dublin abuse victim Marie Collins, who met the cardinal for about an hour last night, said the participation of the two bishops sent out “a very, very bad message”.
This was particularly so as “Bishop O’Mahony has never shown any regret, nor has he accepted the Murphy report findings”, she said.
Cardinal O’Malley met Ms Collins and other Dublin abuse victims at separate meetings in All Hallows College last night. He “appeared sincere and very open”, she said, but “there’s no way of knowing. I’ve been in that situation many times before.”

Cardinal O’Malley became archbishop of Boston in 2003 after his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, resigned following controversy over his handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations there.
He has been sent by the pope as apostolic visitor to Dublin “to verify the effectiveness of the present processes used in responding to cases of abuse”, as he put it yesterday.
The Murphy report found that Bishop O’Mahony’s handling of allegations or suspicions of clerical child sexual abuse was “particularly bad”. Auxiliary bishop of Dublin from 1975 to 1996, it found that he was aware of 13 priests against whom there were allegations or suspicions by 1995.
Last December, one month following publication of the report, Bishop Walsh offered his resignation. That has since been refused by the pope.

Yesterday’s Mass, marking the feast of St Laurence O’Toole, patron of the archdiocese, was attended by members of the archdiocese’s metropolitan chapter, which includes senior clergy in the archdiocese.



Bishop O’Mahony is dean of the chapter and Bishop Walsh is its precentor.
Following publication of the Murphy report, Archbishop Martin asked Bishop O’Mahony to refrain from publicly administering confirmation and to cease his association with a charity which brings disabled children to Lourdes.


on sex crimes and the Vatican

De onderschatting van de menselijke geest door een slimme rechtspycholoog

’Methode-Deetman nodigt uit misbruik aan te dikken’

Geplaatst door onze redactie op dinsdag 5 oktober 2010 om 14:45u (Bron: Trouw)

UTRECHT (RKnieuws.net) - Zijn de slachtoffers die zich bij de commissie-Deetman melden echt misbruikt? Op die vraag zal de commissie niet snel antwoord vinden, zegt Hans Crombag, emeritus hoogleraar rechtpsychologie. Haar onderzoeksmethode bevat een ’ernstige fout’.
De commissie-Deetman onderzoekt sinds maart kindermisbruik in de katholieke kerk. Ze wil ’inzicht verkrijgen in de feiten en omstandigheden’ van seksueel misbruik door priesters en paters. Daarnaast inventariseert ze onder meer welke hulp de slachtoffers nodig hebben.

Naar de rest van het artikel in Trouw



Oh uh enne uh, mijnheer Crombach, mag ik gewoon verdomd knap werk herkennen als ik er met mijn neus bovenop zat?

Die zaak in Belgie stinkt!!! 2. Stap voor stap: de bedrijfsongevalletjes van Ad van Luyn

Waarschuwing aan wie dit leest.

Let op. ik ben geen jurist. Ik heb nauwelijks juridische kennis!
En van schadeclaims en de hele ontwikkelingen daar rondom heb ik absoluut geen flauw idee. (En tot een uur geleden om een aantal redenen ( gelukkig) niet willen hebben ook ).
Ik ben geen Belg.
Dat betekent dat ik onwaarschijnlijk grote flauwe kul uit kan slaan!
Houd daar dus rekening mee.
Ik ben iets aan het uitzoeken, en neem daartoe op dit - mijn - blog die vrijheid, zelfs op wat uiteindelijk best onwaarschjnlijk grote flauwe kul kan blijken te zijn: ik heb geen idee waar ik op uit kom. Dit is niet meer dan hardop denken en kijken en je mag mee kijken. Maar het is bovenal bepaald geen info en vraagstellingen waar je vrolijk van wordt!
Nog meer als wanneer dan ook: over dit onderwerp - met deze kop - geloof dus niet zo maar alles, gebruik je eigen hersens. En leen ze even uit wanneer je dat kunt.


- Wanneer je de kranten van 1997/ 1998 bekijkt lijken dat belangrijke jaren te zijn geweest in ontwikkelingen rond schadevergoedingen aan slachtoffers.
Niet alleen in Nederland, ook in Belgie. Zelfs wereldwijd, met nogal grote verschillen.

En ik ben buitengewoon benieuwd wat dat (heeft) betekend voor vroegere slachtoffers van kerkelijk (seksueel) misbruik. Ik wil, op zijn jan boerefluitjes, dus zonder allerlei juridische vakliteratuur, weten of en hoe dat mee heeft gespeeld of speelt in de huidige situatie rond het misbruik.

Uitgerekend in die situatie lijkt - in ieder geval- Danneels een belangrijke rol te hebben gespeeld. Hij zou de eerste in Europa zijn geweest die hiervoor financieel aansprakelijk wordt gesteld.

Een priester verkracht minstens 8 kinderen, in de berechting lijkt Danneels een belangrijke rol te hebben gespeeld, wanneer de man uiteindelijk veroordeelt is, wordt er een schadeclaim ingediend tbv. een van de slachtoffers.
Die wordt, voor de eerste maal (in Belgie?) toegekend, 25.000 gulden.

Daneels gaat hiertegen (dus) in beroep.
Nog afgezien van weet ik wat voor overwegingen: als hij de eerste was, kan hij naturlijk ook moeilijk anders.
Dan gaat het niet om het slachtoffer maar om de ontwikkeling van recht.
Heel beroerd voor het betroffen slachtoffer en zijn familie, Danneels zal bij zo'n zaak niet bepaald een stagaire van een of ander andvocatenkantoor hebben gehad.

Niet onwaarschijnlijk ook heel beroerd voor overige slachtoffers van die verkrachter.

Maar bovendien stond België stond op zijn kop door de Dutroux ellende.
Tot op de dag van heden is het mij nog steeds een raadsel wie wie waarvan beschuldigde en wat daar nu wel en niet van deugde, het moet een verschrikking zijn geweest. Ik heb genoeg aan mijn kennis over mijn eigen noodzakelijke beschermende reacties na het midden in de nacht vinden van affiches.

Danneels gaat - natuurlijk - in beroep.
Het Hof spreekt uit dat Danneels geen werkgever - werknemer relatie met de veroordeelde priester-verkrachter heeft: geen schadevergoeding.

Hele zieke kerels konden hun poten niet thuis houden en kinderen mochten geen kinderen meer zijn.

En er moest Recht ontwikkelt worden.
In Europa.

Toen Tomas Doyle in '85 zijn rapport moest bespreken konden bisschoppen kennelijk niet snappen wat hij voorspelde.
Hij zelf waarschijnlijk ook niet.
Thomas Doyle had geen wollig christelijk verhaal.
Hij had een juridisch verhaal. En een financieel verhaal. Een keihard verhaal.
Het verhaal van een bestuurder.

Doyle schatte, verbazingwekkend goed, de financiële gevolgen van het kerk hierarchisch beleid in, 1985.

Maar hoe groot schatte bestuurders in dat het financieel voordeel zou zijn van verjaringstermijnen en het kerkelijk ontmoedigingsbeleid eind jaren 90 in Europa van die bedrijfsongevalletjes zoals van Luyn 2004 een slachtoffer benoemde?

Maar er is meer!

Want voordat er over schadevergoedingen Recht ontwikkeld kan worden moeten er misdrijven zijn gepleegd en een veroordeling zijn.
Zoals vóór dat je géén werkgever geacht wordt te zijn, was er wel die verkrachter-priester-géén-werknemer.
En Godfried kardinaal Danneels.

En vooral: zijn er slachtoffers. Kinderen.
Die géén beschermenswaardige Mensen mochten zijn van Danneels.

Voor rechtsontwikkeling over schadevergoedingen was er machtsmisbruik.
En volgens berichtgeving, kennelijk een doofpotlijn.

Verjaring seksueel misbruik van kinderen afgeschaft (?) Redress window

NRC
Gepubliceerd: 27 maart 2010 22:03

Rotterdam, 27 maart. De verjaring van seksueel misbruik van kinderen wordt afgeschaft. Dit heeft minister van justitie Hirsch Ballin gezegd. Aanleiding zijn de recente onthullingen over misbruik van jongens door katholieke geestelijken.

Sinds de eerste berichten daarover, in NRC Handelsblad, hebben zich meer dan duizend gewezen slachtoffers gemeld. Voor het overgrote deel van deze gevallen geldt dat het misdrijf verjaard is.
Khadija Arib, Tweedekamerlid van de PvdA, vroeg op 2 maart of de minister bereid was de verjaringstermijn aan te passen. Een meerderheid in de Kamer was voor.

De minister beantwoordde deze vraag vanavond in RTL Nieuws bevestigend: “Ik vind het belangrijk dat de bescherming van het strafrecht ook bestaat als mensen zich heel veel later kunnen uitspreken, durven uitspreken en daarom zal er geen verjaring meer zijn van dit soort ernstige misdrijven.”

De ervaring leert dat minderjarige slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik er decennialang over zwijgen, uit schaamte of uit angst. Daarom was de verjaringstermijn, van twintig jaar, al verplaatst, naar het moment waarop het slachtoffer achttien jaar wordt.

Het afschaffen van de verjaringstermijn heeft alleen effect op nieuwe gevallen van misbruik.

Voor de oude gevallen van seksueel misbruik van kinderen blijft de verjaringstermijn van twintig jaar na het achttiende levensjaar van het slachtoffer van kracht.

nl geen stijl Ontucht in de kerk - 21 juni 2009

ZEMBLA: ‘Ontucht in de kerk’, op zondag 21 juni 2009 om 21.45 uur bij de VARA/NPS op Nederland 2

Een priester uit Rijpwetering verkrachtte meermalen een minderjarig meisje en wordt veroordeeld, maar mag zich nog steeds priester noemen. Een dominee uit Eindhoven heeft seks met een psychiatrische patiënt en wordt overgeplaatst, maar niet ontslagen.


Twee voorbeelden van seksueel misbruik waarbij ambtsdragers uit de kerk betrokken zijn. In Nederland worden per jaar bij de kerken ruim veertig meldingen gedaan door slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik. In verschillende landen moet de kerk overgaan tot het betalen van grote bedragen aan slachtoffers, in Nederland probeert de kerk zoveel mogelijk te zwijgen.

ZEMBLA: ‘Ontucht in de kerk’, op zondag 21 juni 2009 om 21.45 uur bij de VARA/NPS op Nederland 2.

Vooral kwetsbare gelovigen zijn het slachtoffer.
Annet was zo’n kwetsbare vrouw die haar predikant om hulp vroeg. Het begon met troosten, met praten en liep uiteindelijk uit op seksuele handelingen. Annet: “Als ik vroeg waarom hij dat deed, zei hij omdat hij me wilde leren dat aanraking en seksualiteit ook fijn kon zijn. Aan het eind van zo’n gesprek, zei ik altijd dat hij niet weer hoefde te komen, maar als hij dan wegging, dacht ik: "Dan heb ik ook niemand meer om mee te praten".


Tweede kans

Volgens de Nederlandse kerken is alles goed geregeld. Maar slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik durven nauwelijks over hun ervaringen te praten en voor de kerkelijke daders worden vaak de begrippen vergeving en tweede kans uit de kast gehaald.




Slachtoffer Hans: “Christenen hebben een wasautomaat en daar gooien ze al hun zonden in en het wasprogramma heet vergeving. Dan komt alles er weer wit uit.”


Moeilijk te geloven



Als de dominee of priesters seksuele grenzen overschrijden, kunnen andere kerkgangers dat maar moeilijk geloven.
In 2002 wordt tegen een dominee uit Eindhoven een klacht ingediend. De dominee maakt misbruik van een psychiatrische patiënt die hulp bij hem zocht. Tot ongeloof van het slachtoffer en haar omgeving wordt de dominee niet ontslagen maar overgeplaatst. De kerkgemeenschap kiest de kant van de dominee en het slachtoffer en haar familie worden uitgesloten van de kerkgemeenschap.


De affaire Rolduc begin jaren ’90 brengt voor het eerst aan het licht dat ook in de Nederlandse katholieke kerk misstanden plaatsvinden. Een priesterstudent wordt onder druk gezet door een invloedrijke conrector om een seksuele relatie aan te gaan. Na jaren klapt de priesterstudent uit de school omdat hij de situatie niet meer aankan. De conrector wordt met ziekteverlof gestuurd. ZEMBLA ontdekte dat hij al jaren als priester in Duitsland werkt. Na deze affaire, komen slechts enkele zaken aan het licht. De meeste zaken worden intern afgehandeld mede dankzij de klachteninstellingen die de kerken sinds halverwege jaren ’90 hebben opgericht. Kerk beschermen tegen aansprakelijkheid

De katholieke kerk scherpte in 2007 de regels aan voor haar klachteninstelling, Hulp en Recht. Dit was aanleiding voor de voltallige onafhankelijke commissie die de klachten van katholieke slachtoffers behandelden, om op te stappen, hetgeen door de katholieke kerk werd stilgehouden.

Voormalig voorzitter Y. van Kuijck in ZEMBLA: “De commissie kreeg de indruk dat het veel belangrijker werd om ook de kerk te beschermen tegen allerlei aansprakelijkheidsrisico’s. Daardoor stond de positie van het slachtoffer niet meer centraal en dat was toch het uitgangspunt.”

Volgens P. Nissen, hoogleraar cultuurgeschiedenis van het christendom van de universiteit Tilburg, worden zelden tot nooit priesters uit het ambt gezet. Strenge straffen zijn uitzondering. Nissen: “Ik ken meer voorbeelden van priesters die geschorst zijn en na een tijdje in kerkelijke functies en zelfs weer pastoraal werk kunnen doen, zelfs met jongeren”.

Het IKON Pastoraat is maandagmorgen 22 juni vanaf 9.00 uur beschikbaar in verband met de opvang van reacties naar aanleiding van deze uitzending.
tel: 035 - 621 55 55
email: pastoraat@ikon.nladres: postbus 10009, 1201 DA Hilversum

Samenstelling en regie: Hetty Nietsch
Research: Marieke van Santen
Eindredactie: Kees Driehuis

En als die RKK Nederand zoveel (verzekerings) geld wenst uit te sparen?
Dan kunnen ze maar beter dank je wel tegen de Ierse belastingbetalers zeggen en vervolgens eens met die burgervader van Maastricht gaan praten. Maar vooral héél goed naar hem luisteren. Da's het enige geheim van het Ikon én van Diarmuid Martin. Ervan uitgaande dat Mgr. Martin ook celibatair is hoeft het dus zélfs dáár niet aan te liggen, slechts aan de mogelijkheid tot luisteren.
Politiek hoeft niet ten koste van mensenlevens te gaan.

Oregon Province of Society of Jesus files for bankruptcy

Joshua Lynch
Issue: 2/19/09 Section: News

TUES., FEB. 17, 9:20 P.M.--The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in Portland Federal Bankruptcy Court.

The province--which includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon--filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in response to a lawsuit in which 63 Native Alaskan victims have alleged they were sexually abused by Jesuits and that leaders of the province covered up the abuse.

More victims will join the lawsuit in the coming weeks, according to the plaintiff's lawyers.Fr. Patrick Lee, S.J., current provincial of the Oregon Province, did not respond to requests by The Spectator for comment but told the Fairbanks Newsminer, "Our decision to file Chapter 11 was not an easy one, but with approximately 200 additional claims pending or threatened, it is the only way we believe that all claimants can be offered a fair financial settlement within the limited resources of the Province."

Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., was named as a defendant Jan. 14. in that lawsuit for allegedly covering up sexual abuse of minors when he was provincial of the Oregon Province from 1990 to 1996.

Sundborg did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment regarding the bankruptcy late Tuesday night.
Sundborg denies all of the allegations that have been made against him.

According to bankruptcy documents, the Society of Jesus has $4.8 million in assets and $61.7 in liabilities. The province paid $50 million in settlements in November 2007 in response to a previous sexual abuse lawsuit.

Patrick Wall, a representative of the victims, said the bankruptcy is an acknowledgement of the sexual abuse and its cover up.

"We believe that this is an affirmation that the Society of Jesus knowingly and purposefully dumped priest perpetrators in Alaska," Wall said.
"The data is overwhelming. Twenty-eight priests from 11 provinces in five countries resulted in over 300 Native Alaskan kids being sexually abused from 1948 to 2001."

U.S. Court Allows Abuse Case vs. Vatican

Nog maar in 1985, bij het -toen nog waarschuwende - Doyle-Mouton rapport voor de Amerikaanse bisschoppen liet een van die bischoppen (Was het niet Bernard Law, kardinaal himself?) lachend weten hoe ondenkbaar een rechtszaak aangespannen tegen de RK Kerk zou zijn.

Inmiddels zijn we 23 jaar, ongelooflijk veel slachtofferontwikkelingen, kennis, onderzoek, rechtspraak kerkhierarchische excuses en minstens 1, 5 billioen dollars alleen al in de VS, plus alle internationale ontwikkelingen die daarvan mede het gevolg zijn, verder.

En stukken die boven water kwamen.

Gaat het verdwijnen van Bush cs, daarmee de eerdere interventie van Buitenlandse Zaken tégen het gebruik van de Foreign Souvereign Immunities Act nog een fascinerend gevolg hebben?

Australie Catholica schreef van de week, in de stukken over het bijeen te roepen Amerikaans Katholiek Concilie 2011 over die onstuitbare kracht van leken in de RKK

En op welke termijn dat historisch onwaarschijnlijke proces dan ook zal gebeuren:
wat een eind aan zo'n 1000 jaar investituurstrijd: de veiligheid van kinderen!

Wall Street Journal By Suzanne Sataline
25 november 2008

A federal appeals court has permitted a lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse to proceed against the Vatican, creating potential liability for the seat of the Roman Catholic faith for the activities of Catholic clergy in the U.S.

Monday's ruling, issued by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, marks the first time a court at so high a level has recognized that the Vatican could be liable for the negligence in sexual-abuse cases brought in the U.S.

The ruling is seen as a breakthrough by those allegedly abused by priests. Investigators and grand juries have found several instances where the church failed to report alleged abusers and covered up alleged misdeeds to protect them.

Jeffrey S. Lena, the attorney for the Holy See, said he was not "presently inclined" to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.

It remains to be seen whether the Vatican, which is a sovereign state recognized by the U.S. government, will make further arguments that it is immune from U.S. civil proceeding.

Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have paid out at least $1.5 billion to alleged abuse victims, most of this since the scandal broke open nationwide in 2002.

The appeals court found that the church government may be held liable for actions taken in the U.S. based on the Vatican's policies or directives.

"What the court has allowed us to do is proceed against the Vatican for the conduct of the U.S. bishops because of the bishops' failure to ... report child abuse," said William F. McMurry, the attorney for three men who claim they were abused as children by priests in the Louisville, Ky., archdiocese. He is seeking class-action status in the district-court case.

The ruling marks the first time that a federal appeals court recognized that the Vatican could be liable under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a 1976 law that governs when a foreign nation or its agents can be sued, said Marci Hamilton, a constitutional-law scholar who is part of the legal team in the Louisville case.

"If someone can crack that barrier of immunity, it opens the door to other claims against the Catholic church," says Jonathan Levy, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents concentration-camp survivors in a suit against numerous parties including the Vatican bank. The Vatican, in that case, prevailed in its claim of sovereign immunity.

Mr. Lena, the lawyer for the Holy See in the Louisville case, said Monday's ruling is a small step and one that is far from establishing whether Vatican policy contributed to thousands of incidents of abuse that have been alleged over several decades. "We're miles away from liability," he said. The ruling is "very incremental."

One of the central pieces of evidence in the case is a 1962 memo, issued by the Vatican and disclosed by reporters in 2003, which directs Catholic bishops to keep silent about claims of sex abuse. The document was approved by Pope John the 23rd.

Monday's ruling will allow the plaintiffs' case to proceed in U.S. District Court in Louisville. Among the legal questions yet to be decided in the case is whether U.S. bishops are employees of the Vatican, and whether they acted on the Holy See's orders.

—Nathan Koppel contributed to this article.
Write to Suzanne Sataline at suzanne.sataline@wsj.com

SNAP Press Statement
For immediate release:
Monday, November 24, 2008

Sex abuse case vs. Vatican can proceed, judge rules; victims respond

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell)

We're thrilled by this ruling. We're one step closer toward protecting more kids, exposing more predators, and detering future recklessness, and holding top Catholic officials accountable for the rape of hundreds of thousands of kids. Employers everywhere - religious and secular - must learn that endangering children and enabling predators is wrong and will be punished.

The legal process drags on slowly and church bureaucrats fight justice vigorously, so we caution victims and Catholics against prematurely getting their hopes up. But this is a very encouraging sign and very long overdue step in the long march toward justice, prevention and healing.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20081124/UPDATES01/81124023

Appeals court lets Vatican sex abuse case proceed
November 24, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled that part a class-action sex abuse lawsuit against the Vatican can proceed.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said on Monday that three men may pursue their claim that top church officials should have warned the public or local authorities of known or suspected sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville.

The ruling upholds a similar decision by U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II of Louisville in May 2007.

The ruling also upholds Heyburn's decision to dismiss claims that the Holy See was negligent in failing to provide safe care to the children entrusted to the clergy.

Ruling limited to actions on U.S. soil

Three Kentucky natives can pursue a lawsuit against the Vatican alleging it covered up sexual abuse by priests -- but only if those decisions were carried out on U.S. soil.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');

That was the ruling of a federal appeals court yesterday that upheld a similar ruling by U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II of Louisville in May 2007.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed with Heyburn that the Vatican -- as a sovereign state recognized by the U.S. government -- is largely protected from lawsuits.

But the court ruled that the Vatican could be sued over claims that bishops and others covered up sexual abuse as part of their role as Roman Catholic Church employees, as long as that cover-up occurred in the United States.

Attorney Jeffrey Lena, representing the Vatican, said he's "gratified by the court's work and that it has in our view significantly narrowed the prospects of the plaintiffs' claims."
He declined to say whether he'd appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The three men are represented by Louisville attorney William McMurry, who sued the Vatican in 2004, a year after he negotiated a then-near-record $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville.
McMurry has said the Vatican itself, and not just local dioceses, needs to account for sexual abuse by clergy.
The three plaintiffs -- Michael Turner, James O'Bryan and Donald Poppe -- have alleged they were abused as boys by priests in the Louisville archdiocese between the 1920s and 1970s.
They are seeking class-action status on behalf of all U.S. abuse victims, contending that the Vatican for generations has orchestrated a policy of covering up sexual abuse by its priests, ordering bishops not to report abusers to police or warn parishioners.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs could not challenge actions abroad taking place in Rome or elsewhere -- including the creation of a 1962 Vatican document calling for strict secrecy in handling priests accused of sexual offenses.
"The actual promulgation of the 1962 policy … occurred abroad," said the appellate court decision.
But the Vatican can be sued over church officials who carried out the policy in the United States, the court said.

The appeals court denied McMurry's bid to sue the Vatican -- the world's tiniest nation -- in its capacity as a private international religious organization, rather than as a sovereign state.

The United States itself filed a supporting brief, arguing that U.S. recognition of the Vatican as a sovereign state needed to be respected and that, if the lawsuit was to proceed at all, it should only do so under one of the exceptions to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
McMurry was also denied in his efforts to sue under some of those exceptions -- such as an exception covering foreign governments involved in commercial activities.

The appeals-court ruling is "careful and seems relatively comprehensive going through all the machinations" of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law who regularly tracks Sixth Circuit cases. "It doesn't really tell you what might happen ultimately on the merits, but it leaves the case alive to proceed."

McMurry did not return phone messages as of early yesterday evening.
Unless either side appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case now returns to the U.S. District Court for Western Kentucky for evidence gathering and other pretrial activities.

A nationwide survey by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that 10,667 people alleged abuse by 4,392 priests between 1950 and 2002.

More than 300 people sued the Archdiocese of Louisville and two local religious orders, alleging abuse by priests and other church workers.

In a related matter, Judge Heyburn last month denied McMurry's motion to take the deposition of Pope Benedict XVI, saying McMurry had not made a strong enough case that such a step was needed.

McMurry contended that the testimony was urgent because the aging pope is the only living witness to the establishment of the 1962 policy.

Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.

Australie: The financial cost of child abuse

18 November 2008

Child abuse and neglect costs Australians ten times more than obesity, a landmark report has found. The report has also found that the number of cases of abuse in our community may be five times higher than the official figures.

The Cost of Child Abuse in Australia, a joint research report by Access Economics, Australian Childhood Foundation and Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia at Monash University, is the first comprehensive report of its kind in Australia. It found that the real cost of child abuse to the Australian community in 2007 was $10.7 billion, and could be as high as $30.1 billion, including the monetary value of the pain and suffering that they experience.

Professor Chris Goddard, Director of Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia at Monash University said this is the first comprehensive, national study of the costs of child abuse and neglect in Australia.

"It clearly demonstrates the importance of accountability and transparency. To spend so much and know so little defies belief. There also needs to be greater investment in research and evaluation," Professor Goddard said.

"Official estimates from Government child protection authorities are unreliable because there is no uniform national data collection system," Professor Goddard said.

The figures account for the costs associated with protecting and caring for child victims of abuse, including the wages for professional workers such as doctors, nurses, police, social workers, judges, probation officers, teachers and foster carers. It also includes responding to crime associated with child abuse and neglect, additional government expenditure on educational assistance for victims, poorer long-term labour market outcomes and an estimate of the total cost of the pain and suffering experienced by child victims of abuse.

While there were 36,000 substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect in Australia in 2007, the report estimates that there approximately 177,000 children abused or neglected and this figure could be even higher. The report also calculated that the cost to the community of the consequences of abuse over the lifetime of children who were abused for the first time in 2007 is approximately $13.7 billion and could be as high as $38.7 billion, including the monetary value of the pain and suffering that they experience.

"The results of this report highlight the urgent need for a national uniform approach to one of Australia's most serious -- and financially crippling -- problems," Professor Goddard said.

The report coincides with a new national campaign, Stop Child Abuse Now, launched by the Australian Childhood Foundation. The campaign directs people to the Australian Childhood Foundation website where they can learn more about how they can prevent child abuse and better protect children.

Documents held in Los Angeles priest abuse cases

Vatican bells in Christmas Day

Nadat L.A. kardinaal Mahony 5 jaar lang alle mogelijke middelen had geprobeerd om tegen te houden dat de documenten, w.o. dus uit persoonlijke files van aangeklaagde misbruikers, openbaar gemaakt zouden kunnen worden, zelfs tegenover het staatsonderzoek, moest hij bakzeil halen voor het hoogste rechtscollege in de VS. Jarenlang kon hij daardoor rechtszaken ophouden. Een paar uur vóór het begin van de reeks van rechtszaken -waar deze onderdeel van uit zouden gaan maken, werd de $660 .000.000 deal gesloten waarmee de rechtszaken van de baan leken.

Maar één probleempje. Hierbij werd voor het merendeel van de betrokken slachtoffers bedongen dat de documenten, wél boven tafel zouden komen!

Daartoe werd een deal gesloten: een voor beide partijen, de slachtoffers én de Kerk, acceptabel persoon zou - de eisen en belangen van beide partijen - recht versus privacy - in aanmerking genomen, deze documenten hierop screenen voordat er iets openbaar kon worden.

En dan nu: bijna een jaar en het grootste bedrag ooit voor zo'n deal verder.......lijkt het alsnog mis te gaan. Laat nu toch die voor beide partijen moeizaam gevonden betrouwbare persoon zich terug willen trekken van dat werk. Hem werd een andere baan geboden.

Door, Jawél, de RK Kerk.

En is er een derde advocatengroep - betaald door die Kerk - in het spel gekomen. Om Mahony's werk nog eens over te doen? In ieder geval om alsnog te voorkomen dat die files openbaar zullen worden gemaakt.

Het belang van de slachtoffers? Het was openheid. Wie binnen die kerkelijke hierarchie was waarvan op de hoogte. Welke verantwoordelijkheden zijn er afgekocht met die $ 660 miljoen? Voor een aantal al jarenlang - naast de kosten voor noodzakelijke hulp en gemaakte kosten - de belangrijkste motivatie om dat walgelijk gevecht door te kunnen (blijven) zetten. Anderen zijn daar in het hele ontwikkelingsproces van jaren en steeds meer kennis, inzicht en ervaringen bij gekomen. Ook uit de openbaar geworden documenten van andere bisdommen is dat belang gebleken.

Maar wat is je belang wanneer je opnieuw door die Kerk verkracht wordt?

Het belang van de Kerk? Nog steeds, of nog meer -gezien de ervaringen óók inmiddels weer een jaar verder: gesloten houden. Dat schijnen ze tenminste (alweer) te denken.

Het belang van directe daders? Valt te bezien en zal verschillen. Er is (verondersteld) misbruik afgekocht waardoor mensen nooit door de rechtbank vrijgesproken of veroordeeld konden worden.

De vraag is wat dit gaat kosten. Niet slechts materieel.

Zouden de verzekeringen niet nog steeds hun belangen hebben bij openheid?

We zijn een jaar én heel veel daarin opgedane kennis verder.

De slachtoffers? Die worden nog steeds genaaid!

Maar of van deze zo gruwelijk maar doorgaande perverse dans van minachting alleen de directe slachtoffers van het vroegere seksuele mibruik slachtoffer zijn? Die voor-beide-partijen-acceptabele-mediator-met-zijn-aangeboden-andere-eervolle-werk? Maar zeker óók: en die directe daders dan?!

Al heeft er een wonderbaarlijke vermenigvuldiging plaats gevonden van die dertig zilverstukken het cynisme van die Kerk hierbij ontneemt haar haar autoriteit!

Vast wel een theologisch mooie toer bij te vinden of desnoods te maken, maar Here God wat stinkt het!

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The departure of a key figure in a record $660 million clergy sexual abuse settlement has endangered part of the deal that some plaintiffs consider more important than the money: the promise by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to allow the release of accused priests' confidential files.

More than a year after the agreement was announced, the sudden recusal of a retired judge unanimously selected to review the priests' files has threatened to undo the fragile deal and could send both sides back to court for months.

At the same time, an attorney who has been paid by the church to defend accused clergy is fighting to keep those records sealed — and plaintiffs accuse the archdiocese of using him as their proxy.
The developments have been gut-wrenching for alleged victims, who believe the church papers will contain evidence of criminal wrongdoing by church leaders. The Los Angeles settlement — by far the nation's largest — was supposed to close the book on the nationwide church abuse crisis that erupted in Boston in 2002.

"Many of us survivors went to litigation to produce the documents," said Esther Miller, one of more than 500 plaintiffs included in last year's agreement. "People want to move on and heal and they still have our feet to the fire. The money did nothing. It just pays for expensive therapy sessions."

The priest personnel files in question contain letters, handwritten notes and reports from doctors and psychologists — and the district attorney has said he will inspect them for evidence of crimes once they are public.

When the Diocese of Orange released tens of thousands of pages of similar files in 2005, they showed that two officials who covered up for molester priests years ago remained in top church positions. Another 800 pages that came out in Wisconsin this year showed the church knew of credible molestation reports against a priest but didn't remove him.

Recent settlements in Davenport, Iowa and Chicago also call for the release of the private documents and a similar legal battle is under way in Portland, Ore.
"The files and these documents implicate the hierarchy, right on down the line," said Jeff Anderson, a plaintiffs' attorney. "That's why we've had a long, titanic struggle for five years. There's long-kept secrets."

Under a settlement announced in July 2007, the Los Angeles archdiocese promised to release the priest personnel files to the court, which would then appoint retired state Supreme Court Justice Edward A. Panelli to review each one. Panelli, whose name was written into the settlement agreement as the mediator, would decide which documents could be released and which couldn't — and none of his rulings could be appealed.
But Panelli suddenly recused himself this summer because he received an unspecified honor from the Roman Catholic church, plaintiff attorney Ray Boucher said. Panelli declined an interview request through his assistant and archdiocese attorney Michael Hennigan said he didn't know why Panelli recused himself.

Now an archdiocese attorney says if both sides can't agree on a replacement, the fight over the files could move back to state court, where both sides could appeal any order over the release of the papers.
Hennigan said he will cooperate with a search for a new justice, but isn't sure both sides can agree on anyone but Panelli.

rest artikel

"....the Church is not just another institution. In Catholic doctrine, the Church is the body of Christ, and as she shares in the holiness of the saints, so too she suffers from the wickedness of the sinners. Jesus Christ suffers not only for His Church, but in His Church, too..."

schreef een jaar geleden een Canadese priester, moedig, over de LA deal. Wist hij veel...

Richard Sipe wél. Die schreef al over Mahony: ik lieg alleen wanneer dat nodig is.
En: hypocrisie is the greatest moral failure!

Roepingen? Als je ook maar een beetje hersens hebt kun je na al die kennis van de afgelopen jaren maar beter héle gróte vraagtekens zetten bij wie er in zó'n kerk nog een persoonlijke file wíl hebben omdat hij priester wenst te worden.

Ferns priest accused of abusing children defrocked by Vatican

.. John Kinsella, formerly of The Ballagh, Co Wexford, becomes the sixth priest in the Ferns diocese to be dismissed by papal decree.

News of the latest Irish priest to be laicised, following a recent canonical hearing in Rome, comes as the Dublin archdiocese braces itself for a damning report on clerical sex abuse in the country's largest diocese.

The report of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation, chaired by Circuit Court Judge Yvonne Murphy, is set to dwarf the Ferns inquiry in the scale of abuse of children and the failure of senior Church officials to prevent it.

The Ferns investigation identified more than 100 allegations of sex abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests.

The report will be published months after the former archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, dropped his controversial High Court action claiming privilege over 5,586 documents submitted to the Dublin inquiry by his successor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

The Ferns diocese has confirmed to the Irish Independent that six of its priests have now been defrocked, and insisted that all allegations of abuse are handled in line with papal directions received in 2001.

The defrocking of . Kinsella brings to an end a fraught history for the diocese, as he never faced criminal charges arising from allegations of abuse.

Six years ago, . Kinsella stepped down from ministry in The Ballagh, Co Wexford.

He was cleared of any wrongdoing by an inquiry set up by former Bishop of Ferns Brendan Comiskey after the allegations emerged some years earlier.

When the claims resurfaced, caretaker Bishop Eamonn Walsh initiated another inquiry.

After a separate garda inquiry, a file went to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but there was no prosecution.

Last year, . Kinsella was at the centre of a civil case taken by three men who claimed they had been abused by him and that the Ferns diocese was liable. It was struck out mid-hearing at the High Court.

One of the men who took part in the civil action last night welcomed reports of . Kinsella's dismissal.

"The terms of the settlement of the litigation preclude me from discussing the case," said Anthony Doyle.

"But if that is the case [that he has been defrocked], then people can draw their own conclusions.





kennelijk niet alleen een kardinaal





Former priest slams diocese
Wednesday June 11 2008

A PRIEST defrocked by the Pope has accused the Diocese of Ferns of a serious miscarriage of justice'.

Fr. John Kinsella, who served as a curate in Enniscorthy in the ealy 1970s and the Ballagh from 1991, says the first he knew of his defrocking was when he read about it in a newspaper.

Despite overhwhelming evidence against the accusers, the Diocesan Authority callously pursued the path of a kangaroo court to judge me in the harshest way possible,' he claims in a letter sent to this newspaper.

The priest, who was formerly accused of child sex abuse offences against boys from the Enniscorthy area, said allegations were invstigated by the Gardai in 1996, were subsequently investigated by the Garda authorities and dismissed by the DPP.

I devoted the best years of my life to ministry in the Diocese of Ferns. I looked to that institution for due process and the truth. Sadly I got neither,' he says in the letter.

A native of Monamolin, he was ordained in 1974 and remained a priest until earlier this month.
Diocesan spokesman Fr. John Carroll said it was not policy to comment on individual allegations of sex abuse involving priests. Six priests have been dismissed over the past few years.