DIOCESE/State Watch
Affiliate Highlight from Winona, MN: The Winona
Daily News reported:
“ Marian Hall at St. Mary’s Church was packed for the church’s
first ever Homecoming celebration. The Homecoming was organized by the Winona
Voice of the Faithful as a way to show its support for priests. It also celebrated
the church’s history and the people who have been part of it.” For
the full story, click
here.
Milwaukee, WI: The Pioneer Press reported: “In California, people who
claim they were abused by former Milwaukee-area priest Siegfried Widera can
sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for transferring him there in 1981 knowing
he had a history of abuse.
Widera's accusers in Wisconsin cannot sue, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday,
even though they have documents showing the archdiocese quietly transferred
him from one parish to another after a 1973 conviction on sexual perversion
with a teenager. It was after Widera's transfer to a church in Delavan when
the abuse allegedly took place.” Read
more.
USAToday.com reported: “The Archdiocese of Milwaukee
has agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle sexual abuse claims involving
10 victims in
California and two priests, one transferred there by the archdiocese, church
officials said Friday.” Read
more.
Burlington, VT: The lost have been found, as reported by
WCAX-TV News in Vermont: “More
than 26 years worth of records relating to a Roman Catholic priest accused
in a sex abuse case, which Diocese of Burlington officials had said don't exist,
have turned up. The files, from the years 1971 to 1997, deal with the Rev.
George Paulin, a priest who allegedly molested a Newport altar boy in the 1970s.
The victim is suing the Diocese in one of 23 pending sex-abuse lawsuits.” Read
more.
Bridgeport, CT: While the end of a long, painful ordeal is
coming to a close for the priest who stood up for transparency and truth, the
Bridgeport diocese
has the same problems that enabled a pastor to embezzle a small fortune during
his tenure. Watch the VOTF Bridgeport web site (www.votfbpt.org) for their
statement. The Hartford
Courant reported
on this story
and the Darien Times conducted an interview with Fr. Madden, the “whistle
blower” priest who has now left the parish and the priesthood. For the
Full story, click
here.
California:
Santa Rosa, CA: Bishop Daniel Walsh and other officials in
the Santa Rosa, CA diocese may face criminal charges over their failure to
report admitted
child sexual abuser Fr. Ochoa in a timely manner. Fr. Ochoa fled the state.
Read
more.
Also see the VOTF North Bay, CA letter
to Bishop Walsh.
For excellent coverage, including a case review and suggestions for you to
help, as a “10-minute activist,” click
here.
San Diego, CA: The Press Enterprise reports: “Attorneys
for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego have asked a judge to order those
claiming sexual
abuse by clergy to reveal their identities in public court documents so that
church leaders can adequately defend themselves in the first lawsuits headed
for trial early next year.” Read
more.
Long Island, NY (Rockville Center diocese): VOTF Long Island
has amassed 7000 signatures on a petition for financial accountability and
the establishment
of a representative diocesan finance council in the Rockville Center diocese.
The petition will be presented at a vigil to be held at the chancery offices
of Bishop Murphy on Sept. 12. Click on the
elephant (that’s right!)
for details.
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The VOTF LI affiliate also sent a letter to every priest in the diocese regarding
the management of excess cash reserves in the diocese and the need for the
above-noted council.
Acknowledging our pastors:
VOTF SW Florida: Fr. Thomas J. Glackin of St. John the Evangelist Church in
Naples, FL was the recipient of an award from the University of Notre Dame
Alumni Association. He was named an Honorary Alumnus in a citation that noted
his work with VOTF. Read the excerpted text of the citation in Diocese/State
Watch An excerpt from the citation text follows (with thanks to Peg Clark
of VOTF SW Florida for sharing the news):
His parishioners, now as founding pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Naples,
speak lovingly and publicly of his warmth, his humor, his ecumenism, his
tolerance and love for all humans. Never failing to mention his affection
for Notre Dame
(win or lose) in his homilies, he reaches out through his ministry to welcome
all seekers to the Kingdom of God. Whether commemorating Kristallnacht
with our Jewish brothers and sisters, praying for the victims of sexual abuse
by
priests with Voice of the Faithful, seeking God’s blessing on hurricane
survivors or comforting the loved ones of our deceased, he is what his
parishioners describe: a man with compassion, admired by everyone, a role
model for every
Catholic, every priest, every pastor. May our lady, Notre Dame, bless you
and your work.
Also: A sign outside a Canton, MA church reads: ``No matter
who you are, no matter what you do, no matter where you're from, no matter
where you're going,
no matter how good or how bad things may seem, please know that you are always
welcome at St. Gerard Majella Parish." Read
the story of the priest behind
the message, Fr. Bernard McLaughlin.
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