More Catholic Pride

[Darth Wong]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/04/29/church ... index.html

The Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, the most ardent champion of priestly sex abuse victims among America's Roman Catholic clergy, has been fired by his archbishop and is currently forbidden to lead public Masses.

Doyle said Thursday that Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of the Archdiocese for the Military Services withdrew his endorsement of Doyle as a U.S. Air Force chaplain last September 17. Doyle remains a priest, but cannot celebrate sacraments until his career as an Air Force major ends this summer.

The stated reason was disagreement over providing daily Catholic Masses at military bases with few priests. But victim advocates see payback for Doyle's 18 years of activism and sharp criticism of the hierarchy's handling of molestation scandals.

Asked about this, Doyle said "I certainly would hope not, but I have no way of knowing for sure because I had no opportunity for dialogue."

The archdiocese's chancellor said only O'Brien could discuss the situation and calls to his office were not returned.

This is Doyle's second career disruption. In 1986, the Vatican embassy in Washington ended his employment after Doyle became immersed in the molestation issue and co-authored a then-confidential memo that went to all U.S. bishops, warning that abuse was a problem of epidemic proportions. Doyle had been the staff canon lawyer who processed confidential data on U.S. bishop candidates.

Doyle then joined the Air Force. He also has provided many victims pastoral counsel, legal advice and court testimony in suits against the church.

"O'Brien can deny it all he wants," said Jason Berry, a journalist who has covered Catholic abuse cases for two decades, and whose new book "Vows of Silence" depicts Doyle's career. "There's not a doubt in my mind that this is retribution for the stand (Doyle) has taken."

David Clohessy of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called retribution "the only reasonable conclusion."

"Most Catholics will see this as a very sad step backward," he said, adding the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel, should intervene on Doyle's behalf.

The ouster mainly involved O'Brien's directive that priest chaplains "are expected to celebrate Mass daily," though the archbishop acknowledged this "is not feasible" everywhere.

Doyle was assigned to Germany's Ramstein Air Base, the Air Force's largest overseas facility, and three nearby bases as one of three Catholic priests -- though one is usually deployed elsewhere. Chaplains minister to 15,000 residents and wounded troops, airlifted from the Mideast almost daily.

Colleagues asked Doyle for advice on chaplain staffing under church law, in which he holds a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America.

O'Brien objected to Doyle's August 16 memo on the subject, which said daily Masses are "a strong Catholic custom" and "strongly recommended" by church law, but not mandated.

A laywoman sent the memo to O'Brien, who informed Doyle he was dismissed immediately due to "written contradiction of my expectation" and "your attempt to provide an alternative authority."

That happened just after Doyle went on leave pending reassignment to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, where he now works with the medical group on substance abuse counseling and other assignments.

Caught just short of the possibility of early retirement (he turns 60 on August 3), Doyle arranged temporary chaplain endorsement from another denomination, the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, in what he termed a technicality to retain benefits.

Doyle still is a priest in the Dominican order's Chicago province. His superior, the Very Rev. Michael Mascari, hoped for mediation and asked O'Brien to meet him and Doyle, to no avail.

In 2002, O'Brien was also upset by Doyle's criticism of a "magical notion of the sacraments" in a tough speech to the first meeting of Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay reform group.

Doyle said his Dominican colleagues formally praised his "prophetic work" in "advocating the rights of victims" last June and the worldwide leader, Superior General Carlos Azpiroz, endorsed this. Doyle has received several Air Force commendations and laudatory evaluations from commanders.

You've got to love the attitude of the Catholic Church, eh?

[Stuart Mackey]

Well it does not surprise me..the Catholic Church supported the activities of the Nazis and anti-semitismand lord only knows what else.

[Stofsk]

Well it does not surprise me..the Catholic Church supported the activities of the Nazis and anti-semitism and lord only knows what else.

What an interesting choice of words.

[The Kernel]

You really have to wonder about this. These priests are molesting fucking children and the Catholic Church can say with a straight face that they do NOT want to see them prosecuted. How Catholics can continue to follow such an organization is beyond me.

[Plekhanov]

The Catholic Church is an astonishing institution for decades it protects and enables child molesters but still feels it has the moral authority to put out press releases saying stuff like “homosexual acts go against the natural moral law." Because obviously consensual acts between adults are immoral but covering up after child abusers and firing the guy who tries to stop the abuse is well within “natural moral law”.

[Patrick Degan]

The Catholic Church is an astonishing institution for decades it protects and enables child molesters but still feels it has the moral authority to put out press releases saying stuff like “homosexual acts go against the natural moral law." Because obviously consensual acts between adults are immoral but covering up after child abusers and firing the guy who tries to stop the abuse is well within “natural moral law”.

Remember that in the Church, sex is a sacrament between a man and his wife or a priest and his altar-boy.

[GySgt. Hartman]

It looks like it is not advisable for a priest to be too caompassionate.

[Shroom Man 777]

These are among the reasons why I abhor the Catholic organization and why I've quit being a Catholic. What a crock of hypocrites! Down with them, I say! This is an affront to morality and human decency. I hate them.

[Montcalm]

It looks like it is not advisable for a priest to be too caompassionate.

[sarcastic mode on]Priest are allowed to be compassionate,but the kids must do their part in bending over to recieve the holy pole [sarcastic mode off]

[Plekhanov]

Reuters

Deaf Pupils Accuse Nuns of Abuse at Boston School

By Greg Frost
BOSTON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic nuns subjected students at a Boston-area school for the deaf to sexual, physical and mental abuse -- including rape -- according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

More than two years after a pedophile priest scandal erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston, attorney Mitchell Garabedian filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine former students of the Boston School for the Deaf, which closed in 1994.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, charges that nuns at the school, along with a priest and other unidentified staff members, abused students between 1944 and 1977.

Garabedian said some of the abuse may have been punishment for students who tried to use sign language to communicate.

He said the Boston School for the Deaf neither taught nor tolerated the use of sign language, and instead encouraged pupils to use oral language.

"They were supposed to receive an education. Instead they were sexually molested, physically abused and mentally tormented," Garabedian told a news conference where he was flanked by some two dozen former pupils. He said he represented 22 other students who may also file lawsuits.

"If they were caught using American Sign Language, they would be punished. Some would have their hands tied behind their backs for a couple of hours," he said. "This is ugly."

Some plaintiffs said nuns shoved their heads down toilet bowls. Others accused nuns of washing out their mouths with soap. Some said they were beaten, crammed into tiny lockers or forced to stand in dark closets.

COMPLAINTS IGNORED

Until it closed, the Randolph, Massachusetts, school was staffed by members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, a religious community that traces its roots to 17th-century France.

A spokeswoman for the sisters in Boston referred requests for comment to attorney William Shaevel. Shaevel was not immediately available for comment.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, which was not named in the complaint, said the church could not do anything until it received a copy of the lawsuit.
Several plaintiffs said they tried to complain to other nuns or their parents but in many cases their pleas were ignored or even the cause for further punishment.

James Sullivan said that in 1960, when he was about 12, a nun slapped him across the face and smashed his head into a window, which broke. The nun also forced him to pull his pants down in front of his classmates, hit him with a yardstick, and pulled his hair, he said.

He tried to tell his parents, but they would not listen.

"My parents loved the teachers and the principal. ... They felt that the nuns were right," Sullivan, speaking through a sign language interpreter, told reporters.

"It made me furious, I had a horrible temper," added the former pupil. "I really don't know who I am to this day."

The lawsuit also said Sullivan was repeatedly raped in the dormitory room by older students at the school.

Plaintiff Violet Guertin said another nun digitally raped her when she was between 7 and 8 years old. Guertin said the nun also confined her to dark closets for long periods and forced her head under water in a toilet bowl until she passed out.

Another plaintiff, Paul Larocque, said another nun fondled his genitals when he was about 7.

Well you've got to admit that at least the Catholic is consistent in not practicing what it preaches.

[Admiral Valdemar]

"That's the great thing about Catholicism. It's so vague no one knows
what its all about."