NEWS
2003 NEWS STORIES
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 2003
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
NEWS
FEBRUARY 2003
APPLAUSE GREETED Bishop Gerald Barnes at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino on December 8 after he read the California bishops letter challenging a state law that extends the statue of limitations for sex abuse cases, according to the December 8 San Bernardino County Sun. "For the duration of year 2003," said the bishops' letter, "this law allows people to file lawsuits against dioceses and California employers based upon claims that arose many decades ago," said the bishops' letter.
According to the Sun, parishioners at Our Lady of the Rosary welcomed the comments Barnes made after reading the letter. It gave them hope and comfort, they said. "We in no way want to hurt those who have been hurt before," Barnes told congregants. "We will keep you informed. This is an extremely difficult time for me, for all the bishops. It is a deep and painful time for you." The Sun noted that Barnes wove statements about the scandal in his homily, comparing it to Advent. "As Barnes read the letter, some in the church bowed or shook their heads. Others stared straight ahead," noted the Sun. "I've received quite a bit of support from the people," Barnes said after Mass. "They know it's hard, and it's not going to go away. We're going to live through this. We're going to learn from this."
MEA CULPA. Television and newspaper reporters from across the country gathered at the Santa Ana Catholic Worker house on December 18 to report on an unusual event, according to the December 19 Los Angeles Times. Sixteen clerics had come together that day to perform public penances to show their sorrow and repentance for the sexual abuse committed by their brother priests. Their acts of contrition, suggested by molestation victims themselves, included reading stories to children at the shelter, giving up their cars for the day, working as a janitor's assistant at a parish school, wearing clerical attire to a shopping mall, and forgoing alcohol. Bishop Jaime Soto said he would pray the rosary each Friday for the victims of molestation and lead question-and-answer sessions at Orange County Catholic high schools on the sexual-abuse scandal.
The public penance, spearheaded by two Orange diocese priests, Fathers John McAndrew and Bill Barman, "is the beginning of a [national] grass-roots movement by local priests, said Father Joseph Palacios, a Georgetown University professor who had attended the meeting. Another clerical penitent, Father Leo Celano of St. Michael's Norbertine Abbey in Silverado, noted that, though some might see the public penance as a publicity stunt, "we're responsible for apologizing." (Father Leo, said a St. Michael's spokesman, did not represent the abbey at the event, but participated in his own right alone.) Father McAndrew noted that, "long after this scandal recedes in memory and all the lawsuits are settled, the wound to the Body of Christ will remain. We who are called to minister as priests recommit ourselves to this ministry of reconciliation."
MEA CULPA LITE. One letter writer to the Times (December 29) was not impressed by the priests' public penance. Chuck McVey of Huntington Beach, who described himself as a non-Catholic, commenting on a priest-penitent's statement ("the pain of our negligence or blindness [to the clerical sexual scandal] is very palpable here"), said the public penances they undertook reveal the priests' "current blindness and arrogance in such insignificant acts." McVey compared the priests' penances to the activities of Mother Teresa, which, he said, "were of such significance that these priests should be ashamed at their presumption that their actions could be viewed with anything short of total disdain."
"CARDINAL BERNARD LAW'S resignation as archbishop of Boston gives us pause to reflect upon the extraordinarily difficult and painful year 2002 has been for all the Catholic faithful across the nation," said Cardinal Roger Mahony in a December 13 statement. Urging all Catholics to "fix our focus on Jesus Christ," Mahony said we should "remember in our prayers our brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese of Boston and pray that with new leadership they will find the wisdom and strength to guide them forward."
Cardinal Mahony used the occasion to reassert his claim that the archdiocese of Los Angeles deals promptly with incidents of clergy sexual abuse. "For more than 17 years it has been the policy of this archdiocese to deal swiftly and effectively with every allegation of sexual abuse," said Mahony. "We believe we have been effective. No priest or employee of the archdiocese who was ever determined to have abused a minor is allowed to serve in ministry in this archdiocese."
WHAT IS THE TRUTH? Has Mahony's claim that the archdiocese dealt "swiftly and effectively with every allegation of sexual abuse" is belied by a March 27 e-mail message (leaked in April to KFI's John and Ken Show) to the cardinal from Monsignor Cox. "To say or even give the impression that none of the 'priests removed' were in parish ministry creates multiple problems," noted Cox. "Even those not in parish ministry were assisting in parishes, and you could be challenged about that. Some were resident in parishes. Not being assigned full time to parishes does not mean there was no parish ministry. All the men involved were doing Sunday supply at times. In the popular mind set that will be seen as parish ministry.." Cox further advised Mahony that in an upcoming press conference he "make no indication whatsoever of the 'type' of ministry involved, but indicate that no priest was put into any ministry where we had any concern that he would be a danger to young people. If asked to say more than that, you can respond by going back to your principles about not disclosing names...."
SUCH A DEAL! Officials of the archdiocese of Los Angeles and the diocese of Orange have come to an agreement with alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests to negotiate 100 claims abuse claims outside of court, said a January 2, 2003 Baltimore Sun article. The agreement came in the wake of the new state law that extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuses claims.
Under terms of the agreement, the dioceses and the victims have 90 days to reach out-of-court settlements, with the possibility that negotiations could go beyond 90 days if progress is being made. During this period, no new cases will be filed in the Los Angeles superior court and no action will taken on already pending cases. The archdiocese said it may have $150 million in insurance available for settlements.
The settlement, said the Sun, "could offer the church the possibility of quickly putting the protracted sexual-abuse scandal behind it and saving court costs, while offering victims the possibility of faster and larger settlements." That way, Mahony might avoid the fate of Cardinal Bernard Law.
SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS. On New Year's Day, throughout California, in malls and grocery stores, victims of sexual abuse by priests handed out pamphlets to inform the public of the California law which, for the duration of 2003, removes the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims. According to the January 2 Los Angeles Times, two sexual abuse victims, Carlos Perez-Carillo and Armida Price, were handing out leaflets at the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Though Perez-Carillo, 36, said "a lot of people only associate this problem with the Catholic Church; we want everyone to know that if they are a victim of this type of crime, they can feel validated and they can receive some kind of justice" -- the pamphlets he and Price handed out, according to the Times, urged people to contact the Catholic Church.
According to the same Times article, Cardinal Roger Mahony said that, under the new law, the archdiocese of Los Angeles could be hit with about 300 lawsuits. Stockton lawyer Larry Drivon, who, with others, is representing about 250 alleged sexual abuse victims, told the Times that he doubts the Church's commitment to hand over information on abusive clerics. "I would pray that the church has had a moral epiphany that directly supplements and contradicts its practices for the last 2,000 years," said Drivon. "I remain skeptical."
NO ROOM ON THE STREETS. The city of Los Angeles is considering passing an anti-camping ordinance to deal with the "problem" of homeless sleeping on the streets, according to the December 26 Los Angeles Times. This past October, Los Angeles councilwoman Jan Perry said that the "vast crush of homeless persons has exhausted our resources and strained our abilities to effectively manage this problem." "This problem" includes encampments of homeless on Skid Row, which, critics charge, block city streets. Tracey Lovejoy, executive director for the Central City East Association, said, "in our area, we have 10 streets where the sidewalk is completely uninhabitable for someone to walk down." She also claimed that tents of the homeless provide cover for drug dealing and prostitution. Councilwoman Perry said the goal of her proposed ordinance is to disperse homeless people ("especially woman and children") to other areas of the city.
Critics of the proposed ordinance argue that many homeless have no choice but to sleep in the streets, since the number of homeless far outstrips the number of available beds. The Times cited experts, who say there are only 42,200 shelter beds in Los Angeles for an estimated 74,000 homeless people. When asked about these numbers, Councilwoman Perry said, "I don't know what that means. I've been hearing that for years. I'm not even sure if that's accurate."
OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE passed anti-camping ordinances similar to the one being considered by the Los Angeles city council, include Santa Ana, in 1992; Santa Monica, this past October; and Palmdale, last November. According to the December 26 Times, in Palmdale, Los Angeles county sheriff's deputies complained of transients setting up encampments in empty lots where they lit fires and drank. Transients, it was alleged, also blocked doorways to local businesses and turned away customers with their aggressive panhandling. Sergeant Kyle Bistline told the Times that the Palmdale ordinance, which prohibits camping or sleeping on public streets or other property accessible to the public, or even in parked cars, will not adversely affect homeless women and children. According to Bistline, the Antelope Valley already has enough shelters for the homeless.
Dan Sorenson, who serves on the advisory board for the authority for homeless services, disagrees with Bistline. Homeless service providers elsewhere in the county, said Sorenson, often send homeless to the Antelope Valley because it has lower rents. Many families, however, find that the rents are still too high and end up using resources "that were designed for much fewer people given our lower population," said Sorenson.
THE SANTA MONICA ORDINANCE not only forbids camping, but handing out food to the homeless, said the December 26 Times story. In the past, about 30 groups have handed out food to homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, but local businesses complained of panhandling and public urination. The ordinance states that "no person shall distribute or serve food to the public on a public street or sidewalk without city authorization" and levies $1,000 per violation and/or six months in jail time. It also requires those distributing food to comply with state health and safety standards and to receive a permit from the county health department. James Lafferty, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers' Guild, said the cost of compliance would prohibit most groups from continuing their work with the homeless. Indeed, this is precisely what proponents of the law seemed to intend; they want homeless to seek out government social services rather than private charities for aid.
MOSTLY FRIENDLY CROWDS greeted Governor Gray Davis at the various stops on his pre-inaugural "day of service" in California on January 4. At the his first stop, the Villages in Long Beach, the governor, surrounded by children and smiling politicians, and holding a paint roller, posed for photographs; he would assist, said a press release, in painting and landscaping buildings at the social services compound. But at Banning Park, things were different. Lining the entrance to the park were scores of pro-life activists, holding signs showing pictures of aborted fetuses, shouting pro-life slogans to the governor's entourage. At first, the governor pretended not to see the very visible large signs, but at one point, he waved to the protestors.
While addressing the mostly Latino crowd, Davis seemed ill at ease. When the Survivors, a youth oriented pro-life group, formed a backdrop to Davis' podium with their signs, several labor union members tried to block the signs with their own "Working Families for Davis" signs. One union member said that the governor's "day of service" was not the forum for debate. "No one likes abortion," he said. "This is not the place for this. We need to take care of our families. They want to attack him because he's vulnerable." Event organizers finally ushered the governor, his entourage, volunteers and the media into an auditorium.
ONE LATINA, a Davis volunteer who asked not to be named, was so shocked by the pictures of the aborted fetuses that she left off checking in Davis volunteers for the event in order to join the protestors. "It had been mentioned to me that the governor was coming to Wilmington and volunteers were needed," she said in a telephone interview. "I did not volunteer for political reasons but because I thought it would bring good to the community. When I saw the people who had come to pray -- and there were people from my parish -- I could not stay with the event. I didn't realize all of this," she said of Governor Davis' pro-abortion stance. "How can he do this when he's a Catholic? Had I known any of this, I never would have volunteered for the event. People here don't know about his support of abortion," she said of her working-class Latino community.
MARY WALKS IN CRESTLINE. A new statue of the Virgin Mary was dedicated on Gaudete Sunday, December 15, at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini church in Crestline. The statue, called "Redeemer of the Womb," was commissioned by the parish's pastor, the Rev. Amaro Saumell; it portrays Mary, at full term of pregnancy, as if she were walking through the church garden. The statue was meant to convey a pro-life message. "The Redeemer of the Womb," Father Saumell told the December 19-25 Alpenhorn News, "is a statement of pro-life, the value of life in all of life's stages, even in the womb."
According to Father Saumell, a statue the size of "Redeemer of the World" would normally cost $60,000. While private donations paid for the casting of the statue, the sculptor, Lawrence Noble, provided for the remaining costs. Noble, who sculpted the "Fireman's Memorial" in Sacramento," "Officer Down" in San Bernardino, and the "World Trade Center Memorial" in Redlands, is also collaborating on a World Trade Center memorial for New York City. At Father Saumell's suggestion, Noble used his 15-year-old daughter as the model for the face of the Mary statue. Noble resides in the Crestline area.
PC JUDICIARY. The state's justices may have to quit the Boy Scouts of America if they want to keep their jobs, said a December 21 Oakland Tribune story. According to the state of California's Code of Judicial Ethics, the state's 1,600 judges are already forbidden membership in organizations that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, though "non-profit youth organizations" like the Scouts are exempt. At the request, however, of the Los Angeles and San Francisco bar associations, the state supreme court is considering removing this exemption from the code. Former San Francisco bar president, Angela Bradstreet, is leading the move to remove the exemption. "The Boy Scouts do a lot of terrific work," Bradstreet told the Tribune. "But it is inappropriate for any judge to be a member of any organization that practices invidious discrimination."
Forbidding judges membership in the Scouts "would be wrong, inappropriate and unconstitutional," said Boy Scouts spokesman Gregg Shields. "The proposed policy would be just as inappropriate as a policy forbidding judges from being Roman Catholic or Baptist or Orthodox Jewish or any of numerous faiths which share the Boy Scouts' views."
Last July, superior court judges in San Francisco announced they would sever all ties to the Boy Scouts of America, except for local groups which have disavowed the organization's national policy forbidding membership to homosexuals.
PAYBACK TIME. Former California Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL) executive director Susan Kennedy has been appointed by Governor Gray Davis to the Public Utilities Commission. Kennedy has been a strong supporter of abortion and homosexual rights in the Davis administration, according to Jan Carroll of the California ProLife Council. "She has had a huge influence, I'm sure she did drive the agenda to an extent," Carrol said in a recent interview. "It's is our suspicion that she worked hand in glove with Hannah Jackson and Kuehl on the agenda." When told that Kennedy had been appointed to the Public Utilities Commission, Carroll said that she was happy about this. "That's probably a good thing; I don't imagine that the PUC will have a big impact on abortion." When told that Davis also appointed Kennedy's partner, Vicki Marti, a Marin County psychotherapist, to the California Medical Assistance Commission, an agency which oversees Medi-Cal payments to hospitals, Carroll said that this would be problematic. "Oh brother, that might be more dangerous," Carroll noted.
Before serving in the Davis administration, Kennedy was communications director for Senator Dianne Feinstein. Kennedy also served as the executive director of the California Democratic Party before she headed up CARAL.
"It must be payback time for all [Davis'] abortion friends," Troy Newman of Operation Rescue said about the two appointments. "It seems to me that he is appointing a very old friend to cover his backside on all of his illegal and controversial problems surrounding public utilities. He negotiated a very bad contract that forces Californians to pay more for energy. It shows he's in bed with the abortion industry."
A SAN BERNARDINO PRIEST is trying to help stem youth delinquency by helping families. Three years ago, according to the December 12 San Bernardino County Sun, the Rev. Jose Valera, associate pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in San Bernardino, started counseling sessions for struggling families. If families cannot come to the parish, Father Valera goes to them and holds sessions with them, sometimes, in garages. "To me, the real problem is not the youth," Valera told the Sun. "The main problem is the parents. Many of them don't spend time with their kids. We have to begin with parents."
Valera said that youth often complain that their parents fight or on drugs. Valera said his program is "trying to help those families to have better communication, help them change their behaviors." There are parents, he said, who try to be good examples to their children, but do not know how.
"ONLY FROM THE LORD can the world hope for salvation," said Pope John Paul II in his Angelus address on New Year's Day, the Solemnity of Mother of God. "Only Christ knows the depth of the heart of man: Each one can fully realize himself by receiving the strength of his grace," said the pontiff.
"Supported by this conviction, believers do not lose hope, even when obstacles and attacks against peace multiply," said the pope. Referring to Blessed Pope John XXIII's encyclical, Pacem in Terris, as the "significant event" in his message for the World Day of Peace (also held January 1) John Paul "requested each one to make his own contribution to promote and achieve peace, through generous choices of reciprocal understanding, reconciliation, forgiveness and concrete attention to anyone in need." Above all, he said, "we must never cease praying for peace."
Speaking to world leaders, the pope asked, "how can one not express once again the hope that among those who are responsible, everything possible will be done to find peaceful solutions to the many tensions present in the world, particularly in the Middle East, avoiding further sufferings to those peoples who have been so tried? May human solidarity and law prevail!"
THE VATICAN WILL RELEASE a document on family issues sometime in the first few months of 2003, said a December 18 Catholic World News report. The document, issued by the Pontifical Council for the Family, will provide a "critical glossary" of words that lead to confusion in thinking about sexual matters and family life as well as set forth the Church's teaching on artificial birth control, assisted pregnancy, sex education and homosexuality.
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY sheriff's department and the district attorney's office are investigating allegations of sexual abuse leveled by ten men and women against Jesuit priest Father Jerold Lindner, according to a December 15 Associated Press report. The alleged abuse, which included Lindner's own family members, began in the 1950s, when Lindner was a child, and continued into the 1980s.
The 58-year-old Lindner denies the charges. "I have devoted my life to helping people, and I insist that the accusations against me are not true," he told the December 16 Los Angeles Times. Lindner, who now lives at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in the Bay Area, taught English at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco from 1976 to 1982. He taught at Loyola High School in Los Angeles until 1997.
Accusations against Lindner first surfaced in 1992 and the Jesuits sent him for psychiatric evaluation which, it was claimed, showed that the accusations were not credible. In 1997, two brothers claimed Lindner had molested them in 1975. The Jesuits removed Lindner from teaching at Loyola and, without informing law enforcement authorities of the charges, negotiated a secret $650,000 settlement with the brothers. In November 2002, Loyola administrators sent a letter to students' parents informing them of the allegations against Lindner. So far, say Jesuit superiors, no one from Loyola has come forward charging Lindner of sexual abuse.