Clergy Abuse and the Healing Process
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Honor Among Priests

10/28/2018

 
Picture
“Something’s burning somewhere. Does anybody care? Is anybody there?”
                                                                                                       -- Harry Chapin
          Earlier this month, I spoke with a survivor I hadn’t heard from in 15 years. When he called, I heard a voice on the phone that was strong, confident and at peace. This was a former seminarian who had been sexually molested by a Franciscan friar when he was 13. For years he fought drug and alcohol addictions until he sought and received the help he needed to rebuild his life. “I know I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said. Despite the abuse he suffered, he still found himself clinging to what he called “core Franciscan principles” that helped him accept what each day had to offer. Retired now and living near his children and grandchildren, he’s had no contact with the friars in more than fifty years. Yet the irony of his situation continues to haunt him. “I still have days,” he admitted, “where I wish to God I had never heard of these guys.”   
          The same can certainly be said about survivors. The Franciscans, too, wish to God they had never heard of him, or me, or anyone else who’s been hurt by their order. Some years ago, when I was living and working at Mission Santa Barbara where SafeNet maintained an office, a friar approached me in the dining room to say that my presence there was disturbing to the other friars who were trying to enjoy their lunch! Soon afterwards, I was instructed to take all my meals alone, at a separate table from the friars, behind a partition. From that moment on, and until I left the Mission several months later, the only person who ever shared a regular meal with me again in that dining room was a Franciscan sister who was eventually alienated and driven out of the Mission herself.
 
Pardon Me for Bleeding on You
 
           As a former seminarian, clergy abuse survivor, and ex-Catholic I represent an awkward but risky heretic in the minds of the friars. However misconceived, skewered, or poisoned this rationale assumes, such thinking comes with the scorched territory that the Franciscans themselves set fire to. As an outsider I’m hardly alone. Dissenting voices that ask for understanding and justice are perceived as threats to their authority. Plaintive cries for help are like a foreign language to a fraternal organization designed to be exclusive. To say the Franciscans aren’t paying attention is to be especially kind to them. Betrayals of trust, dismissals of friendships, and desertions of values have revealed such a litany of hypocrisies within their order that those who once held this religious sect in high regard no longer expect anything from the Franciscans, let alone the belief that they might actually do the right thing at any given time.
 
           More than most survivors, I can understand how painful it is for the Franciscans to be reminded, now and again, of the terrible abuses that were perpetrated against young boys in their care. But when friars act with callous disregard for the truth, they must be called out and held accountable. The Franciscans are not the victims of these horrible crimes as a number of them would like us to believe they are. They are the perpetrators, accomplices, and enablers. The systemic fallout  of this crisis has allowed a weird sub-culture to exist within the clergy that makes it acceptable to deny abuse. One need look no further than the sheer madness that exists at Saints Simon and Jude church in Huntington Beach to realize how insidious this is. It doesn’t matter how many parishioners report being emotionally and psychologically assaulted by their pastor. If that pastor denies there’s a problem—which he does—than whose to say he’s wrong? Apparently, no one. Including his own superiors.
 
           Denying abuse is the new abuse. And possessing knowledge of abusive behavior and remaining silent is simply more abusive behavior. It’s inexcusable when people are subjected to cruel and humiliating behavior in their home or workplace. But when a Catholic priest uses the church and the power of his office as a personal battering ram against his flock, he compounds the trauma he’s already caused by spiritually abusing those he vowed to protect. These perverse betrayals by a religious guardian are calculated acts of thievery.
 
Like a Poison in the System
 
            On August 15, a week after my column (“Like A Welcome Flood’) detailed  Franciscan pastor Daniel Barica’s repeated efforts to bully and divide his congregation, I sent a letter to the provincials and other leaders of the six Franciscan provinces in the United States, as well as to their superior, Michael Perry, the Franciscan minister general in Rome. In it, I outlined and documented the allegations and grievances against Barica, and concluded by imploring these men of God to intervene and help the parishioners of Saints Simon and Jude:
 
            “ In an era of heightened behavioral awareness, abuse of any kind by any friar in any province simply cannot be tolerated or condoned. Friars who have protected Barica are complicit in the harm he has caused. If you, as fellow friars, possess any influence, individually or collectively, I urge you to move the leadership of the Province of St. Barbara to act for the greater good of everyone at SSJ and to end the tyranny of this one friar. ”
 
            That was more than two months ago. Since then, not a single Franciscan has responded. Twenty elected leaders in the order of Saint Francis, including the head of all the Franciscans in the world, have chosen to remain quiet on this urgent issue. One reason  might be that the messenger is an unpleasant reminder of their past crimes. But a more likely explanation is that the friars are practitioners of a code of silence that has come to define their fraternity in times of crisis. This collective hush, a perverted honor among priests, is like a poison in the system they’ve grown to resist. Particularly disappointing to me is the non-responsiveness of one of these friars, a provincial now himself, who had formerly professed to be a friend of mine. At one time we were very close, sharing personal stories and opening not only our hearts but also our closets to reveal a few skeletons. How odd it now feels to be ghosted by this man.
 
A Clearer and Darker Picture

            Earlier this year I began reading and studying three essential source materials related to the Franciscans and the Catholic church: the Rule and General Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor, the Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, and the Code of Canon Law. It wasn’t long before I felt equally enlightened and alarmed. As I started to get a much clearer and, in many cases, darker picture of what it really means to be a member of a select men’s club, I became more aware of how ritual and secrecy have extended back a lot further than the founding of a simple, religious order.
 
            Men who join the friars and either remain as brothers or go on to become ordained priests, have multiple allegiances and obligations. Upon taking final vows, the oath of fealty (or loyalty) professed to church, order, and one’s fellow friars makes Harry Potter and his wizard friends look like amateur magicians at a child’s birthday party. Every religious order has its codes and mysteries and the Franciscans are bound by theirs. Friars are protected by the cover of their order, its rule, and canon law. They are obligated to one another under every imaginable circumstance. Publicly, they are forbidden from speaking ill about, or against, any of their brothers regardless of what they know, what they’ve seen, or what others have told them.
 
            This goes beyond the sanctity of the confessional. California is one of only 28 states that currently include members of the clergy among those professionals specifically mandated by law to report known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect. But there’s an important caveat that provides added cover to the clergy under the “clergy-penitent privilege.” According to California Penal Code § 11166(d), this privilege means:
 
“…a communication intended to be in confidence—including, but not limited to, a sacramental confession—made to a clergy member who in the course of the discipline or practice of his or her church, denomination, or organization is authorized or accustomed to hear those communications and…has a duty to keep those communications secret.”
 
            The key phrase to note here is: "—including, but not limited to, a sacramental confession—". In other words, virtually any church-related communication, conversation, or confession can conceivably claim “clergy-penitent privilege” as defined in the statute. This would appear to be in lock step with the Franciscans’ rule and with church precepts.

All for One and One for All
 
            In 1993, after an independent inquiry determined that 11 friars at St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara had molested dozens of boys over the course of more than 20 years (of which I was one of those boys), the friars refused to release a list of all the names of the alleged perpetrators in their order, basing their argument on a claim of solidarity with the accused. Their decision made it clear that protecting their own brothers took precedent over the safety of the greater community. It was a twisted interpretation of “all for one and one for all” with roots in canonical law.

          [ NOTE: With the help of court-released documents and other survivor resources, a comprehensive list of alleged Franciscan perpetrators is currently being compiled by SafeNet. The friars still remain opposed to transparency on this issue and have no intention of releasing a list of their own. ] 

          Canon law not only encourages church leaders to engage in secrecy for the purpose of preventing church scandals, but it actually requires them to do so. In a 2015 review of  Kiersan Tapsell’s groundbreaking work, Potiphar’s Wife: The Vatican’s Secret and Child Sexual Abuse, Thomas Doyle, a Dominican priest, canon lawyer, and longtime advocate for victims of church abuse, explains church law as “a confusing and contradictory array of canonical regulations.” According to Doyle, “canon law is a legal system in service to a monarchy. By its very nature, the primary goal is to protect the monarchs. There is no separation of power in the Catholic church, hence no checks and balances.”  Doyle goes on to say that canon law “demonstrates that the church’s legal system has not only been a hindrance to justice for the victims, but an enabler to the perpetrators.”

            When one tosses the dubious concept of “mental reservation” into this unsavory brew,  the truth sinks deeper into a bubbling caldron. Catholic moral theology actually permits a member of the clergy, stuck between an obligation to keep a secret and a duty to tell the truth, to use misleading words to deceive another as long as a deliberate lie is not told. Since the definition of a deliberate lie entails conscious effort, it has been argued by some in the church that “mental reservation” can be employed to deny information to anyone judged not to have a right to the truth.  

The Final Nail in the Cross
 
            On October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the six Franciscan Ministers Provincial of the United States issued a joint statement, A Franciscan Plea for the Soul of America, in response to the current challenges facing our country. On the surface, the announcement is a virtuous effort that begs to promote and uphold the values of human dignity and justice—something most of us expect to hear from the Franciscans. But underneath, it has a cynical twist. From what we now know, and in view of all the attempts to get the Franciscans to listen, to help them understand, and to aid them in accepting responsibility, their duplicitous message is a hard slap in the face for those who’ve heard their own pleas for help ignored by the Franciscans.
 
            It’s mind-boggling to think that the Franciscans who drafted and released this statement didn’t fathom the harm it would do to their already damaged credibility. Are they that indifferent to public perception? More than anything else, their declaration demonstrates the order’s clear detachment from its own reality and ideals. What the Franciscans purport to stand for is marked by, and in stark contrast to, their abject silence and inaction. In the face of real suffering taking place at Saints Simon and Jude, and in the midst of their own insular world, they end up making every friar an accomplice.
 
            Discussing the failings of the Franciscans is not something I take pleasure in. With my friends in the Catholic laity it’s often delicate and difficult, especially with the more conservative churchgoers who view the friars through an adoring but almost medieval lens. Blinded by devotion, they frequently defend the order in spite of the truth. The survivor I spoke with earlier this month related the arguments he sometimes had with Catholics during the course of his long recovery. “If I spoke badly about the Franciscans,” he explained, “Catholics would accuse me of attacking their faith. I actually envied their faith. I wished I had some.”
 
            The final nail in the cross for the Franciscans is not just their hypocrisy on display for all to see in a beautifully crafted statement. If it were, many of us would simply shrug our shoulders and shuffle off to the next roadside attraction. Near the core of this testimony is a sad reflection of a religious order’s struggle with its own self (and selfish) interest. It’s a dismal reminder of the difficulty and irony of following the teachings of St. Francis. At the heart of the matter is a profound moral conundrum: how to justify not doing the right thing and still call yourself a Franciscan.  
 
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Mark S.
10/28/2018 07:35:56 pm

This is some of the most passionate and honest writing I've read regarding this continuing crisis in the church. And I am a Catholic. Thank you for your vigilance

Laura
10/28/2018 09:35:47 pm

Eye opening Paul but also,sadly, even if we aren’t part of the church and only tangentially pay attention, makes sense. It seems all that we read and hear is never followed up with anything resolving or cathartic for survivors or even just readers of the news.

YRP
10/29/2018 03:23:43 pm

Disgusted, obviously you do not understand the Knights. They will support and defend the clergy. But more importantly they will help those who can't help themselves. Regarding Fr. Dan's contact info it is on the internet how to contact him in Santa Barbara.
Instead of diatribes about how bad every one is why not follow your own advice and actually read what people are saying. I noticed previously you only defended the principal yet you ignored most mention of the things said about Daniel's behavior.
I do agree with you Dan Lackey is the closest to a holy man we will ever see. He is an incredible man. That being said he is not infallible . No one is attacking him personally only some of his inaction.
All it takes for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Paul Fericano link
10/29/2018 08:49:03 pm

Putting to Rest the Fears
of Anyone Who Stumbles Upon My Blog

for me

I write
decide who stays

decide who doesn't
I eat pie slowly

for everyone else

not goaded
not baited

keep cool
trust the chambered room

buy a harmonica
read Huckleberry Finn

ignore the trolls
remember to vote

laugh like you're in church

---

Observation
10/29/2018 08:57:22 pm

Disgusted = Gone Too Far = All Hat, No Cattle.

Disgusted
10/30/2018 03:52:29 pm

Thank you Barica S.E. I took a quick look, and I promise to look in greater detail later, but I was able to notice the date. Am I correct in saying that this was from mid 2015? Do I have that right? Is all of this homily anger over something that occurred 3.5 years ago? You all have been upset for 3.5 years over this? Maybe you're right. When I get a chance to read it maybe I will be horrified like you, but there are people whose spouses, children, parents are sick and dieing every day. I would pray that your energies would be better served loving on your close family members and friends than being so angry about a homily that occurred 3.5 years ago. But, I will reserve judgement until I have a chance to read it. Thank you for sending it along.

Dennis
10/30/2018 05:26:50 pm

I'm a long-time ex-Catholic whose only physical abuse was suffered at the slap happy hands of 1950s Chicago nuns and priests. Perhaps my adolesence just predated the spate of sexual molestation that seemed so common a few years later, perhaps I was just lucky. In any case, it's not hard to envision the clergy of my childhood engaging in the level of villainy discussed in this forum. I do remember "good" priests (strangley no simpatico nuns). But also, as I matured, an increasingly sinister educational system that seemed intent on taking all blossoming joy out of adolescent sexual and intellectual curiousity. It's still hard for me not to smile remembering the flood of relaxed freedom that welled up when I took a summer literature class at a State university the semester after being expelled from a Jesuit college.

That aside, I think one of the reasons clergy misdeeds are so painful to Catholics may lie in a subtle difference between Catholic and Protestant mindset. For many Protestants, especially the Evangelical, the highpoint and reason for attending services is the sermon. Things may have changed lately, but for Catholics of my and my parents' generation the sermon was pious b.s. to be yawned through. We went to mass for the ritual and the sacred wafer. Confession was an intimate participation in a magical rite. It went without saying in the second generation immigrant world of my childhood that priests were near useless for any practical problem. They were there to negotiate with the spirit world that - alas - their organization had so efficiently frightened us of.

A powerful dynamic and, for anyone who spends the first 20 years or so of life with, very difficult to ever escape. Even after a recognition of that witch doctor dynamic makes "faith" no longer possible. These thoughts occured when I read the linked Franciscan manifesto and wondered why Paul seemed so offended. An innocuous enough tract, I thought, sentiments hard to disagree with. And are the Franciscans joining the resistance?

But stepping back there's also no reason to think they've broken with a Hierarchy of Bishops who just an election ago cynically aligned themselves with politicians pledged to eliminate health care for some 30 million people. This in the name of their "religious liberty" to deny contraception to their female employess and congregants. So there seem more than a few reasons to be unimpressed by their sincerity.

Not the least of which is their unwillingness to allow women in the club. When I was a kid, women were the good Catholics, men much less so, barely at all, for most I knew. What's the future for these characters?

Vincent S Perez
10/30/2018 06:45:02 pm

Hey Paul,

It’s like dealing with Trump et. al. We must exercise our VOTE in whatever form that may be if we ever want to see “the right thing.”

Paul Fericano link
10/30/2018 09:40:12 pm

Blessings, brother. With peace and all good.

SAS 1961-65
10/30/2018 10:08:22 pm

Rage poem to some former friars:
- - -

You traipse around in robes and sandals,
And hide your stench with scented candles.

Aloof and vain you prance and posture,
Hooded ghouls who feed the monster.

This fortress school you call a “haven”,
For boys with faces not yet shaven?

Of human-ness bereft and void,
Your deviance with children toyed.

Your rosaries and cords 3-knotted,
Save not your souls, rancid and rotted.

So fetid, vile, the sodomizing -
An act so foul was tantalizing?

Devil, demon, wretched beast,
Who on a sadist’s lap dost feast.

Devoid of conscience, decency,
Whence comes this foul psychopathy?

Seek not from me forgiveness clean,
You mock the meaning of “obscene”.

Your foul perversion had no end.
If there’s a God, your soul he’ll rend.

And grant you everlasting terms,
As banquet for the devil’s worms.

Paul Fericano link
10/30/2018 10:19:35 pm

St. Anthony's produced some damn good wordsmiths. This is a performance piece for a poetry slam. Thank you, brother.

Vincent S Perez
10/30/2018 10:20:07 pm

Author???

Paul Fericano link
10/30/2018 10:24:07 pm

"The Notorious S.A.S."?

Dolly R.
10/31/2018 06:02:49 am

Your writing, your passion, your intent to bring light to this issue... it all inspires me. Thank you, Paul!!

David Carlson link
10/31/2018 08:54:44 am

Great work Paul. The Pennsylvania report is an indication that we have a lot of work to do. The Bishops continue to stonewall as do leaders of the orders -- but now they have the states attorney generals to fear. I pray you continue to tell the truth. - David Carlson, class of 1970

Paul Fericano link
10/31/2018 12:00:11 pm

Thanks for your support, David. It's encouraging to connect with you and many other former SA seminarians on this issue. All good.

Art Goodtimes link
11/1/2018 10:28:39 pm

Thank you, Paul. The scourge of clericalism within the Church has gone on far far too long. It's time for Catholics to end this male-dominated hierarchy of religion. The laity needs to rise up and welcome women into its leadership.

Gone Too Far
11/2/2018 01:25:37 pm

Wow. Now you are deleting my posts. Because Weebly, the owner of this platform, asked you to comply with their rules and remove people's personal information. Just wow.

I guess that means they did contact you after all.

This is who you are aligning yourself with people.

Paul Fericano link
11/2/2018 01:38:51 pm

I will not be intimidated. You and others who are trolling this site have been reported to Weebly.

SAS 61-65
11/2/2018 01:45:17 pm

Stand strong, as always you have. Thanks.

John M.
11/2/2018 01:50:30 pm

No worries Paul, There are lots of us who have your back.
Keep pursuing the truth.

SAS 1961-65
11/2/2018 02:35:18 pm

Paul - I just totally, accidentally deleted myself from receiving blog updates. Hit that wrong link! Can you get me back on board to receive then again? Bless you.

paulfericano link
11/2/2018 03:00:10 pm

Not sure why that happened. When posting a comment, you can click the box below that says "Notify me of new comments to this post by email." It may have been inadvertently "unclicked." Hope that helps.

SAS 1961-65
11/3/2018 06:57:03 pm




Father Fodder

I’ve long amazed, how someone sees,
The glory of St. Anthony’s.
Can mem’-ries be so curled in mist?
Were brains befuddled by a fist?

Arcane the rules, the regs a myriad,
“Shut up you fool, it’s silence period!”
“You’re desk’s a mess, without a doubt.
Now grab your junk and go ‘stand out!’”

Write home that letter with calm pen:
“There’s a mistake! Do it again!”
The ‘work details’, as free time counted,
For fun, La Cumbre’s peak you mounted.

“I’ve found your sweater, get my drift?
It’s got your number: That’s ‘dish shift’!”
“And no back taught! Your brain lacks frontal?
Or would you dine at Hell Hor-zontal?”

Nor e’er forget the Henry’s hazing,
Sand rubbed in deep, the sores a blazing.
Ghost Walk, Black Hand, but just a teasing.
“Give those testicles a squeezing!”

Those were the days, the minimal,
Let’s not unfurl the criminal.
A cloistered commune, gargoyled jail,
With privacy a yearn, nay, Grail!

A high school surely, that it was,
though of peculiar taste.
It saw the world outside of it,
A danger and a waste.

Or was it fear that shut us in,
Lest real-world views we see?
And block the washing of our brains,
Our own thoughts just debris.

They claimed to live in brotherhood,
Abounding mercy mild.
What knew they though, or even cared,
The nurture of a child?

To them the children cattle were,
Their orb a clearinghouse.
To pick and choose the ones to shmooze,
And others’ dreams to dowse.

To be kicked out, a shame it was,
No time to hug a friend.
It must take place in dark of night,
Or come some bleak weekend.

Gone then they were, at speed of light,
No time to say good-bye.
The school did feel no sense of grief,
Just breathed a heavy sigh.

It was their job to cull the mob,
Of ‘losers’, ‘rebel minds’.
And sanctify the school from threat,
With all-conforming kinds.

Who knows the talent t’was cast out,
For failing to decline.
A Latin noun, inflected wrong,
One only can opine.

The Fellowship of Francis preached,
In homilies, the root.
Save for the failed, in shame who trekked,
For having got the boot.

For most the priests the odds they knew,
Of ordination slim.
Their job, in truth, was not your dream,
But rather to you trim.

Or else to me please do explain,
My classmates 98,
Just 3 remained, to be ordained,
One guested by the State.


















AWOL
11/7/2018 03:23:13 pm

What happened to "Disgusted" and "Gone Too Far"? When the question was posed if they approved of Daniel Barica's sexual energy homily, they ran for the hills.

Has anyone reported Barica's sermon to the Diocese?

https://www.rcbo.org/resource/the-diocese-of-orange-policies/

https://www.rcbo.org/wp-content/uploads/PASM-3-30-2015-Eng-FINAL.pdf

https://www.rcbo.org/wp-content/uploads/Respecting-the-Boundaries_Brochure_English.pdf

"Sexual misconduct by clergy, church personnel,
church leaders and volunteers is contrary to Christian
morals, doctrine and canon law. When minors are
involved it is also illegal. It is never acceptable. We
recognize that sexual misconduct may have
devastating consequences for the victims and their
families, for the Church community, and for the
transgressor. While this subject is troubling to all of
us, basic information about sexual misconduct in the
ministerial setting is needed in order to protect the
vulnerable and assure integrity in these relationships."

CL
12/20/2018 05:18:14 pm

The abuse within the catholic church is being reported worldwide. I live in Orange County and just read this comprehensive report that was published on 12/6/2018:
www.andersonadvocates.com/Documents/posts/Clerical%20Sexual%20Abuse%20in%20the%20Diocese%20of%20Orange.pdf

What is very sad is that I personally knew 4 of the accused. There are 72 priest listed in this report from Orange County! I just cannot believe the coverup by the Diocese of Orange. There are priests that have been accused and still in ministry.

Why haven't they be removed?

Watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68qOdL2uxTo

Another from the Men's Club
12/21/2018 09:59:31 am

Thank you AWOL. Celebrities lose their jobs for things they said 20 years ago but why is Barica still at Saints Simon and Jude in Huntington Beach for what he said to children during his sex energy sermon?

And thank you CL. I just watched the video you posted and did not know the extend of the cover up all over OC!

The most shocking part of the YouTube video is seeing Gus Krumm right over the speaker’s shoulder. I read the report which says he was accused of sexually abusing at least nine boys from the 1970s to the 1990s!

Per the OC Register article originally written on Jan 20, 2011: “High ranking Franciscan and diocese officials allowed Krumm to work among children at the Huntington Beach parish despite knowing – for at least 5 years – that there had been allegations of sexual misconduct with minors, according to court documents.” It took until 1998 for Krumm to be removed. But instead of being defrocked and filing a police report, the Franciscans tried to cover this up and exposed more children to danger by actually promoting him to be the head pastor at Ascension Catholic Church in Portland.

Celebrities like Matt Lauer and Les Moonves had to step down but priests like Barica and Krumm were protected and moved around after people reported their conduct.

Catholic church leaders we entrust our children and money to have violated that trust. I saw the list of priests in Orange County that are on the list of accused including Gus and Fr. Alex Manville. Not many were ever incarcerated. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/12/07/advocates-say-72-priests-in-orange-county-california-abused-kids/

Even nuns who are accused of embezzlement will not be prosecuted per this article: lasvegassun.com/news/2018/dec/18/church-nuns-embezzled-from-school-to-cover-las-veg/

The article states:
“Church officials don't plan to press charges at this point and instead want to see the matter resolved internally with the money repaid and the nuns disciplined by their order.”

The parishioners in Redondo Beach will never really know if the money gets “repaid”. Even if it is, that means they and other donors could directly or indirectly end up paying for the theft.

Like the sex abuse scandal, this is another example of the church covering up a felony. This sets a bad precedent and opens the door to others to steal. The same OC Register story from 2011 also says Fr. Alex admitted to stealing cash from the collection in his deposition. What if this is still happening at SSJ and other churches but bishop Vann decides to have “the matter resolved internally” without ever calling the police on his priests?

If you do not agree with what is happening, or you are not sure if some of your donations are being used to pay for lawyers and inappropriate purposes, you can object by SUSPENDING YOUR DONATIONS until the bishop truly is transparent with Catholics throughout Orange County.

So much news is breaking from all over:
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/roman-catholic-church-sex-abuse-cases

Will Franciscan Fr. Daniel Barica and his sexual energy and anxiety attacks he talked about in his sermons be next?

Another from the Men's Club
12/21/2018 03:22:10 pm

More about the article in the Register from Jan 20, 2011. It says in 2005 the Diocese of Orange agreed to pay $100 million to just 90 victims. It also says in 2006 the Franciscans agreed to pay $28.5 million for just 25 lawsuits. These numbers do not include the millions it must have cost for all the lawyers the church had to hire. Where did $128.5+ million come from? Do you remember Fr. Alex’s promise that none of our donations would be used to pay for the scandal when the news first hit?

They won’t get any more out of me for a while. And I will not enable Barica or any priest by volunteering to do one thing until I am certain the money and everything else about the church is transparent.

The Catholic church’s tactic has been to spend millions defending priests and attacking the credibility of the victims in civil court, instead of pressing charges and putting the priests in front of a criminal court judge. While the lawyers keep burning through our donations, the bishops take advantage of our faith by asking for forgiveness and prayers. If they really were sorry, all those priests would be in jail.

Not filing criminal charges for abuse and theft empowers and invites others like Barica who does not seem worried he will ever be held accountable, to continue to do more harm. In the meantime, great families leave and the low school enrollment creates a bigger financial drain which I can't imagine is possible to sustain without another big tuition hike. In addition to this the parish has to figure a way to pay off the huge debt for the $2.3 million parking lot. That money would have come in handy right now.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    A Room With A Pew is a thought-provoking column on clergy abuse and the healing process. Its content reflects the observations, opinions and experiences of Paul Fericano, a former student who attended Saint Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara in the sixties, and a survivor of clergy sexual abuse. Fericano co-founded SafeNet in 2003, and returned to Santa Barbara that same year to assist the community in recovery. As a poet, satirist and author, he is actively engaged in advocacy, social justice and reconciliation efforts. He supports and encourages those who have been harmed by the Catholic church to explore the healing process, pursue justice with compassion, and to reclaim their past. He is the editor and co-founder of Yossarian Universal News Service (YU News Service), the nation's first parody news syndicate established in 1980. His spiritual practice includes challenging himself to look for humor in the shadows.

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    Memories of Better Days Persist
    Many St. Anthony's students have contacted me, and one asked about the barbershop, where he had sought refuge one day after his offender beat him. Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    TUES., APRIL 1, 2014
    ---
    No Matter How High the Hedge Grows
    The Solidarity Project memorial for clergy abuse survivors at Mission Santa Barbara was vandalized for a second time by a person employed by the Franciscans.
     Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    WED., MARCH 5, 2014
    ---
    Mario (Walter) Cimmarrusti, OFM: 1931 - 2013
    The Worst of What We Lived
    My offender, a notorious Catholic priest and Franciscan friar who abused many boys at St. Anthony's Seminary, died on November 23, 2013. 
    Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    THURS., FEBRUARY 13, 2014
    ---
    The Roots of Pastoral Response
    Pastoral response is the kind of outreach by the church that is absolutely essential to the healing process.
    Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    WED., FEBRUARY 5, 2014
    ---
    Looking for Francis in the Franciscans
    Among survivors of clergy abuse, what puzzles, angers, and disappoints many is the shortage of moral courage among the friars in general. 
    Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    WED., JANUARY 8, 2014
    ---
    From Survival to Forgiveness
    In 1965 when I was 14 I was sexually abused at St. Anthony’s, a Catholic minor seminary in Santa Barbara operated by the Franciscan religious order. 
    Read story.
    by PAUL FERICANO
    THURS., DECEMBER 5, 2013

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