25 thoughts on “Nazareth Academy Suspends Teacher Accused of Sex Abuse at Archbishop Ryan in late 80s”
Gina Smith is a hired gun for the archd of phila, what did you expect , ‘TRUTH, HONESTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY “? Look lets be realistic the only way for the VICTIMS to have a CHANCE AT JUSTICE IS WHEN THE PA LEGISLATURE GETS OFF THEIR ASSES AND PASSES LEGISLATION REMOVING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND OPENING A ‘WINDOW’ FOR THE VICTIMS.
THE ONLY ONES TO FEAR THIS LEGISLATION ARE THE’PERPS & ENABLERS’
Oh dear. It seems everyone thinks they won’t get caught & will try to get away with past disgusting abuse. And our Leaders at 222 seem to believe they can still get “away with it”
Everyone is innocent til proven guilty(but kids are vulnerable so get possible predators OUT of OUR churches and schools NOW…. til you know for sure they are safe) and in the past many thought therapy could cure these people and the church leadership wanted to protect the church from scandal…………ok now fast forward you were WRONG…….your old mindset has to be changed……many therapists ,experts were proven WRONG…….please accept the reality that your WRONG mindset lead to much more suffering but your past mistakes should not keep you from doing the RIGHT THING NOW……the institutional (physical) church continuing depends on the QUICK but THROUGH(Intervention I should say) decisions you presently make…..the one TRUE CATHOLIC CHURCH spiritually WILL SURVIVE because it was instituted by Christ not be the Church heirarchy…..and thankyou for pulling this teacher out it is a postive step………
This news report is a little confusing.I believe what happened is that the person did not come forward with the allegations until April 2011 however the abuse dates back to the 80’s when the person was a student at Archbishop Ryan. The report was made to the Delegate of Investigations in April 2011 and Nazareth Academy was notified. The language gets confusing, at one point it sounds like they are saying the Archdiocese knew of the allegations in the 80’s before the teacher went to Nazareth but what they meant was that the abuse took place before the teacher went to Nazareth.I think in this situation the abuse was just reported a few weeks ago.
The comment from Nazareth in the report is what is confusing.The abuse happened at Ryan previous to the employment at Nazareth. I read other news reports about this last week,it seemed pretty clear the Archdiocese just received the report of abuse.
I know this teacher. He has never been accused of this type of behavior. The Arch. Dio. of Phila. had him put on administrative leave and has to this date never informed him or the school of the actual accusation. (Which you are correct only came to light in April). It’s funny how quickly they moved on a lay person and how slow they move on the clergy. They moved so fast that they haven’t even investigated the accusations, nor have they spoken to this teacher. I believe he is innocent until they prove him guilty. I hope it gets resolved, but his reputation is ruined.
I was taught by this teacher for four years and never once saw him act even remotely inappropriate in the classroom. I understand victim’s rights but what about his rights? How can they not even tell him what he accused of? I also will continue to believe he is innocent until it’s proven that he is guilty.
completely agree with nancyanne (nice play on the name) and goodmanfalselyaccused! i know this teacher as well and was taught by him for 4 years and i never once saw him act inappropriate towards any of the students. also he taught at nazareth for about 20 to 30 years (i cant remember which) if he was a predator dont you think he would have approached a girl at nazareth!!? i mean it is an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL! i know some people are afraid to fess up but dont you think at least one other girl would have came forward? i mean there is always the chance that this is the one and only instance that this alleged abuse occurred but i, myself, find it hard to believe. usually if you are a sex offender you do this type of thing more than one time and no one else has come forward since the allegations. i am going to hold out and believe he is innocent until proven guilty. i wish him all the best, but if i am wrong i hope the victim gets the justice she truly deserves.
nancyanne, and manaccused, and Monsignor…none of us can possibly know if he abused…but your attitudes create one more hurdle to jump in order for a victim to come forward.
I’ve seen the insides of a diocese that lies…I promise you one thing…he was suspended for good reason.
Do you have any idea what it takes to finally come forward?
I sit in rooms full of clergy abuse survivors…the theme? The hierarchy lies. One victim went to the church, was told the accusation was non-crredible, sat in that room for YEARS before another victim started sharing their story…SAME abuser! The second victim never went public after hearing how the first one was treated.
So, according to the diocese, that priest never abused anyone…”he’s a good man and everyone loves him.”
They bullied the first victim and that set precedent. So until another of that priests victims (if they haven’t taken their own lives) comes forward with “documented proof” or the strength to withstand fighting the diocese, the hierarchy will continue to lie and no one’s children will be safe.
I didn’t see the chaplain at my high school do anything inappropriate with anyone…EVER. My family be-friended the man, likeable guy, “holy” man. Everyone loved him. So when it makes the front page of the paper that he allegedly abused, no one believed the victim. In fact, I mentally ran down a list of priests I would have believed to have abused before I would have ever suspected him.
The verdict? He was guilty. It took a counselor the boy was seeing to report it. According to the church, he only had one victim. I have some land at the North Pole I’d like to sell you too.
Let me explain something clearly; Child abusers do not abuse every child they come in contact with. They pick and choose the vulnerable children. They select children they know are isolated and are less likely to speak up about the abuse. Furthermore, I have never heard of anyone abusing a child in a public place, or in a classroom full of other students, or in busy hallways at school. Child abusers do things in secret and they force their victims to keep the abuse secret.
I have never seen Reese’s make their fabulous peanut butter cups. Does that mean that Reese’s doesn’t make peanut butter cups? Of course not. I see peanut butter cups in stores all the time. However, because Mars and other companies are highly secretive about their recipes, I may never get to see exactly how they make their candies. Same thing with child abusers. They are very secretive, and they usually present themselves as good people, but when they get a child alone, that’s when the evil is revealed. To claim that no child could have been abused by a specific priest is as much nonsense as me claiming that peanut butter cups don’t exist because I’ve never seen them made. (I have sat in a room with 20 victims of clergy sexual abuse. I have met hundreds of victims.)
Just because no more victims have come forward yet doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t anymore. Being sexually abused as a child and then trying to find your voice years later to talk about it has been one of the most difficult issues of my life. It was in fact, something I had always planned on taking to my grave. It is the people who believe that Father Perfect couldn’t possibly abuse a child that kept me silent for so many years. It was Father Perfect who convinced me that no one would listen to or believe me anyway. But… when I came forward and went public, seven more victims of my abuser read my story and came forward as well.
Don’t the Catholics have some belief that “just because you don’t see it doesn’t make it false?”
Rich,I am jumping on the bandwagon with Susan and Gerald.I have often thought what a gifted writer you are when I have been reading many of your posts on the site.You are the voice of many victims and so eloquently and rationally put into words what so many must feel but are unable to verbalize or put on paper.
I believe that people in life find each other for a reason. I am glad you have found us and the many followers of this site. Kathy
Well thank you for saying that. I write short stories to an email list of over 550 recipients, most of which are abuse victims themselves. Some are family members of abuse victims and others are people who wish to change the current state of the Catholic Church and our society in order to save children and vulnerable adults from a lifetime of anguish and grief. Writing has always been a kind of penance for me, and at 3am when everybody is asleep and I can’t sleep, a blank word processor and my fingers usually allow me to work out my problems. I have, after all, written over 40,000 pages of words since I came forward about the abuse I went through in February 2009. Some people do drugs and others drink alcohol, but I write in my prison.
I am very passionate about this subject and I’m sure many people get that impression. The abuse I went through as a child was so horrific, so painful, with a strong dreadful sense of being alone that I never want another child to feel that suffering. It is suffering! The sexual abuse many times was extremely painful to deal with, mostly because, without being too graphic, some parts just don’t fit. But it is the aftermath that I would spend the next 20+ years running away from, and man did I run. I went to Arizona, California, Mexico, and Canada. Unfortunately, whatever I did or as far away as I tried to get I could not get myself far away from myself. When people ask me what my mentality is like and why I can’t just “get over it,” I ask, “Think of your most happy moment of your life. Got it? Now spend the next 20 years trying to forget.” In my case, most of my childhood memories are bad… really bad.
When I write on different forums and leave posts, sure I’m hoping to twist some minds and ultimately I hope what I write is taken seriously and parents, teachers, and caretakers are more aware of the signs of child abuse and/or neglect, and will become better educated so no child has to experience this hell. However, I also write for me. I don’t need to be the center of attention, and in fact I don’t even want to be, but I feel like when I get my words out there, I feel better about myself. I feel like Father Pervert has less of a grasp on me today because I don’t keep secrets anymore. Everything I write is my truth and straight from the heart. Everything I write is me on paper or who I hope to be someday.
When I left the high school where I was abused by a priest, after my freshman year, I went to public school. Because of being so mentally screwed up from the abuse, I didn’t listen in school or participate. English and Science were my best subjects. Those were the subjects my mother also taught in Catholic High School. Halfway through my sophomore year I was failing every subject. By the end of the year, I had just barely squeaked by in all of my subjects but English. I was forced to attend Rittenhouse Academy in Center City Philadelphia for summer. There, my life changed. Most of the other students in the class were middle-aged black homeless men who wanted to get an education so they could do something with their lives, and this class was free to them. They were so smart and they gave me the gift of wanting to write as well. They showed me how and I was enthusiastic about it. They criticized me when I thought Walt Whitman’s writing were the mutterings of an incoherent fool. These days, I can’t get enough of Walt Whitman. I read Leaves of Grass constantly and much of Whitman’s prose.
My life has not been all sunshine and rainbows, but I’ve been lucky enough to meet some people along the way who have contributed to showing me the way. I don’t remember any of their names, but I will always be thankful for what they did for me. They were my real teachers!
Well do you know how many flash drives it takes to save all of that data? I have 2 loaded up, working on my third. I hardly ever re-read anything I write though. Writing for me is like my therapy when I’m not at therapy. I have worked on a lot of stuff to put together for a book, but I’m still on the fence about whether or not I would want other people to read what I write. My stuff can be very raw and emotional. I’m not an expert, nor am I a doctor. I’m just not sure how much of what I write can actually help people, unless someone is interested in how I’ve managed to lived as long as I have and maintain some sanity along the way.
Of course there’s a chance that he’s guilty but there’s also a chance that he is not. Just as the victim deserves someone on their side so does the accused, especially in this case. He is a good and kind man and a wonderful teacher and I will be in his corner until it can be proven otherwise.
I’m not trying to trash the victim or invalidate what they are saying, I’m just supporting a man whom I believe deserves the support.
To answer your question I will be disappointed and heartbroken if he is found guilty. I always looked to this teacher like a dad. Even though I will be upset, i will not be mad at myself for following my heart, even if I end up being wrong.
I think me supporting him shows that I am a person who wants to hear the full story and see a person tried in a court of law because I don’t just jump on the “guilty” bandwagon.
I read your previous posts in this thread and I am sensitive to your situation. One of my close relatives was abused by multiple priests at his high school. That hit my whole family very hard. I am not against victim’s rights in any way shape or form but I am not just going to automatically jump to guilty every time someone makes an accusation.
The only info that I am aware that was released was that he was accused of inappropriate behavior and NA had no choice but to put him on leave because of the accusations. If you have a more damning story to convince me that he is guilty, please share.
Gina Smith is a hired gun for the archd of phila, what did you expect , ‘TRUTH, HONESTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY “? Look lets be realistic the only way for the VICTIMS to have a CHANCE AT JUSTICE IS WHEN THE PA LEGISLATURE GETS OFF THEIR ASSES AND PASSES LEGISLATION REMOVING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND OPENING A ‘WINDOW’ FOR THE VICTIMS.
THE ONLY ONES TO FEAR THIS LEGISLATION ARE THE’PERPS & ENABLERS’
Unbelievable! And as usual, DISGUSTING.
Oh dear. It seems everyone thinks they won’t get caught & will try to get away with past disgusting abuse. And our Leaders at 222 seem to believe they can still get “away with it”
Everyone is innocent til proven guilty(but kids are vulnerable so get possible predators OUT of OUR churches and schools NOW…. til you know for sure they are safe) and in the past many thought therapy could cure these people and the church leadership wanted to protect the church from scandal…………ok now fast forward you were WRONG…….your old mindset has to be changed……many therapists ,experts were proven WRONG…….please accept the reality that your WRONG mindset lead to much more suffering but your past mistakes should not keep you from doing the RIGHT THING NOW……the institutional (physical) church continuing depends on the QUICK but THROUGH(Intervention I should say) decisions you presently make…..the one TRUE CATHOLIC CHURCH spiritually WILL SURVIVE because it was instituted by Christ not be the Church heirarchy…..and thankyou for pulling this teacher out it is a postive step………
This news report is a little confusing.I believe what happened is that the person did not come forward with the allegations until April 2011 however the abuse dates back to the 80’s when the person was a student at Archbishop Ryan. The report was made to the Delegate of Investigations in April 2011 and Nazareth Academy was notified. The language gets confusing, at one point it sounds like they are saying the Archdiocese knew of the allegations in the 80’s before the teacher went to Nazareth but what they meant was that the abuse took place before the teacher went to Nazareth.I think in this situation the abuse was just reported a few weeks ago.
If they did not know about them til April 2011 ………they are making some progress by pulling them out now.
You’re right. I thought they had prior info and that wasn’t the case.
I should correct myself and say past “mistakes” and “crimes” keep you from doing the RIGHT THING NOW.
The comment from Nazareth in the report is what is confusing.The abuse happened at Ryan previous to the employment at Nazareth. I read other news reports about this last week,it seemed pretty clear the Archdiocese just received the report of abuse.
The ‘EXPERTS’ are usually wrong as at one time all the ‘EXPERTS’ agreed that the World was FLAT !
I know this teacher. He has never been accused of this type of behavior. The Arch. Dio. of Phila. had him put on administrative leave and has to this date never informed him or the school of the actual accusation. (Which you are correct only came to light in April). It’s funny how quickly they moved on a lay person and how slow they move on the clergy. They moved so fast that they haven’t even investigated the accusations, nor have they spoken to this teacher. I believe he is innocent until they prove him guilty. I hope it gets resolved, but his reputation is ruined.
I was taught by this teacher for four years and never once saw him act even remotely inappropriate in the classroom. I understand victim’s rights but what about his rights? How can they not even tell him what he accused of? I also will continue to believe he is innocent until it’s proven that he is guilty.
completely agree with nancyanne (nice play on the name) and goodmanfalselyaccused! i know this teacher as well and was taught by him for 4 years and i never once saw him act inappropriate towards any of the students. also he taught at nazareth for about 20 to 30 years (i cant remember which) if he was a predator dont you think he would have approached a girl at nazareth!!? i mean it is an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL! i know some people are afraid to fess up but dont you think at least one other girl would have came forward? i mean there is always the chance that this is the one and only instance that this alleged abuse occurred but i, myself, find it hard to believe. usually if you are a sex offender you do this type of thing more than one time and no one else has come forward since the allegations. i am going to hold out and believe he is innocent until proven guilty. i wish him all the best, but if i am wrong i hope the victim gets the justice she truly deserves.
nancyanne, and manaccused, and Monsignor…none of us can possibly know if he abused…but your attitudes create one more hurdle to jump in order for a victim to come forward.
I’ve seen the insides of a diocese that lies…I promise you one thing…he was suspended for good reason.
Do you have any idea what it takes to finally come forward?
I sit in rooms full of clergy abuse survivors…the theme? The hierarchy lies. One victim went to the church, was told the accusation was non-crredible, sat in that room for YEARS before another victim started sharing their story…SAME abuser! The second victim never went public after hearing how the first one was treated.
So, according to the diocese, that priest never abused anyone…”he’s a good man and everyone loves him.”
They bullied the first victim and that set precedent. So until another of that priests victims (if they haven’t taken their own lives) comes forward with “documented proof” or the strength to withstand fighting the diocese, the hierarchy will continue to lie and no one’s children will be safe.
I didn’t see the chaplain at my high school do anything inappropriate with anyone…EVER. My family be-friended the man, likeable guy, “holy” man. Everyone loved him. So when it makes the front page of the paper that he allegedly abused, no one believed the victim. In fact, I mentally ran down a list of priests I would have believed to have abused before I would have ever suspected him.
The verdict? He was guilty. It took a counselor the boy was seeing to report it. According to the church, he only had one victim. I have some land at the North Pole I’d like to sell you too.
Let me explain something clearly; Child abusers do not abuse every child they come in contact with. They pick and choose the vulnerable children. They select children they know are isolated and are less likely to speak up about the abuse. Furthermore, I have never heard of anyone abusing a child in a public place, or in a classroom full of other students, or in busy hallways at school. Child abusers do things in secret and they force their victims to keep the abuse secret.
I have never seen Reese’s make their fabulous peanut butter cups. Does that mean that Reese’s doesn’t make peanut butter cups? Of course not. I see peanut butter cups in stores all the time. However, because Mars and other companies are highly secretive about their recipes, I may never get to see exactly how they make their candies. Same thing with child abusers. They are very secretive, and they usually present themselves as good people, but when they get a child alone, that’s when the evil is revealed. To claim that no child could have been abused by a specific priest is as much nonsense as me claiming that peanut butter cups don’t exist because I’ve never seen them made. (I have sat in a room with 20 victims of clergy sexual abuse. I have met hundreds of victims.)
Just because no more victims have come forward yet doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t anymore. Being sexually abused as a child and then trying to find your voice years later to talk about it has been one of the most difficult issues of my life. It was in fact, something I had always planned on taking to my grave. It is the people who believe that Father Perfect couldn’t possibly abuse a child that kept me silent for so many years. It was Father Perfect who convinced me that no one would listen to or believe me anyway. But… when I came forward and went public, seven more victims of my abuser read my story and came forward as well.
Don’t the Catholics have some belief that “just because you don’t see it doesn’t make it false?”
Rich:
I hope and pray you take this the way I mean it– you should write and get published. You are a superb writer!
I couldn’t agree more. Rich, your writing is raw and eloquent. It’s truth will touch many people.
Rich,I am jumping on the bandwagon with Susan and Gerald.I have often thought what a gifted writer you are when I have been reading many of your posts on the site.You are the voice of many victims and so eloquently and rationally put into words what so many must feel but are unable to verbalize or put on paper.
I believe that people in life find each other for a reason. I am glad you have found us and the many followers of this site. Kathy
Well thank you for saying that. I write short stories to an email list of over 550 recipients, most of which are abuse victims themselves. Some are family members of abuse victims and others are people who wish to change the current state of the Catholic Church and our society in order to save children and vulnerable adults from a lifetime of anguish and grief. Writing has always been a kind of penance for me, and at 3am when everybody is asleep and I can’t sleep, a blank word processor and my fingers usually allow me to work out my problems. I have, after all, written over 40,000 pages of words since I came forward about the abuse I went through in February 2009. Some people do drugs and others drink alcohol, but I write in my prison.
I am very passionate about this subject and I’m sure many people get that impression. The abuse I went through as a child was so horrific, so painful, with a strong dreadful sense of being alone that I never want another child to feel that suffering. It is suffering! The sexual abuse many times was extremely painful to deal with, mostly because, without being too graphic, some parts just don’t fit. But it is the aftermath that I would spend the next 20+ years running away from, and man did I run. I went to Arizona, California, Mexico, and Canada. Unfortunately, whatever I did or as far away as I tried to get I could not get myself far away from myself. When people ask me what my mentality is like and why I can’t just “get over it,” I ask, “Think of your most happy moment of your life. Got it? Now spend the next 20 years trying to forget.” In my case, most of my childhood memories are bad… really bad.
When I write on different forums and leave posts, sure I’m hoping to twist some minds and ultimately I hope what I write is taken seriously and parents, teachers, and caretakers are more aware of the signs of child abuse and/or neglect, and will become better educated so no child has to experience this hell. However, I also write for me. I don’t need to be the center of attention, and in fact I don’t even want to be, but I feel like when I get my words out there, I feel better about myself. I feel like Father Pervert has less of a grasp on me today because I don’t keep secrets anymore. Everything I write is my truth and straight from the heart. Everything I write is me on paper or who I hope to be someday.
When I left the high school where I was abused by a priest, after my freshman year, I went to public school. Because of being so mentally screwed up from the abuse, I didn’t listen in school or participate. English and Science were my best subjects. Those were the subjects my mother also taught in Catholic High School. Halfway through my sophomore year I was failing every subject. By the end of the year, I had just barely squeaked by in all of my subjects but English. I was forced to attend Rittenhouse Academy in Center City Philadelphia for summer. There, my life changed. Most of the other students in the class were middle-aged black homeless men who wanted to get an education so they could do something with their lives, and this class was free to them. They were so smart and they gave me the gift of wanting to write as well. They showed me how and I was enthusiastic about it. They criticized me when I thought Walt Whitman’s writing were the mutterings of an incoherent fool. These days, I can’t get enough of Walt Whitman. I read Leaves of Grass constantly and much of Whitman’s prose.
My life has not been all sunshine and rainbows, but I’ve been lucky enough to meet some people along the way who have contributed to showing me the way. I don’t remember any of their names, but I will always be thankful for what they did for me. They were my real teachers!
Rich,
I just hope you’ve kept everything you ever wrote; you can put it together and make it a book.
Well do you know how many flash drives it takes to save all of that data? I have 2 loaded up, working on my third. I hardly ever re-read anything I write though. Writing for me is like my therapy when I’m not at therapy. I have worked on a lot of stuff to put together for a book, but I’m still on the fence about whether or not I would want other people to read what I write. My stuff can be very raw and emotional. I’m not an expert, nor am I a doctor. I’m just not sure how much of what I write can actually help people, unless someone is interested in how I’ve managed to lived as long as I have and maintain some sanity along the way.
What you have written here has helped me…I can only imagine how others would be helped too.
If you are supposed to go that direction, I’d like a signed copy. lol
Of course there’s a chance that he’s guilty but there’s also a chance that he is not. Just as the victim deserves someone on their side so does the accused, especially in this case. He is a good and kind man and a wonderful teacher and I will be in his corner until it can be proven otherwise.
I’m not trying to trash the victim or invalidate what they are saying, I’m just supporting a man whom I believe deserves the support.
Nancy?
How do you think you will feel being in his corner if he is found guilty?
What will that say about you?
To answer your question I will be disappointed and heartbroken if he is found guilty. I always looked to this teacher like a dad. Even though I will be upset, i will not be mad at myself for following my heart, even if I end up being wrong.
I think me supporting him shows that I am a person who wants to hear the full story and see a person tried in a court of law because I don’t just jump on the “guilty” bandwagon.
I read your previous posts in this thread and I am sensitive to your situation. One of my close relatives was abused by multiple priests at his high school. That hit my whole family very hard. I am not against victim’s rights in any way shape or form but I am not just going to automatically jump to guilty every time someone makes an accusation.
The only info that I am aware that was released was that he was accused of inappropriate behavior and NA had no choice but to put him on leave because of the accusations. If you have a more damning story to convince me that he is guilty, please share.