Bevilacqua should be compelled to testify. He has no problem speaking with his visitors. I love this quote from the defense – “the strain of such a requirement on Cardinal Bevilacqua is simply inhumane.” Excuse me – endangering children is inhumane.
Here’s the article:
“Lawyers want ailing Bevilacqua to testify on tape for abuse trial,” by Nancy Phillips, David O’Reilly and Maria Panaritis for The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 4, 2011
I doubt they will get him to testify and even if they do, his answers will be , “I don’t recall”, or “I have no recollection.”
If President Mubarak can testify in the court on trial from a gurney, possibly the cardinal could entertain the questions of the DA in a more criminal event than that witnessed in Egypt. After all, the sexual abuse predators were allowed to continue their activities over many years. These persons violated the human rights and destroyed the lives of hundreds of children in this Archdiocese. How sad that the lawyers for the cardinal consider this intrusion to be inhumane. Please help us to understand the real gravity of this situation.
Inhumane? How insulting to every single victim of clergy sex abuse. I’m sure they could give you a different deffinition of ‘inhumane’ than being asked some questions on tape.
They can’t get him to testify. They should just put him in jail.
You could never get him to do the right thing. He covered up child rape. He allowed known child rapists to be moved in his organization. He lied. He fought the victims. He’s lying about being too sick to testify, and if he did testify, he would lie again. Cardinal Krol was the same before him. Cardinal Rigali was the same after him.
Why does the congregation follow these bishops that abuse the rules of their own God? This is an intelligence test and a test of compassion for children. Bishops proved they don’t have either, and neither does the remaining congregation.
A ‘congregation of sheep breeds a hierarchy of wolves ! I believe the current pew potatoes will die off as they will never fully accept the fact that ‘priests don’t become pedophiles , pedophiles become priests ‘!
I, too, feel speechless when I consider how gullible congregations are when it comes to believing the lies which the Vatican and the Hierarchy dish out concerning the Priest Pedophilia Scandal. Maybe the people of Philly will wake up and require their bishops, cardinals, and past cardinal to stand up and testify. So what if they are humiliated! Think of how those who were abused feel?
If he were truly a God loving and Christian man he would be happy to get it off his conscience ~ especially if he is as “ill” as his lawyers say.
Don’t people usually have a change of heart when they are near death’s door??
Unless of course you were the Archbishop of Philadelphia.
Regina posted: “Don’t people usually have a change of heart when they are near death’s door??”
Actually Regina, I have heard that most people face death with the same attitude they had during their lifetime; so, if they were rejecting Christ as their Savior in life, that’s how they end it. And if so, they are in Hell for eternity. Note: Eternity NEVER ends.
That is why believers , bible believers, always, always will be found telling others about reconciliation that is a free gift from the cross work of Christ when believed in.
To all who have blogged so far: The Archbishop of philadelphia, Bevilicqua believes he has been forgiven by God, all he has to do is confess and be obsolved, this is what my perp, priest said to me, I have been forgiven by God! Its the aggragance of it all and the total lack of reality. They actually believe this crap with having NO firm purpose of amendent.
Vicky — I agree with you 100%. In their arrogance, it’s only been us pew peyons that they have held to the highest standards of accountability. All the finger-wagging they have done and continue to do is never directed to the mirror.
OK Vicky, and all here:
Let’s face this questionright now. On a personal level what are each of you going to believe? The bible says we[sinners all] are saved [from eternal punishment in Hell] in only one way, repeat-
One Way; and that is by faith [the faith of Christ]that Christ died once , was buried and rose again for the forgiveness of our sin [all of our sin.] So everyone ask yourself this question: Believing the gospel above, would YOU still insist you had to confess all your sins to a priest and receive communion?
One cannot have it both ways.
I Cor. 15:1-4
Eph. 1:13
Vicky,
I don’t believe for one minute Bevil “believes he has been forgiven by God.” No one has peace with God unless he has believed the gospel of Christ as given to us in God’s Word; only then does a man know in his heart that all of his sins are forgiven. That is why Cathlics are taught they can never know they are saved until death [council of Trent- 15thcentury] you see– Catholic doctrine has rejected- ruled out the gospel of grace in the bible.
The Archbishop of Philadelphia? More likely the Archbishop of Pedophilia. Actually the issue at present isn’t about The Church – it is about justice. It is not about forgiveness – he hasn’t asked for it from what has been reported so far. Even if he asked God for forgiveness, that is not enough. He owes it to the laity to ask for their forgiveness also – especially those who were sexually abused. What should occur now has nothing to do with religion – it has to do with justice and the public court system. If he is found to be lying and covering up that is worse than the original crimes against persons. It allowed more and more priests to continue to abuse children over a long time.
I am so proud of our DA, Seth Williams, for pushing this. Also, the ADAs who conducted the Grand Jury questioning did a FANTASTIC job exposing the Cardinal as the arrogant, evil, liar that he is.
In trials if someone pleads incompetence the judge orders ‘experts’ one from each side to evaluate. Get it done.
Yes! And we know the Cardinal is fond of “experts”.
I agree with Charles that DA Seth Williams is a real hero for pushing for this. I, for one, do not believe the Cardinal is incompetent \or even has dementia. Just another way to hide from the truth of the evil that was done on his watch. And Susan is so right when she says that what is inhumane is what happened to our children.
Dear Mr. Legislator,
I’m writing to you because I want to tell you a little bit about my life and how it has been effected by sexual abuse. I was 14 years-old when Father John McDevitt, a Catholic priest, starting molesting me. First he groomed me by providing protection from the school’s bullies, but I didn’t realize what his true intentions were until the touching began. During the worst of times, I was manipulated into thinking that this kind of touching was okay because this was a man of God showing me the attention. I suppose I was looking for the father-figure type to help guide me in the right direction in life. My own father was a chronic alcoholic and because of the amount of time he spent working and drinking in bars, my brothers and I didn’t see him much. I guess I would say that I was raised by a single mother with an absentee father. I used to think when I was a kid, my father didn’t really want anything to do with his family.
During the school year of 1990-91, Father McDevitt befriended me and like I said previously, provided protection from the school bullies, who beat me up on a regular basis because of my perceived homosexuality. Often during lunch period, other boys would pick fights with me and throw food in my direction. Right from the start, my time at Father Judge High School was very unpleasant. When Father McDevitt came along, I looked at him as my savior and what better friend and protector to have than a Catholic priest. I mean this man was God on Earth, and I felt quite a bit of gratification that he chose me instead of the bullies. It wasn’t until around Christmas time that this friendship started to change. Slowly he started putting his hands on me. He’d rub my thighs, my shoulders, and then work his way to my crotch. It freaked me out of course, and even though I tried many times to get away from him and the touching, he would force me into a position where I couldn’t move. He threatened to “feed me to the wolves” so to speak, as he meant that if I didn’t obey what he wanted then he would turn loose the school bullies onto me.
During the most severe parts of the abuse, he digitally penetrated me and crushed one of my testicles between his thumb and index finger. He took me to the boy’s bathroom and told me urinate as he watched. He pushed me up against the urinal hard when I couldn’t squeeze out one drop because of being humiliated by having to urinate in front of him. He would often tell me things about other boys, sometimes describe their genitals to me, which led me to believe that I wasn’t the only one he was doing this to. Before and after the abuse happened, he would force me to kiss him and he would put his tongue in my mouth. I wanted to throw up. He’d force me to tell him that “I loved him.” I hated him. When I threatened to tell my Mom or someone else about what was going on, he physically hurt me and threatened to do worse if I ever did tell anyone. I believed him.
While in religion class with other boys, he’d call me a faggot and a “bottom boy.” I didn’t understand what he meant but I knew it wasn’t a compliment because the insult drew a lot of laughter from my fellow classmates. I believe to initiate the abuse he threatened to fail me in religion, thus practically forcing me to be tutored by him, at which time I was often sexually abused. My uncle was Cardinal John J. O’Connor, the late Cardinal of New York, and there was no way I could go home to my very Catholic, Irish Ultra-conservative parents and tell them I failed Religion. I couldn’t tell them I failed any subject, because I was often told that my father worked long and hard jobs to keep myself and my brothers in Catholic school, to get a better education. The only education I was getting would completely ruin my life.
So anyway I’m writing to you and I’m wondering why the State of Pennsylvania does not let victims of child abuse, like myself, seek justice against those who abused us, and even more importantly, those who knew we were being abused and did nothing to stop it? Why does Pennsylvania protect deviant men instead of innocent children? What will it take to change the laws regarding the Statute of Limitations? I’d hate to see a politician’s child abused before action is taken to penalize those who abuse the most trusting and innocent members of society… children.
I pay taxes. The Catholic Church pays no taxes, but yet the institution seems to run our country. That doesn’t seem very fair to me. I abide by the law and I always try to help people out. I’m not a wealthy man and I can’t pay lobbyists millions of dollars to prevent more suitable laws in our legislatures that would protect children. Does money run the State of Pennsylvania? Does crime? Do child abusers? When will Pennsylvania stand up and do the right thing? We always hear about how awful it is when a child is abused, and usually it is something that turns the stomachs of ordinary people, but explain to me why it’s different when the abuser is a Catholic priest.
To the above victim. My eyes are filled with tears after reading your story. I am a former catholic who was not sexually abused by anyone in the church but I did go to catholic school and remember being smacked arcross my head with anything that was in the nun’s hand and the time, Book, ruler, pointer. I remember cleaning up my own vomit when I was just a little kid and got sick in school. I cannot understand how and why I practiced the catholic faith all the way into my late adult life. I remember seeing priests having their “favorites” and giving young men who they may have preceived as being “gay” the eyes. I am so sick and tired of other catholics telling me that the reason people are reporting the abuse is for money. Give me a break, these Catholics need to read the Grand Jury Report. The Cardinal being too frail and sick to testify, what bull, It would be inhumane and traumatic for him, really, how would he feel about someone shoving their tongue in his mouth and squeezing his testicles between fingers. Now I know why I heard other demominations refer to the Catholic church as a cult who sacrifices their children.
Dear Mr. Legislator,
You haven’t responded to any of my last 703 letters I have written to your office. Maybe you’re a little too busy to respond or maybe you don’t care. Maybe when you read my letters and you thought about your own children it makes you sick to your stomach to think anything like what happened to me could happen to them. The truth is that it could happen to any child. These perpetrators that we’re dealing with are very intelligent men (and woman). They have great capacity to be able to manipulate a child, any child, to get what they want. They are psychological experts and they have the ability to find and fill a void in a child’s life, maneuver through a situation to gain access and control over the child. Sometimes they even employ the same techniques with the parents or caretakers to influence them in order to spend more time, unsupervised time, with the child. All children are vulnerable. No child is safe so long as the necessary precautions are not utilized.
As I’ve written in so many letters prior, I believe my abuser was an expert in manipulating me and gaining access and control over me. He initially showed loved, when his intent was actually harm. He easily played the role of friendship, when it was obvious later that a friend would never portray himself to be anything other than kind and gentle. It was anything but gentle. When I refused his touching, it only enraged him more. When I tried to get away, he used physical force to keep me within his reach. When I begged him to stop, he laughed and told me to sit still. When I told him the touching didn’t feel right, he told me to leave it up to him as to what was and wasn’t right. He made me feel like I was worthless and alone.
He was a Catholic priest, as I’ve written many times before. In my family a priest was held in high regard and should have been treated with the utmost respect. No parent could every believe that a Man of God was capable of doing such horrific things to a child. My own parents didn’t believe me when I first told them. I was, in fact, the nephew of a very powerful Catholic Cardinal, and Catholicism was not only practiced in school, during Saturday and Sunday Mass, and readings during bedtime, it was engrained in our everyday, and we ate, slept, and bled Jesus Christ.
To be sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest is the ultimate breach of trust. We were taught from a young age to go to the priest for help before we went to the police officer. We were made to believe that the priest had wisdom and was able to show the love of God on Earth. When a priest is abusing you as a child, you can only think of a few things when you are that child, “what did I do to deserve this? I certainly cannot blame the “good priest.” Somehow it has to be my fault. Why am I such a horrible person? I must’ve seduced this priest and corrupted him? If my parents or anyone ever finds out, my life will be over. I feel so alone. I don’t understand why this is happening to me. It’s hurts. I don’t know how to stop it. I’m embarrassed and I feel like my body doesn’t belong to me. I feel like a layer of crud is all over my body. I got an erection when he did that thing to me. I feel like I’m going to throw up. I felt like I was going to suffocate. I’m covered in a slime and five straight showers won’t clean it off. I could always run away but it’s winter time and I have nowhere to go. I just want it to stop so badly and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do to stop it. Maybe this is how it is for boys like me. I guess I deserve it.”
Did I deserve it, Mr. Legislator? I’m 35 years-old now and I don’t feel like I deserved it. Why won’t my government protect the child I was? Why does my government refuse to protect children today? Think about that for a moment, and please when you are thinking about it, think about your own children at the same time.
Inhumane? I’d be more than happy to testify in front of a Grand Jury and explain to them what is “inhumane.” It is inhumane for humans to abuse their young. It is inhumane for humans to corrupt and destroy the next generation of leaders, and teachers, and doctors.
You want to talk about “strain?” How about having the shit kicked out of you by your sexually abusive priest because he wants you to urinate in front of him and you can’t squeeze out of drop? How about having the tar knocked out of you in a classroom full of other boys because you won’t tolerate one more minute of being called a “faggot?”
The Cardinal’s “memory has deteriorated.” Lucky him! I still have my memories and they’re not good. Why don’t we talk about how life has deteriorated for all of the childhood sexual abuse victims while Cardinal Bevilacqua was in control?
“Any testimony the Cardinal would give would only confuse and prejudice the proceedings…” You want to talk about confusion? Come study my brain and my life. You could just about squeeze the amount of confusion I have into the Grand Canyon!
“Cardinal Bevilacqua knew and deliberately endangered thousands of children with his actions!” Truth! “Msgr. Lynn knowingly put children in harm’s way by assigning abusive priests to parishes where they had unsupervised access to children.” My experience has proven that statement to be entirely accurate and truthful.
The Grand Jury concluded that “Msgr. Lynn was carrying out the Cardinal’s policies exactly as the Cardinal directed.” You hear that, Uncle Jack (Cardinal O’Connor)? If all these other cardinals knew, then I’m sure you, who was known as the second most powerful Catholic in the world, only behind the Pope, knew as well. I’ll see you in the next life!