“The List” tells the hidden story of one of the worst criminal cover-ups in America’s history – the clergy sex abuse scandal in Philadelphia. The victims, hundreds of children whose lives were destroyed. The perpetrators, Catholic priests protected by their church.
Catholics4Change is honored to have been a part of the making of this documentary. It will appear on WHYY, Friday, May 12th at 10:30 pm. You can also view it through this link:
Just watched “The List” with my husband. The information is by no means new, but the horror of it is so great, one’s reaction is still strong. This should be required watching for all Philadelphians, especially Catholics. The reporting by the attorneys and the civilians is factual, concise, and easily understood–no embellishments, exaggeration, or excessive emoting here. As the D.A. pointed out, it is also a horror for those good priests who have nothing to do with this. However, I’m afraid their reputations are tainted by their association with an organization that has, in the past, and continues to this day, sacrificed the welfare of children in the covering up, and therefore enabling, of abuse. The abusing priests are sick, sick, sick–but the hierarchy of the church doing the covering up and enabling is just plain evil.
God Bless all of you involved in this documentary. I admire your heart, courage and persistence. You are always in my thoughts and prayers!
Reblogged this on Voice of the Faithful ® and commented:
Please watch …
Thank you for the post.
I do wonder why there is no posts or comments about Det Walsh’s recent affidavits. Ralph Cipriano has some very interesting articles on bigtrial.net
I agree that those who a culpable deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But if we are truly to be Catholics4Change we cannot allow DAs to bend the rules with Grand Juries nor can we allow “Judges” to persecute good Priests and Teachers because of the sins of others. These DAs and “Judges” need to be held accountable
Too many good Priests and Teachers have suffered because of the sins of others. We need to have their backs
To what are you referring? What bending of rules and what prosecution of uninvolved priests and teachers?
I was referring to “prosecutorial misconduct” and “judicial misconduct” Seth Williams, Pat Blessington, and Mark Cippoletti need to be held accountable. One of the judges involved in the improper prosecutions of Fr Engelhardt and Mr Shero is actually on the ballot tomorrow. Justice delayed is …
Like The Philadelphia Inquirer, many people would rather pretend it’s not happening.
I don’t see it as pretending it’s not happening as I think like any case it will be played out in the courts. Kjw says that people who are culpable should be prosecuted… well we all know that cannot happen because of the statutes so comments like that are either sarcastic or very uninformed.
The Lynn case will be settled in court, not on this blog. Personally I am still trying to make sure children are safe in this Archdiocese and I don’t think they are so that will always be first on my agenda. There are so many different angles and stories from the past 50 years until present. I would tell anyone to pursue what is most important to them, what injustice takes priority. To me it will always be the kids, to someone else maybe not. No stones being thrown on where people focus their energy.
When a Catholic priest who never touched a child is put in jail on false charges, smeared by the media, and dies in jail after being handcuffed to a hospital bed and being denied life-saving surgery, we ought to be outraged.
When a district attorney uses the courts to stage a witch hunt that creates phony victims and smears innocent men by accusing them of the most vile crimes imaginable, we ought to be outraged.
When a Catholic school teacher is sent to jail for 8 to 16 years for crimes that were invented by the fertile imagination of a junkie criminal collaborating with a prosecutor who writes fiction, we ought to be outraged.
The criminal justice system has been prostituted by a charlatan DA. Two phony victims of abuse were created by the DA. And the media abandoned its watchdog role to engage in actively crucifying four men who didn’t do what they were accused of.
While protecting the identify of the phony victim known as Billy Doe, even after he’d been unmasked as a fraud.
We ought to be outraged over that. On this blog, the victims lobby ought to question where they went wrong in their zeal to seek revenge against the church. But that ain’t happening, and that’s part of the problem.
The cause of truth is not advanced by lies. The end does not justify the means.
Ralph we aren’t a victims lobby. When the GJ report came out we had the same info you did and your blog has evolved over time. You spent everyday at the trial, you started to take a different direction as things didn’t seem as they did at first. We focus on the clergy abuse issue not just the Lynn trial. I encourgae you to continue your pursuits and we have linked to your blog and always engage when you comment. You cant tell people what to be outraged about. I sure wish I could. To be honest I think the common thing we both share is that people don’t care. They don’t care if people like Englehardt were railroaded and they don’t care that the Church continues to treat kids like second class citizens in matters of safety.
When I say it will play out in court it is not sarcasm . Avery plead guilty, Lynn was not helped hy that as their was not a cross examination of the witness. Victims aren’t at fault for these things. Most victims are not even involved in any way with the Lynn trial and they are accused of seeking revenge against the Church because in 2011 the DA’s office came forward with what they claim was a legitimate case that was able to be prosecuted.
As one of the witnesses who appears in the list, I think it did a great job of bringing the shame of the church to an audience that needs to hear about it. But the film falls apart when it tries to reconcile the investigation done under Lynne Abraham with the investigation done under Seth Williams.
Lynn Abraham’s report dealt with real victims. Seth’s report made up two victims. Danny Gallagher/Billy Doe is a fraud, as the detective who led the D.A’s own investigation has come forward this week to say:
http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/05/detective-billy-doe-admitted-that-he.html
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the actual document filed in court Monday by Detective Walsh that you can read for yourself:
http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/05/case-closed-detective-joe-walshs-12.html
Moreover, Abraham and Williams took completely opposing viewpoints on whether Msgr. Lynn could be charged with child endangerment under Pennsylvania law. Only one of them could be right, and one of them could be wrong.
Abraham came to the conclusion that the law did not apply to supervisors such as Msgr. Lynn, and then she led a statewide campaign to amend the law so it would apply to supervisors such as Msgr. Lynn.
She is right. Williams charged Msgr. Lynn under a law that didn’t apply to him purely for political gain. He appears to be an unscrupulous official who happens at present to be charged in a 29-count federal indictment. His actions, which he has never explained, remain highly suspect.
When the film presents the actions of Abraham and Williams as part of the same lawful investigation, it fails, as recent events have shown all too well.
Ralph Cipriano
This was tough for me to watch. But, for contributors (including myself) and followers of C4C over the years, it should be affirming in the sense that our advocacy helped to uncover the evil of what we emphatically knew was “one of the largest social crises [and crimes] in the last century.” We had the courage, decency, personal standards, and good consciences to confront it. When I watched the documentary, I could not help imagining C4C folks ghosting in every segment, invisible and in the background, but there. Because we were and are.
In the documentary, the juxtaposition of Fr. Chris and Archbishop Chaput is mind boggling. Fr. Chris “gets” the culture of the priesthood, the entire cause of the sexual abuse crisis, and how the continuity of the faith has been compromised by the common perception that priests lack “integrity.” All you have to do is look at him to know the powerlessness, sadness and regret that he feels in light of the hierarchy’s failure to accept accountability and couple mercy with justice. (If you are human, as I am, you will be inclined to momentarily question Fr. Chris’ sincerity because the documentary points out how investigators came to trust Fr. Malloy who ultimately betrayed them. Our inclination, however, only supports Fr. Chris’ assertion that priests are viewed as “lacking integrity.”) Archbishop Chaput creates an effect so contrasting to Fr. Chris’ that you have to wonder why Fr. Chris is not the archbishop and how Chaput managed to climb the rungs of the hierarchical ladder? Clearly, the hierarchical ladder is broken when one of its climbers speaks to victims, the families of victims, advocates, and Catholics insensitively, arrogantly and condescendingly– he’s sick and tired of the “blame, blame, blame… and the unjust accusations.” Pastoral of him, isn’t it? Is Chaput human? When did his heart and conscience leave him?
Reform seminary education and the priesthood.
Marci Hamilton says it all: “… they seem incapable of changing.”
Nice to see friends like Sr. Maureen and Ralph Cipriano bring their expertise to the documentary.
Arthur. “… young Arthur.” Pray for us.
Kate FitzGerald
Kate: Ralph Cipriano may be your friend but he is not my friend or a friend to the many victims who have posted on this site. He has attacked victims here on several occasions. In watching the video, I failed to see anything that Ralph added to the conversation. Like his friends David Pierre and William Donahue, Ralph has profited financially from his investigative journalism. When will he disclose why Chaput paid Billy Doe to disappear. That might be real investigative reporting.
To save the reputations of the clergy who participated in the list is my theory Jim. Avery was on the list ,I can imagine that all clergy involved and with knowledge would be called in Billy Doe’s civil suit. Some are now bishops. Just my hunch. I agree that it would be quite a story to delve into and would probably attract a wider audience than either the Lynn / BillynDoe or child safety. Money always draws an audience.
Jim, no offense intended. It is sometimes difficult to understand everything from my location in northern NY. I am thankful people like you will correct the record. Thank you.
Kate
Wow. Hey Jim, put up or shut up. Your charges are really off base. Nobody paid me to appear in that video. Please explain how I “profited” from my investigative journalism. As for why Chaput paid Billy Doe to disappear I have no answers, other than the Pope was about to show up in town and didn’t want to be embarrassed. Chaput ain’t talking.
So, you were never paid for your articles that appeared in several national publications touting your theories and suppositions about what happened to Billy Doe. For some unexplained reason you have a vendetta against that victim and all victims of clergy abuse. Have you ever done a story or shown any compassion for any victim of clergy abuse. You have posted on this site many times questioning victims. Bill Donahue, your friend. believes that you should be awarded some prize for your fictitious writing. The fact is your theories are full of crap.
Jim, the D.A.’s office under Lynne Abraham used to hand out the story I wrote for National Catholic Reporter as a synopsis of their 2005 grand jury report. It’s not as simple as you make it sound. I am no friend of the church. I have been denounced from every pulpit in the archdiocese by name as an enemy of the Catholic church for writing about what they were doing with their money back in the 90s.
From what you’ve written, you’re a one-issue guy. Victims always right, church always wrong. Sadly, that’s not true. And my articles have relied on facts, not theories. Those articles are drawn on formerly confidential grand jury reports, police records, psychiatrist’s reports, medical records, etc.
You don’t agree with what those facts say, so you’re attacking the messenger. Just like what Cardinal Bevilacqua and Brian Tierney used to do when I was writing about what they were secretly doing with their money back in the days when they were redecorating the cardinal’s mansion, renovating the cardinal’s seaside villa, and building a multimedia conference center on top of the archdiocese building. At the same time they were closing inner-city parishes and schools because they were supposedly going broke.
You are sadly misinformed.
Ralph I think that the problem could be that along with the facts you present, and you absolutely do the researc,no doubt about that, the comments such as” victims seeking revenge on the Church” If Billy Doe is the liar you claim he is, then he is not a victim seeeking revenge but just a fraud. I have to say that the many people I communicate with in the victim/survior community are just trying to get through the day and don’t spend time seeking revenge . A family I spoke with the other day is just trying to get through Mother’s day without their child…I think there are statements made that generalize and some of the commentors that post on your site really do seem to be more of the Catholic League victim haters than the rational “kofpride” commentors when this all first started. Remember “kofpride” the attorney who would comment on your site? He/She was excellent in calling out the Archdiocese,calling out the problems with the court case/law applying etc, without attacking victims. If this all does turn out to be as you say then the victims have been duped again.
As you know as I have always said if the court determined the law does not apply then let these men go,if Billy Doe is a fraud then let these men go. That will all happen in court.not on a blog. I have said this on the site and in private to victims and never once was attacked at all..because I also do not blame the victims for this Billy Doe/Lynn situation. If I was raped as a kid, struggled to deal with that, had to go up against the Church to report etc,had to be alienated in many ways from the faith I grew up,had to be labeled as money hungry when I was just trying to protect kids etc..and now this court case might show something different than how the authorities first presented and now this reporter guy comes on a survivor/victim site and seems outraged that I am not outraged about a situation I neither caused or was involved in…..you see the problem Ralph?
Ralph Cipriano has been the only source to tackle both sides of issues. The “mainstream” media continues its anti-Catholic slant. Ralph calls out the “leaders” of the Church who have been culpable, BUT he as also called out the money-chasers who have made up stories that have put innocent men in prison.
And if you have paid any attention at all, you will have read Ralph Cipriano’s blistering criticisms of the Archdiocese’s settlement with Gallagher
Thanks, KJW, I appreciate that. But single-issue ideologues like Jim Tucker would rather paint me as an unscrupulous reporter out to get rich by trashing victims. Notice, Jim Tucker hasn’t said a word about Detective Joe Walsh’s deposition, which speaks for itself in exposing Billy Doe as a complete fraud.
Thank you. Should be viewed by all.
So, you were actually a reporter before you got fired by the Inquirer and became a shill for people like Bill Donahue and David Pierre. So were you or were you not paid by national publications for your fact filled? attacks on a clergy abuse victim. So what was it about Billy Doe that convinced you that he was lying. Was it the fact he was a drug user. Was it that his father was a cop. Did his clothing or manner of speech turn you off. You claim that I am a one issue person. is ridiculous. You have come on this site several times not just to attack Billy Doe, but other victims as well.You may have been a voice of reason at one time, but today it is simply about the next story you can sell, truth be damned.
The facts you are distorting are all on the public record; no need for me to go into them again. Your argument is ridiculous. My loyalty has been to the truth, whether it went for or against the church. Keep up the attacks, it will keep you from confronting unpleasant truths about your black and white view of the universe.
News flash: “Billy Doe” is not a victim of sex abuse. He is a fraud as the DA’s own lead detective has come forward last week to say.
Hey Jim, let’s eliminate the messenger. Here is the affidavit by Detective Walsh:
http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/05/case-closed-detective-joe-walshs-12.html
Why don’t you impugn his motives?
When looking at this whole William Lynn/ Billy Doe story, I can’t help but look at the motivation of one reporter who continues to flame the fire. When writing a story, some writers come to a conclusion and then search for facts that will back up their conclusion. Ralph, you obviously came to the conclusion that Billy Doe was a liar. You have searched far and wide for evidence that supports your story. In doing so, you have ignored other evidence that contradicts your theory. I again , I ask you what about Billy Doe convinced you he was not telling the truth, Was it the fact that he was a drug user. Was it the fact his dad was a cop. Or was it more a cultural bias on your part. Is it difficult to see a male as a victim of sexual abuse. One thing I know for sure is that you were not motivated by some sense of social justice. There are hundreds of stories of innocent children sexually molested by the priests on the list. None of their stories interested you. You have lashed out at victims of sex abuse on this site and others because they do not accept your theories. You have never shown one iota of empathy towards these victims. So what is your motivation. Innocent people are convicted every day in our Court system. Guilty people are set free due to some loophole or because they are rich or famous. I have no doubt that money is part of your motivation. You have sold your stories to national publications. I would suspect that more stories will be forthcoming. But I don’t believe that is your only motivation. Because the fact of the matter is that there is no William Lynn” story . There is no Billy Doe story. There is only a “Ralph Cipriani” story. You have become the story that you are supposedly covering. You have never been very successful in your journalism career. This is your last hurrah. Well good luck with it. .
Jim, you are transparent at this point. You keep attacking me and my motives.
What about Detective Walsh’s affidavit. Did you read it? What do you think his motives were? Did it dawn on you that for a cop to come forward and make this kind of declaration is an extremely unusual thing to do? And against his own self-interests?
When I wrote about the 2005 grand jury report, all I did was write about victims of sex abuse. You’re ignoring that:
http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005d/100705/100705a.php
There is no evidence that supports Billy Doe’s stories. All the evidence gathered by the DA’s own detectives contradicts him, including church records, his own mother’s calendars, etc.
But you keep dwelling on my motives with your personal attacks. On the facts, you are backing a loser. All you can do is keep attacking, and throwing up one emotional argument after another.
It’s not working.
Jim the Archdiocese in this situation the is like the main character in a play whose storyline ends abruptly and you leave scratching your head at what happened. Lynn, their yes man, is still hanging in the wind. Avery, the creepy priest they should have kicked out years earlier,took a plea because of the skeletons in his closet. Englehardt,well he was an not even one of their Archdiocesan priests so who cares about his last days. Ralph, the pit bull reporter, they probably secretly feared, is now spouting Bill Donohue type lines about victims seeking revenge on the Church. Victims with an s. not the alleged victim Doe,now it is all victims fault. In the meantime the Archdiocese men are probably turning in for the night without a care in the world after a nice steak dinner and glass of cabernet. They will be off to some event at a local parish this week where they can always count on at least a few members of the flock greeting them like teen girls at a Justin Beiber concert. They could have planned it better if they tried…oh wait ..
Kate you ask what is wrong with Chaput? Do you remember sitting in the courtroom listening to Lynn testify about how the little children were lined up to go to confession to Avery,a KNOWN abuser. He testified that they had the children go to confession to Avery out in the open rather than in a confessional box..because lining up children to go to confession to a child sex abuser makes any type of sense..at all..ever???? It SO made sense to Lynn that it was downright scary….I glanced over at the other side of the courtroom at his supporters,many parents..they didn’t blink an eye while I felt like I was going to throw up it was all so bizarre. What is wrong indeed Kate, with many in the Church.
The former pastor of my parish came forward as an abuser..he admitted it . He passed away a year or two ago and in his obituary it stated that Archbishop Chaput would be the celebrant at his funeral. He was a removed,abusive priest in the Prayer and Penance program and the Archbishop presided at his funeral. Let’s not throw all the stones at the clergy…there was a group of women,mothers,who were making this priest a memory book when he was ill. Would they be making a memory book for a pedophile soccer coach? Probably not. The culture in the Church is frightening at times Kate, and children suffer for it because a collar trumps a child to this day.
How does the Chaput personality type climb the ladder as opposed to the Fr Chris type? Because the Church culture rewards power,authority, and narcissism and the powerful,authoritive narcissists always need their “yes” men which is the Lynn personality type. Those are the ones who rise to the top while the more grounded,humble, transparent and more Christ like are out of luck if they have hierarchal aspirations but many do not because they know how the game is played. One of the most popular priests in the Archdiocese with a packed Church,full school and money in the coffers is always asked why he is not a monsignor…his response has always been ‘that will not happen” He is also genuine,honest and not a game player.
That s so true Kathy our pastor Fr. Dooner is very kind and humble and has tried to make kids as safe as possible. He was adding adults as funeral servers during the school days, half glass doors in offices and anything else needed to keep kids safe in the future. He never became a monsigner and is now retiring after having had cancer. He allowed Vicky to say her peace at a parish meeting on the child sex abuse. I felt grace at that meeting working. Like John said the catholic church handled this as risk manager approach not out of pastoral concern. I can say what I witnessed with Dr. Dooner was he was acting out of concern as a pastor. He always respected the kids boundaries and worked closely with the principle to find ways to keep the kids safe.
may I buy a DVD?
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Thank you for making this video available. Unfortunately, I do not believe the archdiocese is willing (probably capable but definitely not willing) to change. All we have to do is remember the very first thing Chaput said when he arriived here – he didn’t want “cafeteria” Catholics in Philadelphia, either you agreed with him and followed his directions or you were free to leave and, in fact, he preferred that you leave. That statement says is all. How he rose? Look what he did in Colorado and the letter he sent to all of us seeking our help to defeat the state statute of limitation law – talk about arrogance and delusions of god-hood. I knew three of the priests and suspected one of them of abusing at least one child and was heartsick when my suspicions were confirmed. However, all three are still in ministry; one still today working with children – so, a changed archdiocese – I think not. No wonder so many of us have found homes in other denominations – after all, Jesus is non-denominational.
Tearfully watched this program tonight. It was so well constructed and documented. Sadly I was aware of most of the information already. Our family has been following this crisis for many years. I guess we were silly to think that with the introduction of Chaput to our area several years ago perhaps the approach of the Archdiocese would change. I want to alert everyone that that could not be further from the truth. Five years ago I wrote to our new Archbishop listing my concerns about this matter and the way it had been handled previously, hoping for a new approach. Not to be. I received the most disgusting response from this vile man accusing me of being a poor Catholic. I am not alone in this as I am aware of others who also contacted this poor excuse of a man and were likewise told that their Catholic education was wasted on them! I no longer recognize him as a part of the Catholic religion! He is dead to me.
John I have been on the recieving end of an email like that also. There are two women who are very faithful Catholics who have emailed him about various issues. One email was when the high school teachers were on strike and the email from the one woman, a tuition paying parent, weighing in on the strike. The response was basically a hand slap…Very insulting..nothing in the woman’s email deserved a response like that. The other woman sent a letter with some various concerns,sort of a reflection on the culture she sees and has encountered, and again a hand slap ,demeaning, response.
Unfortunately we are all supposed to be yes men like Lynn and it does not go well when rational, fair minded ADULTS express an opinion on even the non controversial issues. Shut up and get back in the pew (with your wallet ready of course).
My favorite though was when a few key people from a parish sent letters expressing some concerns,they were told this better not be the start of a letter writing campaign. So what are we told to do when the Archdiocese wants something from legislators..well we are told to write letters of course but God forbid they are the ones on the recieving end of a letter. It is an absolutely ridiculous,childish and immature mentality and simply will not work .
“The video is unavailable in your area.” Is this online somewhere else?
Sadly, After fifteen years since this story broke in Boston, nothing has really changed. There are still victims out there who continue to suffer in silence. There are still those who believe and always will believe that the real victim in this case is the Catholic Church. Several of those people have posted above. William Lynn was made a scapegoat for all the thousands of priests who have victimized innocent children. He was made a scapegoat for the hundreds of Bishops who covered for the predator priests. But in no way was he innocent. He and the thousands and thousands of priests who knew about the abuse of children and stood idly by are not innocents.As a victim of clergy abuse, I m grateful for the coverage that this documentary provides. I am grateful for sites like C4C that has exposed what happened to children at the hands of predators. But , we seem to be stuck in the exposing part of this tragedy. If someone doesn’t know what happened in the first act, they were not paying attention or simply do not care. Pope Francis, who I believe has done many good things outside of the sex abuse crisis in the Church, has literally spoken out of both sides of his mouth when dealing with innocent children being sexually abused. He indeed seems to be part of the problem and not part of the solution. The culture that created the crisis remains fully intact. And then there is the elephant in the room. The elephant that nobody wants to talk about. We have a president who was caught bragging about sexually assaulting women on tape. The Republican party made that man their nominee. I have said this before on this site and I will repeat it here. The Republican party and the Catholic Church are in bed together. So long as that remains the case, Statute of Limitations legislation will never pass in the Pennsylvania legislature. I know that Republican legislative members were attacked by Archbishop Chaput last summer. Those attacks seem to have been effective. The sad fact is that victims are a very small percentage of the electorate. We may have the moral high ground but as many of us know, morality has nothing to do with it.
Jim, hope that movements like this could give you and other survivors some hope if we change the political landscape. Maybe this will give some teeth in our letters, emails, and calls. I know its a long shot, but the real threat of redistricting after the next census with the new PA supreme court is real.
Susan, if this isn’t acceptable please delete it.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/editorials/legislators-draw-odd-district-lines-that-cheat-pennsylvania-voters-20170512.html
Ed: I hope you are doing well. Unfortunately, I believe that politicians have less of a moral compass than the Bishops of the Catholic Church. I know there are exceptions like Mark Rozzi but the overwhelming majority are interested in only one thing: their next election. I guess I really don’t have much hope that anything will ever change for past victims of clergy abuse. I do believe that sites like C4C have made a difference in educating the laity and the general public that this horror exists. I believe that there are fewer victims today because victims have had the courage to speak out and sites like this one exist for them to do so. But I feel that justice for past victims is a pipe dream. And yet the horrors of the abuse continue to play out. Last week a thirty one year old victim from the Johnstown Altoona Diocese died of a drug overdose. A few weeks ago a victim who was portrayed in the movie “Spotlight” died at the age of fifty eight after years of alcohol abuse and nicotine addiction. He was able to get sober at the end but the effects of the sex abuse had already ravaged his body.
Jim , I am so sorry to hear of those deaths. People say ” it is in the past”. Well obviously it is easy to say that if they were not a victim
Jim, been dealing with a few OD victims myself and have been dealing with child sexual abuse issues that I am not at liberty to discuss.Because of the issues, I continue to remind those dealing with AA and NA that they need to be sensitive to those abused by the clergy.And I will continue to remember you in my thoughts.
I am also reminded in 1959 of a nun who apparently thought I was the object of someone at St David’s in Willow Grove. Most of us knew back them what happened when we did speak out. Both the political and religious consequences.
I also, share your skepticism of our political system, seems too many are not concerned with children – guess that priest in Dallas is still trolling after Pilate(RCC) washed his hands of him. I will always be angry at what the system did when .I had witnesses report the child sexual abuse at the hands of religious (Philly Authorities in the early 80’s). And how unconcerned they were when probation was violated Some reform did happen but people like McDevitt must had a lot of dirt to escape the corruption and child sexual abuse he committed.
Ed: My aunt was an Immaculate Heart nun who taught at St. David’s in Willow Grove around that same time. Her given name was Mary Kennedy. Her religious name was Sister Mary Agnes of Assisi. We used to go visit her at the convent on weekends and holidays. We were living in Roslyn, just a short ride away. In 1959, I was 10years old and in 5th grade. I was chosen to be an altar boy that year. The Church I attended was St. John of the Cross. Two years later in June of 1961, I was molested in the sacristy after serving Mass by the associate pastor. In High School, several of my classmates complained to me about my aunt. She was one tough cookie.I could only agree with them.
Was only 6 and that nun was watching because she was concerned so I can’t remember her name, always had a poor memory for names. Remember you writing that and tried to find that name, but they remember the incident, but not the name – basically years ago when I was trying to probe memories of child sexual abuse and the priests I knew from religious life when the Delaware SOL was lifted. Shame that no one could find the articles related to the arrest of several priests.
That nun made sure i know that there were bad people out there and reading your story confirms it was the RCC. Would have been nice if I could have identified unlike a priest that another survivor was related to that seem to protect kids as a priest. Family knows the two whistleblower priests in Philly because of Their D & A work and the parishes.The one involved with D&A an those that work with men are well aware of the effects of this crises.
Also, there is “grey death” a deadly mixture in the PA area. Please don’t try it. Your dealer could not possibly know how to mix the drugs involved in this mixture. The drugs that are being mixed are fatal in the milligram dose.We can’t afford to lose anyone especially so many who have spoken out.
Ed: I can fully understand your problems with memory. Currently my wife is being tested and examined for dementia. Just so you know, At one time in my life, I did have a problem with alcohol. I have been sober for thirty years. I have never used recreational or illegal substances. I do not now or have I ever done business with a drug dealer .In late 2015 and early 2016, I was suffering from extreme nerve pain in my lower back going down my left leg into my ankle. The surgeon who eventually operated on me, prescribed Percocet. The Percocet helped with the pain before surgery and for two weeks after the surgery. I stopped using this drug because I could feel myself becoming too attached to it. It took away all the pain, physical, emotional- you name it. I learned very early on in my recovery that in order to deal with the pain, one must go through it, not medicate it. The opioid epidemic is very real and killing many people.It is so easy to get addicted.
I hate to disagree with Ralph again, but I must. I found the List to be very informative about the entire issue that the Catholic Church is dealing with around the world and it showed that their inability to do the right thing can lead to the downfall of the Catholic Church worldwide. To try to pardon Lynn because of the belief that Billy Doe wouldn’t know the truth if he tripped over it is just ridiculous. To say that Lynn shouldn’t be punished because he was lust carrying out the orders of Bevilacqua is like saying that the Nazis were just carrying out the orders of Hitler. Sure, others should have gone to jail too but you need to show that these crimes will not go unpunished. Yes, Williams is a clown and a disgrace to himself and our City, but I do not fault him for going after Lynn regardless of the technicalities of the law.
Williams is at fault. Lynne Abraham and the 2005 grand jury, and the state Legislature, by amending the child endangerment law, said it didn’t apply to Msgr. Lynn.
Williams had to employ a fraudulent victim, a dishonest grand jury report, and made up stories of abuse to put Msgr. Lynn in jail. That’s OK with you?
Why has the video been taken down???????????/
Lynn didn’t deserve to go to jail?
If they were going to send church administrators to jail, I can think of several bishops and a couple of cardinals that deserved to go before he did.
Please explain how the law would apply to those higher than Lynn if the law doesn’t apply to Lynn as a supervisor. Williams like many politicians are corrupt I believe that those on this site are well aware of the Catholic Church tactics on treating victims of child sexual abuse also corrupt. Don’t condone any of those tactics.
Did you read “Inky Tales” How close was my cousin to the reality there? Seems that alternative facts and fake news have been around for awhile. How can we get the truth when so many are looking only for their own interests?
In a nutshell, Lynne Abraham’s prosecutors wanted to indict Bevilacqua, all his bishops and Msgr. Lynn on child endangerment charges back in 2005. Regarding whether the original child endangerment law applied to them, the prosecutors’ attitude was, let a judge throw it out.
The prosecutors’ story, however, is that Abraham lost her nerve and backed out. Her story is that the law didn’t apply to supervisors.
Bevilaqua absolutely should have been indicted since they went after Lynn. If memory serves they took the word of Bevi’s physician that he was not well, doesn’t the court usually determine that? They could have indicted him and then had the court determine if he was fit for trial. Isn’t that is how it is usually done? Williams wimped out on that and then grandstanded on Lynn’s conviction
I would like to bring attention to a story in nearby Baltimore https://youtu.be/Khr7dbuBjuE
Baltimore braces for documentary on nun’s death, sex abuse at Catholic school = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-the-keepers-20170511-story.html
The Baltimore Sun has declined to publish for years on this story. That seems to have changed……..Seton Keough writes to parents about upcoming Netflix series ‘The Keepers’ http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-seton-keough-letter-20170512-story.html
It was on licensed to WHYY for a limited time. I’m lgoing to find out if any DVDs are available.
Kathy, the one thing I’ve learned here in the past seven years is you can’t trust the court system to get anything right. You can’t trust the judges, or the prosecutors or the defense lawyers. Or the Inquirer. I have no faith in any of them. You might, but I don’t. And if we get to the point where somebody walks out of jail, or somebody has their retrial kiboshed because of prosecutorial misconduct, trust me, the blog will have played a role in that.
Sitting by and trusting the system is how we got into this mess in the first place.
I agree. There are good things that have happened because of this blog too. I just hate to see victims in general blamed for this situation . I think the thing you say about trust is key . You have lost trust in systems/ organization because of what you have seen, I have lost trust in my religion / church because of what I have seen. Many victims have lost trust many, many years before you and I based on their experience. So when trust issues are key, best to leave the hammer at home and let powerful facts be examined without the inflammatory commentary that would make many turn in the opposite direction. If Billy Doe turns out to be one of the ONLY people to make it to court and is a fraud… and so many victims have never had their day in court and know their perps walk free and could harm more children, that is a level of maddening frustration that I cannot begin to imagine. This case has evolved, and continues to evolve and some may change their minds and some may not ,my point that someone commenting their thoughts about it changes no outcome.
trust issues http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/14/pope-francis-acknowledges-2000-case-backlog-in-sex-abuse-cases.html
Know there are good police but….. Know there are good priests but ….. Know the pope pledge but…..
Ralph, You can give all the “evidence” but my trust and finding the truth has gone half a century ago when Spector left the Democrats yet didn’t go after people like McDevitt and the other corrupt city officials. Was an Oblate and remember not all wine and dine the family and gave gifts. So I weigh the scale in favor of the victim, specialily knowing Hermely continued to
I have read everything that has been written above. I agree with most who have responded. Please allow me to be a bit personal. I am a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, many of you know me as i have been apart of this blog from it’s beginning. This WHYY show called the List affected me deeply. Two of my priest rapists were on “the list”. I will not get into how I was treated when I went to the Archdiocese in 1994! Because of the horrific abuse I suffered from these priests and the archdiocese I remain still in therapy. I ask that those of you who seem to have a need to be right, for me it just doesn’t matter, instead please remember the suffering so many of our victims are going through every day. I said this a long time ago on this blog and it needs repeating. This Institution will never change. It’s culture is cemented in years and years and ages and ages of dictatorship and the love of money. Our only hope, my only hope is that we reach people’s heart by teaching them the after effects of a child’s horrific violation of their body and soul. When I spoke at Beth’s parish several years ago, I said something that the pastor had never thought of and left a huge impression. I said, “where does one go after being raped by a priest representing God himself and you are left with no hope because a child believes he/she has been raped by God?” All hope is lost for that young person, there is no God to go to!
Vicky you do not know how many young people you have spared from the same fate by shining the spotlight on abuse. The victims/survivors are the ones who saved the kids..as a parent of children who attended Catholic school that is the clearest aspect of this issue..your efforts and the efforts of other victims/survivors saved children, my children and many others.
Isn’t anyone upset that a Catholic Priest died handcuffed to a hospital bed? Or an innocent Catholic School teacher still sits in prison? For crimes they didn’t commit.
Please read the Walsh affidavit. How was this “victim” the lead accuser that put people in jail?
There is alot to be angry at the Catholic Church and closer the Archdiocese for. But too much is out there now that Fr Engleheardt and Mr Shero were railroaded by a now charged DA and a bunch of judges, prosecutors, and lying witnesses aided and abetted by “fake news” coverage by our local press, especially the Inquirer.
These 2 men had nothing to do with the sins of 222 – only paying the price because of the collar and their profession. Please lets not forget these victims too. Where’s the outrage?
Kyw where is your outrage about child rape? Other than making the throw away comment that those culpable should be prosecuted, which you know is impossible, you seem
not too outraged with an over 50 year history of children being raped, sodomized, digitally penetrated….. where is that outrage? Maybe I have met you at one of the vigils for the victims and just don’t recognize your initials/ screen name, maybe unlike other area catholics your outrage over child rape never propelled you to do anything.
In a nutshell the victims had nothing to do with Billy Doe or the DA’s office however they will bear the brunt of the anger and I can’t figure out why. If really is something to watch. though and sort of goes along with how it has always been. If Billy Doe is a fraud or it is finally determined the endangerment law does not apply then the case will end in favor of the defendants. I have no idea why people come on here and blame and demand outrage from people who were harmed as children ,will never see justice and have been misfreated by the Church. I have never met Fr Englehardt’s family at a victims vigil and that makes perfect sense to me as they have their own pain to deal with. Makes perfect sense. I have nomidea why this concept does not make sense to you or Ralph. The victims did not cause it, they cannot fix it. Their own justice alludes them and they are supposed to take up the cause of others. When are you taking up their cause ?
You know what I am also outraged at KJW? A Philly priest sent a friend request on FB to my 17 year old daughter today..a middle aged aged man friend requesting a teenager no matter the technology addendum training we all had to go through.This is the same daughter who as a 14 year old just missed encountering one of the patients from Vianney who wandered off right into the school parking lot. The Vianney facility that has shipped in dangerous/at risk men from around the country and put them right next to an Archdiocesan school. Oh and this is the same daughter who as a 5 year old Irish danced at a going away party for our pastor who turned out to be a pedophile.
So they can make the parents have every criminal background check in the world to even volunteer to serve a sandwhich at an event but the clergy still trumps all. I have had a tiny sliver of a taste of how the victims have been treated when I have stood up for child safety and it ain’t pretty KJW . You can email me at kmkane242@gmail.com and I will give you a rundown of how kids are still at risk in this Archdiocese. I would go parish to parish with a power point presentation if they let me in..but that will never happen.
You and Ralph should continue to do what you need to for the injustice you see and I really and honestly mean that,in the meantime know that others are focusing their energy on just as important causes without demanding the help or outrage of others.
Kathy, thank you for your response to me. I just felt that some of the conversation that was happening on this topic was getting lost in what truly is important, the topic. i wanted to reach into the heart and ask those few to get out of the head. This institution has caused so much pain for anyone that has had the misfortune to suffer it’s callousness and total indifference to one’s human soul. I hope that in my replies now and in the past on this blog I have achieved my intent to ask people to hear my pain and the pain of every victim and the families that are always affected. I try to not give in to my rage, instead, I reach out to those who are willing to hear my voice of pain as well as hope. Every survivor has the right to make a choice. Either give your power away by just giving up or embrace your power and say “No More”. I continue to receive excellent help from my therapist and after 35 years I am more than surviving I am thriving!. In my passion I possess I refused to allow this institution to take any more of my life. I embrace spirituality and have a loving personal relationship with my Higher Power. I am done with beating my head against the wall hoping that this evil institution will ever change. I am much happier because of my hard work in therapy I now know who I am, my true self. I will the end of the summer be writing my book. My intent for this book is to offer hope and healing. I’ll keep you posted!
Victoria, thank you. I don’t forget the sick feeling I had when nurses were questioning how to determine if he or she, an infant, was raped, Nor do I forget where a certain supervisor/ assistant principal was at when Rich’s abuser was there along with how many other Oblates on the abuser list Remember sending that list with other info so they could check for other victims. As I wrote to Jim, I am not the survivor so I can tell why I vomit every time I read of another victim. I still remember how Rich had his blog. Because of a stroke I can’t type think for long period of time so which gets me so angry as I could not spend the time there as I wanted..
Wish I could change the church and society, but children have never been a priority. I know “The List” is different for each of us.
Glad That you are in a “Good Place” You have someone you can share you pain.