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Yes there has...this happened 30 years ago...alot of them are just coming to light over the last few years!!!!!!!!

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[quote=Hugz_n_Kissez]Lawsuits contend church aware Ont. priest sexually abused boys
Andrew Seymour , Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, April 07, 2008

PEMBROKE, Ont. - The Roman Catholic Church was aware of the sexual abuse of young boys by Msgr. Bernard Prince more than three decades ago but allowed it to continue, according to lawsuits filed by nearly a dozen victims of the pedophile priest.

"I think it just goes to show the attitude of the Catholic Church that they would just as well keep this buried," said one of 11 men who filed $2 million lawsuits against Prince and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pembroke.

"All of these years, in my silence, I never thought the church knew about it," said the man, whose name is protected by a publication ban. He was sexually assaulted by Prince in 1984 when he was 17. "Why would the Catholic Church allow this to continue and not do anything about it?" Bernard Prince was sentenced to four years in prison in January after being convicted of 13 charges of indecent and sexual assault involving young males between 1964 and 1984.
Mike Carroccetto/The Ottawa Citizen


Prince, 72, was sentenced to four years in prison in January after being convicted of 13 charges of indecent and sexual assault involving young males between 1964 and 1984.

According to lawyer Rob Talach, the older sister of one of the victims reported the abuse of her brother to a nun at her Catholic high school in 1968 while Prince was at the St. Jean Baptiste parish in Pembroke.

Talach said the woman was told the matter would be reported to senior officials of the diocese.

A short time later, Prince was transferred to another assignment. Talach said the diocese also received a complaint about Prince in the late '90s, but he was allowed to continue to hold a prestigious post at the Vatican.

In total, the 11 men - including 10 of the victims from the criminal proceedings - are seeking $22 million in damages in the lawsuits, which were filed last week.

Two other lawsuits involving two of the other victims also have been filed by other law firms. The males were between 10- and 16-years-old when the assaults occurred. Prince pleaded guilty to 12 of the charges and was found guilty of a 13th.

The court heard the assaults usually occurred in bed, where a naked Prince would fondle and masturbate the young males. In several cases, the complainants reported anal intercourse or oral sex, although Prince denied those allegations.


Answer me this if anyone can, why is "sexual assault" ----sexual assault on males, but "rape" on females which apparently carries a stiffer penalty?

I have both a son & a daughter and if some pervert raped/sexually assaulted either of them, to me it would be rape either way

It's times like thiese that make me believe that America is "too civilized" cause I believe each of these young men's, now grown men's fathers should be given 15 minutes alone with this prince/priest or better "sicko" and let them show him some justice. It won't erase the damage he did so long ago, nor the suffering these men have had to live with throughout their lifetime, but it would be more fitting than locking him away safely in a cell and giving him his own color TV and three meals a day, any and all the medical care he will need...and all the other luxeries of life that I personally don't believe prisoners deserve after they've committed a crime bad enough to land them in jail/prison to begin with.

JMO...Peaches

Children's Rights - Child Sexual Abuse And The Catholic Church

Though various cases of child sexual abuse caught the public's eye in the United States through the 1990s and early 2000s, the nation was stunned by allegations that involved the Catholic Church. The first awareness of what would later unfold into a huge child abuse scandal came in the early 1990s when Father James Porter was convicted of abusing some one hundred boys and girls in various Catholic parishes around the Boston area stretching back into the 1960s.

Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a national organization that promotes the social welfare of children. The CDF lobbies Congress for funding to support various children's programs and conducts national awareness campaigns. It regularly publishes reports on the health and social well-being of children. Much of CDF's efforts have focused on saving federal programs from budget cuts.

Marian Wright Edelman, the first black woman to pass the state bar exam in Mississippi, founded the CDF in 1973. Edelman first gained national attention in the 1960s when she successfully stopped the state of Mississippi from withholding federal Head Start program funds from black American children. By the late 1960s Edelman had established the Washington Research Project, a group dedicated to fighting racial discrimination. A staff attorney for the group was Hillary Rodham Clinton, who later became first lady.

In 1973 Edelman turned the Washington Research Project into the Children's Defense Fund to focus on the needs of children. After fighting year after year to prevent budget cuts, the CDF got a boost Founder of the CDF Marian Wright Edelman (far right) poses with a group of children on "Children's Day." (AP/Wide World Photos) when Bill Clinton became president in 1993. Clinton signed two pieces of legislation promoted by CDF during his terms. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provided the right for workers to take unpaid leave to care for children or family members in medical need, while the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act of 1994 increased enforcement of child support payments.

Porter was found guilty and the court sentenced him to up to twenty years in prison in December 1993. The case shocked Catholics and others around Boston, and the city's cardinal (a high ranking Catholic Church official), Bernard Law, consoled the public by stating that Porter's abuse was an isolated or single case. Law condemned the news media for its coverage of the scandal, but introduced a new sexual abuse policy for his region anyway to calm his church members.

The Boston scandal quieted down for the next several years until another area Catholic priest, John Geoghan, was investigated for 130 cases of child sexual abuse in 1998. Geoghan was forced out of the priesthood and convicted in January 2002 of child sexual abuse. The court sentenced him to up to ten years in prison. Again Cardinal Law insisted this was simply another unusual case regarding Catholic priests.

After Geoghan's case and conviction, however, many more alleged victims came forward about sexual abuse involving priests. Newspaper inquiries and criminal investigations revealed many more. Secret church documents became public in 2002 and proved the Catholic Church not only had knowledge of sexual abuse by priests but had covered it up.

(Cont'd)....

The documents mentioned numerous priests, hundreds of victims, and how claims were repeatedly ignored by church officials. Some alleged victims, however, had been paid off to keep them quiet while certain priests were transferred to new churches and given brief counseling. The documents showed that even Geoghan had been transferred two times for molesting children before finally being caught by authorities. Another priest, Paul Shanley, had also been transferred to new parishes despite a history of child sexual abuse known to the church.

Massachusetts had no law that required suspected child abuse to be reported to authorities. Some cases of child rape, however, were clearly criminal acts and they too went unreported by church authorities. Documents showed church leaders made no attempt to ever inform law enforcement of these criminal activities. As public disgust grew from one revelation after another, Cardinal Law repeatedly refused to resign from his post. In a rare move in April 2002, the pope summoned all U.S. cardinals to the Vatican in Rome to discuss the sex abuse issue.

By late 2002 some 1,200 Catholic priests in the United States were accused of child sex abuse. Four U.S. bishops

Cardinal Bernard Law
Bernard Law was born on November 4, 1931, to a U.S. Air Force colonel and his wife in Torreon, Mexico. The family moved from one military base to another; as a result Law was educated in North and South America and the Virgin Islands. He then attended Harvard University and received a degree in medieval history in 1953. Following Harvard, Law entered the seminary and became an ordained Catholic priest in 1961.

During his years in the Catholic Church, Law was known for his work with immigrants and minorities. In the 1960s he was very active in the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi, and in 1968 Law took a job in the office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He became known among church leaders across the country and was appointed bishop in a Missouri diocese in 1973. Law became bishop in Boston in 1984, one of the most powerful Catholic Church regions in the nation. The following year he was ordained as a cardinal.

Law was immensely popular in the Boston area. He rose in international prominence as well within the church. Law also met with President George W. Bush (1946–; served 2001–) and other religious leaders shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Law's leadership began to crumble in 2002 as the child sexual abuse scandal Cardinal Bernard Law walking away from a podium after reading another apology for his role in the clergy sex abuse scandal. (AP/Wide World Photos) spread in Boston, involving hundreds of victims and numerous priests over a period of decades. In December 2002 when secret church documents revealed that Law not only knew about the abuse but actually tried to cover it up, Law was forced to resign as cardinal before the pope.

(Cont'd).....

In May 2004 Law received a new assignment in Rome, Italy. Much anger resulted in Boston that Law should remain in a church leadership position after being directly involved in covering up so much child sexual abuse.

resigned as the scandal went worldwide; other bishops resigned in Argentina, Germany, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, and elsewhere. Then in December 2002 even more revealing church documents were discovered. These new documents described widespread child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and an equally large cover-up. Not only was Cardinal Law aware of all the abuse, but he actively tried to hide incident after incident of child rape from the public and law enforcement.

The second set of documents finally led to Cardinal Law's resignation on December 13, 2002. The Boston archdiocese was near bankruptcy under the weight of some four hundred claims of sexual abuse. By October 2003 Law's successor, Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley, helped negotiate an $85 million settlement with more than 550 sexual abuse victims. In May 2004 the Boston archdiocese announced the closure of about sixty-five parishes as it continued to deal with the consequences of the abuse scandal.




Citing this material
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Answer me this if anyone can, why is "sexual assault" ----sexual assault on males, but "rape" on females which apparently carries a stiffer penalty?

I have both a son & a daughter and if some pervert raped/sexually assaulted either of them, to me it would be rape either way

It's times like thiese that make me believe that America is "too civilized" cause I believe each of these young men's, now grown men's fathers should be given 15 minutes alone with this prince/priest or better "sicko" and let them show him some justice. It won't erase the damage he did so long ago, nor the suffering these men have had to live with throughout their lifetime, but it would be more fitting than locking him away safely in a cell and giving him his own color TV and three meals a day, any and all the medical care he will need...and all the other luxeries of life that I personally don't believe prisoners deserve after they've committed a crime bad enough to land them in jail/prison to begin with.


Here in Canada there is no rape...only sexual assault to varying degrees...from fondling to penetration...which would be known as rape....We don't give offenders nearl the time they deserve in jail for any of these offences...4 years this man got for causing a lifetime of pain and agony....It would be nice if the victims could get 5 minutes alone with him yes...

Isn't the love of God wonderful!!

Goodness me ....

You are Wrong...this has nothing, nothing to do with the Love of God

Unless you serve a different God than I do. He is not responsible for the wrong the catholic priests have done or any other religious persons who've committed haneous crimes and tried to hide under the umbrella of religion.

Peaches

First I do not support this vile behavior. It is however the religious thing to forgive and forget (there should be a lot more pentance than some hail marys however).

Last year the Catholic church paid out 116 million in settling or defending claims against priest abuse(rape) cases. (I think I recal the number right, it may have been more).

There is a time limit on pressing charges for personal injury, two years , longer for sexual assult but i'm not sure how long.

The pope recently released the new version of the seven deadly sins,,,,,no mention of 'thou shall not molest a young boy' hummmm I guess that's still ok ish.

I have herd rederick about people joining the diocies to be in a position to molest.

I generaly don't use emoticons but this one sums it up


Dennis

I agree.....also silence and cover ups to me are an indication of implied consent....and sending them off to another church just to damage more children is unforgivable and just as bad as being a perpetrator as far as I'm concerned!!!!!!!!!!!!!


That's why I think they should be held just as accountable!!!!!!!!!

[quote=PeachesandRay]

Those will be some rough years for a child molester in his sevendys. His fellow detainees will make it uncomfortable , most of them have children that they want to protect from him. The gaurds will let the other inmates know what he did (they have children also). Well lets just put it as the fate of Jeffery Dommer, (someone shuved a broomstick up his anus far enough to kill him). It's odd that no one saw or heard a thing, The priest enjoyed the coverup in the past ,, wonder how he will like the future cover ups?


Dennis

The law in the USA saids that if you witness or are familiar with a crime but neglect to report it or testify then you are a part of that crime and can be charged with it. Psychiogist and priest have certain rights of confidentality however a third party reporting to the priest superceeds this confidence.


Dennis (go get them)

Nobody knows of the pain a child who has been sexually abused. But one who has been there. These men should sustain the grievest of punishments. No mercy should be afforded to them.

These children become men or women...with issues people don't understand. I'll quit my rant now, but nothing gets me more upset than child sexual abuse.

I have no doubt that my inability to form lasting relationships is a direct result of years of abuse!!

I agree ship....nothing bothers me more than when I see these predators get a slap on the wrist while their victims suffer for the rest of their life one way or another!!!!!!!!!!

I agree Ship...it is the worse crime except for murder. I am Catholic and I am disgusted with the church and what they did to cover this up.

held accountable
they are scripturally to be held accountable-isnt that ironic?
but i think these are civil suits since the statute has passed for these crimes-and settling is quicker and quieter than trial-

ridiculous tho that the dang laws are so far from anything
of old anyway
as far as the wisdom of real justice/punishment

there was no paying way out of a crime

we need more bloodlust regarding such offenses i guess
but legal proceedings are so frickin convoluted w/ intellectualism
and maneuvering and the competition therein-
it suuux-the plain comfort w/ punishing a proven crime
is passed away-and frankly im tired of warehousing and spending so much money on prisoners-but thats a side issue-sorry...

paing money does nothing regarding accountability
or owning the wrong done...its awful-
instead of al the therapists saying 'it wasnt your fault'
i wonder if these offenders said it if it would be more healing.
but why should they? no one is demanding they do-
they just give out money--its sad sad sad

Yes. It deeply saddens and disgusts me too.

We have to remember that (well, to me at least) that the real church is not really human.........

I like to think of it this way - we should be free to go to whichever church that we choose........ one we feel comfortable going to (even though we should be sometimes challenged and made to feel uncomfortable by a minister if you get my drift!)

BUT:

There is only one TRUE church......... and we, as human beings, cannot know that ultimate truth while we are on this planet and still alive...... yet, if we are lucky, we may get glimpses of the divine!

By the way, 'catholic' means something akin to 'worldwide' - I take it you mean 'The Holy Roman Catholic Church' that has an ex Nazi youth member at its head? (now that may be true, but that was really nasty of me - I know many very decent Roman Catholics, and (whatever church we 'belong' to) we are all supposed to be Christians - aren't we?

I just wish that all faiths that believe in one God - the main faiths of Judaism, Christianty and Islam and a few other religions could just follow the message of Peace and decency that they are supposed to!

I agree...after all that's what any religion is suppose to represent....and I don't think any of them differ in that respect at least in the big picture of things!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT it would also be nice if we could just follow those things as human beings without the need to have a religion to tell us that!!!!!!!!!