The chance that a priest in Boston's archdiocese has been accused of sexual abuse is 1 in 10. Source: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Chicago)
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True Crime Book Watch! Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a volunteer self-help organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters. The Catholic Church and Sex Abuse NPR Coverage, Commentary on the Church in Crisis The Catholic Church and the Clergy Abuse Scandal Sat 8/23/2003 John Geoghan, former priest at the center of Boston archdiocese's sex abuse scandal was killed in in the protective custody unit at at Souza-Baranowski Correction Center, NW of Boston. Geoghan was followed into his cell after lunch by a fellow inmate, Joseph L. Druce, who bound and gagged him before strangling him with a bed sheet, then repeatedly jumped from the bed onto Geoghan's motionless body and beat the defrocked priest with his fists Geoghan died shortly after being taken to Leominster Hospital. Joseph L. Druce, 37, (born Darrin Smiledge) is serving life sentence for strangling a man in 1988 will be charged with murder. He was convicted while in prison of attempting an anthrax scare by sending envelopes of white powder covered in Swastikas to about 30 Jewish lawyers nationwide in 2001. Druce was born Darrin Smiledge but changed his name while in prison. Druce's father, Dana Smiledge, said his son hated Jews, blacks and gays. Massachusetts does not have a death penalty. Jay R. Feierman, a psychiatrist for 20 years at the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico, which treated abusive priests around the country, said 4 of the 750 priests he treated were killed after they left the program. He said, ``their behavior probably contributed to their murder.'' On Jan. 6-7, 2002, The Boston Globe revealed the Archdiocese of Boston shuttled defrocked priest John Geoghan from parish to parish for decades, despite extensive evidence he was sexually abusing children. Geoghan's admissions of molesting children, his lack of concern for his victims and his tendency to blame them was evidence he was not a candidate for rehabilitation. In civil lawsuits, more than 130 people claimed Geoghan sexually abused them as children during his 3 decades as a priest at Boston-area parishes. In September 2002, the archdiocese settled with 86 Geoghan victims for $10 million, after backing out of an earlier settlement of about $30 million. Richard Sipe, a former Benedictine monk and psychiatrist who worked with abuse victims and priest offenders, said Geoghan had been through many treatment programs. ``If anyone had the opportunity for treatment, it's John Geoghan,'' Sipe said. More than 325 priests of 46,000 American clergy were either dismissed or resigned from their duties the following year. A report by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly estimated more than 1,000 children were abused by priests in the Boston archdiocese in the last 60 years. The Boston Archdiocese has offered $65 million to settle cases filed by more than 540 alleged victims. Forcing the Pope's Hand -- The American people have achieved a triumph in the pedophilia scandal -- The US is the most populist democracy on Earth. Now they've beaten the pope. The ultimate weapon -- Pederastic priests, molesting fathers -- charges of sexual abuse are everywhere. But a growing movement of aggrieved men claim the accusations have gotten out of hand. Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church - Book Excerpt Agony in the garden -- A California diocese recovers from a sex-abuse scandal, and finds that healing comes through facing the truth.
10 years after Jay Lemberger, 21, shot himself Nancy and Pat his parents, with sisters, Tami and Heidi, gathered around a box of horrifying drawings by Jay, representing what he felt about his years of sexual abuse by a notorious former Dallas priest, Rudy Kos, who is currently serving three life sentences in prison. (Free registration is required). Cardinal Law apologized for failing to take action against abuse. The Church paid over $40 million in settlements to victims in the Boston Archdiocese. A Connecticut priest committed suicide after being accused. Retired priest, Paul Shanley, was returned to face charges he raped boys in the 1970s - 80s. 14 more accuse priest -- The latest claims bring to 39 the number of men who have filed suit against the Archdiocese of Portland OR's Maurice Grammond. Tired of playing games with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Hamilton County Prosecutor, Mike Allen, warned church officials to cooperate with an investigation into whether church employees physically and sexually abused children. SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is a self-help organization of people abused by spiritual elders. Kari & AssociatesPO Box 6166 Olympia, WA 98507
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Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis |
