Posted on 06/26/2002 8:23:23 PM PDT by Aliska
Missionary Priest Is Charged With Sex Abuse of Queens Boy By THOMAS J. LUECK
A priest visiting a Roman Catholic parish in Queens was arrested last night and charged with the sexual abuse of a 12-year-boy during a Father's Day excursion to Rockaway Beach.
The authorities said the priest, the Rev. Peter Kiare, 41, a native of Kenya who is a member of a missionary order in Ireland, would be arraigned today in Queens County Criminal Court on charges of sex abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child.
He was arrested at 5:30 p.m. yesterday by detectives with the Queens Special Victims Bureau at a residence for priests in Long Island City, Queens, and remained in jail last night pending his arraignment, according to Patrick Clark, a spokesman for the Queens County district attorney, Richard A. Brown.
An investigator said the 12-year-old described an ordeal of being touched against his will repeatedly over the course of a beach trip to the southern end of Queens.
Father Kiare is the third priest arrested in just over a month on charges of sex abuse committed in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens. On May 23, a priest from India was arrested in Harlem and charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl three years ago at her home in Brooklyn. And on Friday, a visiting priest from Nigeria was arrested in Texas and charged with raping a woman two years ago in a Brooklyn rectory.
That priest, the Rev. Cyriacus Udegbulem, 38, was dismissed by the Diocese of Laredo, Tex., in 2001 because of complaints that he had groped women there, a law enforcement official in New York said yesterday. Father Udegbulem pleaded not guilty to the New York charges on Monday at his arraignment before Justice Neil J. Firetog of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. The judge set bail at $50,000. Father Udegbulem remains imprisoned at Rikers Island, pending his next court date in September.
His lawyer, George Lewis, said his client maintained that the sexual contact in Brooklyn was consensual.
The authorities said last night that Father Kiare had arrived in New York on June 11 and was delivering sermons at St. Mary's Church in Woodside, Queens. A member of Holy Ghost Fathers, a missionary order at work in poor nations of Africa and elsewhere, he was asking for donations from the parishioners, according to a church official.
Investigators said he befriended the 12-year-old boy and won the trust of the boy's family, who are members of the St. Mary's congregation. With the family's consent, they said, he took the boy on an outing on June 16; they traveled by public bus to Rockaway Beach.
"The abuse occurred on the bus, on the beach and on the bus ride back," said an official close to the investigation who insisted that his name not be used. He said the boy told detectives that he resisted the priest's advances, which involved groping and touching, and told his mother of the abuse when he returned home.
The boy's mother then contacted St. Mary's, and officials there contacted the Queens district attorney, the authorities said. They declined to identify the boy or his family.
Frank DeRosa, a spokesman for the Diocese of Brooklyn, said last night that St. Mary's it was "very likely" that officials at St. Mary's had consulted diocesan officials about the incident before contacting the district.
attorney.
But he said Father Kiare, unlike the two other visiting priests charged recently with sexual offenses, had not been authorized by the diocese to work in any parish of Brooklyn or Queens. "He had no permission to function here," Mr. DeRosa said. Although it is not uncommon for visiting priests to spend time at parishes raising money for missionary work without the official sanction of the local diocese, he said that Father Kiare's status as a missionary doing fund-raising placed him outside direct oversight of the diocese.
For years, he said, the diocese has had a policy requiring priests from abroad who are authorized to work in parishes to provide an affidavit, signed by the priests' own bishops, that they have no history of "anything that would disqualify them from working in a parish."
Such affidavits were provided by the two other priests who now face sexual abuse charges, he said.
Father Kiare "is not a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese or associated with that parish," he said.
There's much truth here. An important point.
Doc, this is the Nigerian who raped a woman.
The consensual remark was about his molestation of the 12 year old girl, not a woman.
I don't think it will end until the Catholic Church acknowledges the blatanly obvious - that many homosexual men are sexually attracted to teenage boys. That means - either get rid of the homosexuals, or at the very, very least, never let teenage boys be alone in their presence. But I guess formerly trusting parents will have to adopt that policy for them - and since parents don't know who's who in the Church, they will simply have to keep their kids away from priests, always and forever.
They have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for far too long.
God is supposed to do the calling, and the leadership is supposed to test the spirits.
There is also a scripture that says something to the effect of "Do not suddenly (or too quickly) lay hands on someone."
People should have to prove their worthiness to be with our children through a (1) history of good Christian living, and (2) background investigations.
I require it of my teachers.
As a children's pastor, I can say without fear that one of the biggest problems is the lack of volunteerism (especially from parents) to work with children in the church.
This leads to lowering the standard on many occasions.
I know how to prevent this problem:
Parents need to volunteer to work in their church's children's ministry.
I love all of the kids in my ministry, but not as much as their parents love them.
We try to do the same. And I have had over five extensive birds and bees discussions with my teenage sons. We've covered: Christian sexual morality (not just the rules, but its wisdom and God's purpose in it), the sexual act itself, physical and mental changes experienced by boys - and all the practical matters, learning self-control and the freedom it brings, discerning the motives of different types of women, contraception, venereal disease, homosexuality, abortion, marriage, the lack of sexual morality in today's society, etc. etc. We expect that our kids will get a lot of 'information' from other sources, but we aim to provide the foundation upon which they consider such 'information.' We tell them that no one but God loves them more than we do - and that we will always tell them the truth about these things - with the hope they will find fulfillment and happiness in life. We hope they know and understand that. But it would be even better if we could count on our Church to be partners in this process. Instead, it's the dead opposite.
I agree. Parents should be involved. I've been involved in the Boy Scouts, and I can tell you that the young men in our troop understand instinctively the love shown by the many fathers (and some mothers) who've involved themselves in helping to raise these kids. Your challenge, I would think, is to show parents the benefits to them and their children of getting involved. I know in the scouts, many dads realize, on camping trips to far away places, that but for the scouts, they would not have had the wonderful times together with their sons. It tends to build on itself, so that both the sons and fathers come to greatly value these brief moments. And the show of fathers supporting the values supported by the scouts helps immensely to reinforce those values with all their sons.
They may tell you otherwise, but their actions tell you differntly.
For instance, in most churchs, the children's ministry is the second largest ministry within the church, based on group size.
Even with that, you'll almost always see a music "pastor", or teen "pastor" on full-time staff.
There is almost never a church with a full-time children's pastor that did not first have a full-time teen pastor, accountant, bookstore manager, and maintenance staff.
One rarely ever sees a church with a larger youth department than children's department.
With this as the case, the children's ministry leaders often have less time to prepare for lessons, as they are balancing their own children and a full-time job with their minstry.
Children's pastors burn out fast in most cases.
I do this. We keep a table in the foyer to recruit teachers-we have more youth members volunterr than we do parents.
I have about 20-teachers. Approximately 33% of them are youth, and 20% of them either have no children, or their kids are out of the group.
I've been in the children's ministry for 10-years and I am qualified to tell you this:
Most parents use the church (to some degree) as an escape from their children. Most could still teach, even though there are many options to teach a class that does include their own children.
That's a shame. It sounds like you do great work, though. Good luck and may God be with you each day.
I've seen this too. One would think children would be the very first priority - for their own sakes', and because they are those who will carry Christianity into the next generation. I have a hard time understanding some Church priorities.
For years, he said, the diocese has had a policy requiring priests from abroad who are authorized to work in parishes to provide an affidavit, signed by the priests' own bishops, that they have no history of "anything that would disqualify them from working in a parish." Such affidavits were provided by the two other priests who now face sexual abuse charges, he said.The bishops who provided the predator priests with the affidavits should be investigated immediately. And since it involves the international exchange of clergy, that investigation should be conducted by Rome.
It may well be that the bishops will maintain that they were merely relying on the word of the heads of the orders. Passing the buck seems to be S.O.P. (e.g., note the spokesman for the Diocese of Brooklyn's comment that the accused priest "is not a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese or associated with that parish").
The article of faith we all need to adopt in our fight to cleanse the temple is this:
When Bishop Gregory was on Meet the Press last month, Tim Russert quoted Luke, when Christ said that if someone caused little ones to sin, it would be better if a mill stone was tied to their neck and cast into the sea.
When Russert asked for Bishop Gregory's comment, and if that was the case here, he said in effect:
"I don't know."
He should be standing up in front of all the bishops shouting this verse and then getting on his knees and begging God to redeem the Church. Most all of these bishops are cowardly and often unGodly politicians.
Let's hear it for common sense! Going the extra mile to make sure that there is no hint of improper behavor will keep you out of a lot of hot water. or to quote
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-23
Good advise from 2000 years ago.
a.cricket
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.