If true,..indeed a bombshell...(about ONE-HALF of the claims..entirely false or..exaggerated

Insigt Scoop.com ^ | 01-02-11 | posted by Carl Olson

[Salvation]

If true, this is indeed a bombshell...

Dave Pierre, the author of the book, Double Standard: Abuse Scandals and the Attack on the Catholic Church, reports the following on his site, TheMediaReport.com:

In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.

Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles. In his missive Mr. Steier relayed, "One retired F.B.I. agent who worked with me to investigate many claims in the Clergy Cases told me, in his opinion, about ONE-HALF of the claims made in the Clergy Cases were either entirely false or so greatly exaggerated that the truth would not have supported a prosecutable claim for childhood sexual abuse" (capital letters are his).

Mr. Steier also added, "In several cases my investigation has provided objective information that could not be reconciled with the truthfulness of the subjective allegations. In other words, in many cases objective facts showed that accusations were false."

Mr. Steier's declaration is a stunner. He is as experienced as anyone in studying the claims of abuse against Catholic clergy in the Los Angeles area.

Pierre has several quotes from Steier declaration, as well as links to images of the declaration. Pierre further notes:

Steier also took aim at the outspoken advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests):

They maintain an interactive Internet website with a user 'Forum' and 'Message Board,' among other features, where people can share detailed information between alleged victims pertaining to identity of specific alleged perpetrators, their alleged 'modus operandi,' and other details of alleged molestation. In effect, a person who wanted to make a false claim of sexual abuse by a priest could go to that website and find a 'blueprint' of factual allegations to make that would coincide with allegations made by other people. Law enforcement also uses the S.N.A.P. website to attempt to locate new victims and allegations against Catholic priests.

Needless to say, SNAP had a fit at the sight of Steier's declaration. In a frantic press statement dated December 13, 2010, SNAP derided Steier's declaration as a "legal maneuver" that was "among the most outrageous and hurtful ever made by a church defense lawyer." In addition to claiming it will file a complaint with the California Bar Association, it demanded that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony "denounce Steier's claims and to disclose how much archdiocesan money has been paid to Steier." (Gee, the last time I checked, SNAP steadfastly refused to divulge how much of its income is derived from the number of lawyers with whom it closely corroborates!)

Read the entire post for more.

[ELS]

He has a new job in Rome now selecting the new bishops.

Cardinal Law is the archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. That was definitely a demotion from being the ordinary of an archdiocese. He has been a member of the Congregation for Bishops since before he resigned as the Archbishop of Boston.

[Salvation]

Psalms 14
1	The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good.
2	The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God.
3	They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one.
4	Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD?
5	There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6	You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.
7	O that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

[eyedigress]

14:7 OH! That the Salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of HIS people let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.............

I understand It can be a bit much for some.

[RobbyS]

As a former teacher—and local union leader—I agree that this is the way it was done. I also say that most of the time the teachers were not guilty. Hard to believe that a young boy or girl can seduce an adult, but if the adult is as dumb as a stick/naive this does happen.

[RobbyS]

The local authorities were not exactly eager to prosecute. The clergy used to be a protected class, like the children of the bog shots in the community. For elected officials there was no political advantage, and they went along with the cover-up in most cases.

[rambo316]

Salvation,

I agree totally with you. If a story comes out tomorrow, about something that happened 20 years ago, why didn’t the story come last year of the year before or the year before that? You know what I mean? They, the individuals that are trying to destroy the Catholic church, do this all the time.

[maryz]

the backwards way they deal with these cases. The delay, they lie. The obfuscate.

I don't know how old you are, but in the 50s, 60s, 70s, when the vast majority of these cases actually occurred (though it started to change then), child sexual abuse, like strictly sex crimes in general, was pretty much never talked about, almost never reported, and -- if reported -- generally left by the police to the "appropriate" person (whether bishop, school principal, family -- and most sex abuse is within the family) to deal with.

I think it was primarily feminism and the "sexual revolution" that brought it out into the open (and likely created more of it), especially with the feminists' insistence that rape be treated as a real crime -- and they really had to fight for that!

Mandatory reporting didn't come in until that rash of (ultimately) false sex abuse charges against day care centers.

[markomalley]

I think that this is utterly irrelevant. It is an effort to take us to a place where we should not try to return. The abuse of children is not a cause, it is a symptom of a far deeper cause.

Rather than trying to mitigate this issue, we need to do as the Holy Father has recommended: prayers and penances for the purification of the Church. You should read, again, the Pastoral Letter of the Holy Father to the Church in Ireland.

All of this was forecast by St Pius X over a hundred years ago. And unless and until the Church returns to the traditional apostolic Faith, if not this attack from within, there will be something else.

We need to recall the words of St Paul: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. The purification that is ongoing is part of the necessary washing and scrubbing.

The way I read this article is that it is an effort to say, "See, the problem wasn't that bad." Well, perhaps the symptoms weren't as bad as originally reported, but the problem was 100% that bad: the problem of modernism and an abandonment of traditional, apostolic teaching. As Brian says, it should come as no surprise that this report comes from a Mahony hack -- one of the most modernist bishops in the entire Church.

[rwilson99]

Is that you Mike Nifong?

[ladyjane]

Cardinal Law is the archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. That was definitely a demotion from being the ordinary of an archdiocese.

But definitely an upgrade from prison.

[Vermont Lt]

So, just because YOU think these guys are innocent, that its OK for them to molest boys? Come on. You cannot be that naive.

Its a chicken and egg thing. You are mad because people came forward AFTER these cases were exposed to try to get money. Am I right?

If that is your position, you are missing my point. My point is that the Church covered up, for lack of a better term, these cases beyond the point where they could have been held for criminal trial. The ONLY recourse that was available was civil litigation—which lead to the fraud you address.

Should innocent men be hurt by false accusations? Of course not.

I believe that the Church should come out and say the following:

1. We will report any improper allegations to the local civil authorities and we will assist 100% in any investigation for ongoing criminal offenses.

2. It is reasonable to believe that any improper actions that have taken place in the past have been reported and litigated. Therefore, we will defend to the extent of our ability and allegations that are past the statute of limitations. We will not settle. We will expel anyone we find to have participated in or knowingly covered up knowledge of a crime. When there is evidence of a fraudulent claim, we will risk bankruptcy to fight the claim. We will not settle.

3. We are committed to protecting our parishioners and our priests alike. Our church is taking steps to make sure these types of crimes never happen again. But, we are also committed to moving forward and rebuilding our place in the community.

I believe they are either unwilling or unable to do this. And I am not sure why.

That is my final comment on the subject. I wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year. God Bless us all. Methinks we are going to need it going forward.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>>Do you need to take the log out of your eye first?

You do.

Stop your equivocation. All you’re saying here is “quit picking on Catholics... we’re not as bad as other groups, or these other groups are worse... blah blah blah...”

I’m saying once perps are caught, and found guilty in court, lock them up, and throw away the key. I don’t care what sub-group of whatever they are. And anyone that aids and abets coverups of abuse should be dealt with the same.

Do you object to applying the law uniformly? Or are you advocating letting Catholic Priests slide because you see an unfair persecution?????

You are a walking, talking, blithering logical fallacy.

[ArrogantBustard]

1 abused kid is one too many, and I don’t care who’s doing it. The perps need to rot in prison. Along with anyone that aids and abets cover-ups.

1 lying false accuser is one too many, and I don’t care who’s doing it. The perps need to rot in prison. Along with anyone that aids and abets cover-ups.

[Campion]

The perps need to rot in prison. Along with anyone that aids and abets cover-ups.

Do you think the innocent ought to rot in prison, too?

[Notary Sojac]

If the church could point to a decades-long record of thoroughly investigating these allegations, and taking decisive, public action in the (possibly few) cases where they were found true, there would be no “politically correct” climate of assuming the priest is guilty.

[Keith in Iowa]

Do you have reading comprehension issues?

Scroll back up to the sentence in italics, quoting me. What does that mean to you??? It’s seems rather obvious to me, which is why I wrote it.

[nina0113]

Back in the 1980's it seemed common for women to "realize" (thanks to their therapists) that their fathers had sexually abused them. Turns out most of this was bosh, but it did a lot of damage.

Yes - one of my acquaintances back then broke off all relations with her entire family after her therapist convinced her that all her problems were caused by unremembered incest committed by her father. Since the other members of her family insisted it had never happened, obviously they were complicit.

[Natural Law]

"one of my acquaintances back then broke off all relations with her entire family after her therapist convinced her that all her problems were caused by unremembered incest committed by her father. Since the other members of her family insisted it had never happened, obviously they were complicit."

There is a woman in my neighborhood who claims she was molested by our parish priest as a young girl. Everyone in her family knows this not to be the case and everyone associated with the parish knows this not to be the case, primarily because the priest she accuses is / was a nonpracticing homosexual. The reason I bring this up is the absolute rock star status she has gained within her new Hallelujha-Amen storefront church as a result of her allegations. Too many are more than willing to believe the worst about the best.

[Natural Law]

"one of my acquaintances back then broke off all relations with her entire family after her therapist convinced her that all her problems were caused by unremembered incest committed by her father. Since the other members of her family insisted it had never happened, obviously they were complicit."

There is a woman in my neighborhood who claims she was molested by our parish priest as a young girl. Everyone in her family knows this not to be the case and everyone associated with the parish knows this not to be the case, primarily because the priest she accuses is / was a nonpracticing homosexual. The reason I bring this up is the absolute rock star status she has gained within her new Hallelujha-Amen storefront church as a result of her allegations. Too many are more than willing to believe the worst about the best.

[Salvation]

**but in the 50s, 60s, 70s, when the vast majority of these cases actually occurred (though it started to change then), child sexual abuse, like strictly sex crimes in general, was pretty much never talked about, almost never reported, and — if reported — generally left by the police to the “appropriate” person **

Excellent point.