Posted on 01/18/2014 11:23:29 AM PST by Salvation
January 2, 2011 By 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 Steier's)
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. Also among Steier's eye-opening statements:
Steier signed and submitted the declaration "under penalty of perjury" November 30, 2010. Los Angeles County Superior Court officially filed it at 11 a.m. on December 15, 2010.
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 collaborates!)
Yet there is a glaring absence from SNAP's statement. The organization does not refute nor deny any of the specific claims made by Steier. It simply labels them as "outrageous" and "hurtful." That is hardly a blow to the explosive declaration aired by the veteran attorney.
Yes, Catholic priests terribly abused minors, and bishops failed to stop the harm. That's an undeniable truth. There are few crimes that revolt more than sexual abuse. The abuse of minors is a dark episode that the Church will forever have to live with.
Yet major media outlets have largely ignored a major element to the entire Catholic abuse scandal narrative.
Here is Wall Street Journal writer Dorothy Rabinowitz:
"People have to come to understand that there is a large scam going on with personal injury attorneys, and what began as a serious effort has now expanded to become a huge money-making proposition."
Surprise: Ms. Rabinowitz made her remark in 2005. Since then, the Church has doled out an additional $1 billion in settlements.
Will 2011 be the year that the media finally begins to take a closer look at many of the claims being made? What about the suspicious relationships between SNAP, lawyers, and many in the media? (Vincent Carroll at the Denver Post is a rare voice of acknowledgement: "[F]raudulent or highly dubious accusations are more common than is acknowledged in coverage of the church scandals — although they should not be surprising, given the monumental settlements various dioceses have paid out over the years" (Oct. 10, 2010).)
Stay tuned.
Any one well acquainted with the writings of the Church Fathers should be able to handle it quite proficiently.
I saw what you did there...
I would never have suspected..... snerk!
>> Investigated many claims?
The possibility of false claims disappoints you, doesn’t it?
And I never “ratted” on anyone either. In a HS made up of mostly Irish and Italians a rat did not last long:)
By pure chance I turned on Fox News just now, and there is a new case out of Chicago of the archdiocese there doing exactly what I said, moving pedophile priests from one place to another several times, and telling nobody. Now they say they are “working to regain trust”. If it was your kid, would you ever trust them?
You can make whatever lame defenses you want, but it only hurts your cause. You won’t convince anyone who isn’t a koolaid drinker.
No. But one valid claim of the Roman Catholic Church participating in shuttling apchild molesters from parish to parish should outrage every decent person.
I'm not trying to discredit anyone. Frankly I don't care that much. It's not my church. You say it wasn't widespread, and I should cite examples like I've been compiling a list over the last three decades or so these stories have been reported. How about you cite the cases where church officials have come forward and turned child rapists over to the police for prosecution? Show me where that has happened and maybe your defense would be a tiny bit credible.
Are you making the charge that Catholics are not outraged about the exceptional claim to the article?
I see a distinct lack of outrage on FR.
All I see here is rationalization.
Examples:
1. Other people abuse children
2. People that talk about this are bashing Roman Catholics
3. It’s not as bad as they say
Here it is: your outrage is inconsequential. MSM is doing the best to satisfy your lust for blood. Thank them.
Well, here’s a huge amount of outrage right here, and among pretty much every Catholic I know. No tolerance. None. I, for one, would be perfectly happy to play Pinata with an aluminum bat on any perpetrator found, with extra hits for any who cover it up or enable it.
Well, I see the distinct exploitation of child abuse to revile Catholics as a whole.
Well Airborne, glad to see at least one FRoman Catholic outraged.
If Rome had done the right thing from the beginning we wouldn’t be having this discussion, now would we?
Moving the goalposts, eh?
Now non-Catholics are being accused of stating there's a conspiracy to molest children? Just where did you see that?
Link please...
“How about you cite the cases where church officials have come forward and turned child rapists over to the police for prosecution? Show me where that has happened and maybe your defense would be a tiny bit credible.”
From:
Archdiocese of Washington
Annual Report from the Child Protection Advisory Board
July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012
Allegations against archdiocesan clergy in this reporting period. One allegation of child abuse was received involving an archdiocesan priest who had been previously accused,removed from ministry, and is deceased. The allegation, which was made by a relative of the
victim, alleged conduct occurring in 1971-1972. Although the accused was deceased, the Archdiocese reported the allegation to the civil authorities as required by archdiocesan policy and offered assistance with counseling and pastoral care for the victim.
Allegations against lay employees, contract workers and others in this reporting period. One allegation of child abuse was received involving a former lay employee who
worked in a parish. The allegation involved conduct occurring in 2001. The Archdiocese reported the allegation to the civil authorities, cooperated in their investigation and provided assistance with counseling and pastoral care for the victim.
I am a parent of a kid in Catholic school. Before I or anyone else (parent, staff, priest, etc) can work around children, we must be fingerprinted, undergo a background check, and attend training on what to do, not do, reporting responsibilities, and identifying potential abusers.
Atrocious things happened, and the past cannot be changed. No one wants to see it ever happen again.
I hope you are a young person, because you will be waiting a very long time.
The subject thread article presents such a conclusion.
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