Posted on 08/15/2002 8:11:35 PM PDT by Antoninus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4 PM EDT, August 15, 2002
Roman Catholic Faithful Calls For Joliet Bishop Imesch's Resignation
The leader of an international Catholic watch dog group today called for the resignation of Joliet, Illinois bishop Joseph Imesch, stating that the Illinois prelate had "harbored known abusers of young boys" while overseeing the diocese.
Stephen G. Brady, president of the Roman Catholic Faithful, focused his statement particularly on Imesch's relationship with now-deposed Springfield bishop Daniel L. Ryan, who was consecrated auxiliary bishop by Imesch while serving in the Joliet diocese.
"As recently as this year, Joliet spokeswoman Sister Judith Davies - and Bishop Imesch himself - have repeatedly and publicly claimed that there is no merit to RCF's allegations," Brady stated. "However, recent reporting by the press only confirms the facts that RCF has been presenting to the press and hierarchy all along: Bishop Daniel Ryan has solicited sex from minors as well as from his own priests. He has done this habitually, Bishop Imesch has known about it all along, and he not only failed to stop this aberrant behavior, but he rewarded it by his instrumental participation in having Ryan made bishop. Even after Ryan's removal from the See of Springfield, Imesch continued to honor Ryan by having him confirm Joliet diocesan children, by including him in the consecration of an auxiliary bishop, and conducting retreats," Brady said. "Is this the kind of spiritual correction that should have been dealt to an habitual offender?" Brady also noted the oft-repeated stories of the shady pasts of many of Ryan's accusers. "Many people, in what I'm sure are attempts to reduce the credibility of Ryan's accusers, are focusing on the negative aspects of their lives. It is true, many of these men came from broken homes, were runaways, fell into drug addiction and the associated crimes to support those habits. What I'd like to point out is that this aspect, in particular, adds to the tragedy of these victimizations by Ryan. He took advantage of kids that were truly at the bottom of the social ladder. He paid them money for sex - money that often supported drug habits and kept them chained to their wayward means of existence. Ryan knew this.
RCF claims to have been instrumental in the removal of Ryan, as well as in the recent removal of Bishop Reginald Cawcutt from Cape Town, South Africa. Cawcutt was the highest-ranking cleric present in the now-infamous St. Sebastian's Angels email list and web site, in which the bishop and other priest circulated pornographic pictures and made highly dissident and disrespectful statements regarding high-ranking members of the Roman Curia, even going so far as to wish for the death of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.
Brady welcomes the added pressure brought about by recent press exposure. "In 1996," Brady continued, "I interviewed then-Father John Reeves, who had been the recipient of frequent sexual attacks and pressure tactics from Bishop Ryan. Reeves had gone to a number of people about his plight, including Father Thomas Holinga, the vicar for priests in the Springfield diocese. Holinga laughed at Reeves. This is a clear indicator of how long this cover-up has gone on."
To reference RCF's report on Bishop Imesch in its periodic publication, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, it can be accessed in PDF format on the internet by going to RCF's website and linking to http://www.rcf.org/pdfs/amdg_imesch.pdf.
ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITHFUL, INC.
P.O. Box 109
Petersburg, IL 62675
Phone 217-632-5920
Fax 217-632-7054
Web www.rcf.org
Press Release
Contact: Stephen G. Brady
Phone: (217) 632-5920
A priest propositioned by a bishop is in an inferior position, a subordinate pressured by a superior.
Bishops propositioning their own priests? And after I thought this couldn't possibly get any more disgusting!
The leader of an international Catholic watch dog groupInternational Catholic watch dog group? What, the US and Canada? I think they've been following Judicial Watch a bit too closely. Otherwise I agree, this Bishop should go and I hope they keep on him. From here and from their Hong Kong office. ;-)
The same thing happened in Poland as well. And you're right. It is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY disgusting. Time to throw the filth out of the Church.
Hey, now! Remember their first big expose was of the gay priest web site and it was under the auspices of a bishop from South Africa. So it's not just the US and Canada, it's the entire English-speaking ICEL-laden world. :-)
SD
patent
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