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CHURCH ABUSE - ARCHBISHOP REMBERT WEAKLAND
Good Morning America | May 23, 2002 | ABC News

Posted on 05/23/2002 6:07:24 AM PDT by NYer

MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Roman Catholic Archbishop Rembert Weakland agreed in 1998 to pay $450,000 to a man who accused him of sexual assault, according to documents cited Thursday by ABC News. ABC said the agreement had required Paul J. Marcoux, 53, to keep silent.

``I was involved in a cover-up. I accepted money to be silent about it, not to speak out against what was going on,'' Marcoux said in an interview broadcast on ``Good Morning America.'' Marcoux (pronounced mar COO) said he was sexually assaulted 20 years ago, when he was a student at Marquette University and had gone to the archbishop seeking advice about entering the priesthood.

Marcoux told the network Weakland ``started to try and kiss me and continued to force himself on me, pull down my trousers and attempted to fondle me.'' ``Think of it in terms of date rape,'' Marcoux told ABC.

ABC said as part of the settlement, the archbishop and the archdiocese denied the claims. It said the church declined to comment until the report was aired. Matthew Flynn, an attorney for the archdiocese, reached after the interview aired on the East Coast but before it appeared in Milwaukee, declined comment to The Associated Press. Jerry Topczewski, the spokesman for the archdiocese, did not immediately return calls from the AP.

The network also quoted from an 11-page handwritten letter that it said was written by Weakland. The letter, dated Aug. 25, 1980, said Weakland could not pay Marcoux more than $14,000 to settle the case.

``I should not put down on paper what I would not want the whole world to read. But here goes anyway,'' the letter said. ``I felt like the world's worst hypocrite. So gradually I came back to the importance of celibacy in my life. ...''

The ABC report said Marcoux sought more money in 1997 and the archbishop paid $450,000 to settle the case on condition of secrecy.

AP-ES-05-23-02 0852EDT


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: archbishopweakland; catholiclist; goodmorningamerica; scandal
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To: RobbyS
Paul VI spoke of the Church being fill with "the smoke of Satan thirty years ago.

Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to Saint Michaeel the Achangel in response to a personal revelation that the 20th Century would be given over to Satan. Any doubt that he roared about like a lion seeking whom he might devour all through the 20th century?

41 posted on 05/23/2002 7:10:02 AM PDT by pgkdan
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Comment #42 Removed by Moderator

To: remaininlight
33 years old at the time and a victim of being fondled by a guy?
43 posted on 05/23/2002 7:10:45 AM PDT by remaininlight
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To: pgkdan
Get it all out in the open so we know exactly what we're dealing with. You have it! I am hoping for even more "outing" as the time of the bishops meeting approaches. And I probably will be out of town when it happens! Shucks!
44 posted on 05/23/2002 7:12:30 AM PDT by RobbyS
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To: Mike Fieschko
"Sexual assault" isn't accurate, either. Any 33 year-old man who isn't in a wheelchair is capable of laying a thorough beating on an "assailant" who is 20 years older than him.

Especially if this "assailant" is a double-gaited freak like Weakland.

45 posted on 05/23/2002 7:14:35 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: Siobhan
Today's "Good Morning America" described Weakland as a "leading thinker in the Catholic Church"

Yeah, let me tell y'all about the "leading thinker"...

This is the guy who, in 1984 (during Regan re-election campaign) chaired a committee which put out a Pastoral Letter about the US Economy. Here are its main points:

1. The Church should have a "Preferential Option for the Poor"

2. All Americans have a divine right to a minimum level of income

3. Just because you own something doesn't mean that society in general doesn't own it, too (the fundamental precept of Communism)

4...and other Socialist dogma.

Weakland then conned most diocesan leadership in the US to preach this from the pulpit and hold "discussion" (i.e., indoctrination) groups. At our parish, I and a couple of other businessmen faced off against ex-nuns and Catholic school teachers...we lacerated their bs with logic, and the whole idea went down in flames--locally, at least.

This didn't stop the DNC and Mondale from using the "Leading Thinker's" rhetoric to support their campaign to paint the evils of free enterprise.

So, how 'bout that "Leading Thinker?" Chickens coming home to roost!

46 posted on 05/23/2002 7:16:12 AM PDT by Airborne Longhorn
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To: Orual
Weakland has been one of the worst excuses for a member of the hierarchy for years, way before
articles were archived on the internet. This couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.
47 posted on 05/23/2002 7:17:17 AM PDT by Slyfox
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To: one_particular_harbour
because after all, a celibate priest knows nothing but what is in books You are overgeneralizing. I've known army chaplains who have heard EVERYTHING! Besides, most therapists know little more than what they have read in "books." and never let the facts of the case get in the way of their pet theory.
48 posted on 05/23/2002 7:18:55 AM PDT by RobbyS
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Comment #49 Removed by Moderator

To: Tacis
"Who is the priest molesting today's altar boys and why haven't we heard ANYTHING about him?"

Perhaps because, with today's sex education theories, it is easier to find willing and non-complaining partners.

- Telit

50 posted on 05/23/2002 7:20:55 AM PDT by Telit Likitis
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Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: NYer
Didn't Weakland have problems with the people in Milwaukee with regard to the renovation of the Cathedral? I believe there was appeals to Rome.
52 posted on 05/23/2002 7:22:51 AM PDT by petkus
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To: Alberta's Child
"Sexual assault" isn't accurate, either. Any 33 year-old man who isn't in a wheelchair is capable of laying a thorough beating on an "assailant" who is 20 years older than him.

Especially if this "assailant" is a double-gaited freak like Weakland.


I don't understand this. Are you saying that how we characterize what Abp Weakland did depends on his physical strength, on the reaction or response and the age, health and strength of to whom he's accused of doing it?
53 posted on 05/23/2002 7:24:16 AM PDT by Mike Fieschko
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To: NYer
I shudder when I think of the crises of faith these revelations are undoubtedly causing among untold millions of Catholics. In my view, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Roman Catholic Church in America is teetering on the edge of collapse.
54 posted on 05/23/2002 7:24:22 AM PDT by beckett
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To: one_particular_harbour
You cannot extrapolate your experience and apply it across the board. By that same logic, I could say there is no problem because I went through Cathlic grade school, high school, was an alter boy, am a member of the parish counsel and board member of the catholic school bard and have never seen a single allegation or an act of misconduct by a priest. Furthermore, there is absolutely no empirical evidence to back up your charge that 75% of priests are gay or are pedophiles. In fact, the studies show the opposite -- its in line with the general population.

With respect to your individual experience, I am sorry that you are the victim of abuse. That priest should be in jail. But you cannot plaster the entire Church with the acts of the few. I hope that you find forgiveness in your hear and the God heals your very deep wounds!

55 posted on 05/23/2002 7:32:33 AM PDT by CWW
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To: one_particular_harbour
I don't buy that. Empathy is the key to success, and a married or sexually active single therapist may not have the "gift." My daughter went to several thrapists before she found someone who understand her. Wouldn't you know: the "right one" was not recognized by the insurance plan! I am known priests who could practically read your mind. I admit they are few.
56 posted on 05/23/2002 7:32:44 AM PDT by RobbyS
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To: NYer
I'm happy this hypocrite is being exposed. He's been a thorn in the side of Wisconsin Catholics for decades.
57 posted on 05/23/2002 7:34:36 AM PDT by Kryptonite
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To: beckett
If I placed my trust in men, rather than Christ I would agree with you. But the Catholic Church is more than priests and nuns. It embodies the faith given to us by Christ. No man can destroy that. As long as we have man, we will have sin and disappointment. As long as we have Christ at the center of our life and Church, we will have hope!
58 posted on 05/23/2002 7:35:11 AM PDT by CWW
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To: petkus
You're right on both counts, but his weird plan won out. I don't think anyone will ever make the mistake of taking him seriously again.
59 posted on 05/23/2002 7:35:26 AM PDT by Kryptonite
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To: Siobhan
Thanks for the bump.

Wow.

It would have been hard to come up with a more stereotypical conclusion to this scandal.

60 posted on 05/23/2002 7:35:35 AM PDT by B Knotts
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