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Saturday, April 9, 2011 Bishop Adamec Goes Unnoticed and Unmourned into Retirement last January Bishop Adamec of the highly troubled Altoona-Johnestown Diocese retired in January of this year. How was it it was missed? Someone should have been popping the cork of champagne. But like the despot of a distant oriental country flooded with sand and camels tethered in the ruins of better days, his unhappy reign has passed like the report of a swinging rusty sign, deep in the rust belt somewhere between Detroit and Saginaw. He's been accused justifiably of Simony and of being a protector of predatory...

During the civil war many soldiers suffered such severe wounds that surgeons had to remove limbs to save lives. Eye witnesses describe piles of arms and legs outside makeshift hospitals near the battlefield. Doctors mutilated men to save their lives. But what if the surgeons wouldn't cut? Suppose they ignored infections because they feared the attitudes of those who saw men disfigured by the knife? Even worse, what if they were quacks selling snake oil cures with no concern for their patients at all? The men would die, of course, victims of lethal bacteria. That's our plight in the Church...

(WILMORE, PA) -- The pews of the historic Saint Bartholomew Church in Wilmore were full Friday afternoon as The Most Reverend Joseph V. Adamec, Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown, conducted the Rite of Reparation for the previously-desecrated house of worship. Bishop Joseph was joined in the special Liturgy by Saint Batholomew pastor, Reverend Charles Bodziak, and fellow members of the Diocesan clergy. Included among those were Monsignor John Sasway, and Deacon John Rys. In a strong showing of ecumenical support, Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese of America also attended the special Liturgy.Nearly 200 members of the Faithful, including several...

A Roman Catholic priest who formerly was assigned to a South Fork area parish pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally downloading from the Internet obscene materials involving young boys and girls. The Rev. Elwood R. Figurelle, 70, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Williamsport to one count of receiving child pornography in interstate commerce via the Internet. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he would face a prison sentence of up to 33 months. His attorney, P. Alan Zulick of Norristown, said he would seek a lesser sentence. U.S. District Judge Malcolm Muir set a pre-sentence conference for Jan. 22. Figurelle had...

Adamec Takes On Rod Dreher In Wall Street Journal Rod Dreher, in his Houses of Worship column (Taste page, Weekend Journal March 7), accused me of "concealing abuse accusations against four priests" and "threatening to excommunicate any priest who publicly disagrees" with me. Both statements are untrue. Since I became Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown in the Spring of 1987, I have had to deal with a number of allegations involving the abuse of minors, all of them occurring years earlier. I have suspended priests who were known threats to children and investigated other allegations, some of which were not able to...

<p>HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. -- The bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown defended himself from allegations of letting pedophile priests go unfettered, acknowledging in a diocesan newspaper mailed yesterday that he has active priests accused of molestation -- but none against whom charges were proven "despite active investigation."</p>

This Diocesan Church is currently being subjected to disinformation. In contrast to misinformation, disinformation is the deliberate or irresponsible presentation of untruth as fact. Some recent examples are as follows. There have been others. I am supposed to have placed our priests under a “gag order”. What that refers to, I presume, is not a “gag order” but a verbal presentation that was made last Fall at a Clergy Conference. That presentation explained the laws of the Church relative to someone encouraging public dissent against the Church. The rule is not mine but that of the Universal Church, and has...

Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese officials know of sex abuse accusations against four previously unidentified priests, but have not taken the steps required by the church’s national zero-tolerance policy. Those who brought the information to Bishop Joseph Adamec say they were rebuffed and that nothing has been done. They are now demanding Adamec step down. Two of the accused priests were stationed at Johnstown’s Catholic high school – one as principal, and the other as music director and director of a boys and girls’ camp. One of the accused priests now holds a leadership position in the diocese, and two are...

The Tribune-Democrat June 23, 2002 Johnstown, Pennsylvania New sex-abuse bombshell-- 10 local priests tied to cases By Susan Evans THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Officials of Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese have known of at least 10 priests implicated in sex abuse cases involving hundreds of young boys, according to public records reviewed by the Tribune-Democrat. But the offenders remained in the priesthood, and the diocese meted out such mild punishments as transfers, therapy or “rest and recreation.” Not one criminal report was made. Not one priest was arrested. Only one offender was defrocked Francis Luddy and that came only after a trial and...