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Saturday, March 26, 2016

#Spotlight was then, Ring Around the Collar is now: #childsexualabuse in #Catholicschools worldwide


Teja Arboleda*
Dan Kiley*



The story of child sexual abuse as told in the movie Spotlight continues today, and is explored in our movie Ring Around The Collar, a documentary exposing ongoing child sexual abuse and rape by Catholic priests and clergy in Catholic schools around the world.

Tens of thousands (if not millions) of victims and survivors of all ages need to be heard and Teja Arboleda and Dan Kiley, both survivors and the producers of this film will be their voice. The documentary also includes the critical and expert analyses by renowned international experts on sexual predators and victims, such as trial lawyer Eric MacLeish (who was characterized in the movie Spotlight); internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma specialist, Bessel van der Kolk; investigative reporter Joe Bergantino, NECIR (New England Center for Investigative Reporting); Simon Scott, International News Reporter; regional Catholic diocese public relations teams; school officials and non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests).

Many survivors keep silent, in fear of retaliation by the predators, school administrators, local diocese and the Catholic Church itself. Many Catholic clergy in Catholic schools, even when implicated, are moved to other communities and countries where they continue to abuse and rape children. The evidence is damning - from recent Amnesty International demands for the Vatican to open records on harboring criminals and pedophiles, to Pope Francis’ admittance to the seriousness of the issue of child rape and mental torture, and the sheer number of cases of sexual predatory practices within Catholic schools around the world.

Eric MacLeish
The documentary will cover stories in various locations including the US, Canada, Japan, England, Australia, Chile and Ireland. Funding will cover all aspects of production, from research, writing and pre-interviews, to international travel, filming, editing and distribution. The film will have an active on-line presence through which communication and connections can be made by survivors, victims and supporters. In addition, the documentary will be matched with a committed and appropriate distributor such as PBS. 


Bessel van der Kolk
 Please help us save lives and bring these criminals to justice by sponsoring this important film.





Simon Scott
Joseph Bergantino

For more information on how to support this film, please contact Dan Kiley:       dankiley51@gmail.com


Info On Twitter:  @RACmovie 


Link to:  IndieGoGo fundraiser: 




*THE PRODUCERS

Producer: Teja Arboleda M.Ed. is an Emmy Award and two-time Telly Award winning PBS documentary producer and editor. Arboleda is also a professor and public speaker. He is a survivor of abuse at St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo, Japan.

Producer: Dan Kiley is an educator. He is a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of Fr. James Porter (Massachusetts) at 11 years old, and has appeared on The Today Show, The CBS Morning Show, The Jenny Jones Show, and numerous other television and radio programs to speak about the case. 

A SPECIAL THANKS TO JEAN & GEORGE BARILLA 

Friday, March 18, 2016

Whistleblower #priests and #nuns turn in #catholicchurch sexual predators


Most church insiders who have witnessed sexual abuse have chosen not to report it. BishopAccountability.org has put the first database of church whistleblowers - priests, nuns, church employees and volunteers --  who reported colleagues to church or civil authorities and fought their superiors’ concealment of abuse. These whistleblowers listed below are remarkable exceptions to those in the church who are enablers of worldwide child sexual abuse. 

Clergy and Religious Whistleblowers

Rev. Felix Alarcon | Rev. John Bambrick | Marianne Benkert | Rev. Thomas Bolte | Msgr. Lawrence Breslin | Sr. Sally Butler OP| Rev. Daniel Clayton | Sr. Jeanne Christensen | Rev. Patrick Collins | Rev. John Conley | Rev. James Connell | Rev. Donald Cozzens | Bishop John M. D'Arcy | Rev. Tom Doyle OP | Rev. Thomas Economus | Jim Fitzpatrick | Rev. Joseph Fowler | Rev. Terence German SJ | Rev. James Gigliotti, T.O.R| Bishop Thomas Gumbleton | Rev. Gary Hayes | Rev. David Hitch | Sr. Jane Kelly | Rev. Bob Hoatson | Sr. Peg Ivers | Msgr. Kenneth Lasch | Rev. Ron Lemmert | Jane Levikow | Rev. Michael Lipareli | Rev. James A. "Seamus" MacCormack| Rev. John McNamee | Rev. John Minkler | Msgr. James Molloy | Sr. Catherine Mulkerrin | Sr. Joyce Newton | Rev. Joseph Okonski | Lynette Petruska | Msgr. Michael Picard | Rev. Richard Reissmann | Msgr. Phillip Saylor | Fr. James Scahill | Sr. Joan Scary | Rev. Edward Seagriff | Richard Sipe | Claire Smith, OSU | Rev. Robert Smoot | Rev. Stephen Stanbery | Rev. Joseph Starmann | Rev. Tim Stier | Rev. Frederick E. Sweeney | Rev. Bruce Teague | Sr. Janice Thomas | Sr. Maureen Paul Turlish | Juan Vaca | Patrick Wall | Rev. Robert Williams |

Lay Catholic Whistleblowers

Linda Briggs-Harty | Anne Burke | Joelle Casteix | Elizabeth Cucinotta Sorvillo | Donna Cox | Robert Fontana | Connel Friel | Frank Keating | Theresa Gerstner | Jennifer Haselberger | Jim Jenkins | Margaret Mata | Larry Probst | Barbara Westrick |

You can see their photos and stories at:


See also:  "Church Whistle-Blowers Join Forces on Abuse," by Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times, May 20, 2013.

Many of the whistleblowers have experienced retaliation and grief:  defamation, job loss, career derailment, ostracization, pressure by superiors to admit to mental illness, and in at least one case, suicide, according to Bishop Accountability.   


I thank Bishop Accountability for their continued dedication to survivors and children.  The most important thing that catholic parishioners can do is to open their eyes and close their wallets. 

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Send a #clergysexabuse survivor to the SNAP Conference

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Every year survivors of sexual, psychological and physical abuse by catholic priests and nuns, by clergy of all denominations and by abusers from other organizations meet at the annual SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) conference.  At the conference, survivors can meet, talk, attend lectures and hear about progress in stopping the abuse and bringing justice to the survivors.

One of these survivors, Dave O’Regan, the New England SNAP Director is making a special endeavor to help raise money for survivors who need help to attend the conference.  In Dave’s words:

“I am very happy to announce today a very ambitious goal I set for myself to help raise funds for survivors of clergy sexual abuse attend the SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) Annual Conference in Chicago June 24-26. I am training for and have registered to run in the Worcester 5k Road Race in Worcester, MA on June 19. My daughter Maureen has teamed up with me to form Massachusetts Team SNAP. We will both be asking for funds from friends, relatives, constituents, and all our contacts to help us achieve our goal of raising $12,500.

This year I was pleased to learn that a kind and generous donor is matching donations to SNAP Scholarships up to $12,500. This means that SNAP will have $25,000 to help survivors attend. I am so appreciative and want to do my very best to help survivors in financial need here in Massachusetts and across the country attend.   

 Everyone has been so kind in the past helping me achieve this goal the last few years and this year there is a greater need with “Spotlight”, the movie. More survivors memories are being triggered and they are coming forward for the very first time and are in need of all the support we can give. The Annual Conference offers workshops, prominent speakers, validation, friendships, and a pathway to healing from the deep wounds of abuse.”

The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Investigation in 2002 caused Dave to remember and relive his abuse and suffer PTSD. He considered taking his own life. Then he found and attended a SNAP support group. He learned from other brave survivors sharing their painful stories that he was not alone and they gave him the courage to, for the first time, articulate and speak of his painful past. Dave couldn’t afford to go the SNAP Annual Conference but funding was available so he went and it was a life changing experience for him, helping him to heal and get grounded again.

Dave gives back by helping other survivors – that is what he did for me. I found Dave, and SNAP and no longer feel alone with my pain. Now I am paying forward, helping by writing this blog for survivors and those in danger of being abused.  Dave says,

“I have a deep desire to help other hurting survivors attend and experience the healing opportunity I found attending my first conference.”

Please help a survivor. You can make a tax deductible donation through this link:  


 If you are a survivor in need of help to attend please follow this link: 


Contact information for Dave O’Regan, New England SNAP Director

Phone: 434.446.6769   worcestersnap@gmail.com




Friday, March 4, 2016

Pennsylvania Revelation: #CatholicBishops and local police protect #pedophilepriests

Attorney General of Pennsylvania, #KathleenKane

For over 40 years (1940s-1980s) hundreds of Pennsylvania children were sexually abused by more than 50 Roman Catholic priests –and the shocking crimes were covered up by bishops.  Priests took advantage of these children who felt safe with them. The abusers committed their crimes in campsites, confessionals, in an orphanage and in the cathedral. Children were molested, raped and fated to become adults with lifelong psychological trauma.

The Attorney General of Pennsylvania, #KathleenKane said that the 37th Statewide Investigating Grand jury 147-page report found that former Altoona-Johnstown Diocese Bishop James Hogan and his successor Joseph Adamec protected pedophile priests. Hogan covered up allegations by transferring offending priests, including one who was sent to a boys’ school.  Adamec or his staff threatened some victims with excommunication and generally worked harder to hide or settle allegations of abuse than to discipline the priests accused.

"The diocese will not apologize or take responsibility for its dark history," the report said.

Evidence for the report came from a secret diocesan archive opened through a search warrant.  Hogan died in 2005 and Adamec cited possible self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the grand jury.

The investigation found that local law enforcement dodged investigating the abuses in the church and that the diocese actually helped select a police chief and fire chief.  Kane’s investigation was helped by the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group and the Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Attorney Kane called the release of the report a “day of reckoning” for abusers and their enablers. The sad fact is that there were no cases filed against the attackers because the statute of limitations (two years) ran out -- making prosecution impossible.  Victims are too traumatized to testify or remember what happened to them until it is too late.  The grand jury is recommending the complete removal of statutes for future child sexual abuse criminal cases and opening a window of time allowing civil suits for past abuse, as some other states have done. Of the victims, Kane said: "Their souls were killed as children. They weren't out playing baseball; they were trying to avoid priests."

The current bishop, Mark Bartchak, recently suspended a few pedophile priests but the grand jury said it remains "concerned the purge of predators is taking too long."

Parishioners Pay for the “Menu”

American dioceses have paid nearly $4 billion since 1950 to settle claims with victims.  We know where this money came from – the pockets of parishioners who thought they were helping with God’s works.

The report found that there was a "payout chart" where victims would receive amounts of money from the church according to the crime committed – a practice found in other dioceses.  Is this a menu for the abusers? Victims fondled over their clothes were to be paid $10,000 to $25,000; fondled under their clothes or subjected to masturbation, $15,000 to $40,000; subjected to forced oral sex, $25,000 to $75,000; subjected to forced sodomy or intercourse, $50,000 to $175,000.  Can anyone put a price on a child’s life?

An $8 million settlement was awarded to 88 former students of Franciscan Brother Stephen Baker, who  abused catholic high school students from 1992 to 2001. Baker killed himself in 2013 after abuse settlements were publicized.  A molestation lawsuit against since-defrocked priest Francis Luddy tried in 1994 led to a verdict of more than $2 million in damages and an appeals court finding that Hogan's oversight of pedophile priests had been "outrageous."

How many children could have been saved from a life of misery if these bishops would have acted like the “men of God” that they pretend to be? These child predators could have been criminally prosecuted and locked away.  What the grand jury report calls, “soul murder” could have been prevented.

“These findings are both staggering and sobering,” said the grand jury report. “Over many years hundreds of children have fallen victim to child predators wrapped in the authority and integrity of an honorable faith. As wolves disguised as the shepherds themselves — these men stole the innocence of children by sexually preying upon the most innocent and vulnerable .... ”

Bishops: “took actions that further endangered children as they placed their desire to avoid public scandal over the well-being of innocent children,” the report said. “Priests were returned to ministry with full knowledge they were child predators.”

Just like cases in many other dioceses: these bishops tried to discredit the victims – in one case, trying to get the gynecological records of a survivor.  They threatened victims, tried to get lawsuits against known criminal clergy dismissed – even after the priest admitted molesting children.  There are so many cases that are known and how many are buried so deep that they haven’t yet surfaced?

In 2002, according to the grand jury,  Rev. Martin Cingle had groped the genitals of a then-15-year-old boy while sleeping next to the boy on a trip he had taken him on. Bishop Adamec met with Father Cingle, who denied remembering such an event. Adamec sent the priest for what the grand jury said was an insufficient psychological review which was inconclusive. Adamec returned the priest to ministry, where he remained until the grand jury, under threat of perjury got Cingle to admit his guilt.  It wasn’t until the Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Dye wrote to the current Bishop Bartchak, that the bishop agreed to remove Cingle from the ministry.  What was Cingle out there doing for over a decade?

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas ruled in 2002, that any priest should be removed from ministry who committed even a single act of abuse.  All talk and worse than no action: the grand jury report said that as late as 2005, the Altoona-Johnstown diocese was hiring private investigators to look for ways to undercut the credibility of an accuser.  It was the #BostonGlobe investigations, recently dramatized in the Oscar-winning movie #Spotlight, that provoked the bishops to act like they were doing something to stop the abuse. The tide was rising and the Globe investigation led to revelations of similar cover-ups worldwide.  The tide of truth will keep rising until it washes away the agents of evil.

The grand jury is recommending the complete removal of statutes for future child sexual abuse criminal cases and opening a window of time allowing civil suits for past abuse, as some other states have done. Bishop cover up of lying, incurable pedophile priests or some similar mockery of justice has or is happening everywhere the church reaches with its tentacles into the lives of innocent children.  Who will stop it?  We will – like the victims in #Spotlight we will tell the media the truth and hope they are brave enough to reveal it to the world.