Sunday, March 27, 2005

Indiana House bans same sex marriage 2

The Indiana House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lead to a ban on same-sex marriage. But that bill still has a long way to go before it can become law.

The 76-23 vote came late Tuesday afternoon [3/22]. The House approved a bill that has already passed in the Senate. The Senate bill passed by 42-8 on February 21'st.

The measure would define marriage as one man and one woman. It must be passed by two legislatures: the current one in session and another in the future. The amendment must also be approved by voters in a referendum. The earliest it could go to Indiana voters is November of 2008.

Democratic response:

"I feel that this bill has economic ramifications; not only is it prejudicial, it does have economic ramifications," said Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette).

"Today will go down as a day of shame in the history of the General Assembly," said Rep. David Orentlicher, D-Indianapolis.The public, he said, may not remember other bills lawmakers pass this year. But, he said, "they will not forget we wrote second-class citizenship for gays and lesbians into the constitution."



No voters in the Senate: Republicans are in the majority 33-16
  1. Anita Bowser (D)
  2. Billie Breaux (D)
  3. John Broden (D)
  4. Glenn Howard (D)
  5. Timothy Lanane (D)
  6. Earline Rogers (D)
  7. Vi Simpson (D)
  8. Samuel Smith (D)
No voters in the House: Republicans are in the majority 51-49
  1. Aguilera (D)
  2. Avery (D)
  3. Bardon (D)
  4. C. Brown (D)
  5. Cheney (D)
  6. Crawford (D)
  7. Day (D)
  8. Dickinson (D)
  9. Dvorak (D)
  10. Fry (D)
  11. E. Harris (D)
  12. Hoy (D)
  13. Klinker (D)
  14. Lawson (D)
  15. Mahern (D)
  16. Micon (D)
  17. Moses (D)
  18. Orentlicher (D)
  19. Pierce (D)
  20. Porter (D)
  21. V. Smith (D)
  22. Stevenson (D)
  23. Summers (D)
Rep. Bauer did not vote.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

College Republicans discriminate with cupcakes

Well the Republican leadership has been successful in this case in convincing young Republicans that Affirmative Action equals reverse-discrimination. In typical Republican fashion young Republican, Kyle Rausch, wants us to believe that his cupcake sale is not discriminatory when his example obviously is and he acts just like a Republican and denies his wrong doing in the process.


The moment that Affirmative Action became law conservatives have been complaining that its an act of reverse-discrimination. Providing opportunities to people who had none is solely intended to bring about inclusiveness in society. Crying out reverse-discrimination is a manipulative gesture to return society to one of exclusiveness. In every case of contested affirmative action college admissions the white student who cried reverse-discrimination was eventually admitted most usually in the next semester or academic year. Everyone who applied for admittance got admitted, black and white because of Affirmative Action. Our society can not afford to return to a pre-affirmative action era, a segregated era.

My Detroit Free Press Op/Ed on affirmative action


From the Detroit Free Press 3/25

ALLENDALE, Mich. (AP) -- At the College Republicans' affirmative action bake sale this week at Grand Valley State University, the same cupcake that a white male could buy for $2 was available for 75 cents to a white female or a black person, 50 cents to an Asian or a Hispanic, and only a nickel to an American Indian.

Organizer Kyle Rausch said his club wanted to challenge affirmative action policies that give preference to women and minorities. Members expected the bake sale's pricing policy to generate some controversy but they didn't mean to upset any passers-by, he said

"If people walked by and were offended, that was not our intention," Rausch told The Grand Rapids Press for a Friday story.

Rausch's group sold only one cupcake and now could face disciplinary action for the stunt.

Four students filed complaints with the university's Student Life Office, initiating a misconduct review. Several people denounced the sale during a Student Senate meeting Thursday.

The university's student code states, in part, that "Every aspect of University life should be free from discrimination ..."

If a nine-member review board of staff members and students determines that the College Republicans crossed the line, the group could be suspended and lose university funding and the privilege to meet on campus. It received $1,625 in university funds this school year.

"You can have a discussion and bring awareness, but you can't go out and discriminate to make that happen," said Bob Stoll, director of Student Life. "They had poor judgment."

Ashley Chaney, a junior from Grand Rapids, about 15 miles east of Allendale, and editor of Stand UP!, a campus newsletter serving black students, said the bake sale was offensive.

"If you're against affirmative action, that's fine, but you need to be respectful of other people," Chaney said.

Several black students have demanded an apology but Rausch, who called the sale a form of free speech, doesn't plan to offer one. He said he'd do it all again, if he felt that he had to.

"It's nice that it can stimulate discussion," he said.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Lathrop house receives funding

From the Toledo Metroparks website

The historic Lathrop House in Sylvania and an original Black Swamp cabin in Oregon will be preserved for future generations to appreciate thanks to two pieces of good news celebrated by Metroparks and its partners just one day apart.

Friends of the Lathrop House celebrate the good news.On Wednesday, March 9, the park district learned that the Lathrop House will receive a state Transportation Enhancement grant for $257,870, or 80 percent of the cost of exterior restorations to the historic home.

Friends of the Lathrop House has raised the remaining 20 percent, thanks in part to a $25,000 contribution from the Devers Family Foundation. The money will be used to complete phase one of the restoration project, including replacing windows, doors, roof and siding.

The two-story home, which sheltered fleeing slaves headed for Canada in the mid-1800s, is owned by the city of Sylvania and was moved to Harroun Community Park. Metroparks is spearheading the renovations and will oversee programming at the site in the future.



From the Toledo Blade

Article published Friday, March 11, 2005

$260,000 grant to aid Lathrop House


The Toledo Area Metroparks will receive nearly $260,000 in federal money to use for exterior renovations of the Lathrop House in Sylvania, Don Rettig, Jr., the park system's director of cultural and historical programs, said yesterday.

The money, which comes from a federal transportation fund, will jump-start the renovations planned for the historical home, which many believe once served as a stop for escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad.

"It's a very big deal. Metroparks said all along that we knew the project could be accomplished through grants outside our funds," Mr. Rettig said. "This gets the project moving and keeps it out there in front of the public."

The metroparks began overseeing renovation of the home after an extended fight that pitted Sylvania officials and a citizens group called Friends of the Lathrop House against St. Joseph Catholic Church, which bought the property in the 5300 block of Main Street with the intention of razing it for a school construction project.

The house, built in the mid-1800s, was home to several prominent families. Marie Vogt was the last in a long line of known residents of the home dating to Lucian Lathrop in 1847. The house, which is owned by the city of Sylvania, has been moved to nearby Harroun Community Park.

The metroparks applied for the federal money through the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments. Diane Reamer-Evans, transportation project manager for the organization, said a TMACOG committee's decision to fund the project was due, in part, to its unique historical role in transportation.

"We haven't seen anything like this in our region," she said. "And its potential to serve a lot of people was important. One of the things the committee looks at is whether it will impact a few people or a lot of people. The committee felt it would serve a lot of people."

She said it's hard to say when the metroparks actually will receive the money, but it should happen within the next few years. Mr. Rettig said the park system will use its own money to start the renovations now that it knows the federal money is in the pipeline.

Mr. Rettig said the federal money, which will be matched by $64,478 raised by the Friends of the Lathrop House, will be used to repair portions of the foundation, recondition windows and doors, and renovate porches, among other projects. He said the citizens group has raised nearly $200,000 overall, which includes a $25,000 donation from the Devers Family Foundation.

He said other repairs will be made over time, which eventually will allow for programs to be conducted at the site.

my blog for the home

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Palm Sunday



Jesus rode a donkey not an elephant



Thursday, March 17, 2005

Iowa house bans same sex marriage

The Iowa house has passed a constitutional ban on same sex marriage. Fourty one Democrats and three Republicans voted against the bill that passed by a vote of 54-44. Last year the state Senate was tied 25-25 on a constitutional ban. The senate will have to vote again on the bill and if it passes the constitution will be ammended by voter approval in 2008. Democrats have remarked that it will fail in the Senate.

Democratic response:

"The message we are sending . . . is it's OK to discriminate against someone with a different sexual orientation," said Rep. Ed Fallon, a Des Moines Democrat. "There is no gay agenda, but a well-funded anti-gay agenda."

Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, said the proposed amendment would violate the personal liberty and human rights of gay and lesbian couples.

"This is legislation by fear," he said. "I trust the judges that oversee our justice system. If a judge oversteps their bounds, we have the checks to bring that judge back into compliance."

Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City, said a constitutional amendment would deny gay and lesbian couples the right to make decisions for a partner in a medical emergency, the right to take leave from work for a serious illness and the right to jointly hold property and pass on assets after death.

"I believe in equal rights. This is an issue of personal freedom. It is about human dignity and it is about fairness," she said. "I ask this chamber to practice tolerance today."

House no voters
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Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Catholic church supports gay couples

This doesn't sound like the Catholic church! The Catholic League will set him straight.


Equal rights backed for gay couples


The Courier-Mail, Australia
17mar05



THE Catholic Church in South Australia has given support for a Bill giving gay and lesbian couples access to the rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson threw his support behind the Statute Amendment (Relationships) Bill yesterday "so that people can be properly protected in their rights".

The Bill would give equal rights to same-sex couples in areas such as property, inheritance, superannuation and medical laws, and bring SA in line with other states.

Discussing the Bill at a meeting of Parliament's Social Development Committee, Archbishop Wilson emphasised the importance of protecting the union of marriage but said the law also should be extended to protect the rights of same-sex couples.

"We clearly regard marriage as being a unique type of relationship . . . but at the same time we recognise the fact that there are people in society who live in other kinds of relationships," he said.

"The difficulty that we find in a modern society is that we are living in a time of change.

"It seems to me that it's possible to (give same-sex couples equal rights) by defining the terms clearly and making sure . . . we don't use ambiguous terms in the legislation."

The Bill also was supported by Presbyterian Church Minister Stefan Stucki yesterday, who also wanted to protect the union of marriage.

But representatives from the Assemblies of God and Pray SA argued strongly against the Bill. "We stand against anything that would undermine (marriage) and the Bill would certainly undermine it," Pastor Ken Graham said on behalf of Pray SA.

Let's Get Equal Campaign spokesman Matthew Loader welcomed Archbishop Wilson's support for extending rights to same-sex couples.

"We're very pleased with the comments that were made by the Catholic Archbishop. His comments, from a major church, indicate that this Bill simply isn't as controversial as some people are suggesting," he said.

Mr Loader said he would support Archbishop Wilson's proposal to replace the term "domestic partner" in the Bill.

"Now that a compromise appears to have been found there should be no reason to delay the Bill further," he said.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Thank you Christ Church

I would like to thank Rev. Brad Whitaker, the speakers and the members of Christ Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI for having their Lenten lectures. Publicly discussing issues that affect the church should occur with more frequency. Much was learned and we all listened intently without feuding. Rev. Whitaker's approval to invite controversial persons and subjects gives a clear indication that he has confidence in the laity's commitment to their faith.

Discussions such that occurred at Christ Church would never happen in a Catholic church more concerned with maintaining order of its design then being open to all that is the body.

Christ Church Be sure to listen to the audio-sermons posted on their website.

Lenten Lecture info

I was unable to attend the last lecture.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Happy Birthday Amy!

I want to publicly wish my wife

AMY

a Happy Birthday


I promise to detach myself from the computer (for today).

Lets go shopping for YOU!

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Bishop Sauls lectures on the Windsor report

The Bishop of Lexington, KY, Stacy Sauls lectured at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, MI on Tuesday. He explained the circumstances that brought about the Windsor report. American bishops supported the consecration of the admitted homosexual Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. American bishops may have or not authorized same sex blessings but actual blessings were carried out by Canadian bishops in their dioceses.

The bishop explained that there is not an agreement on the definition of terms in the report such as "regret" and "moratorium". American bishops interpret a need to express "regret" differently then foreign bishops. American bishops define the conditions of a moratorium differently then foreign bishops. In my opinion the report should be seen as an outline for future actions by the parties concerned and not the solution to the concerns raised in the report.

In my opinion greater emphasis should be placed on the Anglican's continued strategy to obtain territory and influence in America by exploiting the situation. The communion should stay together and everyone should be respectful of each other and not acting against each other. Are there homosexuals in heaven, possibly, are there territories in heaven, possibly not.

New Mexico bans same sex marriage

The New Mexico senate passed a ban (senate bill 597) on same sex marriage by a vote of 25-12. The governor and others wanted a provision for domestic partnerships but it is not in the bill. The bill will go to the house for action if approved by the governor.

Democratic response:

Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, invoked the memory of his brother Billy Griego, who died of AIDS complications in 1987.

"My brother and his partner, Jim, were a great couple," Sen. Griego said. "They involved themselves in the community, they helped the family. They went to church with the family and took Holy Communion. At family gatherings we always expected them to be there, because they were a couple.

"When Billy was dying, Jim was there to change him, to bathe him, to feed him. He died in Jim's arms. Nobody on this floor can tell me that relationship was immoral or illegal," Griego said. "I would rather have seen Billy and Jim raise 10 kids than some heterosexual couples."

Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, referring to the brevity of the bill, said, "This is only four lines. Four lines of fear, four lines of hate, four lines of mistrust, four lines of dissension, four lines of segregation, four lines of telling a group of people, 'You're different than us.' "

"We all know this bill is designed to hurt people and nothing else," Grubesic said. "I don't want to be a party to hurting people and telling them 'You're beneath us.' "

Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said she initially had intended to support SB 597, but changed her mind partly because, she said, the true purpose of the measure was political.

"It's to put us on record for election time," she said. "It's not about morals or family values; it's about election time. Are we relegating Scripture to stature? With a bill like this, that's what we're trying to do."

Senate no voters
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Alabama bans same sex marriage

The Alabama Senate passed an amendment to ban same-sex marriage by a vote of 30-0, two days after the House passed it 85-7. It will go to voters during the next statewide election, which right now is in June 2006. It will go to voters this year if a special election is held.

House no voters
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Father Robinson murder trial

Last year Father Gerald Robinson of the Toledo Catholic Diocese was accused of murdering a nun. This tragic event brings forth a painful truth that there is something terribly wrong in the institution of the Catholic church. I insist that a psychological survey of every priest be conducted and mentally ill persons to be removed. Murder is not done on a whim. A preexisting psychosis must underlie every case of murder. The church is guilty for never actively seeking the murderer of Sister Margaret with the persistance that the situation demands.



Article published Saturday, January 29, 2005

1980 SLAYING OF NUN
Accused priest has new judge, trial date


By MARK REITER
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITER


A Toledo priest accused in the slaying of a nun nearly 25 years ago has a new judge and a new trial date.

Newly elected Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik yesterday pushed back the trial of the Rev. Gerald Robinson to Oct. 17. It was set to begin Feb. 22.

Father Robinson, 66, who did not appear with his attorneys at the hearing, is charged with aggravated murder in the 1980 stabbing and strangulation death of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in the sacristy of a chapel in the former Mercy Hospital.

Judge Patrick Foley was assigned to handle the case when the semiretired Roman Catholic priest was indicted in April. However, Judge Foley lost his seat in the November election to Gary Cook, a Lucas County prosecutor.

As Judge Foley's successor, Judge Cook normally would have inherited the case. But because he was on the prosecution team that investigated the murder, it was assigned to Judge Osowik.

The hearing was delayed about 20 minutes while the priest's attorneys, Jack Callahan, John Thebes, and Alan Konop, and assistant prosecutors J. Christopher Anderson and Dean Mandros huddled in a conference room with Judge Osowik.

Judge Osowik took office earlier this month. He was a Toledo Municipal Court judge since 1991.

The new trial date was needed, Judge Osowik said, so the priest's defense team would have appropriate time to review and analyze information that prosecutors must provide them.

Judge Osowik said the information is of a "complex nature," and there are still some remaining items to be shared.

Under Ohio law, prosecutors must disclose evidence investigators have collected in the case, including witness statements, police reports, coroner findings, photographs, and scientific and physical evidence.

Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was strangled and then stabbed up to 32 times April 5, 1980.

Father Robinson is free on a $400,000 property bond.

Judge Osowik also continued a gag order that prevents those involved in the case from discussing it outside the courtroom.

Mr. Mandros said he could not comment on the matters discussed in the hearing because of the gag order, but he said the prosecution is treating the new trial date as a firm one. "We will be ready to go to trial," he said

Books Read

I am an avid reader usually reading several books at once and often times hating myself for not reading every book mentioned in an authors bibliography. I have earned the distinguished honor of checking out (reading many) every one of the books in the childrens section of my local library when I was a child years ago. Recently I requested that my library purchase the books, Purple Hearts and Generation Kill which it has and I hope will influence young men to not serve in the military and become exploited by the state.

I am currently researching on the lack of black history books in libraries of Mississippi and hope to resolve that problem somehow.

Posts of books read:
John Shelby Spong, A new Christianity for a new world
Claude Payne, Reclaiming the Great Commission : A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations

Currently Reading: John Shelby Spong

As usual I have to read several books at once. Bishop Spong's A new Christianity for a new world is the follow-up to Why Christianity must change or die, (indymind post) which I struggled through and John A. T. Robinson's Honest to God, which has influenced Bishop Spong (I havent read yet).

books read list

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Episcopalian politicians:

William Brotherton- Democrat, Arizona State Senate District 14
member page
news

Bill McGibbon- Republican, Arizona State House District 9
member page
news

Marion Lee Pickens- Democrat, Arizona State House District 14
member page
news

Monday, March 07, 2005

Currently Reading: Claude Payne

I bought a copy of Bishop Claude Payne's book, Reclaiming the Great Commission : A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations at his lecture and he autographed it too.

Available at Amazon
purchase






books read list

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Sister Margaret update

Article published Sunday, March 6, 2005

TOLEDO CATHOLIC DIOCESE
Secret archives at heart of dispute; group says files hold key to abuse
Bishop Blair


On a warm September afternoon, three Toledo detectives and a Lucas County prosecutor marched through the front door of the Toledo Catholic diocese and - over the objections of a startled receptionist - loaded into an elevator and punched the button to the fourth floor.



They were carrying a four-page search-and-seizure order signed by a judge, and their abrupt appearance at the downtown office of Bishop Leonard Blair marked a hairpin turn in what had been a cordial relationship between diocesan officials and criminal authorities investigating the 1980 killing of an elderly nun.

"Their communication prior to the search warrants was pretty open and free-flowing between us," the Rev. Michael Billian, episcopal vicar and the diocese's top administrator, recalled of the unprecedented search.

Their target that day: the church's most-secret files - documents that investigators had hoped might contain clues to a 1980 slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl and the man charged in her death: the Rev. Gerald Robinson.

Emerging from his office, Bishop Blair told investigators that such papers simply didn't exist.

But police, who removed 148 documents bearing the murder suspect's name, weren't convinced. Two days later, they returned with a second court order to search the office of the second most-powerful man in the 19-county diocese: Father Billian.

The Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer and longtime priest, says secret church records often lay out a road map of cover-up and conspiracy.
( ASSOCIATED PRESS )
They seized nothing during the second search and haven't returned since.

But the fight may be far from over.

While investigators ramp up their probe in anticipation of the October trial of Father Robinson, accused of stabbing and strangling the nun in the Mercy Hospital chapel, a local support group for victims of clerical sexual abuse has pressed Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates to return with another search warrant.

They want investigators to seize the file that police reviewed during the second search, but left behind: accusations of abuse by priests. But so far, Mrs. Bates refuses to say whether her office will return to the diocese.

The local chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests say the documents may be key to establishing whether the diocese engaged in a longstanding practice of protecting priests who raped and molested children under their watch, as alleged in a barrage of lawsuits against the church since 2002.

While SNAP is asking for the confidential files, diocesan leaders say such records don't exist. The emerging debate may be new in Toledo, but it has been playing out for years across the country in a controversy that has shaken the American Catholic Church.

An ongoing battle
In courtrooms and at mediation tables since the 1980s, civil and criminal authorities repeatedly have demanded churches' key documents as they try to prove that a diocese's solution to abusive priests was to quietly move them from church to church.

By establishing a crucial link between a pattern of cover-up and specific abuses, attorneys have been able to step around statutes of limitations to pursue decades-old cases.

In Kentucky, a lawyer used the secret files of a diocese to show that church leaders knew about a school teacher molesting children but never bothered to tell police or discipline the abuser.

Despite the fact the abuse took place 17 years earlier - well beyond the statute of limitations -a jury awarded the victim $750,000, a judgment that stood on appeal in 1998. By hiding the information, attorneys argued, the clock on the statute never had a chance to begin running.

"They obstructed the victim from finding out about their liability, and then they couldn't rely on the statute," said Mary Suzanne Cassidy, an attorney in the case.

But some church leaders are adamant: Protecting the records is critical to the church's mission.

In Los Angeles, the archdiocese is locked in a legal battle over the release of the church's confidential files - not because leaders are trying to cover up crimes, the church says. It's a matter of principle, said Tod Tamberg, an archdiocese spokesman.

Such files contain other sensitive information, including issues in local churches that have nothing to do with abuse. Some priests confide to their bishops about the most private concerns. Prying open the records can destroy that communication.

"[Priests] make vows of obedience to him, and the bishop needs to have confidential communications with those priests. No priest would go to his bishop on anything if that communication is destroyed," Mr. Tamberg said.

In Toledo last week, Bishop Blair issued a statement hours after court documents were released outlining investigators' belief the diocese kept such a "secret archive."

"There is no indication that one might have existed in the past, and there is certainly none in the present," he said in a written statement.

Additionally, Father Billian and diocese spokesman Sally Oberski met with reporters over the next 24 hours, insisting such records haven't been kept for years. The failure to keep such an archive goes against Canon Law, but retaining such files violates the church's new spirit of openness, they said.

"We have nothing we can't talk about," Ms. Oberski said.

Still, some aren't buying it.

The Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer and longtime priest who once defended the church against allegations of abuse, calls the diocese's response "nonsense."

He said dioceses across the country fight the release of confidential files - Toledo is no different. The records often lay out a road map of cover-up and conspiracy that is embarrassing to church leaders, and in some cases, incriminating, he and others said.

There's a credibility crisis, and church officials can no longer be taken at their word, even when they insist they're operating under a new policy of openness, Father Doyle said.

"That's the president of Enron saying we're being transparent. We're trying to heal, so leave us alone and we'll fix it," he said.

He and others point to a suggestion in 1990 by then-Auxiliary Bishop A. James Quinn of Cleveland to church leaders: Send sensitive investigative documents to the Vatican embassy in Washington to avoid subpoenas.

Requirement of secrecy
Canon Law is very specific when it addresses "sub-secreto" - Latin for "under secret" - archives, said the Rev. Arthur Espelage, a Jesuit priest and spokesman for the Canon Law Society of America, based in Washington.

Church law specifically requires all dioceses to keep a separate archive on matters of criminal and moral allegations. That means investigating and documenting allegations and preserving the summaries. Only the bishop or a designee is to have the key.

"It would protect individuals involved by putting the files in a place that no one would wander in and read it," he said. But at the same time, that doesn't mean the files should be out of reach of law-enforcement officials investigating crimes.

Others have wanted the records, including victims, support groups, and the media.

The Boston Globe in 2002 convinced a judge to lift the confidentiality seal on such documents, uncovering a long-standing pattern of cover-up and conspiracy involving dozens of priests.

The newspaper's revelations about the Boston archdiocese and Cardinal Bernard Law's complicity to conceal the abuse prompted victims to step forward in more than 100 dioceses.

Victims filed lawsuits, police filed charges, and responses from church leaders have varied from denial to conciliation:

●In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony is fighting civil and criminal attorneys and a judge's order to release certain documents. And in Orange County, a recent settlement with victims mandated the diocese release records of the alleged abusers. The documents show a pattern of cover-up, according to victims' attorneys.

●The Archdiocese of Cincinnati repeatedly refused to release its files, despite pressure from the media and attorneys. Eventually, former Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen was able to review hundreds of documents. The contents led to criminal charges.

On Nov. 20, 2003, Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, in his priestly collar, pleaded guilty on behalf of the archdiocese to five misdemeanor counts of failing to report a felony. The church was fined $10,000.

Dioceses in Manchester, N.H., and Phoenix also have been prosecuted criminally for similar offenses.

●In Cleveland, the diocese turned over 70,000 documents to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, who subpoenaed the materials on all child sexual abuse allegations. One priest and six lay people were indicted, Mr. Mason said.

"We went through a grand jury subpoena and they complied," Mr. Mason said. "I think the bishop [Anthony Pilla] was very forthcoming with the records. I think we got everything." However, a judge last year sided with the diocese in keeping the records sealed from the public.

●In April, 2002, the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Wayne County prosecutor's office announced that they signed a voluntary agreement to turn over files on sexual misconduct dating back 15 years.

In addition, Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida offered case files to prosecutors in the other five counties in the archdiocese, including Monroe County.

Maria Miller, an assistant Wayne County prosecutor, said last week that the archdiocese "has been cooperative and forthcoming with documentation that we need." Based on the review, prosecutors filed charges against several priests.

"I think the archdiocese has done an excellent job of self-policing," Ms. Miller said.

Steps toward openness
As the crisis from Boston reverberated across the country in 2002, the Archdiocese of Baltimore took an unusual step: Cardinal William H. Keeler turned to the Internet to reach out to victims. He posted the names of every priest accused of sexual misconduct since the 1950s. He also sent letters to 180,000 Catholic households, apologizing for mistakes he made in dealing with sexual abuse by the clergy. The move riled some clerics, who complained some allegations never had been corroborated.

The archbishop, disclosing the local church spent $4.1 million to settle lawsuits filed by eight victims over 20 years, stood firm. "The truth is going to come out one way or another," he said, adding that the Internet posting cleared suspicions and reinforced support for priests who had never been accused of wrongdoing.

Just weeks before the Baltimore development, the Toledo diocese and the Lucas County prosecutor's office signed a voluntary agreement modeled after Detroit.

The accord dictated the diocese open its files involving allegations within the last seven years, and Father Billian vowed the church would provide documents going back 50 years or more.

In fact, prosecutors sifted through files but were stymied by Ohio's statute of limitations. The diocese insists investigators have seen all the files on abuse and, in the matter of the slain nun, all the records on Father Robinson. But investigators refuse to talk about what they found in last year's court-ordered searches.

If the diocese has additional files, prosecutors can expect resistance in obtaining them, said several lawyers who have sued other dioceses for such records.

"Oh, they're going to try to fight," said William McMurry, an attorney who has represented alleged victims in the Diocese of Louisville, but he added, "Declaring [records] secret doesn't make them secret."

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who has filed more than 400 sex-abuse cases against dioceses, including several in Toledo, said that until the local church releases all its records, "there will be suspicion."

"If the idea is transparency, then you have to be transparent. It's not just lip service. Other dioceses have released their records, and they have moved on. There's very little controversy in those places. That's what Toledo needs to do. Otherwise, there will always be doubts."

Blade Staff Writers David Yonke and Mitch Weiss contributed to this report.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Welcome new left blog'ers

I finally got listed at The Lefty Directory!

Troop casuality 1500 mark

Today the casuality mark reached 1500. The troop casuality mark reached 1400 on January 26, thirty six days ago. Average daily casuality rate was 2.8 killed per day for the period. This rate is above the previous killed per day rate of 2.5. As I said previously if this rate continues there will be over 5,000 troops killed by the end of Bush's term and over 30,000 wounded.

When are we bringing the troops home?

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Sister Margaret update

Article published Wednesday, March 2, 2005

NUN'S SLAYING
Polygraph didn't lie, officials say
Defense lawyers dispute report priest failed exam
Father Gerald Robinson, center, is surrounded by attorneys, from left, John Callahan, Henry Herschel, and Alan Konop, after a press conference yesterday in Mr. Konop’s offi ce.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

Under attack for stating that murder suspect Father Gerald Robinson "failed" the first of two polygraphs, investigators yesterday stood by the results of the tests administered 24 years ago that indicated the cleric was being untruthful.



In a news conference earlier in the day, Father Robinson's defense lawyers questioned the validity of a lie detector exam Father Robinson took on April 18, 1980 - 13 days after Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was stabbed and strangled in the Mercy Hospital chapel.

Reading from the report by the polygraph examiner James Wiegand, attorney Henry Herschel said the examiner wrote that he "was of the opinion that truthfulness could not be verified."

"The examiner," Mr. Herschel said, "did not use the word 'failed' in his report."

Mr. Herschel, who represented the priest in 1980, was among the lawyers who appeared yesterday for a news conference to challenge the findings released in court documents Monday.

The records supported police searches last year at Toledo diocese offices by investigators who had reopened the murder case.

Henry Herschel, left, Father Robinson’s former attorney, disputes the results of a 1980 lie detector test. With him are the priest, center, and attorney Alan Konop.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
Reading from the polygraph examiner's report, Mr. Herschel said the examiner was concerned that the priest "needs to relax, to be in a calmer state, because of the previous evening's lengthy examination that lasted until approximately 2 a.m."

Mr. Herschel told the packed news conference that Father Robinson had been interrogated during two six to eight-hour sessions. Such stressful interviews are another reason to question the validity of the exam, Mr. Herschel later told The Blade.

"Whenever anybody was … under high stress back in those days it was very difficult to get a reading," he said.

A second exam was more reliable because the priest was no longer under that kind of anxiety, Mr. Herschel said. That report was "inconclusive."

In asking for a court order to search the Toledo Catholic Diocese offices last year for information on the murder case of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, Toledo police Sgt. Steve Forrester wrote in an affidavit that Father Robinson had been an early suspect in the case.

Toledo police polygraph examiner Keefe Snyder, who reviewed the priest's polygraph exam yesterday, said the word "failed" was an accurate representation of the results.

Prosecutor Julia Bates also stood by the affidavits, adding in a brief, three-sentence statement that Mr. Herschel was paid by the diocese to represent Father Robinson in 1980. Mr. Herschel, though, told The Blade he has was not paid by the diocese nor did he consult with its hierarchy. He said he spoke to only one diocesan representative "and that was just to let him know what was going on."

The affidavits were released Monday after The Blade requested the records in a court motion. The documents offer insight into police suspicions of Father Robinson's possible involvement in the death of Sister Pahl.

But they also detail the frustration of investigators, who felt they were being misled by the diocese. Citing Canon Law, investigators said they believed that the diocese held secret files that might contain information about Father Robinson.

When investigators asked the diocese for any records about Father Robinson in 2003, they were handed "bare bones" information, records state. When they returned with a search warrant on Sept. 15, investigators removed 148 separate documents about the cleric.

Father Robinson is scheduled for trial on Oct. 17.

Bishop Payne lectures on fulfilling the scripture



Retired Bishop of Texas lectured at Christ Church, MI on Tuesday. He lectured about how the church needs to return to a mission centered church. Much of his ideas can be found in his book, Reclaiming the Great Commission- A practical model for transforming denominations and congregations. Basically the idea is to get people into the church by giving them something to do once there.

The great commission (discipleship) is revealed in Matthew 18:16-20 and is fulfilled through evangelism (good news). Bishop Payne suggests that we seek to understand the process, message, reason, benefactor and beneficiary of evangelism. Evangelistic process is concerned with how the good news is conveyed. Evangelistic message is the content of the good news. Evangelistic reason is the motivation for the good news. Evangelistic benefactor is who shall be responsible for the good news and evangelistic beneficiary is who shall receive the good news.

Bishop Payne emphasized the early church’s evangelistic mission and how the church has abandoned that mission for one of church maintenance. The bishop spoke of the many years of evangelistic activities of the early church before and without the creation of the New Testament in its present form. Today’s scripture dependent Christianity is most likely different from the scripture less world of early Christianity. As the church evolved Christianity became more complex and overly involved itself in the complexity leading to the move away from evangelistic mission to maintenance of the status quo. The church has lost its mission and Bishop Payne believes that loss has resulted in decreasing numbers of practicing Christians.

The Bishop has successfully reinstated the church’s great commission in Texas and a vibrant church has been the result. Fulfillment of the mission results in the clergy and laity in a cooperative partnership. Laity has participatory roles in a missionary church. The non churched are actively sought and fully engaged in an inclusive community. Good works are received and given within the congregation and without. And a missionary church becomes an active member in the community of which it serves.

Negro girl Claudette Colvin protests against whites on bus


Today is the 50th anniversary of Claudette's bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama. She has received little recognition of her protest that occured nine months before Rosa Parks' historical protest. I wrote the title for this post to reflect the culture of fifty years ago.


palm beach post story
workers world story

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Iraq war anniversary protests- Iraq Veterans Against the War

The Iraq veterans against the war group will hold a protest at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina on the anniversary of the war, March 19-20.

Iraq war anniversary protests

March 19th marks the second year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. It will be protested/ remembered by over 145 events across the country.

United for Peace and Justice lists the events.


click photo

Iraq war anniversary protests- Military families speak out



The group Military Families Speak Out will be holding a protest against the war in Fayetteville North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg on the war's anniversary, March 19-20.

Sister Margaret update

Article published Tuesday, March 1, 2005

TOLEDO NUN SLAYING
Priest failed 1st lie detector test, documents say; other test was inconclusive
Robinson


Homicide detectives believed that officials at the Toledo Catholic Diocese intentionally misled them during their investigation into the slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl last year, according to court documents unsealed yesterday.



The records show that during unprecedented police searches of the downtown church headquarters, investigators said they were looking for evidence of "obstructing justice," in their search for "secret files" that might lead to information about murder suspect and longtime cleric Father Gerald Robinson.

Police said they obtained 148 documents when they searched the diocese on Sept. 15 armed with a judge's order - documents the diocese had failed to turn over to them on an earlier request.

The papers also reveal that Father Robinson had twice taken a lie-detector test during the 1980 probe, and "failed" it the first time, according to investigators.



Sister Pahl was found strangled and stabbed in the Mercy Hospital chapel.

"The results indicated that Father Robinson was involved in the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl," Sgt. Steve Forrester wrote in an affidavit requesting court approval to search the diocese's Spielbusch Avenue offices.

A second polygraph was inconclusive, records state.

Alan Konop, an attorney for Father Robinson, said the statements in an affidavit filed by police were false, but declined to elaborate.

Citing a gag order, Sergeant Forrester would not comment.

Father Michael Billian, the episcopal vicar and the diocese's top administrator, yesterday said no such secret files exist at the diocese, even though such practices violate Canon Law.

His office was singled out in a police search Sept. 17, 2004, after investigators alleged he was not forthcoming with documents they requested two days earlier or in December, 2003.

"Canon Law stipulates that there is to be a secret archive," Father Billian said.

But he added: "The diocese of Toledo does not have one of those."

He said keeping such files would violate the new policy of openness adopted after the priest abuse scandals of the past few years.



"I suppose technically you could say that [the lack of records breaks Canon Law], but really in the United States, this kind of stuff is not in keeping with our new policy of transparency," Father Billian said.

Affidavits and searches
The local diocese, he said, has not kept secret files for decades, though police alleged they have been held as far back as 1917.

The affidavits supporting two police searches of the diocesan office were made public yesterday after The Blade recently revealed the existence of two sealed search warrants and how the murder investigation had become a tug-of-war between investigators and diocesan representatives.

The affidavits underscore that tension.

According to the papers, Sergeant Forrester and cold case detective Tom Ross asked for personnel records for Father Robinson and, on Dec. 15, 2003, Father Billian gave them only "bare-bones" information.

In the meantime, diocesan officials had made public statements about investigating Father Robinson on an unrelated sex-abuse allegation, and Bishop Leonard Blair had visited Father Robinson in prison to place the 66-year-old priest on leave, according to the 20-page affidavit that supported a Sept. 15 search of the church offices.

Investigators concluded that the diocese must have more information about the murder case, partly because Canon Law dictates the diocese investigate allegations of crimes committed by clerics and preserve those records.

Judge Robert Christiansen of Lucas County Common Pleas Court approved a search of the offices so police could seek "the Diocesan Secret Archives" and a key or combination to a safe that, according to Canon Law, might have been kept by Bishop Blair.

In the afternoon of Sept. 15, Bishop Blair told investigators who showed up with the court order that no such secret files existed.

The bishop then called Father Billian, who was out of town, and Father Billian, on a speaker phone and in the presence of investigators, "did not mention … that there was a file concerning Father Gerald Robinson in his office at the time," according to the papers.

A short time later, diocesan attorney Thomas Pletz, who had been told about the search warrant, arrived at the diocese office and joined investigators in the archives room.

"At one point during the execution of the search warrant, attorney Pletz left the archives room and returned with a blue-hanging file folder that was approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick," the record states. "Attorney Pletz was gone for approximately two minutes."

The file, which police said may have been removed from Father Billian's office, contained approximately 148 documents related to Father Robinson.

Suspecting more information might exist in Father Billian's office, investigators returned to Judge Christiansen and convinced him to give them another search warrant.

On Sept. 17, they returned to the diocese, and found a file stamped "privileged" and containing child-abuse allegations. But police never seized the records.

Response to release
Father Billian said yesterday the documents contained names of alleged victims and abusers, but he said prosecutors had reviewed the files in 2002, and the statute of limitations had expired on the accusations.

Prosecutors have not commented on what they found.

Supporters for victims of priest abuse said the release of the affidavits validated victims' long-held claims of secret files.

Similar files have been turned over by other dioceses across the country, including in Boston, Cincinnati, and Detroit.

It's "incredulous" for the Toledo diocese to claim it doesn't keep "secret records," said Jeff Anderson, a Minneapolis attorney.

Mr. Anderson has filed more than 400 clerical abuse lawsuits around the country.

Under Canon Law, all Catholic dioceses are required to keep records of "any material that is scandalous."

In at least seven sex-abuse cases filed against the diocese since 2002, Mr. Anderson said he has been hard-pressed to get information from the diocese about alleged abusers.

"A search warrant is the only effective way to get their secrets and their secret documents," he said.

"I know the diocese of Toledo and they have been absolutely obstructionistic."

He said that any evidence of crimes by priests - child sexual abuse, homicide - is going to be kept secret under Canon Law.

And under the laws of the church and orders of the Vatican, only the bishop can see those documents or his designee.

"They can't be turned over to anybody. And so they stay secret,'' he said.

The Toledo coordinator of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Claudia Vercellotti, accused the diocese of carrying out damage control.

"Do they pick and choose what part of Canon Law they follow? How can they one moment follow Rome, and the next moment, they don't?"

Blade staff writer Mitch Weiss contributed to this report.