Sadly, it has become the norm to see articles about suits against the Roman Catholic Church arising from the sexual abuse of minors. What is also sadly the norm is that NO HIGHER UPS in the Church are ever punished for what was allowed to go on. One new suit was filed this past week in California against Salesian Society. The other lawsuits were filed against the Roman Catholic diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, the Roman Catholic diocese of London and the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario. Would that the media would endlessly ask Benedict XVI when will some bishop or cardinal be punished instead of mindlessly repeating the disingenuous statements flowing from the Church as it seeks to meddle in civil law matters and/or deprive gays of fully legal rights. Here are highlights on the California case (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priest24jan24,1,7487220.story):
Three siblings who say they were molested as children by the same Los Angeles priest filed new allegations of abuse this week against a worldwide religious order, which is the only Roman Catholic organization involved in the 6-year-old clergy scandal that has yet to settle any civil claims.The three allege the Salesian Society, with 16,000 priests, ignored clear signs that Father Titian Miani was a dangerous pedophile. Over the years, he was placed in a succession of church roles in different locations, including a boys orphanage in Canada and a boys school in Bellflower, where he preyed on more than a dozen children, according to the civil lawsuit.
The Salesians refused to join in a $660-million settlement between the Los Angeles Archdiocese and more than 500 plaintiffs who said they were abused. The civil case involving Miani is scheduled for trial in March and represents the first time a jury will be asked to decide the church's culpability. A judge recently ruled that there is evidence the Society acted with "malice and oppression" in failing to protect children, potentially opening the door for punitive damages.
According to the lawsuit, Miani traded on his spiritual and educational authority to prey on the three children, whose father had died suddenly in 1965. Their mother, a seamstress and devout Catholic with four children, was forced to return to work and night school. She had a regular schedule and left her son, the oldest child, in charge of his three sisters in the evening. Miani had approached the family after the father's death, and the mother welcomed him as a strong male influence, she said in a deposition. The boy, then 15, befriended by the gregarious priest, was repeatedly sexually molested by him, both in Miani's office at the Bellflower high school and on field trips to the San Bernardino Mountains, according to the victim's deposition.
At the children's family home in Norwalk, Miani familiarized himself with the mother's schedule and began showing up on the nights when she was away at school or work, the suit alleges. The boy would hide as soon as Miani showed up to avoid further molestation, he testified under oath. Left with the three girls, Miani would pick one, take her to a back room and molest her, two of the daughters have stated in depositions. One of the daughters is not part of the lawsuit, although lawyers contend she was also molested. The Times does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
"For 60 years they knew about this guy," said Anthony M. De Marco, lawyer for the siblings who developed the case, "and they have not done one thing responsible about it."
The other lawsuits likewise have a familiar story line. Here are a few highlights:
The Roman Catholic diocese of Sault Ste. Marie has been hit with six civil lawsuits from men and women claiming they were sexually abused as children by priests decades ago. Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers of London, Ont., are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday to announce the Sault. Ste. Marie lawsuits, as well as one in London.
The firm is suing the Sault diocese, the Roman Catholic diocese of London and the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario on behalf of seven plaintiffs. The litigation names six Roman Catholic priests, only one of whom, Gerald Roy, is still alive. Half of the priests named have been charged or convicted of criminal offences.
Some of the alleged abuse occurred at Scollard Hall, a former all-boys’ Catholic secondary school in North Bay. It has since become St. Joseph-Scollard Hall, a co-ed school. Fedy and Killoran were both on staff at Scollard Hall. The Subdury Star could not reach a spokesperson for the Sault diocese Thursday evening.
The plaintiffs, who now range in age from their 40s to their 60s, are expected to attend the news conference Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Sudbury. Talach said the lawsuits are not about money. He said every plaintiff he represents has the same answer when he asks them what they want: “For this to never happen to another child.”
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