Pitt Gorilla
03-29-2007, 11:16 AM
This hit a little close to home.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/03/27/news/top_story/1930090f462d26c6862572ab0054a0a8.prt
By PAT KINNEY
Courier Business Editor
WATERLOO --- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque will pay a total of $2.6 million to nine additional individuals who say they were sexually abused by priests in incidents occurring from the 1940s through the 1990s.
The settlement was announced today in separate press conferences by claimants' attorneys and the archdiocese, which also released its annual report on the sexual abuse of minors within the archdiocese.
In addition to the $2.6 million, the archdiocese will pay for up to 12 counseling sessions for the victims this year. Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus will issue private and public apologies, meet with the alleged victims if they choose and allow them to speak at their home parishes if they wish. Any photos or depictions of abusive priests in the nine claims will be removed from public display at parishes and archdiocesan facilities.
None of the claimants filed suit in court. The claims were settled through private mediation last week, said archdiocesan officials and Waterloo attorney Tom Staack, who represented the alleged victims along with Chad Swanson. Staack and Swanson did not release their clients' names.
Hanus participated in the mediation along with archdiocesan attorneys.
"From my perspective, the archdiocese in these particular cases has never questioned the abuse of our clients to us," Staack said.
The process included psychological evaluations of the alleged victims.
"I express my profound sorrow for what you have endured," Hanus wrote the victims. "I apologize for what these priests did to you. What they did was heinous, awful, horrendous and cries to heaven for vengeance."
The new settlement comes a little more than a year after the archdiocese paid $5 million to 20 alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests.
The settlement announced today involved allegations involving six different priests. Several were named in previous suits included in the 2006 settlement. Three are deceased; the others "are not serving as priests in any parish, school or hospital," archdiocesan officials said.
The six priests, their assignments, and the approximate time frames of the abuse claims in the settlement announced today, are:
--- Patrick McElliott, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Ryan in the 1940s. McElliott also was pastor at St. John's Catholic Church in Waterloo from 1954 through 1963 and was the subject of previously settled abuse suits there, which were included in the 2006 settlement. McElliott died in Waterloo in 1987.
--- William Schwartz, at Columbus High School in Waterloo in the late 1970s. Schwartz was the subject of other previously settled suits from his time at Columbus and one in the 1960s when he was at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waterloo. Archdiocesan officials have said Schwartz retired in the early 1990s, was removed from priestly duties in 1993 and treated at a facility in Arizona, where he has resided following retirement. Pope Benedict XVI formally defrocked him in December 2005.
---- Allen Schmitt, who served at Sacred Heart Church in Waterloo in the early to mid-1970s. In early 2002, Schmitt was removed from Waukon-area parishes after being accused of abusing youths in the late 1970s at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Subsequent to his removal, a similar allegation surfaced regarding his earlier assignment at Sacred Heart in Waterloo, where he was an associate pastor from 1971 through 1977. A preliminary canonical investigation of his case has been sent to the Holy See in the Vatican for final disposition, archdiocesan officials said.
--- John Brickley, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Nevada in Story County from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. He was the subject of a lawsuit filed in the 1990s settled without trial. Brickley died in 1998.
--- Joseph Patnode, at St. Patrick's in Nevada in the early 1970s. He died in 1977.
--- Timothy DeVenney, who served at St. Columbkille's Catholic Church in Dubuque in the mid-1990s. DeVenney, a Dubuque priest, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1997 for fondling several boys. He was paroled in 2001, transfered to a treatment center, and "remains under the supervison of his parole officer," archdiocesan officials said.
The bulk of the new $2.6 million settlement will come from reserves of the Dubuque Archdiocesan Protection Plan, the self-insurance program of the archdiocese, as was the case with the 2006 settlement. Other insurance coverage may cover some of the more recent claims.
In a statement, Staack and Swanson wrote, as they stated in the 2006 settlement, "We again believe the settlement of these nine claims will not be the final chapter, and that more survivors will now choose to come forward."
"It's a sad chapter," Staack said. "I think the church needs to continue to go through this process. I think the victims need to go through the process. Almost every one of our clients we have had have appreciated the ability of them to come out finally and tell their story and get that off their shoulders and start the healing process."
"Priests who abused are a disgrace to the vocation and a scandal to the faithful," archdiocesan officials wrote. "In contrast, the vast majority of priests are good and holy servants of God and God's people."
Following mandates of a 2002 Dallas bishops' conference, Hanus appointed an archdiocesan review board and created an Office for the Protection of Children. At prayer services and priests' meetings he has apologized for the abuse and "the inaction of some archbishops."
He has met with victims and families and made some offenders contribute toward financial abuse settlements.
On its Web site, www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us, the archdiocese lists the names of priests charged with credible public accusations of abuse.
Hanus also has appointed victim witness coordinators to work with victims and instituted an anti-sexual-abuse training program for archdiocesan personnel.
Steve Theisen of Hudson, a local organizer of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said, "I praise (victims') courage in speaking up and hope their courage prods others who suffer in silence into coming forward,"
Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/03/27/news/top_story/1930090f462d26c6862572ab0054a0a8.prt
By PAT KINNEY
Courier Business Editor
WATERLOO --- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque will pay a total of $2.6 million to nine additional individuals who say they were sexually abused by priests in incidents occurring from the 1940s through the 1990s.
The settlement was announced today in separate press conferences by claimants' attorneys and the archdiocese, which also released its annual report on the sexual abuse of minors within the archdiocese.
In addition to the $2.6 million, the archdiocese will pay for up to 12 counseling sessions for the victims this year. Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus will issue private and public apologies, meet with the alleged victims if they choose and allow them to speak at their home parishes if they wish. Any photos or depictions of abusive priests in the nine claims will be removed from public display at parishes and archdiocesan facilities.
None of the claimants filed suit in court. The claims were settled through private mediation last week, said archdiocesan officials and Waterloo attorney Tom Staack, who represented the alleged victims along with Chad Swanson. Staack and Swanson did not release their clients' names.
Hanus participated in the mediation along with archdiocesan attorneys.
"From my perspective, the archdiocese in these particular cases has never questioned the abuse of our clients to us," Staack said.
The process included psychological evaluations of the alleged victims.
"I express my profound sorrow for what you have endured," Hanus wrote the victims. "I apologize for what these priests did to you. What they did was heinous, awful, horrendous and cries to heaven for vengeance."
The new settlement comes a little more than a year after the archdiocese paid $5 million to 20 alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests.
The settlement announced today involved allegations involving six different priests. Several were named in previous suits included in the 2006 settlement. Three are deceased; the others "are not serving as priests in any parish, school or hospital," archdiocesan officials said.
The six priests, their assignments, and the approximate time frames of the abuse claims in the settlement announced today, are:
--- Patrick McElliott, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Ryan in the 1940s. McElliott also was pastor at St. John's Catholic Church in Waterloo from 1954 through 1963 and was the subject of previously settled abuse suits there, which were included in the 2006 settlement. McElliott died in Waterloo in 1987.
--- William Schwartz, at Columbus High School in Waterloo in the late 1970s. Schwartz was the subject of other previously settled suits from his time at Columbus and one in the 1960s when he was at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waterloo. Archdiocesan officials have said Schwartz retired in the early 1990s, was removed from priestly duties in 1993 and treated at a facility in Arizona, where he has resided following retirement. Pope Benedict XVI formally defrocked him in December 2005.
---- Allen Schmitt, who served at Sacred Heart Church in Waterloo in the early to mid-1970s. In early 2002, Schmitt was removed from Waukon-area parishes after being accused of abusing youths in the late 1970s at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Subsequent to his removal, a similar allegation surfaced regarding his earlier assignment at Sacred Heart in Waterloo, where he was an associate pastor from 1971 through 1977. A preliminary canonical investigation of his case has been sent to the Holy See in the Vatican for final disposition, archdiocesan officials said.
--- John Brickley, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Nevada in Story County from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. He was the subject of a lawsuit filed in the 1990s settled without trial. Brickley died in 1998.
--- Joseph Patnode, at St. Patrick's in Nevada in the early 1970s. He died in 1977.
--- Timothy DeVenney, who served at St. Columbkille's Catholic Church in Dubuque in the mid-1990s. DeVenney, a Dubuque priest, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1997 for fondling several boys. He was paroled in 2001, transfered to a treatment center, and "remains under the supervison of his parole officer," archdiocesan officials said.
The bulk of the new $2.6 million settlement will come from reserves of the Dubuque Archdiocesan Protection Plan, the self-insurance program of the archdiocese, as was the case with the 2006 settlement. Other insurance coverage may cover some of the more recent claims.
In a statement, Staack and Swanson wrote, as they stated in the 2006 settlement, "We again believe the settlement of these nine claims will not be the final chapter, and that more survivors will now choose to come forward."
"It's a sad chapter," Staack said. "I think the church needs to continue to go through this process. I think the victims need to go through the process. Almost every one of our clients we have had have appreciated the ability of them to come out finally and tell their story and get that off their shoulders and start the healing process."
"Priests who abused are a disgrace to the vocation and a scandal to the faithful," archdiocesan officials wrote. "In contrast, the vast majority of priests are good and holy servants of God and God's people."
Following mandates of a 2002 Dallas bishops' conference, Hanus appointed an archdiocesan review board and created an Office for the Protection of Children. At prayer services and priests' meetings he has apologized for the abuse and "the inaction of some archbishops."
He has met with victims and families and made some offenders contribute toward financial abuse settlements.
On its Web site, www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us, the archdiocese lists the names of priests charged with credible public accusations of abuse.
Hanus also has appointed victim witness coordinators to work with victims and instituted an anti-sexual-abuse training program for archdiocesan personnel.
Steve Theisen of Hudson, a local organizer of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said, "I praise (victims') courage in speaking up and hope their courage prods others who suffer in silence into coming forward,"
Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com