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10/23/2006

Isle Bishop Named in Suit

Mary Adamski, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Disclosure is sought of priests nationwide identified as molesters.

Honolulu Catholic Bishop Larry Silva is one of 178 American bishops named in a lawsuit that seeks disclosure of the names of 5,000 Catholic priests identified as child molesters, with the action taken against each one by their bishops.

The civil suit was filed in Wisconsin by the family of Dan O'Connell, whose investigation into sexual abuse by a parish priest in Hudson, Wis., allegedly led to O'Connell's murder in February 2002.

Court papers were served on the Honolulu bishop recently, notifying him that he is a defendant in the lawsuit that initially named the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Tom O'Connell Jr., brother of the slain man.

The suit was filed in August in St. Croix County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. It does not seek monetary damages, but to have the court order the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to release the names of about 5,000 known sexual abusers.

A press release Wednesday from the family's attorney, Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., announced that 26 new defendants had been added to the original filing, including Silva.

Silva has no comment on the lawsuit, said Honolulu diocese spokesman Patrick Downes.

Tom O'Connell said Wednesday in a telephone interview that the family vowed to "make something good" come from the killing of his brother. He and his parents have attempted to meet with leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to discuss their ideas about revealing predator priests and helping victims and the Catholic Church recover from the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

"We were refused. We have basically been ignored by the entire Conference of Bishops," he said.

O'Connell said they seek publication of the names of about 5,000 "proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive priests in the United States" identified in a study commissioned by the Conference of Catholic Bishops after the sex abuse scandal began in 2002. The study, completed in February 2004 by John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, found that children in dioceses across the United States had accused 4,400 priests of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002.

"Today we don't know if they were released, are still practicing as priests, have become Boy Scout leaders, nothing," O'Connell said.

Each Catholic bishop has autonomy to handle the complaints in his jurisdiction. In July, Silva withdrew the ministerial "faculties" of a Maui deacon who was convicted of sexual abuse. Silva's predecessor, Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, removed four priests from public ministry in 1993, and acted in 2002 to remove a Maui pastor, accused by two men in 20-year-old cases. In 2003 he sent a Molokai pastor back to the Philippines, where he faced a molestation accusation.

Dan O'Connell, 39, had been investigating a molestation accusation against a priest when he was shot to death in the family funeral home. His co-worker was also fatally shot. The priest committed suicide in December 2004 after being questioned by police.

Jeff Anderson & Associates, P.A.
366 Jackson Street, Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: 651-227-9990
Fax: 651-297-6543

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11/19/08

Searchable and Enhanced Archbishop Weakland Deposition

from Bishop Accountability

11/19/08
Archbishop Rembert Weaklands's Deposition Part 1 and Part 2
Exhibits Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

11/12/08
Portions of Archbishop Rembert Weakland's Deposition and Exhibits.

Video of Archbishop Rembert Weakland's Video Deposition.

11/12/08
Group outs top 10 priests accused of sex abuse
Three Catholic priests with ties to Maryland are among the nation's most dangerous sexual predators, according to a list released Tuesday by a group of clergy sex abuse victims demanding greater accountability from the Catholic Church.

11/07/08
Complaint filed Against Fr. John Powell

10/26/08
Convicted Catholic priest faces indefinite custody, Winnebago County jury to decide fate
A Winnebago County jury will decide next month whether a Catholic priest who sexually assaulted two boys in the 1980s meets the criteria to be classified as a sexually violent person and remain in custody indefinitely.

10/25/08
Jury convicts ex-Jesuit priest of sex abuse of 13-year-old boy
Donald McGuire sat hunched in his wheelchair in a federal courtroom Friday with his face locked in a frown, a shell of the charismatic priest who traveled the world to hold religious retreats and advise Mother Teresa.

10/23/08
Cardinal's dismaying lapse on sex offender
For several months, Cardinal Francis George appeared to have learned from his failures in dealing with the child sex abuse scandal afflicting the Archdiocese of Chicago.

9/25/08
Catholic order of nuns settles claim by three who say they were abused
An attorney for the Franciscan Sisters adamantly denied the allegations, saying that the $400,000 payment was agreed upon to avoid protracted litigation.

9/23/08
Lawsuit rejected in case of priest who killed two
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Carsten and Sally Ellison of Barron against the Catholic Diocese of Superior for the murder of their son by a priest was dismissed Tuesday afternoon in a summary judgment by Eau Claire County Judge Paul Lenz.

9/15/08
Archdioces may seek out priest's abuse victims
As an advocacy group blasted the church's handling of the allegations, an outreach effort was contemplated.

9/10/08
Archdiocese accused of helping sex abuser flee
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is accused of helping a priest flee to his native Ecuador after he was accused of molesting a child while working in Minnesota, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court.

9/10/08
Montero Press Conference

9/10/08
Suburban church is hit with abuse suit
A 46-year-old Streamwood man has accused his former priest of sexually abusing him more than 30 years ago and Greek Orthodox church officials of attempting to cover it up, according to a lawsuit that marks the fifth allegation against the defrocked priest

9/10/08
Complaint against Greek Orthodox Church and Fr. Nicholas Katinas

9/3/08
Family of Priest-Abuse Victim Reacts to Supreme Court Ruling
He is serving a 32-year prison sentence following his conviction for fondling David Schauer in 1988 when Schauer was only ten years old and a student at St. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay.

8/22/08
Exhibit A Non-Monetary Commitments by the Diocese

8/22/08
Bishop Signs Priest Abuse Settlement
A settlement is now official for 47 victims who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their own priests

8/22/08
Mom wants cardinal to quit
Reading her Sun-Times last week, Diane Houston lingered over a prison photo of the Rev. Norbert Maday, his mug shot showing the convicted sex abuser with a black eye and a swollen lip.

8/19/08
Tentative settlement reached in KC priest abuse cases
The Catholic Diocese in Kansas City and more than 40 victims of clergy sexual abuse tentatively agreed late Tuesday to settle lawsuits against the church for about $10 million.

8/14/08
Last known contact info for offenders in Chicago Settlement

8/14/08
Victim, cop slam archdiocese's efforts to get priest out of prison early
A victim of sex-abusing priest Norbert Maday and the detective who helped put the clergyman behind bars said Wednesday they were appalled and disheartened by efforts by the Archdiocese of Chicago to spring Maday from prison.

8/13/08
Victim was 7 when abused by priest
Less than a year ago, Therese Albrecht wanted to kill herself.

8/13/08
Cardinal tried to spring sex abuser, then changed view
Cardinal Francis George acknowledged Tuesday that he and other Archdiocese of Chicago officials had worked to reduce the prison sentencef sex-abusing priest Norbert Maday, who is believed to have molested children dozens of times.

8/13/08
Cardinal lifts the veil on abuses
George announces $12.7 million payout to victims of priest attacks, discloses his sworn deposition and says: 'I have to accept the blame'

8/12/08
Archdiocese Announces $12.6M Sex Abuse Settlement
The Archdiocese of Chicago said Tuesday it will to pay more than $12.6 million to settle lawsuits by 16 victims of sexual abuse by priests

8/12/08
depo transcript of Cardinal George

8/12/08
Cardinal George Exhibits Part 1 of 2

8/12/08
Cardinal George Exhibits Part 2 of 2

7/30/08
Attorney Jeff Anderson Sues the Hell Out of Clerical Sex Abusers
St. Paul, MN: Attorney Jeff Anderson is a genuine firebrand. He has handled not hundreds, but thousands of cases on behalf of sexual abuse survivors across the US, and even outside the US over the last 25 years.

7/21/08
New Sex Abuse Lawsuit for Denver Archdiocese
Another man filed a lawsuit Monday against the Archdiocese of Denver alleging he was abused by a priest at a church in Loveland about 40 years ago.

7/3/2008
Former Somerset priest indicted
Cote faces sexual abuse charges in Maryland

7/2/2008
Denver Archdiocese to Pay $5.5 Million in Abuse Suits
After nearly three years of litigation, the Archdiocese of Denver said Tuesday that it would pay $5.5 million to settle more than a dozen lawsuits over sexual abuse by priests.

7/2/2008
Time line Regarding Harold White and the Archdiocese of Denver

7/2/2008
Denver settlement - all documents on White

7/2/2008
Archdiocese of Denver settlement - hot documents

7/2/2008
Denver Archdiocese Settles Priest Sex-abuse Lawsuits
The archdiocese of Denver has agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle 18 claims of sexual abuse against its priests in incidents that happened between 1954 and 1981.