Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

The professional victims’ lobby is meeting in Boston this weekend for the “10th Anniversary Celebration & Conference.” Shamelessly, they are “celebrating” the 10th anniversary of media reports on the Boston clergy sexual abuse scandal. The speakers have quite a resume. We know from past experience what drives them.

• Actors and artists will set the tone with melodramatic precision
• Activists from SNAP, along with a suspended priest, will discuss their conspiracy theories about the “evil institution”
• Two psychiatrists and a psychologist will entertain the crowd with their fully discredited notions about “repressed memory”
• Bigoted lawyers will delight the audience by drawing analogies between Islamic terrorists and the Vatican
• Reporters and columnists who are so full of hate that they can’t see straight will recount their paranoid stories

One of the speakers, Kathy Dwyer, is already giving priests, brothers and nuns a “heads up.” These are her exact words: “PLEASE NOTE: We are asking any clerics (male or female) who may be planning on attending the conference to, out of respect for survivors, wear street clothes only.” But the only ones likely to attend don’t need to be told this anyway.

The event ends on Sunday at Boston’s Holy Cross Cathedral. But not for the purpose of going to Mass. Fittingly, they will hold a demonstration. What they will be demonstrating about no one really knows—the homosexual scandal effectively ended in the mid-1980s—but no doubt they will still find a way to bash the Catholic Church. It’s what they do.

I thought about going, at least to hang out, but the Giants are in the playoffs.

Contact Kathy Dwyer to register: kathleenmdwyer@aol.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), David Clohessy, and its outreach director, Barbara Dorris:

Yesterday I said, “[David] Clohessy never tires of lecturing the Catholic Church on the need for transparency, yet when he is in the hot seat he rebels.” I was referring to his anger at being subpoenaed to testify in a St. Louis court on Monday regarding public statements he made that were allegedly taken from lawyer Rebecca Randles in violation of a court gag order. Now Clohessy is justifying a double standard.

“We believe that there are two standards of transparency,” Clohessy said. He maintained there is one standard for “institutions that have enabled thousands of pedophiles,” and another for “organizations that enable kids to be safer and expose heinous crimes.” In other words, there should be one standard of justice for the Catholic Church, and another for SNAP.

A defense lawyer seized the moment. He noted that Clohessy wants bishops to suspend accused priests “the minute they are sued for abuse.” Accordingly, he then asked, does this mean SNAP should close its doors immediately if it is sued for defamation or libel? Clohessy flatly said, “No.” Interestingly, Clohessy refused to answer many questions during his deposition, complaining that “Church defense lawyers will likely ask that we be found in contempt of court and possibly fined or possibly jailed.” Reporters described him as looking “shaken and teary-eyed.”

Barbara Dorris is so contemptuous of priestly rights that she scoffed at the idea that an accused priest “has the same legal rights as any citizen.” She plainly said, “But of course, he doesn’t.” She then made the inane comment that a priest cannot marry or work at an abortion clinic (as if the civil law prevented him from doing so). But we know what she meant.

Looks like SNAP has snapped.

Contact Clohessy: SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Yesterday, the director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), David Clohessy, was deposed in St. Louis regarding allegations that he issued news releases based on information contained in legal documents from attorney Rebecca Randles; those documents were subjected to a gag order last August by Jackson County, Missouri Circuit Court Judge Ann Mesle.

Lawyers for Rev. Michael Tierney and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are seeking internal documents and correspondence from SNAP; Clohessy may have to turn over 23 years worth of such information. Judge Mesle ordered Clohessy to comply with her ruling because he “almost certainly has knowledge concerning issues relevant to this litigation.” An appeal by SNAP to the Missouri Supreme Court failed, thus forcing Clohessy to testify.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

This is just the beginning. The Catholic League has long charged that there is an incestuous relationship between SNAP and attorneys like Rebecca Randles; she is a protégé of Jeffrey Anderson, and both have been feeding and greasing SNAP for decades. It’s now time to blow the lid on this scam and get to the bottom of it.

Clohessy never tires of lecturing the Catholic Church on the need for transparency, yet when he is in the hot seat, he rebels. That is why he is having a press conference today in St. Louis blaming the Catholic Church for playing hardball. We’re delighted the Church is taking a tougher stance. The anti-Catholic activists at SNAP are so shaken by these events that one of its staffers has accused the Missouri Supreme Court of “an unprecedented, bullying maneuver” for simply enforcing the law.

Talk about turning the tables! What a great way to start the new year.

Contact Clohessy: SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest lawsuit by Rebecca Randles against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph:

After disturbing, but not pornographic, pictures of young girls were found on the computer of Fr. Shawn Ratigan last December, and after his attempted suicide and diagnosis by a psychiatrist, he was ordered by the Diocese to stay away from children. He didn’t, which is why the cops were summoned last May (though no crime had been committed). In the interim period, Ratigan was invited to dinner by the parents of a young girl, and they are now claiming that he may have taken a picture of her under the table. So they are suing him, Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese for conspiracy to commit fraud. Here’s what happened.

Ratigan contacts the girl via Facebook; her mother starts an email conversation with him; he is invited to dinner; he uses his cell phone under the table appearing to be texting; the parents take their girl to be with him again at an Easter egg hunt; they learn of his arrest; then they sue claiming they are suffering “great pain of mind and body,” as well as “emotional distress” and “loss of enjoyment of life.” It’s time to ask some tough questions about the anonymous plaintiffs.

First, what kind of mother would allow her ten-year-old to have a Facebook page? Second, what kind of mother would invite a total stranger to dinner? Third, what kind of people would file a suit about something they have no proof ever happened? Fourth, since the girl assumedly had her clothes on at dinner, any pictures that he may have taken were not pornographic (if he did take photos, that makes him a creep, but not a criminal). Fifth, if they saw him using his cell phone under the table, why didn’t they confront him, at least for rudeness? Sixth, if they thought he was at least a weirdo, why did they bring their girl to be with him again? Seventh, the alleged “pain of mind and body” and “loss of enjoyment of life” strains credulity.

When we add to this spurious case the fact that it was filed by one of SNAP’s darlings, it reeks to high heaven.

Contact Rebecca Randles: rebecca@rmblawyers.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest news article by Kansas City Star reporters Judy L. Thomas and Glenn E. Rice on the story involving Fr. Shawn Ratigan:

The Kansas City Star’s latest hit on the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is both contrived and dishonest. It is contrived because the dirt it alleges to have found doesn’t exist. To wit: there is nothing even vaguely unethical about Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, the Pennsylvania psychiatrist who evaluated Fr. Ratigan, and his advisory role to Opus Bono Sacerdotii (OBS). It is dishonest because it continues the cover-up of its ally, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Dr. Fitzgibbons is to be commended, not condemned, for his association with OBS. It is run by two dedicated Catholics, Peter Ferrara and Joe Maher; its founding advisors were two of the most stellar Catholics in the past half-century, Avery Cardinal Dulles and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. The group not only defends the rights of priests, it reaches out to those who have sinned and seek reconciliation. It is a noble enterprise. So to imply that there is something sinister about Fitzgibbons evaluating Ratigan is yellow journalism.

The Star adds to its corrupt reporting by dishonestly covering up for SNAP. There is a psychiatrist who is unethical—indeed is a convicted sex abuser—and he is the long-time SNAP advisor, Dr. Steve Taylor. Taylor is in prison today for doing something not attributed to Ratigan: he downloaded child porn from his computer. Barbara Blaine, the founder of SNAP, came to his defense and wrote to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners pleading with them not to strip Taylor of his license. Yet the Star has never once told its readers about this story.

This is vintage Star reporting on the Catholic Church.

Contact Judy L. Thomas: : jthomas@kcstar.com

Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn has agreed to meet on a monthly basis with Clay County prosecutor Daniel White to discuss any potential cases involving the sexual abuse of minors; this will be ongoing for five years. In return, he will not face prosecution on a misdemeanor regarding the behavior of Fr. Shawn Ratigan, who was under his employ.

Still to be settled are the misdemeanor charges brought by the prosecutor in neighboring Jackson County.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on this today:

In an ideal world, there would have been no charges whatsoever: there was no complainant and no violation of law. Quite unlike the Penn State situation, where alleged victims have come forward, no one has come forward in this case. Prosecutors have to be careful not to set the bar too low, because otherwise they will need an army of attorneys to police cases of suspected molestation that occur in public, as well as private, institutions.

The Catholic haters are already fuming. David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), says, “Nothing deters white collar crime like jail time, and nothing exposes a cover-up like a trial. But neither is happening.” But there was no crime and there was no cover-up: the Diocese contacted the authorities after Fr. Ratigan violated its own strictures; it even asked for an independent investigation.

Not only was there no cover-up, the only reason anyone knows anything about this case is because the Diocese voluntarily decided to call the cops. This is quite unlike the situation where Clohessy refused to call the police in the 1990s when he learned that his own brother was a child molester. It is Clohessy who belongs in jail—he has never paid for his cover-up, yet he has the audacity to point fingers at Bishop Finn, an innocent man.

Contact Clohessy: SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the latest developments regarding its battle with the Kansas City Star:

Yesterday, I was joined by Catholic League staff members and scores of Catholics from Kansas City (we never contacted any of them—they showed up after reading our news release on the event) at a press conference outside the Kansas City Star. We were delighted with the response: our goal is to energize the Catholic community in defense of Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn, and to educate everyone about the agenda of SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) and its lawyers.

The SNAP-driven agenda to target Bishop Finn, aided and abetted by the Star, is one of the most startling examples of an activist organization pairing with a newspaper for political purposes. Indeed, the Star-SNAP alliance smacks of corruption.

Earlier this week, we mailed a few copies of the ad to nearly 100 Catholic churches in the area; nuns, brothers and order priests were also sent copies. We hope the pastors will make copies and distribute them to their parishioners this weekend. An informed public is what we need.

Today, we are mailing copies of the ad to every Catholic lay organization in the area. We feel confident that they will also distribute copies to their family and friends.

Next week we will continue our campaign to blanket the entire Kansas City, Missouri area with the ad the Star doesn’t want the public to read. We’re like a bad migraine—we’re not going away.

Contact Star publisher Mi-Ai Parrish: mparrish@kcstar.com 

The president of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, along with Vice President Bernadette Brady and staff members Don Lauer and Alex Mejia, are holding a press conference today at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Kansas City Star (at the corner of Truman and McGee).

The purpose of the press conference is to expose the anti-Catholic agenda of the three parties who are working together against Bishop Robert Finn: SNAP; SNAP lawyers Jeffrey Anderson and Rebecca Randles; and the Kansas City Star. Donohue will also outline the Catholic League’s campaign to blanket religious and secular organizations in the area with copies of the full-page ad that the Star rejected for political reasons.

A short Q&A will follow Donohue’s talk. All media outlets are welcome.

Who: Catholic League president Bill Donohue; Vice President Bernadette Brady; Staff Member Don Lauer; Staff Member Alex Mejia; local Kansas City Catholics

What: Commence a campaign to blanket religious and secular institutions with copies of a $25,000 ad turned down by the Kansas City Star exposing the anti-Catholic  agenda of SNAP and its lawyers against Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn. The Star-SNAP alliance will also be addressed, along with related matters.

When: Thursday, November 10, 11:00 a.m.

Where: Outside the Kansas City Star at Truman Rd. and McGee St.

The full-page ad on SNAP and its anti-Catholic lawyers that the Kansas City Star rejected—without explanation—can be read in today’s edition of the Northeast News, a weekly newspaper that serves the northeastern community of Kansas City, Missouri.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

Yesterday, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a press conference in front of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to bring attention to a case involving an Episcopal priest, Bede Parry, who is being charged with molesting young boys while he was studying to be a Catholic priest. Parry was thrown out of the Benedictines of Conception Abbey in Missouri back in 1990; then he left for Las Vegas; eventually he became an Episcopal priest there. The person who knew about his record of abuse and still allowed him to join the clergy of the Episcopal Church was the Episcopal Bishop of Nevada, Katharine Jefferts Schori; today she is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the U.S., located in New York City

The Kansas City Star, which has been relentless in its pursuit of clergy abuse by Catholic priests, said absolutely nothing about this case today. Is this because it involves another religion? Or is it because it implicates a woman clergyperson, thus getting in the way of the contrived narrative that Catholic bishops have some kind of special “old boy” network that inhibits them from being forthcoming? No matter, to think that the person who is the head of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. is named in a cover up involving the sexual abuse of minors—and isn’t even mentioned in the Star—speaks volumes about its politically driven agenda against Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert Finn.

Then there is the politics of SNAP. Can anyone believe that SNAP would hold a press conference in front of a Jewish synagogue about a case involving the sexual abuse of a minor committed by a minister? So why did it pick the most prominent Catholic cathedral in the Diocese for its press conference, especially when the issue has nothing to do with the Diocese? (Parry was never a priest there—he was an order priest.)

Contact Star publisher Mi-Ai Parrish: mparrish@kcstar.com