10-29-18 Feds Order Bishops Not to Destroy Documents Related to Sex Abuse

Feds Order Bishops Not to Destroy Documents Related to Sex Abuse


News: US News
by Christine Niles, M.St. (Oxon.), J.D.  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  October 27, 2018   

US Attorney William McSwain tells bishops to preserve evidence in secret archives

You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today!

DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - The federal government is ordering every U.S. bishop to preserve documents related to clerical sex abuse. The move signals the possibility of a much wider federal criminal probe into the Catholic Church than is currently taking place.
A seven-page letter sent Oct. 9 by U.S. Attorney William McSwain to Cdl. Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, requests the "officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives" of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) "to preserve the documents described in the enclosure to this letter." 
The enclosure refers, among other things, to all evidence kept in diocesan "secret archives," reserved for allegations of clerical misconduct, including sex abuse.
"I request that these documents be preserved in their current form and condition, and not be destroyed, discarded, disposed of, deleted, or altered in any way," McSwain writes.
According to Vatican blogger Rocco Palmo, the letter was distributed to all the bishops on Tuesday, "and has duly spread since among internal counsels and personnel-chiefs across the Stateside church's 198 jurisdictions."
In a statement issued Friday, Anthony Picarello, Jr., attorney to the USCCB, said, "We have transmitted the U.S. attorney's letter (to our staff) at his request, and in the spirit of cooperation with law enforcement." Picarello clarified that the USCCB "lacks the authority" to enforce McSwain's request regarding individual bishops.
Last week news broke that the federal government was investigating multiple Pennsylvania dioceses for clerical abuse and cover-up. The diocese of Buffalo, New York also confirmed it was under federal investigation.
The federal probe follows the launch of multiple state investigations into the Catholic Church, prompted by the publication of the 884-page Pennsylvania grand jury report in mid-August, which revealed 301 alleged predator priests in six dioceses.
The publication of the grand jury report led to the resignation of Cdl. Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., revealed to have protected homosexual predators while bishop of Pittsburgh — in one case even paying hush money to buy the silence of a priest involved in a sadomasochistic child porn ring. According to a source in attendance at the Aug. 14 press conference announcing publication of the grand jury report, PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wuerl was "the dirtiest" among the Pennsylvania bishops.
Government sources confirmed with Church Militant that the DOJ was seriously considering the possibility of a RICO prosecution of the Catholic Church.
Shapiro confirmed in the days following publication of the report that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had reached out to him with questions. Government sources confirmed with Church Militant that the DOJ was seriously considering the possibility of a RICO prosecution of the Catholic Church. McSwain's Oct. 9 letter to the U.S. bishops further signals a move in that direction, based on whatever evidence is gathered in the preliminary investigation.
Virginia and the District of Columbia are the latest to join the string of states looking into potential crimes committed by Catholic clergy with regard to sex abuse.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more