Showing posts with label SNAP. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Thank You SNAP - And the Shattered Pulpit Blog.
Lesson Learned - Do Not Contact a DP, Especially Not Kudu Don Patterson

A Catholic blogger is not happy with the general situation,
but glad Melnick got the Left Foot of Fellowship.

Bishop to new priests - "Infiltrate the world."

Yell County Priest Removed For Alleged Sexual Misconduct

ARKANSASTimes Record

By John Lyon

Arkansas News Bureau jlyon@arkansasnews.com

LITTLE ROCK — The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock says a Yell County priest has been removed from the ministry and will not be allowed to function as a priest again because of “credible allegations of sexual misconduct.”

In a homily that Bishop Anthony Taylor delivered Sunday in Russellville, Dardanelle and Danville and that was posted on the the diocese’s website, Taylor said church officials received allegations the previous weekend that Father James Melnick had committed “multiple acts of sexual misconduct with multiple adult victims” over a period of less than a year.

Melnick, 30, was ordained in 2009 and was assigned to Danville and Dardanelle in March 2013, according to the diocese.

“Since there were multiple victims, we seem to be dealing with predatory behavior, not romance,” Taylor said in the post.

Taylor said church officials verified the allegations by interviewing Melnick and some of the victims. He also apologized to any who were harmed by Melnick.

“I sincerely regret the harm you have suffered and in the name of the Church I apologize to you for what Father Melnick has done. Given what was shared with you today and what Father Melnick has admitted to doing, the Church would never allow a priest in situation like this to ever to function as a priest again,” Taylor said in the post.

SNAPJudy 11 hours ago

It takes a lot of courage to speak up and take action about being sexually abused. This is not an easy thing to do. But let's hope that anyone who may have knowledge or may have been harmed by Father James Melnick, will come forward and contact law enforcement, not the church officials. They are not the proper officials to be investigation sex crimes no matter how long ago it happened.

Sex abuse thrives in secrecy and secret systems that allow it to continue to this day.

Silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com,

"SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/3998/Father-Carrasco-to-begin-new-assignment-Oct.-1

Effective Sept. 21

Rev. James Melnick relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Augustine Church in Dardanelle, St. Andrew Church in Danville and associate pastor for Hispanic Ministry in St. John Church in Russellville. He is suspended from active ministry.

- See more at: http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/3998/Father-Carrasco-to-begin-new-assignment-Oct.-1#sthash.0FFLHg3Q.dpuf

Author Archive: Fr. James Melnick

A priest of Little Rock, a fan of St. Philip Neri, Pope Benedict XVI, the New Evangelization and the Washington Nationals. Addicted to coffee and mexican food.

Author's Website

MARRIAGE: A Well-Defined Union

Fr. James Melnick • June 17, AD2014 • 5 Comments

“Many well-meaning people think same-sex marriage is just about equality and spreading the benefits of marriage. Its more radical supporters know it’s about destroying marriage itself.” ~Robinson and Richards, Indivisible “We must continue to witness to the truth about marriage, find new ways to make the reasoned case about what marriage is and work to […]

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http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/1784

James Melnick

Age: 25

Hometown: Cabot

Parish: St. Jude, Jacksonville

Education: Cabot High School, bachelor's degree from Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, seeking licentiate in sacred theology from the John Paul II Institute at the Lateran University in Rome

Parents: Marvella Melnick of Cabot and Jim Melnick of Lonoke

Influential priests in his life: Father Thomas Keller, Father Thomas Arackal, Father Les Farley

- See more at: http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/1784#sthash.IZYe3efl.dpuf

***

GJ - What have we learned today? The Roman Catholic Church can kick someone out of the priesthood, not just transfer the criminal to a new place. Melnick had been recently moved, but that is hard to decipher in regards to a priest. Melnick admitted what he did with a number of adults and is therefore labeled "a predator." He was suspended about one week ago, but kicked out of the priesthood as of today.

Secrecy really helps. If a Lutheran pastor is moved around by cooperative District Presidents, no one really knows why he has been in four congregations in four different districts. Leaving the state seems to grant absolution and total memory loss.

Dealing honestly with these predators is not a Lutheran priority. SNAP has worked this in the Catholic Church for decades now, pioneers in identifying the "transfer the drunken predator" method of church management.

Lillian and the rest - If you have been victimized by a Lutheran pastor, do not contact the officials at all. Get your facts together and go to an attorney. A series of lawsuits will help thwart this, but certainly not overnight. Many legal settlements have been made already and hidden from the sight of innocent members.

One LCMS DP screamed at an honest pastor, "If this goes to court, it will cost us $10 million - there goes your mission to Russia."

Kudu Don Patterson, SP Mark Schroeder, and DPs Zank and Engelbrecht do NOT want to help. They want -

To Silence
To Intimidate
To Stop the Lawsuits
To Break Up Trusted Relationships.

Buchholz knew all about Ski and chuckled about it. That is a typical WELS reaction, especially among the "leaders." Does anyone thing that Buchholz would help with predators? His mission in life is to wipe out justification by faith.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Why Did Wisconsin Lutheran College Pick Archbishop Weakland To Speak? -
Perhaps the Answer Is Here

Roman Catholic Archbishop R. Weakland said that children wanted sex with adults.
He protected his priests and had his own homosexual affair.
Wisconsin Lutheran College hired him and his priests to lecture to the public -
and denied it.
Blackmail and embezzlement - familiar topics in WELS.

A reaction to Weakland protecting abusers can be found here.

http://www.abusedinwisconsin.com/St_Johns_School_for_the_Deaf.aspx

John Doe 16

In the 1990's, many of Father Murphy's victims began to break their silence and report their abuse to the Archdiocese. Among those who reported was “John Doe 16”. John Doe 16, now an adult, and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Father Murphy at St. John's School for the Deaf, reported the abuse to Archbishop Weakland in 1994 and began a several year quest to have the Vatican hold the abuser accountable and remove him from the priesthood. After much back and forth between Catholic officials in Rome and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Murphy was never held accountable, never removed from the priesthood and when he died in 1998 Murphy was dressed in full vestments and a funeral mass was presided by Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba.

New York Times Report 2010

In March, 2010, an article by Laurie Goodstein and David Callender in the New York Times reported on the Murphy debacle:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/us/27wisconsin.html

John Doe 16 v. Holy See

In April of 2010, after years of dealing with a life time of severe emotional distress from his abuse as a child, John Doe 16, represented by Jeff Anderson and associates, filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Division. The law suit, titled "John Doe 16 v. Holy See" names Pope Benedict and two of his top aides as defendants.

The suit alleges that the pope, in an earlier role before his election, and other Vatican officials failed to discipline Murphy in the 1990s when US Church officials discovered the abuse, reported it to the Vatican and wanted him defrocked.

The filing of the lawsuit, is the second such filed by Jeff Anderson and Associates on behalf of a victim of clergy abuse.

CNN Documentary: John Doe 16 Breaks His Silence

In September of 2010, just a short time after filing his lawsuit against the Holy See, Terry Kohut, AKA John Doe 16, broke his almost 50 years of silence and spoke to CNN about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at St. John's School for the Deaf. Click Here for CNN Documentary

Later that year, Terry Kohut and fellow St John's victim of Father Murphy, Steve Geier, were featured in the magazine Deaf Life. http://www.deafpeople.com/dp_of_month/kohut.html

Index of articles about Wisconsin Lutheran College's beloved Archbishop Weakland.

Friday, December 2, 2011

SNAP Response to Hochmuth Arrest

Untitled Document:

SNAPwisconsin.com

November 17, 2011

Wisconsin Lutheran church official arrested for child pornography

Joel Hochmuth is Director of Communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)

Statement by John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director

CONTACT: 414.336.8575

TMJ4 reports that Waukesha police arrested Joel Hochmuth, Director of Communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, for reports of child pornography. The FBI cyber crime task force determined that child pornography was being downloaded by someone inside of Hochmuth’s residence.

Hochmuth is expected to appear in court today as Waukesha detectives continue to search the hard drives of his computers for additional evidence of child pornography. We applaud the efforts of the FBI and the Waukesha Police Department in their efforts to keep our children safe.

The President of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Mark Schroeder, told TMJ4 that “this is not in keeping with the Joel Hochmuth he knows. And he is praying it is all some kind of misunderstanding”.

Although this sentiment may be understandable because the Synod President appears to be a friend and colleague of Hochmuth, it is important to keep in mind, as we are again learning from the recent developments at Penn State University, that those who prey on children are often respected members of the community. Friends, neighbors, and colleagues often find it impossible to believe that someone they know and respect could be capable of causing harm to a child. It is important to remember that most child predators are not lurking in the bushes; they are people who have often gained the trust and admiration of parents and their children.

If the charges against Hochmuth turn out to be credible it is important to know what steps the Synod President, Mark Schroeder, is going to implement to protect children. Schroeder should immediately notify the congregations of the Synod of the charges that have been made against Hochmuth. He should explain to his members and to the community how reports of sexual misconduct are handled by the Synod. In addition Schroeder should reach out to his members and encourage them to report any suspicions they have of possible misconduct by Hochmuth to law enforcement officials.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org.

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