Sex abuse cases come to light in Venice, Fla., diocese

Let’s hope that every person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the Venice/Naples area will find the courage and strength to speak up, call police, expose wrongdoing, protect kids and start healing.

David Clohessy, Director, SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143), 314 566 9790 cell (SNAPclohessy@aol.com)

Another new crop of dandelions, so to speak, cropping up in spite of all the weed killer the bishops use to keep things quiet. Carry on! Please keep reporting. No one wants to hear news like this, but it's happening and people need to know. As a survivor who has spent the last 10 years at peaceful protests trying to warn Catholic parents, it is great to have so much help from the media. Thank you, NCR for educating the people in the pews. We are not out to kill the church, change the dogma, etc. et al. We ARE about protecting the children, no matter what it takes. The authority of the church created it's own problems.

Here we go again. More embarassment. I had hoped that we put all of this clerical sexual abuse business behind us, but apparently not. The attitude of much of the laity has gone from outrage to fatigue. Do the Bishops actually believe that anyone will listen to them anymore in matters of sexuality? It might be a good idea for the Bishops to have a moratorium on ranting to the laity about contraception for a while, or they might really get an earful. Perhaps that's what they need?

Chris Wilson, a former teacher at the diocese's Bishop Verot High School, alleges in the suit that Bishop Frank Dewane had him fired as "punishment, retaliation and a lesson to others similarly situated within the Venice Diocese" after he brought forth concerns that Fr. Cory Mayer was asking teenage girls inappropriate questions while hearing confession.

This sounds typical of the bishops practice of going all out to protect their priests. In my opinion if the girls were uncomfortable with the questioning by the priest in confession, most likely the priest was "out of line". The girls were correct in going to a trusted authority and that authority was correct in following up on it.

This situation should be kicked upstairs to the pope.

Same advice for Venice as Kansas City:
TRUST NO ONE, TELL EVERYONE!
http://www.theledger.com/article/20050223/NEWS/502230370

Memo to Chris Wilson:
Take that perverted confessor and the neo-CON bishop he works for all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary!

Probably, there are 10 cases of priest sexual abuse for every one which comes to light. The crimes are widespread throughout the clergy all over the Earth. Many of the victims are too ashamed, discouraged by others, bought off or perverted themselves to bring the matters to light. Priests are "selected" from a narrow subset of males who are far more likely to have sexual aberrations than the general population. To say that I am disgusted with the popes, cardinals and bishops who, over decades, have been responsible for this situation and have done little about this well known problem is a great understatement. They do not deserve the respect of the laity and for sure they do not enjoy my respect. Are there some good cardinals and bishops? Probably, but only if they have the guts and integrity to speak out like Bishop Morris. And none of them do as far as I know. I hear hoofbeats........... COMMUNICATE WITH THEM VIA YOUR CHECKBOOK!

This teacher did everything right to protect kids from child predators. These young girls we so lucky to have a trusted teacher whom they could go to and express the frustrations and fears.

With the arrest of Fr. Wert, Fr. Chojnacki, and now this news about Fr. Mayer, it is becoming very clear that the Venice diocese follows the same rules as the Kansas City diocese, the Philly Archdiocese, and the Gallup diocese. This diocese too, needs to have an outside law enforcement investigation into crimes committed within the Venice diocese hierarchy.

Something is very wrong, when a teacher gets fired for obeying the laws, and protecting kids from sex abuse.

If anyone has knowledge, suspects, or has been harmed by any of these priests, please contact the police, not the diocese.
Sex crimes, however old, should be investigated by the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the biased amateurs in church offices.

Also know that you are not alone, and if you have been harmed, there is help and a chance for healing.

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
snapjudy@gmail.com
"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests"

And, guess what? The bishops meeting this month to discuss the charting on protection of children are not mandating it be followed! No wonder this outrage of child endangerment is concinuing and continuing and continuing. Until some bishops are arreststed for their inaction, the game remains the same.

way to go Mr. Wilson!!! I had him as my religion teacher and I give him major props for doing the right thing. I wish him well.

I thought Bp Dewane's name rang a bell in my head:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/bulletins-human-side/all-american-clerical-cu...

http://ncronline.org/blogs/bulletins-human-side/are-pat-downs-next-churc...

[The Captain of the All-American Clerics is, by acclamation, Frank Dewane, formerly in the soft drink business, but now making a hard sell of fascist Catholicism as if he were the Doge of medieval Venice in Italy rather than just the bishop of Venice in Florida. According to John Hushon, international lawyer and former CEO of a multinational energy company, who earned a theology degree after retiring and became active in church matters, Dewane has ignored, eliminated, or condemned any activity that he cannot personally control.

He has eliminated parish councils, ruled out women‘s participating in the liturgy in any way when he presides, assigned spy-like agents to make sure that his orders are carried out by pastors, some of whom he has imported from a religious order with which he has close ties and all of whom must subscribe to his view of Catholicism. Even parish bulletins must be cleared at the chancery. He has banned well-known Catholic speakers as “dissidents,” a word that he uses like “snow” to cover everything. Not only has he withdrawn from all inter-faith activities and fired even volunteer church workers suspected of being “liberal.” While building a large home in a location he prefers to keep undisclosed he cut the Catholic Charities budget “for financial reasons.”]
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I guess the one thing he can't control is the private lives of his priests. But he can sure as heck can fire a teacher who won't follow the directions of the team "Captain"!

Let's face it folks, Bishops are at the root of these problems. They still mistakenly believe that their responsibility is to protect priests that misbehave just because they are priests. These Bishop continue to act contemptuously toward the People of God especially the children who can least defend themselves. This situation MUST STOP NOW. We must put these misbehaving Roman Catholic leaders in jail. Under our civil laws, they have no more rights than anyone else. Remember that Canon law itself which should have little to no standing in civil courts was written not by God but by self serving men. It is time for those who wish to practice the Way of Jesus to force this awful leadership out and to jail where they belong. It is time for Catholics to understand if they stand by idly or try to defend these false leaders, we are enabling the misconduct of the sick criminal priests and the criminal Bishops who try to hide the problems.

"Quick Monsignor ! Use plan [L] and get the Tridentine Squad down to sunny Florida- Fast!! If you must, work alongside law enforcement....Oh, but try to avoid the Sheriff!"

I use to work at Cardinal Mooney High School and if any student had told me what Mr. Wilson was told I would have called the cops.

The priest and the bishop are both guilty of sin.

Upon reading this article, I felt a moment of compassion for this very sick institution. Mea culpa. For then I remembered how much the institution is still in wilfull denial and still grasping for unholy power. I pray my compassion go wholly to the victims.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a very private matter. Whether people want to see the truth or not lies in the fact that our society does not follow God.s Ten Commandments or laws of God's love and charity. Many, many youth are sexually active from middle school upward. This is a mortal sin. These girls are Catholic girls in a Catholic high school. I am a mother of five children. Two of my girls will be attending a college where we were told 75% of the student body is sexually active. This is a conservative college !! We must support our priest's and not condemn them and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In a secular institution such as AAA an alcoholic will never be healed unless
he/she admits they are alcoholic. Absolution of sins can occur only when one admits the sin and is truly sorry for the offense.Healing from the sin/habit can be corrected only if one realizes they did wrong.Father Mayer is a holy priest who truly loves our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a very private matter. Whether people want to see the truth or not lies in the fact that our society does not follow God.s Ten Commandments or laws of God's love and charity. Many, many youth are sexually active from middle school upward. This is a mortal sin. These girls are Catholic girls in a Catholic high school. I am a mother of five children. Two of my girls will be attending a college where we were told 75% of the student body is sexually active. This is a conservative college !! We must support our priest's and not condemn them and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In a secular institution such as AAA an alcoholic will never be healed unless
he/she admits they are alcoholic. Absolution of sins can occur only when one admits the sin and is truly sorry for the offense.Healing from the sin/habit can only happen if one realizes they did wrong.Father Mayer is a holy priest who truly loves our Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems the teacher was following proper procedure in reporting allegations that the priest asked the girls inappropriate questions during confession. How is it he loses his job? May people have courage to come forth, speak up about suspected abuse, and notify law enforcement.

How do we know Father Mayer did not exhibit this type of behavior in other high schools in the diocese like John Neuman or Cardinal Mooney? Will it be investigated or just swept under the rug? Will he be removed from working in the schools until the lawsuit is finished? As a teacher, I am completely outraged by this inappropriate conduct and even more outraged that Bishop Dewane and the diocese are defending this behavior. When is this cycle going to end?
And they are using a line out of the Code of Canon Law as a defense!!!! I do believe that asking a question of a sexual nature in reconciliation if the penitent mentioned it is fine, but for a priest to ask these questions from left field?????? The Code of Canon Law says "prudence and discretion" and I feel Father Mayer's behavior lacked both of those qualities.
It is time that we all banned together and put a stop to all of this and bring every situation out into the light. The bishops, cardinals and the Vatican need to stop covering these matters up.

Today, I put a note in my church (Epiphant) envelope ,stating that I would not put any more money into the collection until Bishop Dewane Takes responsibility for his actions regarding the priests in his diocese. He must let the police deal with all child abuse cases.

Two priests perverted very close to the bishop Frank Dewane, Fr. Bernard Chojnacki and Fr. Corey Mayer Director of Vocations, priest very very young to be a director of vocations.

Regarding questions in the confessional, the Code of Canon Law states, “the priest is to proceed with prudence and discretion, attentive to the condition and age of the penitent.” is very clear.

The only way to make a point is to hit the Church with our checkbooks. Good for you,and I hope others will follow this lead. Put your money where your mouth is --and that's not in the collection boxes.

What Mayer did in the confessional crossed way over the line. Apparently now there are boys coming forward as well with the same allegations. If the penitent comes forward publicly then the confidentiality seal no longer applies. These kids are looking for help, and the only person who helped them, a teacher they trusted, was fired by Dewane. Does Mayer have to actually physically molest a kid before it's wrong? What he did was tantamount to psychological and spiritual molestation.

Dewane talks a great deal about transparency, but he certainly doesn't practice it especially where Mayer is concerned. The spokesman for the diocese maintains that the teacher was not fired as some form of retribution by Dewane, because Dewane isn't vengeful. He then goes on to say that Dewane loves his priests. That is simply not true. He has his favorites like Mayer, but the majority of the presbyterite can't stand him, because he has proven himself to be mean-spirited, petty and vengeful.

If anyone else has been hurt by Mayer, do not go to the diocese. Go straight to your local law enforcement and also write to the Papal Nuncio in Washington D.C. Dewane is already under suspicion by the Nuncio's office. The more letters that go up, the better chance there is to dethrone this monster. The address for the Nuncio is:

Most Rev. Pietro Sambi
Apostolic Pro Nuncio
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008-3687

I am a young female student at Florida Gulf Coast University and I will be entering my junior year this fall. I would like to inform you how privileged I was to go to confession with Father Cory Mayer this spring. Father Mayer is a very respectful, caring, pure hearted man who has committed his life to our Lord and Savior. He truly loves Jesus Christ and you can see Jesus Christ work through Father during Mass and the Sacraments, including the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a.k.a. Confession.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a time for one to reflect and confess ones venial and/or mortal sins. This Sacrament is a true reflection of God’s mercy towards this sinful world. After the repentance and true sorrow of sin, God pardons and forgives our sins. But in order for our sins to be forgiven we must be truly sorry for what we have done and have the yearning to break the habit of our sins. The only way to truly break the habit is to first realize and then admit our sins. That is what priest are for. They are here to help us improve our lives under God. Priest are Gods helpers. Priest teach and guide us to follow the Ten Commandments. That is exactly what Father Mayer does during confession.
Confession is a personal and confidential time between the confessor and the priest. What is said during confession is to be only shared between God, the priest, and the confessor but no one else. In Father Mayer’s defense, I will briefly describe my personal experience:
Father Mayer has a very helpful and loving soul. I go to confession at least twice a year and twice a year is not enough to feel comfortable with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I have to admit confessing your sins can be frightening, but you can take my word for it I always left confession in peace and happiness. During my confession with Father Mayer, he helped me reflect upon different sins I may have committed. Father Mayer does this by simply reviewing over the Ten Commandants. He used my confession time to teach me Gods laws of the Catholic Church. Father Mayer did not want me to be vague about my sins. He wanted me to define and admit them. That is why he took the time to question, reflect, and counsel upon the sins I may have committed. I took advantage of this time and learned from Father Mayer. I learned how to properly prepare and examine my conscience for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I thank Father so much for this because I truly felt God’s mercy and love after my confession.
I am very saddened and hurt when I see Catholics and the media ridicule Father Mayer for doing his job. I am appalled that others feel Father Mayer should go to jail. I am sure Father Mayer’s only wishes are for people to experience the full mercy of God’s healing forgiveness. If someone is the victim of a mortal sexual sin and refuses to admit their sin, the penitent is not truly repentant of the mortal sin they committed.
Our Catholic Church teaches the Ten Commandments. The sixth commandment states thou shall not commit adultery and the ninth commandment states thou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, or his maidservant or anything that is your neighbors. Committing adultery includes premarital sex and masturbation. Father Mayer has committed no crime.

Unless we, the laity speak up, we are complicit. Too many of us are way tol differential toward clergy.

So another fake bishop, this one in Venice Florida, has tried to tell the diocese that the people of Voice of the Faithful anr not catholic. Every time he opens his mouth only gives the laity a good reason why the hierarchy has nothing of importance to say. It is time to return to our homes and celebrate the Eucharist the way Jesus did. Remember that celebrating the Eucharist requires only three things: two or three gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus, sharing the scriptures and breaking of the bread. We can do that in our homes with our prayer community or Small Church Community. If the ordained want to join us as equals then welcome them. If not then go foward and enjoy the celebration of the Eucharist with friends. We have the responsibility to research this and not wait for any bishop to give us his blessing. We are the agents of consecration whenever Eucharist is celebrated.

It's possible, of course, that the priest was within proper boundaries for hearing confessions, and is innocent of any lewdness.

It's also possible, that the priest stepped outside those boundaries as a young-one-in-training, and is not lewd though he would be insenstive and socially inept.

It's further possible that he IS lewd, and should not be trusted with teens.

The teacher brought forth reasonable questions, and is willing to talk about them in the public arena. The bishop or principal is not willing to talk about the reasonableness of the situation. And yet the bishop expects us, the laity, to trust his judgment-- without ever explaining it. *sigh*

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops." LUKE 12:2-3