Posted on 11/12/2004 10:05:52 AM PST by Stone Mountain
The founding chairman of a panel formed by San Francisco's Roman Catholic Archdiocese to look into allegations of priestly child abuse has resigned from the board, accusing church leaders of "deception, manipulation and control'' for refusing to release the investigation's results.
James Jenkins, one of six members of the Independent Review Board and its chairman until last December, said Archbishop William Levada has blocked the release of the panel's findings on sexual-abuse allegations involving 40 priests.
At least nine of those priests have agreed to refrain from "public ministry," the archdiocese said Thursday without identifying them.
"There has been no public acknowledgement that these accusations were made and whether they were sustained or not sustained,'' Jenkins said in an interview.
In his resignation letter to Levada, Jenkins said the archdiocese panel could soon be reduced to "an elaborate public relations scheme.'' He said he doubts the church could restore public trust "given its present leadership and the state of its corruption.''
Levada appointed Jenkins in 2001 to head the review board in response to a series of child molestation scandals involving the Catholic Church in Northern California. Jenkins, a Catholic layman and clinical psychologist practicing in the East Bay, served more than two years as chairman and remained active on the board until his resignation Oct. 15.
The archdiocese said Levada was traveling and referred calls to spokesman Maurice Healy, who said Jenkins' views "are contrary to other review board members. He wants the names of alleged perpetrators released, and other board members do not.''
The board's chairwoman, Suzanne Giraudo, did not return a phone call seeking comment. "One of the desires of the board is not to engage in media conversations,'' Healy said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
ping
As former chairman and "active" member of the committee, he must have a copy of the report. So go ahead and release it.
No, it's critical thinking speak for :"Not every accusation is credible, lets make sure before we go about destroying lives".
BTTT
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