If true,..indeed a bombshell...(about ONE-HALF of the claims..entirely false or..exaggerated

Insigt Scoop.com ^ | 01-02-11 | posted by Carl Olson

[Salvation]

If true, this is indeed a bombshell...

Dave Pierre, the author of the book, Double Standard: Abuse Scandals and the Attack on the Catholic Church, reports the following on his site, TheMediaReport.com:

In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.

Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles. In his missive Mr. Steier relayed, "One retired F.B.I. agent who worked with me to investigate many claims in the Clergy Cases told me, in his opinion, about ONE-HALF of the claims made in the Clergy Cases were either entirely false or so greatly exaggerated that the truth would not have supported a prosecutable claim for childhood sexual abuse" (capital letters are his).

Mr. Steier also added, "In several cases my investigation has provided objective information that could not be reconciled with the truthfulness of the subjective allegations. In other words, in many cases objective facts showed that accusations were false."

Mr. Steier's declaration is a stunner. He is as experienced as anyone in studying the claims of abuse against Catholic clergy in the Los Angeles area.

Pierre has several quotes from Steier declaration, as well as links to images of the declaration. Pierre further notes:

Steier also took aim at the outspoken advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests):

They maintain an interactive Internet website with a user 'Forum' and 'Message Board,' among other features, where people can share detailed information between alleged victims pertaining to identity of specific alleged perpetrators, their alleged 'modus operandi,' and other details of alleged molestation. In effect, a person who wanted to make a false claim of sexual abuse by a priest could go to that website and find a 'blueprint' of factual allegations to make that would coincide with allegations made by other people. Law enforcement also uses the S.N.A.P. website to attempt to locate new victims and allegations against Catholic priests.

Needless to say, SNAP had a fit at the sight of Steier's declaration. In a frantic press statement dated December 13, 2010, SNAP derided Steier's declaration as a "legal maneuver" that was "among the most outrageous and hurtful ever made by a church defense lawyer." In addition to claiming it will file a complaint with the California Bar Association, it demanded that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony "denounce Steier's claims and to disclose how much archdiocesan money has been paid to Steier." (Gee, the last time I checked, SNAP steadfastly refused to divulge how much of its income is derived from the number of lawyers with whom it closely corroborates!)

Read the entire post for more.

[Judith Anne]

Thanks for posting.

[Salvation]

I heard about that happening in an actual jury deliberation room after one juror talked.

The quote from the jury room was

"Well, he's a Catholic priest. He's got to be guilty.

So, like you said, the poltically correct way (wrong way) of thinking here was clergy is automatically guilty and not innocent until proven guilty.

In this case there were parallel dates from state records because the accused priest worked at a state institution. He wasn't even there when the accusers said he was!

[Salvation]

What do you mean here? Pope Benedict has spoken out against this.

Sources please! And then I’ll find mine.

[Salvation]

**No, I think it is more likely 1 out of 100 of the claims were valid.**

That could be true. Time will tell.

[Notwithstanding]

And it means 5 men have been unjustly destroyed, and their priestly ministry unjustly undermined.

And if YOU don’t know if your belief about laxity is based on the TRUE allegations or the FALSE allegations.

[Salvation]

Interesting as well watch this develop, huh?

[CdMGuy]

I know of one. The priest is retired and was living in the rectory of his former parish. As there is a parish school, he had to move away so as not to be near children. He is fighting the claim that he and another priest molested the man when he was a child. The funny part is that anyone who knew this priest knew that he did not particularly like being around children. He even avoided visiting classes at the parish school. It is a tragedy but he is determined to fight the plaintiff for the benefit of the younger priests.

[Salvation]

Interesting as we’ll watch this develop, huh?

[Notwithstanding]

And false accusers need to rot in an even lower level of hell.

[hinckley buzzard]

I wouldn't go that far. I was involved directly in a case where a priest sexually exploited and serially raped a jr high school girl enrolled in his parish school for a period of a year or more. In his Office.

They're not all perverts but the're not all angels either, by any means.

[Rashputin]

"Back in 1961 Pope John XXIII wrote an Apostolic Letter to the bishops of the world, declaring that homosexuals have a harder time controlling their lusts than do normal men, hence they should not be allowed into the seminaries."

I remember that and remember liberal Catholics saying how awful it was of him to say that and that the American Church should ignore him. IOW, even then there was a faction within the Church that wanted to make the Church here in the US a separate entity with no concern for the Pope.

People like that made the Church an easy target for other liberals who wanted to undermine any and all religion not just the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was just the primary target because you have to go after thousands upon thousands of separate Protestant Churches to have same amount of anti-Christian propaganda value.

[surroundedbyblue]

Sources? Can you prove your comment that “the FACT that the pope & Vatican legal......”.? Pretty strong accusation. Back it up, please

[ladyjane]

It is a very sad state of affairs.

The Pope is still sheltering Cardinal Law in Italy. Law beat it out of Boston when the State Troopers tried to serve him with papers. He has a new job in Rome now selecting the new bishops. He won’t come back to Boston because he’s afraid to face the charges.

The damage done by these men cannot be measured.

Earlier posters said that even one abused child is too many. Having known one of the kids who was abused I would have to agree. They preyed upon him the year after his father died. They should burn for what they did to him.

[Vermont Lt]

The four I knew were true. The murder of a childhood neighbor is still unsolved, but his abuse is pretty well documented.

And a relative worked for the diocese and had to deal with the Bishop who was a diddler.

So, no...your ratio is probably not the norm.

[Salvation]

Are you saying that the five who testified falsely, perjuring themselves did not sin? Did not do something evil in destroying an innocent mens; lives on purpose?

Perjury is OK with you?

[Salvation]

**They should burn for what they did to him.**

And what about those who preyed up the priests and accused them wrongly/falsely.

Are they any less guilty?

[dila813]

I went to Catholic School. If a male was even in the cloak room at the same time as a female the school would freak.

Maybe things have changed that much.

The Principle who is male had an assistant Principle that was Female. If a Female student had to be seen in his office they both were there. If the Assistant Principle is out, then a female teacher filled in.

It was cultural/traditional. It was taboo for males and females to mix in private as much as you hear it is in Islamic Countries. It just didn’t happen without everyone talking about it.

In the old church, I think everyone thought the worse always. They worked to eliminate temptation in all its forms.

[Salvation]

**The damage done by these men cannot be measured.**

What about the priests who were innocent of the accusation/allegations?

[Just mythoughts]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2648946/posts

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>>Perjury is OK with you?

No.