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Posted on 05/24/2002 6:47:32 AM PDT by patent
ope John Paul II has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee, the Vatican said today, a day after a man disclosed that the archbishop had sexually assaulted him when he was a 33-year-old graduate student, then paid him $450,000 in 1998 in a confidential settlement. The Vatican announced the decision without comment and gave the archbishop's age as the reason for the retirement.
Archbishop Weakland submitted his request to resign in April after he turned the mandatory retirement age of 75. But he pressed the Vatican to speed up its decision after acknowledging the payment.
John Paul was traveling in Bulgaria when the announcement was made, and his spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the pope was aware of developments in the case.
"Of course he reads the newspaper," Mr. Navarro-Valls said.
The accusation by the student was the first direct accusation of sexual misconduct against an American archbishop since the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church began in January.
Archbishop Weakland denied the claim of sexual misconduct. He is the nation's most outspokenly liberal archbishop, an intellectual maverick who often infuriated the Vatican by pressing for the church to consider liturgical changes and the ordination of women and married men.
His accuser, Paul Marcoux, 54, said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that 20 years ago he had gone to Archbishop Weakland for advice on entering the priesthood, and that the archbishop committed what amounted to "date rape" after dinner in the archbishop's apartment.
In a statement released on Thursday, Archbishop Weakland said, "I have never abused anyone."
"Paul Marcoux has made reference to a settlement agreement between us," he added. "Because I accept the agreement's confidentiality provision, I will make no comment about its content." The settlement stated that the archdiocese and the archbishop denied Mr. Marcoux's contentions.
The amount of the settlement is far more than the archdiocese has offered to others who said they were sexually abused by priests in Milwaukee, victims' advocates said.
In his statement, the archbishop sought to pre-empt criticism that church money had been used to pay off Mr. Marcoux, saying that over the years he had turned over to the archdiocese the money he had earned from lectures and writing, and that "cumulatively, those moneys far exceed any settlement amount."
Archbishop Weakland, appointed to his position 25 years ago by Pope Paul VI, formally submitted his request for retirement to the Vatican on April 2.
Some parishioners in Milwaukee said on Thursday that while they might have been able to forgive their archbishop's sexual indiscretion with a grown man, they were angry to learn about the size and secrecy of the settlement.
Paul Weisenberger, director of liturgy at St. Augustine of Hippo parish in Milwaukee, said: "I think what most people seem to be upset about, from what I've been hearing, is the payoff more than anything else. Why he settled for such a large amount of money and why was this settlement just in 1998."
An anguished personal letter the archbishop wrote to Mr. Marcoux on Aug. 25, 1980 — made public by a longtime critic of the archbishop — seems to indicate that the two men had been involved in a long-running emotional relationship that ended when the archbishop resolved to return to his commitment to celibacy.
"I feel like the world's worst hypocrite," he wrote. "So gradually I came back to the importance of celibacy in my life — not just a physical celibacy but the freedom the celibate commitment gives."
"I knew I would have to face up to it and take seriously that commitment I first made 34 years ago. I found my task as priest-archbishop almost unbearable these months and I came to realize that I was at a crossroads — and I knew I had to get the courage to decide. There is no other way for me to live, Paul. Ridicule me if you must — I am expecting it."
In the letter the archbishop says that he had already given Mr. Marcoux $14,000 in personal funds, and could not in good conscience supply him with any archdiocesan money. The letter indicates that Mr. Marcoux was asking for money to back an entrepreneurial video project he called "Christodrama."
"I feel you are putting me in an impossible situation here," the archbishop wrote. "I consider all that church money as a sacred trust; it represents the offerings of the faithful and I must be accountable to them for how it is all spent."
The settlement and the letter were described in the "Good Morning America" report, and the texts of both were later posted on the Web site of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which said that a handwriting analyst had confirmed that Archbishop Weakland wrote the letter.
The letter was given to news outlets by Peter Isley, a sexual abuse victim and a vocal critic of Archbishop Weakland.
Mr Isley, the Milwaukee representative of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said that he had never met or spoken with Mr. Marcoux and that the letter had been delivered to his house anonymously. He would not say when he received the letter.
"I took it as a kind of insurance, in case they came after me," Mr. Isley said. "This is yet another piece of evidence in a pattern of behavior and action documented for over 15 years that Archbishop Weakland and many other bishops have been thoroughly compromised on the issue of sexual abuse and misconduct."
Mr. Marcoux, who has lived in San Francisco and Michigan, did not respond to requests for an interview. The lawyer who represented him in the settlement, Brent D. Tyler of Montreal, said that he had been advised by his client and an American lawyer to say nothing.
A provision in the settlement says that Mr. Marcoux agreed not to publish or disclose the accusations to any individual or any media, and that if he broke the confidentiality agreement, "he will return to the Archdiocese all sums paid to him under this Agreement."
Mr. Marcoux's "Christodrama" venture produced a two-volume set of videos bought by the dioceses of Portland, Seattle and a few others. The videos, 11 minutes and 48 minutes long, are described as dramatized Bible stories that help young adults live the faith more fully.
They have never been very popular, and are no longer listed in the on-line catalog of Harcourt Religion Publishers, formerly Brown-Roa, which originally distributed them.
Some of the archbishop's admirers bemoaned the coda to the career of a bishop considered a Renaissance man and one of the few remaining liberal prelates.
"Archbishop Weakland has been a leading figure in calling for progressive reforms in our church and justice in our society," said Dan Daley, co-director of Call to Action, a 25,000-member church reform group based in Chicago. "It's always shocking to hear of sex-abuse allegations, especially toward bishops."
Margaret Steinfels, editor of the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal, said, "It is a tragedy that legitimate concerns about the sexual abuse of children by priests is turning into a sexual witch hunt." She called the archbishop's involvement with Mr. Marcoux "perhaps an indiscretion, perhaps a grave sin."
The accusations against the archbishop came one day after Bishop J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington placed himself on leave after a man filed a lawsuit contending that Bishop Kendrick had abused him 21 years ago when he was a 12-year-old altar boy and the bishop was an associate pastor at a church in Louisville. Bishop Williams denied the accusation.
In recent weeks Archbishop Weakland has been besieged by reports that his program on sexual abuse, named "Project Benjamin," was little more than window dressing.
Peggy Jude of Racine, Wis., told the archdiocese in 1975 that she was abused by a priest in a Milwaukee parish from age 9 to 17. She said the archdiocese offered her $20,000 and then retracted it after a court ruling that put her claim beyond the statute of limitations.
"We never saw a penny," Ms. Jude said. "Abuse that happens as a child has all sorts of psychological ramifications, and recovery is very hard. I think for what we've paid for my husband's therapy, my therapy and marriage therapy, and therapy for my two children, $400,000 seems in the ballpark."
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Weakland is a heretic, not a reformer, who got what he deserved. The CINO's agenda is being destroyed by their own allies.
Margaret Steinfels, editor of the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal, said, "It is a tragedy that legitimate concerns about the sexual abuse of children by priests is turning into a sexual witch hunt." She called the archbishop's involvement with Mr. Marcoux "perhaps an indiscretion, perhaps a grave sin."
Hey Maggie, the guy he assaulted outed him. Hardly a witch hunt.
Gimme a break! This guy is retiring, he will likely get full pension, health care, and a posh place to live. All funded by the Catholic laity's donations.
I hope every Catholic realizes that the next time they put a buck in the offering plate that they are indirectly funding the comfort, convenience and legal defense of child predators and corrupted Archbishops.
JS Online: McCann may seek probe into source of payment 
www.jsonline.com Return to regular view
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/may02/45800.asp
Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said Thursday that he would consider appointing a special prosecutor to determine the source of $450,000 that was used to pay off a man who accused Archbishop Rembert Weakland of sexual assault.
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McCann was one of the few people in Milwaukee who knew Weakland had a troubling relationship with a man. Years ago, in a private conversation with McCann, Weakland confessed to a consensual sexual relationship. McCann decided the situation was sad, but not criminal.
When the man, Paul Marcoux, later threatened a civil lawsuit against Weakland, the attorney for the archdiocese asked McCann to determine whether that constituted criminal extortion. It didn't, McCann thought.
McCann, who calls himself a devout Catholic, said he would not hesitate to call for an investigation.
"I am friends with the archbishop," McCann said. "Am I a close friend? I would say not. I will see what happens in the next several days, and if it appears there should be an investigation, there will be a special prosecutor. I have to digest what happened here - where the money came from."
McCann said a special prosecutor would have to determine whether the funds used for the settlement originally had been targeted for a specific program, such as Catholic Charities. Most contributions, he said, are not slotted for a specific purpose and are used for "the good of the church."
"It had been my hope when I read '$450,000' that maybe some rich person came forward and paid it," McCann said.
In a written statement released Thursday, Weakland said he had contributed in excess of $450,000 to the archdiocese from various lectures and writings and other honorariums during his 25 years as bishop.
One of the questions to be answered, McCann said, is whether the archdiocese had "run a total of what Weakland gave."
McCann said he learned of the payment to Marcoux on Thursday, when the story was first reported.
He said he knew Weakland had a troubling consensual sexual relationship with someone years before there was any threat of a civil lawsuit.
At that time, McCann said, he had been asked to meet Weakland at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist rectory. He could not recall the year of the meeting. The name of the man was not revealed, he said.
"He (Weakland) advised me that he had a relationship that had compromised him in some fashion," McCann recalled. "I felt sad. There was no detail. Whether his conscience was bothering him, I couldn't tell you. He was troubled by it, but there was nothing criminal in it. It was clear it was an adult male. There was no suggestion of violence of any kind. You infer certain things. You don't start asking details. I had a sense he felt very badly about it. I do not know why he shared it with me. I don't think I gave any counsel to him. He didn't ask me anything. He told me."
Years later, he said, Matt Flynn - who is the attorney for the archdiocese and was instrumental in the $450,000 settlement - contacted McCann and told him that Marcoux was threatening to file a lawsuit naming Weakland and asked whether that constituted extortion. McCann could not remember the year Flynn contacted him, but records filed as part of the settlement agreement indicate it would have been in 1997.
It was at this point, McCann said, that he first became aware of an August 1980 letter Weakland had written to Marcoux. That letter suggested that the two had an intense and emotional relationship. In it, Weakland expresses his love for Marcoux and his angst over not being able to maintain a relationship with him. The archbishop agonizes over how he let Marcoux dominate him.
Marcoux used the letter as evidence of the psychological trauma that he said Weakland had inflicted on him.
Flynn had threatened Marcoux with criminal prosecution for extortion if he filed a civil lawsuit against Weakland, according to an Oct. 20, 1997, letter from Brent D. Tyler, Marcoux's attorney.
However, McCann said, he determined that the case "would not sail as an extortion prosecution."
"Was it extortion to file a lawsuit?" McCann said. "There was nothing criminal here in the sense that if anything had happened, it was consensual between adults. What it was I couldn't tell you."
McCann said Marcoux never asked his office to review his relationship with Weakland for possible criminal charges.
Flynn did not return a reporter's phone calls on Thursday. Tyler said he would not comment because the settlement agreement required that he release no information on the case.
About a week ago, McCann said Flynn called to alert him that the 1980 letter from Weakland to Marcoux "was floating around."
"I got the impression that money had been paid and that the agreement was he was not to speak," McCann said. "That was the first time I heard money had been paid. I knew there were negotiations."
Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, outspoken advocate of women’s ordination, spearheaded a document last summer proposing that the American bishops become more independent from the Holy See. Some lines in the CtbC statement have actually been taken word for word from his "NCCB Restructuring Proposal". And again in this document, the archbishop includes the same list of "urgent questions" that need to be discussed. In 1994, in response to Pope John Paul II’s Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Archbishop Weakland responded with a pastoral letter expressing his "own inner turmoil" at the pope’s reaffirmation that the Church has no authority to ordain women to the priesthood. "In this [the pope] has certainly disagreed with my position that the issue should be left open because of the unresolved theological questions involved," the archbishop lamented.
Archbishop Weakland has been a leading figure in calling for Pagan reforms in our church!
Hey, Maggie--is the vow of celibacy optional? Does it have opt-out invisible clauses us laymen can't see? Does it apply just sometimes? If one crosses one's fingers when one takes the vow of celibacy does it mean it doesn't count at all, or just sometimes, or just when the person taking the vow decides that it does?
Truly astounding, just truly astounding.
Whatever reason they give, I'm glad he's GONE!!!
Money! It just goes to show where the "progressives" heads are at. Nothing but CINOs.
LOL!
Man, if they were so bad that Brown Roa no longer carries them they must have REALLY STUNK! Brown Roa was the publishers of a 'Family Life Education' (sex-ed) program the principal of our kids' Catholic School had us preview (among several others) to recommend which program to use. It was so explicit, even in the second grade books, that, even those who were gung-ho for a sex-ed program were appalled! The group rejected that one, but went with another one. We kept our kids out of the 'Family Life' class that year (it was totally inane), then the following year, took them out of the school!
No, but we did get rid of one bigtime liberal dissenter and troublemaker with a fitting legacy that brands him a son of "Liberalism" and not of the Gospel.
...funding the comfort, convenience and legal defense of child predators and corrupted Archbishops.
Now you're painting with a very broad brush.
PS: Didn't you know that your taxes went and paid for the comfort, convienence and lifestyle of every liberal politician the likes of Bawney Fwank! ;^)
PERHAPS?!?!!
What is the 33 yr old 'victim's' sexual orintation?
How can the 'victim' compare 'attempted to kiss me' with 'date rape'?
Assuming the worse is true, was the 'victim' actually the aggressor and a 'blackmailer' to boot in what in a secular society would be a 'petty' encounter?
Do we have the same laws for everyone or special ones for priests? Think of all the Rock Hudson/Rosie types PC'd as 'hero's by most of the Media and Hollywood.
I haven't been a practicing Catholic for years but the Catholic churches were always places where you could experience the presence of God. They had a reverence that was palpable in the church. The pictures of the 'new' St John's look more like a modern art museum, complete with scrap metal sculpture, than a church.
God Save America (Please)
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