Free Republic

PHOENIX, Arizona - Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix say retired Bishop Thomas O’Brien has died at age 82. They say O’Brien died Sunday morning from ongoing health complications related to Parkinson’s disease. O’Brien served as bishop of the diocese in Arizona’s most populous city from 1982 to 2003. An investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in 2002 revealed O’Brien had protected suspected pedophile priests.

Republican activists may have breathed a sigh of relief today on learning that Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver has opted not to run for state attorney general. Now they are working to recruit their own star candidate. Their target is U.S. Atty. Thomas O’Brien. A recruitment effort is being spearheaded by California Republicans Aligned For Tomorrow, or CRAFT, a nonprofit focused on enlisting candidates for statewide office. The organization is bankrolled mostly by corporate leaders who have been seeking for years to move the party more toward the middle. Its chief executive is Duf Sundheim, former chair of the...

Hart faces new abuse allegations By Cara Eastwood rep4@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Retired Wyoming Bishop Joseph Hart was named in a sexual abuse lawsuit Wednesday, along with two other Catholic clergymen who had served with him in Kansas City. The suit adds new accusations to those made in 2002 that Hart vehemently denied. The suit alleges the three Catholic priests molested minors when they worked together from the 1960s to the 1980s. According to the lawsuit, some of the abuse allegedly took place at a lake home north of Kansas City and at church facilities, sometimes...

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS VATICAN CITY, JUN 18, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father: - Accepted the resignation to the pastoral care of the diocese of Phoenix, U.S.A., of Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, in conformity with Canon 401, para 2, of the Code of Canon Law. NER:RE/.../IBRAHIM:O'BRIEN VIS 030618 (80)