Clergy abuse survivors and advocates ready for meeting with newly-announced Vatican ambassador Donnelly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10-11-21
 

In an open letter to Vatican ambassador nominee Joe Donnelly, leading survivor-activists and advocacy organizations have requested a meeting to discuss actions and solutions to address the ongoing clergy abuse and coverup crisis.

In the letter, survivors express hope that Donnelly’s nomination will open up negotiations between US survivors and the Holy See. Donnelly has placed human rights at the top of his agenda in the US relationship with Pope Francis and the Vatican. The rape and abuse of children and its institutional concealment constitute one of the most serious violations of human rights and religious liberty of children in the United States and around the world. Despite the prevalence of ongoing revelations of abuse and coverup across the country, this issue has never been addressed by a US President or State Department even though there is incontrovertible evidence of a relationship between the coverup of these crimes in the United States and Vatican law, policy, and practice.

Survivors are confident that Donnelly will lead an effective US foreign policy response to the anticipated revelations that will be emerging as investigations by 24 state attorneys general, Democratic and Republican, are expected to be concluded and released during Biden’s first term in office. Like the findings in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, the relationship between the Vatican and the US hierarchy in covering up sex crimes and transferring abusive clergy is likely to emerge. Additionally, survivors are asking to discuss with Donnelly the implementation of full financial transparency in all abuse-related cases, the release of all Vatican-held documents and criminal evidence concerning US abuse cases, and collaboration with Pope Francis to make Zero Tolerance the universal church law.

Donnelly, a devout Catholic, has been a strong advocate for survivors' participation in addressing and shaping institutional accountability in sports and the military. If confirmed by the Senate, Donnelly has a unique and historic opportunity to bring that accountability to his diplomatic mission with the Holy See.

In 2018, Donnelly said, “Sexual assault has no place in our society. When it does occur, we should listen to the survivors and work to ensure it never happens again.” Sadly, sexual assault, and especially its coverup, is still occurring in schools and parishes in the United States and around the world. While some progress has been made because of the relentless advocacy of survivors, there is still much that needs to be done.  
 

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Clergy abuse survivors and advocates endorse Kerry Robinson as new Vatican ambassador

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10-4-21
 

Longtime Biden ally has insisted that survivors must be a part of "all deliberations, solutions, and plans" to address ongoing abuse crisis in US

Biden preparing for historic first meeting with Pope Francis later this month

Tomorrow morning at 10:30am, survivors of clergy abuse and advocates from Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) and Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) will hold a press conference outside President Biden’s frequent place of worship, St. Matthew’s Cathedral (1725 Rhode Island Ave NW) in Washington DC.

In an open letter to President Biden, both groups will formally endorse Kerry Robinson for the Biden administration’s nominee for United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

At the end of this month, President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Pope Francis for the first time in his Presidency. Biden will be the first Catholic President to meet with the Pope since John F. Kennedy. He does so as the US Bishops are bitterly divided over the relationship between Biden’s Catholic faith and political stance on social issues that intersect with Catholic teaching, including abortion, immigration, and same-sex marriage.

Biden has made no secret of his Catholicism. His Catholic faith has been a central part of his campaign, and he has repeatedly affirmed that it is a key element of his moral and ethical decision-making.

Underneath this division, however, is a consensus between Catholic leadership, on the left and right, concerning the ongoing abuse crisis and relationship to financial corruption. A recent poll conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University reveals that 57% of Catholics say they pay attention “a great deal” or “quite a bit” to the clergy abuse crisis. Despite the prominence of the abuse crisis in the United States and around the world, Biden has never spoken publicly about the issue. No Vatican ambassador has ever represented the hundreds of thousands of Americans abused by Catholic clergy or addressed the coverup by the Catholic hierarchy. This is why survivors are taking this unprecedented step to endorse a candidate for the critical position of the United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

Kerry Robinson, a founder of the National Catholic Leadership Roundtable and Trustee of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, is a longtime advocate for transparency, accountability, and justice in diocesan management of the clergy abuse crisis. Robinson brings an impressive set of credentials and experience for the position, but most importantly she understands the centrality of the abuse crisis and the loss of trust in the Catholic Church because of it. She has written, “survivors must be a central part of all deliberations, solutions, and plans'' in response to the abuse crisis. So far this has not been the case.

By selecting Robinson as his administration’s nominee for the Vatican Ambassador, President Biden can demonstrate that he recognizes the issues facing US Catholics, including himself. Despite their seemingly intractable ideological divide, Democrats and Republicans can embrace a candidate that will make this a central part of the US mission at the Vatican embassy.
Survivors expect that when confirmed, Robinson will

• Demand the Vatican release all abuse-related documents and evidence to the US Department of Justice and to all state attorneys general investigating clergy abuse and institutional concealment

• Call on every Catholic diocese to implement full financial transparency consisting of the release of diocesan finance council meeting minutes, including financial correspondence between the Vatican and dioceses, especially in US bankruptcy proceedings

• Arrange the first meeting between US survivors and a sitting US President

The plight of clergy abuse survivors is not far from the Biden family and the President’s own experience. Archmere Academy, the Catholic prep school that the President and his children attended, is now known to have employed pedophile priests, some of whom were teachers and administrators while his sons were students. This is undoubtedly why Beau Biden, while Attorney General of Delaware, was one of the first public officials to champion survivors of clergy abuse. Not only was he instrumental in passing the Child Victims Act in Delaware, his legacy continues through the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children.

As President Biden prepares to meet Pope Francis, he must decide how he will approach the concerns of survivors and US Catholics around these issues of abuse, concealment, and justice. No action would speak more definitively to his commitment to survivors than the nomination of Kerry Robinson as the next US Ambassador to the Holy See.

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As Attorney General Kaul urges victims and whistleblowers to come forward, federal lawsuit filed alleging racial discrimination by Wisconsin-based religious order

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7-27-21
 

This morning attorneys filed a federal civil complaint against the Franciscans of the Blessed Virgin Mary, headquartered in Franklin, Wisconsin, and the Diocese of Jackson in the case of former Franciscan Brother Paul West, alleging discrimination and racial disparities in the treatment of Raphael Love, a Black clergy abuse victim. The lawsuit is believed to be the first of its kind in the clergy abuse crisis alleging a pattern of racial discrimination both in the placement of known offenders and treatment of survivors.

West is currently facing criminal charges in Outagamie County in Wisconsin and Leflore County in Mississippi. Today’s filing in the Eastern District of Wisconsin follows a federal civil suit against West in the Southern District of New York.

Last month, clergy abuse survivors and representatives of Nate’s Mission, alongside Love’s attorney Phillip Aaron, held a press conference in front of the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse to discuss the case as well as practices of racial discrimination within the Milwaukee archdiocese. Evidence found within 6,000 pages of court-ordered released documents confirm a pattern in which known child sex offenders have been transferred into predominantly Black and low-income parishes at higher rates than white parishes.

In a brief statement that was provided by the Milwaukee archdiocese, spokesperson Jerry Topczewski neglected to address the evidence of racial disparities in the treatment of Black clergy abuse victims raped and sexually assaulted by priests, teachers, and other employees within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, all of whom are considered Catholic ministers under state law. Topczewski falsely claims that Archbishop Listecki has no control over religious order clerics, who comprise over half the clergy working in the archdiocese.

According to Father Jim Connell, former Vice Chancellor of the Milwaukee archdiocese and canon lawyer, Archbishop Listecki does share responsibility for any crimes West may have committed as well as the institutional concealment of those crimes by the Franciscan order (Can. 678 §1). At a minimum, Listecki should be calling publicly for the Franciscans to tell the whole truth and release all documentation related to the case. 

Today's filing, however, does not include the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as a defendant due to a injunction (Case No. 11-20059-svk, p. 38) church lawyers insisted be included in their 2015 bankruptcy, discharging claims against the archdiocese related to sexual abuse of minors that had taken place prior to the filing of the Chapter 11 Petition in January 2011.

This injunction bars any victim from filing a case in court, even if they were not a creditor in the bankruptcy or have been actively discouraged, intimidated, or threatened against taking court action.

Thankfully, the archdiocese and their religious orders are governed by the criminal and civil laws of the state of Wisconsin. This is why Attorney General Josh Kaul has opened a statewide investigation into clergy abuse and cover-up within Wisconsin’s faith-based organizations.

Survivors, their friends and family, or anyone who has information about the church’s response to abuse are encouraged to report clergy and faith leader abuse online at SupportSurvivors.widoj.gov or by calling 1-877-222-2620.

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Federal lawsuit in Milwaukee charges racial disparities in treatment of Black clergy abuse survivors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6-7-21
 

WHO: Representatives of Nate’s Mission, survivors of clergy abuse, Phillip Aaron (Attorney for Raphael Love), representative of Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s office

WHAT: A press conference in front of the Federal Courthouse in Downtown Milwaukee where survivors of clergy abuse and a representative from the office of a prominent Black state elected official who is a survivor of childhood sexual assault will discuss racial disparities in treatment of clergy abuse victims

WHEN: Tuesday, June 8th, 11:00am 

WHERE: Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202

WHY: A new lawsuit is being filed against the Franciscans of the Blessed Virgin Mary, headquartered in Franklin, Wisconsin, under the authority of the Milwaukee archdiocese, and the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi in the case of former Franciscan Brother Paul West, alleging discrimination and racial disparities in the treatment of Raphael Love, a Black clergy abuse victim.

Raphael, along with his brother, Joshua Love, and cousin, La Jarvis Love, were sexually abused as children by West while they were elementary school students attending St. Francis of Assisi school in Greenwood, Mississippi in the 1990s. St. Francis is a traditional Black Mission parish and school, established in the early 1950s and operated by the Milwaukee Franciscans. The abuse took place at the school in Mississippi as well as on trips to New York and Wisconsin. Although Raphael and his grandmother reported the abuse to church officials and Greenwood police in 1998, no action was taken by law enforcement. 

Instead, West was transferred first to a church-run treatment facility, and then hired by the Green Bay Diocese to teach 4th and 5th grade at St. John Nepomucene Catholic School in Little Chute, Wisconsin where he taught until at least 2010. Sometime during this period, West appears to have left the Fransiscan order. 

In 2017, Joshua and La Jarvis Love also reported their abuse to Rev. James Gannon, the current provincial minister as well as the Diocese of Jackson. The victims were offered nominal settlements of $15,000 in exchange for the signing of non-disclosure agreements, a practice that is prohibited by the USCCB charter established in 2002. Gannon misrepresented West’s health status to dissuade the victims from seeking criminal charges and lied to the victims about the criminal statute of limitations, claiming that West could no longer be charged. 

After an investigation by the Associated Press and a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice from Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, West was arrested in August 2020 in Outagamie County, and two weeks later, criminal charges were issued against him in Leflore County. West has been extradited to Mississippi where he is currently awaiting trial. 

The federal lawsuit demonstrates their race and economic status played a role in their treatment and the size of their settlements. Over a decade earlier, in 2006, the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi settled a handful of lawsuits with 19 victims, 17 of whom were white. The average payout amounted to $250,000 for each survivor, over 16 times higher than the settlements paid to the Loves. 

Ultimately, Joshua and La Jarvis Love signed the agreements and Raphael Love, who has been incarcerated since the age of 16, declined. 

The pattern and practice of discriminatory treatment of Black Catholics and other marginalized groups is unfortunately all too common in the United States Catholic Church, as has been demonstrated in the recent work of Black Catholic scholars. The barriers to reporting abuse are far greater for these survivors of clergy abuse. 

Credibly accused clergy have been transferred to predominantly Black and low-income parishes at higher rates than predominantly white parishes, according to nationwide data. A similar pattern exists in which credibly accused priests have been transferred to Native American communities and schools serving disabled children. Documents released by court-order from the Milwaukee Archdiocese confirm this pattern. 

Information being sought by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul’s investigation into the clergy abuse crisis and institutional response will determine the extent to which these patterns exist in Wisconsin’s Catholic dioceses and religious orders. Last week, the Milwaukee archdiocese announced it will not cooperate with the Kaul’s investigation, claiming that they are the true targets of discrimination. 

A federal civil case has also been filed against West and the Franciscans in the Southern District of New York, which also alleges that West and the Franciscans have violated the federal Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of children over state lines for the purposes of sexual assault. 

Survivors, their friends and family, or anyone who has information about the church’s response to abuse are encouraged to report clergy and faith leader abuse online at SupportSurvivors.widoj.gov or by calling 1-877-222-2620.

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Archdiocese of Milwaukee defies Attorney General Kaul, District Attorneys

Archbishop Listecki refuses to cooperate with Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation into child abuse and cover-up, essentially ordering church officials, Catholic school personnel, and clergy not to cooperate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6-3-21

Breaking ranks with bishops and Catholic officials in twenty-two other states where similar investigations have been opened, Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee is publicly refusing to cooperate with the Wisconsin Attorney General and leading district attorneys investigating clergy sex crimes and institutional concealment. The archdiocese lied to Catholic families when they asserted that they have been cooperating with law enforcement. This week’s letter directly contradicts what they have claimed is their organization’s policy and practice. Like his predecessor, the liberal Archbishop Rembert Weakland, conservative Archbishop Listecki has claimed anti-Catholic bias as a defense against investigations into rape and abuse of children and concealment of those crimes by employees of his organization. 

This week’s letter effectively orders church officials, Catholic school personnel, priests, and nuns not to cooperate with law enforcement. The letter functions as a thinly-veiled threat to any Catholic who has experienced, witnessed, or suspected abuse or cover-up that they are in violation of the Listecki’s directive and, if employed by the church, could potentially face retaliation.

Fortunately, anyone who has evidence or proof of criminal conduct or cover-up in any faith-based organization has been provided with confidential means of reporting abuse and institutional misconduct to Attorney General Kaul’s office. The Wisconsin Department of Justice has assured whistleblowers that they will be fully protected by the law and their identity will remain private.

Listecki has falsely claimed that the organization has not engaged in institutional cover-up since 1998. If this is true, then the Archdiocese of Milwaukee should be eager to turn over documents and interviews to the Attorney General’s office for review. Their refusal to do so strongly suggests that this is false and can be proven with church records and sworn testimony to Wisconsin Department of Justice officials. 

Archbishop Listecki is not only defying state authorities, but also church authorities. In December 2019, Pope Francis abolished a church law which allowed bishops to withhold documents and evidence from civil and criminal authorities in all abuse-related investigations. This is exactly what Archbishop Listecki and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee are doing in their brazen obstruction of the Attorney General’s investigation. 

Survivors respond to church statements after announcement of Attorney General investigation into clergy abuse

Several Catholic dioceses including Milwaukee, Madison, and La Crosse released statements responding to Attorney General Kaul’s announcement of the opening of a statewide investigation to examine clergy sexual abuse and cover-up in faith-based organizations. After meeting with Kaul yesterday, absent from any of the statements was a commitment to cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation.

Wisconsin dioceses and religious orders have repeatedly attempted to assure survivors that they take this issue “seriously” and have implemented “measures” to ensure the prevention of child sexual abuse. After decades of gag orders, lies, hush money payouts to abusive priests, survivors have learned not to trust church officials. If they are so confident that they have not participated in corporate crimes such as fraud, misappropriation of charitable funds, and destruction of criminal evidence, then they should be eager to provide evidence by turning over all documents related to clergy sexual abuse and institutional management to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The fact that they have not made any public commitment to do so raises serious questions.

This morning’s statement by the Milwaukee Archdiocese characterizes the Attorney General’s investigation as “singling out” the Catholic Church. At today’s press conference, Attorney General Kaul told reporters that the Wisconsin Department of Justice would accept reports and evidence from victims of sexual abuse in any institution, faith-based or not. With the help of well-paid lobbyists and their corporate lawyers, the church has viciously opposed legislation like the Child Victims Act, a measure that would eliminate the civil statute of limitations for child sex crimes for all victims in Wisconsin, including victims from schools, sports organizations, and all secular institutions. 

“If church officials wanted to see justice for all victims in this state,” said Peter Isely, “they would immediately publicize their enthusiastic support for the Child Victims Act. If they were to do this, the bill would be passed in 24 hours.” 

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Survivors Respond to Announcement of Attorney General Investigation

For immediate release: 4-22-21

Wisconsin Attorney General to open a statewide investigation into clergy abuse, survivors respond 

According to a USA Today Network - Wisconsin article, it was announced today that Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined 22 other Republican and Democratic attorneys general in launching a statewide investigation into the clergy abuse and cover-up crisis in faith-based organizations. 

“Survivors in Wisconsin have suffered and struggled for years urging justice officials to finally take action to protect children in our faith-based institutions. We fully expect on Monday when church officials meet with Attorney General Kaul that they will bring with them every document and piece of evidence concerning the institutional cover-up of these crimes, present and past,” said Peter Isely, Nate’s Mission Program Director and founding member of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

The volumes of publicly-available evidence of institutional concealment of child sex crimes already demonstrate the active participation of some of the highest-ranking church officials both nationally and globally, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Raymond Burke, and Bishop David Zubik, all of whom were promoted after covering up sex crimes against children in Wisconsin. This raises serious questions as to the promotional track of officials in the Catholic hierarchy.
 

• Evidence already shows that Cardinal Dolan, while in Milwaukee, deceived Catholic families and the Department of Justice by secretly issuing church funds to known priest pedophiles in exchange for their agreement to quietly leave the priesthood without implicating church officials in their crimes. Before leaving ministry, the diocese assisted several of these priests in their relocation, professional development, and integration into new careers in which they continued to work with children. Cardinal Dolan has never been investigated for working with Vatican officials in his fraudulent transfer of approximately $60 million in order to prevent U.S. courts from compensating victims of abuse in his archdiocese.

• Although evidence exists that Cardinal Raymond Burke, as bishop of La Crosse, concealed clergy sex crimes, the Diocese of La Crosse has refused to surrender church files related to the abuse to justice officials. Under Burke’s leadership, a higher percentage of priests with allegations of child sex abuse were kept in ministry than any other diocese in the United States. He has since been promoted several times and currently serves at the Vatican. 

• Immediately after deliberately ordering the systematic destruction of criminal evidence against at least 52 Diocese of Green Bay clergy, Bishop Zubik was promoted to the Diocese of Pittsburgh where he was later implicated in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury investigation into clergy sexual abuse. 

The evidence that the Attorney General requires will come not only from existing documents and evidence, but also from anyone who has experienced, witnessed, or suspects abuse or cover-up - whether or not it has previously been reported to church officials or law enforcement. This investigation will provide Wisconsin’s citizens with the first opportunity in the state’s history to confidentially report abuse and misconduct by clergy and church officials, regardless of when it took place. 

“The abuse that occured in Wisconsin’s faith-based organizations is not just a story of individual offenders, but rather an elite community that coalesced around the issue to conceal the abuse and evade individual and organizational responsibility, allowing children to be harmed. This community includes highly-compensated corporate lawyers, third-party risk mitigation firms, insurance companies, law enforcement officials - and every person or organization who put profit, reputation, and career advancement above the safety of children in their care.” said Sarah Pearson, associate director of Nate’s Mission.

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Nate’s Mission response to Green Bay Diocese statement on Father Ed Smith

Earlier this afternoon, representatives of Nate’s Mission and the Lindstrom family gathered outside the Brown County DA’s office to share newly unsealed documents revealing the role of church officials at St. Norbert Abbey in recruiting known serial child sex offender, Father Ed Smith, to work as the Executive Director of the Tri-Catholic High School Foundation with residence at St. Norbert Abbey. 
 

Former St. Norbert Abbey Prior Eugene Hackbarth acknowledged Smith’s history of misconduct at St. John Neumann High School as he collaborated with Philadelphia-based Daylesford Abbot John Neitzel in 1985 to bring Smith to De Pere because it was the "only option to salvage his priesthood.” Their communication reveals their priorities which included evading criminal prosecution and limiting organizational liability from sexual abuse that occured in Smith’s previous assignments in Pennsylvania and Delaware. 
 

So eager were the De Pere Norbertines to have Smith assigned to them, documents reveal that they actively procured an assignment working in the Green Bay Diocese. Not only was the assignment approved by the bishop, Smith personally met with the Green Bay bishop to discuss what would happen "should another incident occur while in the Diocese of Green Bay."

The statement released by the Norbertines this afternoon acknowledging Smith’s role in the De Pere Abbey contradicts previous statements by Abbot Neville that Smith was “never a member of the St. Norbert Abbey.” These repeated statements intended to mislead Green Bay’s Catholic families were false.

We now know there were other "incidents" while Smith was in Green Bay. Smith allegedly assaulted at least two teenagers while assigned at St. Norbert Abbey from 1986-1989 before he was mysteriously reassigned to the Delaware Norbertines. While in Green Bay and Delaware, court records show that St. Norbert Abbey paid for his liability insurance.

Additionally, the Norbertines this morning released the names of yet two more priests who assaulted children, one being Abbot Benjamin Mackin who oversaw Smith’s transfer to De Pere. And they are convening yet another "third-party" panel to conduct yet another "review" of their files. 

There is only one third-party panel that needs to conduct a review of the Norbertine’s files. The church does not need to spend their charitable assets hiring lawyers or self-selected "experts" to review their files because these services are freely available to all residents of Wisconsin. It is the Wisconsin Department of Justice led by Attorney General Kaul. If the Norbertines are serious about accountability in their non-profit corporation, every document must also be sent to the Department of Justice.

Representatives of Nate’s Mission have called on Brown County District Attorney David Lasee to reopen the investigation of Smith, exercise his statutory authority to compel documents related to abuse from the Diocese of Green Bay and Norbertine order, and to publicly support a statewide inquiry into sexual abuse in faith-based organizations. 

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Family of Nate Lindstrom meets with Attorney General Kaul, hopeful for statewide investigation from Wisconsin DOJ

On the first anniversary of Nate Lindstrom’s death, family and advocates launch Nate’s Mission, a new statewide anti-clergy abuse initiative

Green Bay, Wis - March 9th is the first anniversary of the wrongful death by suicide of Nate Lindstrom, a childhood sexual assault and abuse survivor by Norbertine priests, ministers of a Catholic religious community headquartered in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Nate was 45 years old and the father of three young children. He took his life after Norbertine officials abruptly cut off payments intended to support his mental health treatment. His death came as public accounts of abuse, cover-up, and mismanagement of sexual assault cases were surfacing in the Green Bay Area. Since last March, the Norbertines have faced escalating criticism from hundreds of alumni of Notre Dame High School in Green Bay as well as students at St. Norbert College, also operated by the order, who have demanded the resignation of current Abbot of the order, Fr. Dane Radecki. 

On Sunday, March 7th, in honor of Nate's life and activism, his family and friends, Notre Dame alumni, and supporters will gather for a rally outside of Notre Dame High School, where Nate was abused as a student. The group will announce a new statewide victims’ rights initiative called "Nate's Mission" that will focus on completing the goals to which Nate dedicated his life: justice for victims, reform of state law and church practices, and accountability for ministers in faith-based communities who have committed or covered up child sex crimes.

Nate's Mission (www.natesmission.org) is a special project of Ending Clergy Abuse (www.ECAglobal.org), a global human rights collaborative of survivors, activists, journalists, human rights attorneys, and scholars operating in 5 continents and 29 countries.

Before his death, Nate, along with fellow survivors and advocates, was urging Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to open a statewide investigation into clergy abuse. Over 20 states are currently investigating the church for sexual assault crimes and the institutional response to those crimes. The Lindstrom family has met with Kaul and will discuss their meeting at Sunday’s event. 

WHO: The Lindstrom family, survivors of clergy abuse, and advocates
WHAT: A rally and press conference
WHERE: Notre Dame Academy (610 Maryhill Dr, Green Bay, WI 54303)
WHEN: Sunday, March 7th at 11:00am

For more information about Nate’s Mission, visit www.natesmission.org.

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Catholic Laity in Wisconsin Stand Up for Transparency in Cases of Clergy Abuse

FROM: Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

December 17th, 2020

Hundreds of graduates from four Catholic schools in Wisconsin signed a joint letter to a local religious order, demanding answers and actions following a recent article that detailed one man’s struggle with clergy abuse that ultimately culminated in suicide. We applaud these men and women for using their voices to fight for truth and transparency and hope that their example inspires lay Catholics around the country.

The example set by graduates from Notre Dame Academy, Premontre High School, Abbot Pennings, and St. Joseph Academy gives us hope that more and more lay Catholics are choosing to be less deferential to Church officials and less willing to believe what they say when it comes to cases of clergy abuse. Minimization, obfuscation, and sanitizing language regarding cases of abuse are key parts of the “playbook” for clergy abuse uncovered by Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro. We believe that the recent comments from Abbot Dane Radecki regarding Nate's abuse were attempts to follow that playbook. We are grateful to see these alumni push back.

Despite what Abbot Radecki says, internal investigations tend to be little more than whitewashes of allegations. We believe true transparency can only be achieved through independent, secular authorities in law enforcement who can use search warrants, subpoena power, and testimony under oath to get to the real truth. An external for-profit company like Praesidium is no replacement for an investigation started by a prosecuting attorney or attorney general.

We hope that these brave alumni will join our calls for an independent investigation and will reach out to AG Josh Kaul to implore his office to follow in the footsteps of attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere and look into clergy abuse within their state. Wisconsinites deserve truth and transparency, too.

The saddest fact about Nate Lindstrom’s story is that he is not alone. Suicide is an all-too-common result of child sexual abuse, with studies showing that children who were abused are two to five times as likely to attempt suicide than are other children. In order to prevent more stories like Nate’s, serious efforts must be made to prevent child abuse from ever happening in the first place. We believe those efforts will only be hastened and amplified when members of the public like these alumni get involved and demand better from their institutions. We applaud their example and hope that it inspires others around the country.

CONTACT: Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org, 517-974-9009)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Clergy Abuse Victim’s Story Shows Clear Need for AG Intervention in Wisconsin

From: Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

December 4th, 2020

Yesterday, the Green Bay Press Gazette released a detailed and well-researched account of clergy abuse survivor Nate Lindstrom. Nate was sexually abused as a teenager by three Norbertine priests from the St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin. Although the abuse he endured was never formally recognized by the church, Nate received monthly payments from the St. Norbert Abbey for over ten years specifically to cover treatment costs. The payments suddenly stopped in May 2019. On March 9th, 2020, Nate died by suicide.

Nate's case is one of many in which church authorities are allowed by Wisconsin state justice officials, with absolutely no review and oversight, to investigate, determine, and control child sex abuse claims. Even after years of scandal, church officials still determine if a report is true or not, what action will be taken against offenders, and what, if any, treatment and compensation is provided for victims, often in exchange for silence. 

This past summer, former Milwaukee Franciscan Paul West was arrested to face child sexual assault charges in Wisconsin and Mississippi. Evidence shows that his Wisconsin-based religious order lied to victims as to the criminal statute of limitations in order to prevent West from being prosecuted. The order then demanded signed secrecy agreements from victims, not represented by counsel, in exchange for $10,000 "settlements." 

At least 20 state attorneys general are currently investigating the church for similar patterns and practices of abuse and cover up. Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James brought a suit against the diocese of Buffalo for covering up sexual abuse allegations and using charitable assets to support offender priests who were allowed to retire or go on leave. Astonishingly, following a 2016 bankruptcy settlement for fraudulent conduct by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee - and at the urging of church officials - at least 100 names of alleged offenders and reports of abuse by sexually abusive clerics were sealed in federal court. There are over 8,000 incidents of abuse detailed in bankruptcy files. None of these have been reviewed by law enforcement. To date, they appear to have made no efforts to do so - something as simple as examining and investigating these one hundred alleged child predators. 

In June, Nate Lindstrom’s family and friends gathered outside the St. Norbert Abbey for a vigil - both to remember his life and to urge Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to join other state attorneys general in opening a wide-scale investigation into clergy abuse in Wisconsin’s churches and schools. This request came with a letter to Kaul in which Nate’s family classified his death as the “direct result not only of the abuse he suffered as a child but with how his pleas for justice and help were repeatedly ignored and mishandled by the Norbertines and the Green Bay Diocese.”

The family decried the lack of access to civil courts for victims of child sexual abuse in Wisconsin, an option that could have offered financial restitution, mandated institutional reform, and provided Nate and others with evidence regarding the abuse and its coverup by the Norbertines and Green Bay Diocese. In the letter, they cited the thousands of pages of church documents from across the state that have never been reviewed by any Wisconsin law enforcement official.

Nate Lindstrom’s family never received a response from Attorney General Kaul. In the week preceding Nate’s death, representatives of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) met with Attorney General Kaul and Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm to discuss a statewide investigation including the unsealing of the church documents, similar to the ones concerning the offenders in Nate's case. 

The silencing of Wisconsin victims by church officials has too often been met by the silence of local, state, and Federal law enforcement officials. Citizens of Wisconsin have not charged churches and other organizations with determining and managing child rape cases. That is the responsibility and duty of justice officials - this is what they were elected or appointed to do. A statewide investigation of institutional child abuse in Wisconsin is long overdue. It's too late for Nate to see justice. It's not too late for thousands of his fellow survivors.

CONTACT: Peter Isely, SNAP Wisconsin (414-429-7259, peterisely@gmail.com) Zach Hiner, Executive Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org, 517-974-9009)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Survivors and Advocates in Wisconsin call for AG Intervention

FROM: Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

June 5th, 2020

This Saturday, June 6, family and supporters of a Green Bay clergy abuse victim who took his life in March will publicly call on the Wisconsin Attorney General to join other states in investigating cases of clergy sexual abuse, holding perpetrators and enablers accountable, and ending sexual violence.

WHEN: June 6, 2020 at Noon

WHERE: St. Norbertine Abbey Sidewalk, 3774 S. Webster Ave, De Pere, Wisconsin

WHY: The family of Nathan Lindstrom, a Green Bay clergy abuse victim who took his life on March 9th, will be holding a vigil and gathering outside the Norbertine Abbey in DePere, Wisconsin. At this vigil, they will call on Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to support legislation to reform Wisconsin's Child Protection laws and join nearly two dozen states in investigating abusers in the state's faith based institutions and schools.

Nathan was 48 years old and left behind a family and three young children. During his life, Nathan was a dedicated advocate for other survivors and provided support to others while also pressing elected officials to do more to protect children. Now, in Nathan's memory and honor, his family are continuing his fight on his behalf and are have written a letter, copied below, to A.G. Kaul.

CONTACT: David Lindstrom (920.606.5596, lindstromd@sbcglobal.net)

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Dear Attorney General Kaul & Director Viste,

We are writing to you as the family of Nathan Lindstrom. On behalf of Nate we are requesting a meeting with you to urge you to take decisive steps to prevent another injustice and tragedy like this.

Nate was a victim of sexual assault as a minor by a Green Bay Priest of the Norbertine Religious Order. On March 9, Nate took his own life. He was 46 years old. He left behind a beautiful and loving family, including his wife and three young children. We believe this act was the direct result not only of the abuse he suffered as a child but with how his pleas for justice and help were repeatedly ignored and mishandled by the Norbertines and the Green Bay Diocese.

As you are aware, Wisconsin law provides no access to civil courts where Nate and his fellow clergy abuse survivors can exercise their rights to bring their cases for restitution and institutional accountability. This included his right, as a victim, to the evidence about the priest who assaulted him and what church officials knew and did about his abuser.

Incredibly, Nate had no option left for justice but to return to same individuals who had been historically involved in the cover up of these crimes and the protection of abusive priests. As a family, we joined with Nate in these efforts only to be met time and again with delay, misinformation, obstruction and secrecy.

Norbertine officials are accountable to virtually no one under Wisconsin law, which allows them to continue to operate as if outside the law. This protects the wrong individuals – not victims or children but abusive clergy, bishops and religious order provincials. Church officials have been allowed for years in Wisconsin to investigate themselves, shield abusers, and mistreat and ignore victims seeking justice and healing. This is wrong and it must change. We believe you can help to change it.

Nathan struggled his entire life with the horrific consequences of the crimes that were committed against him as a teenager. His treatment by Norbertine officials in Wisconsin, especially during the months before he ended his life, significantly precipitated the depression, despair and hopelessness that led to his death. Sadly, Nathan's story is not unique among the many survivors of clerical sexual abuse across our country. Too many survivors are suffering like Nate, despite their heroic efforts to overcome the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, and even with the support and love of their family, friends and fellow survivors. Without justice and real reform this will continue to be the appalling result.

Survivors and their families have been urging you for over a year to open a statewide investigation of clergy abuse and cover up in Wisconsin, as is being done in nearly two dozen states around the U.S. Even in these difficult times, investigations are preceding because of the urgency and significance of these criminal acts and the need for institutional accountability for abuse within faith based organizations and institutions. Such an investigation is needed in Wisconsin, which has a long and documented history of abuse and institutional cover up.

We are asking you on behalf of Nate to use the authority granted to you by the power of your office as Wisconsin’s chief law enforcement official to immediately open an investigation of all Wisconsin dioceses and religious orders, beginning with a review of the thousands of pages of church abuse documents, which have never been seen by any law enforcement officials in our state. We are also asking you to take a visible, active and public stance supporting two important pieces of legislation: the Wisconsin’s Child Victims Act and the Wisconsin Clergy Reporting Law. The Child Victims Act would open the civil statute on child sex abuse to victims like Nate and end the unwarranted immunity given to religious officials and organizations that harbor and protect child sex offender clergy, ministers and teachers. The Clergy Reporting law would finally require all clergy to be mandatory reporters of child abuse, which is the law for almost 30 other professions working with children and families in the State of Wisconsin.  

Nate was a precious and irreplaceable being. He was a kind, gentle soul. He was bright, gifted and extraordinarily generous. He loved his family and his children dearly. When he was a boy his faith meant everything to him. He and we never could have imagined that his faith and his innocence would be taken from him by the church in which he was raised, would abandon him and cause a lifetime of pain. Although Nate never gave up on his belief in justice, he despaired that there would ever be justice for himself and his fellow survivors in Wisconsin. It is in the name of Nate's love for justice, a justice that was denied him, that we are asking you to finally address the injustice that took him from us.

Sincerely,

David L. Lindstrom, Nathan’s father

Mary J. Lindstrom, Nathan’s mother

Karen J. Lindstrom, Nathan’s wife

David E. Lindstrom, Nathan’s brother

Aaron J. Lindstrom, Nathan’s brother