Sunday, January 17, 2010

Another priest drops dead hours after an Archdiocesan visit

Parishioners in Plainville are holding a meeting Wednesday to discuss the events surrounding the death of their beloved pastor.

The Rev. J. Garret Thomson, a jovial, down-to-earth priest, seemed in great spirits Jan. 3 when he said Sunday Mass at St. Martha’s Church here.

“It was a wonderful Mass,’’ said Michael Lewicki, who served as lector that morning. “I was glad to be a part of it.’’

The next day, with no notice to the parish, Thomson was placed on administrative leave by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston because of sexual-assault allegations. Thomson was found dead two days later on the bedroom floor of his home in Jaffrey, N.H.

The New Hampshire medical examiner’s office ruled that Thomson, 55, died Jan. 6 of natural causes and that high blood pressure and diabetes contributed to his death.

I've had to refrain from posting something about this to build up some stamina, stomach, temperance and charity.

These events would not be so egregious if the Cardinal and his henchmen were carrying out actions by making decisions about which allegations are credible and what does not rise to the level of credible allegations.

In other words, before you take a ride over to remove a priest with a pre-existing condition of high blood pressure and balancing his heart rate and endocrine systems with insulin, one ought to be making decisions about the validity of the allegation and act accordingly.

As I have said before and I will say again - the archdiocese at one time was dismissing and adjudicating allegations in favor of protecting the handful of pedophiles in their employ. Now, the pendulum has swung the other way and they are removing innocent priests without due process or their rights under canonical process.

Our priests are upset, frightened and frustrated. Isn't it time we stepped up to the plate?

Look at the way they handled this case:

The circumstances have added outrage to tragedy for others, who said the archdiocese kept them in the dark about the reasons for Thomson’s leave.

“There’s some real anger out there right now,’’ said Jim Denson, a parishioner and member of the local Knights of Columbus. “Oh, boy, some folks are really smoking over it.’’

The archdiocese, nine days after Thomson’s death, has not formally informed the parish why its only priest was placed on leave. Parishioners did not hear of the leave until last weekend, when Bishop John Dooher included the news in remarks from the pulpit while offering condolences about Thomson’s death.

I believe the individual stepped forward to suddenly remember she is a victim of priestly sexual impropriety 15 years ago.


Dunderdale and Kelly Lynch, an archdiocesan spokeswoman, said yesterday that Thomson had been accused of the sexual abuse of a minor. The alleged abuse occurred about 15 years ago, the church officials said. They declined to say when the charge had surfaced.
What's wrong with this sentence:

The alleged abuse occurred...?




Let's mosey on over to the dictionary, shall we?

oc⋅cur


To be found to exist;
to be met with or found;

When you say something occurred, you then say it took place and is libelous.

What's happening to our priests is, all anyone has to do is tell any cockamamie story and the diocese makes the judgment the events "occurred".

They then remove the pastor.

It's civilly and canonically illicit, not to mention uncharitable and unjust.

“The thing that has some parishioners upset is the correlation between the leave and the death,’’ said Raymond La Rocca, grand knight of the Knights of Columbus here. “It was a very sudden leave, he left the premises very suddenly, and his death was very sudden. That raises a lot of questions.’
As it should.

During interviews with police, Sweeney told authorities about the sexual-assault allegation and said that “there is a civil thing going on in that a victim is looking for money so that he can get counseling,’’ Sergeant Scott Stevens wrote in his report.

Dunderdale would not comment on that. With Thomson’s death, he said, the church’s investigation into the sexual-abuse allegation has been closed.
What do they mean the matter is closed?

Does he mean there was never any substance to the claim?

There certainly are no criminal charges.

Just so everyone is clear about Massachusetts law, the statute of limitations to criminally charge a sexual assault is 15 years from the assault or if the victim was a minor, 15 years from the date of the 16 birthday.

This alleged victim waited until the clock ran out and surfaced just in time to limit the process to the kangaroo courts of the press, the archdiocese and civil attorneys.

I'm very seriously considering putting up the other sides of the stories on some of these false allegations. When priests are falsely accused, the complaintant is not a victim of allegations of sexual abuse, the priest is the victim. There is no reason to protect the identities, stories and how the archdiocese contributed to the destruction of a vocation and a human being.

Somebody should be balancing the very limited "facts" Bishops Accountability is putting up on their website which are libelous. There is definite closeting of information from the Archdiocese to aid and abet the libel.

The question is, why?

The diocese may have the ability to tell the priest victims of false allegations to refrain from giving out the details of their innocence while they let Bishops Accountability and the press incriminate them publicly - but they have no such power over me.

Along with the unborn they're sending from Caritas to be executed with abortionists they've subcontracted to infuse cash into their coffers, they're conduct is contributing to the deaths of priests.

How much longer should we all turn a deaf ear before we start getting out the "facts" of other side?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the heck, Carol. Go for it.

Anonymous said...

There is no doubt that the removal of a pastor over an allegation of sexual abuse causes extreme stress on the accused priest. It is not at all surprizing that many of them break physically, emotionally or spiritually. Most are plagued with suicidal thoughts, some have carried them out. Without due process or the supplying of an advocate from the very first moment of the allegation of sexual abuse, a priest is left swinging when he is told to immediately leave his parish and his home. A bishop that takes this approach because he feels he is compelled by the charter and who does not give the priest the pastoral care as well as the civil and canonical rights he deserves commits a most serious violation of civil and moral law. Priests most often feel powerless to challenge their bishop in these situations, but someone, like yourself, should.

Anonymous said...

MY BROTHER PRIESTS ARE EXHAUSTED, INTIMIDATED BY CARD. O'MALLEY'S APPROACH, HIS HIRED TEAM MATES (MANY WITH SALARIES GREATER THAN THE MONTHLY STIPEND OF 8-10 PRIESTS}AND THESE HIERLINGS HAVE LITTLE OR NO THEOLOGICAL UNDERTANDING AND TRAINING AND LITTLE CONCERN FOR CANON LAW AND DUE PROCESS. THEIR PRINCIPAL CONCERN IS P.R., IMAGE AND THE FINANCIAL BALANCE SHEETS ... CLEARLY THE MIND OF SUCH POLICIES IS PRIESTS ARE DISPOSABLE AND OF SECONDARY CONCERN IN THE FACE OF CORPORATE CONCERNS OF FACE AND FINANCE.
THIS IS HORRIFYING TO SOME BUT TOO FEW RAISE OBJECTION; THEY HAVEN'T THE COURAGE TO CHALLENGE SUCH A CORPORATE FORCE WITH THE ABILITY TO DRAW ON A WHOLE BATTERY OF LAWYERS AND P.R. SPINNERS ABLE TO PORTRAY ANY OPPONENT AS CRAZED AND OR UNSTABLE OR UNTRUSTWORTHY.

GOD DELIVER US ALL FROM THE EVIL WHICH THREATENS OUR BELOVED PARISHES, PRIESTS AND LONG STANDING LAY FAITHFUL WHO LIVE THE FAITH ... THE ENEMY IS WITHIN.

Anonymous said...

Satan is alive and well and attacking our priests intensely through those who should be protecting and supporting their brother priests at the very least.

May God have mercy on their souls.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:39

"The enemy is within" and has been gaining strength for about the past one hundred years in general and the past fifty in particular.

If you are a priest, know that there are many people that pray daily for you. Things are bad all over, not just in Boston. Even in saner Church days, O'Malley wouldn't have been sacked (remember Cardinal O'Connell?).

I am afraid that our Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic is filled with apathetic pew-sitters that have become desensitized to evil. I am at a loss as to how to rally the troops. Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Here's my bag of tricks for rallying people desensitized to evil:

seeing wrong and trying to right it

standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves

keep putting the truth out there so we can all soak up different ways to present doctrine

Make people's blood boil because they have to put their brain into gear to think to oppose you. That alone wakes them up. Disarming point by point until they're empty and they walk away mad at some point but if they truly desire to know truth when they hear it and see it, they remember they logic they used to form their convictions was flawed. Or not.

Love

Then there's that strongest weapon in Christ's bag of tricks, fasting and prayer.

The short list.

The trick for me is getting out of the way to have the instinct to know which to pull out of your warrior bag.

The Chancery folks are a no brainer - it's a mix of cowardice and corruption. Logic is dead in the water with people who abuse other people. They're only thinking of how they can manipulate you next to maximize the only thing that matters to them: money. Just like rationalizing with rapists is an exercise in futility, so is using any conversation you would use with sane people. Think of the mafia and the chancery as interchangeable.

Anonymous said...

IF YOU CARE ABOUT 'PRIESTS 'ON THE GARBAGE HEAP' THROWN THERE BY CORP SOLE FOR THE WELFARE OF RCAB CORPORATE CHURCH ...
THEN COME TO THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SUCH A 'TOSSED OUT PRIEST' FR. THOMSON THIS SUNDAY @ 3PM @ ST.MARTHA'S, PLAINVILLE ... YOUR PRESENCE WILL SPEAK VOLUMES !

MEMORIAL SERVICE:
A Memorial Service in memory of our beloved Pastor, Father Gary Thomson, will be held on Sunday, January 24th at 3PM here at Saint Martha Church. A Potluck Supper will be held in the Parish Hall immediately following the service. If you are able to bring a dish please call Michelle at the Parish Office, 508-699-8543 so we will be able to get a general idea of the menu. Thank you.

GIO

Anonymous said...

Well, GIO, I would, but I live on the west coast.

Anonymous said...

DEAR WEST COAST FRIEND ...

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN BOSTON IS NEARLY THE SAME ON THE WEST COAST ... SEARCH OUT THE ACCUSED PRIESTS NEAR YOU AND MAKE SURE HE IS NOT ON THE GARBAGE HEAP ...

AS A FAMILY IN FAITH WE ARE BOUND TO REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER ...

AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS,'IF YOU SAY YOU LOVE GOD WHOM YOU DO NOT SEE BUT HATE YOUR BROTHER {SISTER} WHOM YOU DO SEE ----- YOU ARE A LIAR.

STRONG WORDS FOR A SERIOUS CHALLENGE.

MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU TOO ... I HAVE KNOWN SOME WONDERFUL CLERGY THERE TOO ... MOST OUTSTANDING WAS A WONDERFUL PRIEST CALLED, PETER ARMSTRONG ... NOW, THANK GOD HE IS IN GOD'S SAFE EMBRACE.

PEACE TO YOU ... OUR CHURCH NEEDS BRAVE AND COMPASSIONATE MEMBERS ...

GIO

Anonymous said...

TO ALL INTERESTED IN THE ONGOING 'FALL-OUT' AFTER THE TRAGIC DEATH OF FR> THOMSON :

According to sources within CORPORATION SOLE OFFICES { RCAB or Pastoral Care Center):

They refer to this plan … as CLEARING THE DECKS ( a vague echo similar to the ‘final solution’) regarding the troublesome issue of priests’ stipends, insurance, alleged accusations etc etc …. bottom line MONEY !

The enforcers are the familiar suspects ….

Rev Tom Foley ‘86 … former V.F. and pastor of St Ann’s Neponset …
{Now ‘pastured’ by one Sean Connor 2001 , former ‘spec delegate’ delegate to Card.S ’O’Malley + Rev. John Connolly ’94 { allegedly no longer in that office but now pastor of St. Brendan’s {a stone-throw from St. Ann’s where Fr. Connolly has chosen to reside with his former work-mate Fr. Sean Connor + yet Rev.Connolly also keeps offices at St. Brendan’s + (it seems) at the Sole offices* … all a cozy arrangement of people engaged in Ecclesiastical Musical Offices … they all exchange positions and titles with Fr. Foley … ???? ENTER a new team-mate, Mr. Mark Dunderdale t’ … Mir Dunderdale is a resident of Marshfield, the birth-home of Fr. Connor who once seasonally POLICED the summer crowd before donning the priestly stole (once a policeman always a policeman??) … Mr. Dunderdale now conveniently adds CIVIL AUTHORITY to the Corp Sole* interests having formerly been an ADA from Plymouth (now civil authority is housed within the Church {Sounds like Poland before Solidarity) …. Causes one to question …
How many employers does Mr. Dunderdale have or for that matter WHO is the ‘Master’ of any of the above … the scriptures warn : “Man Can NOT serve two Masters” ______
All of the above is somewhat reminiscent of the old Abbot + Costello shtick of ‘who’s on first’ …

Back to “CLEAR THE DECKS”

According to this unnamed Corp source …
Priests are being visited and/or summoned for several possible reasons …

According to how the Cardinal’s people have categorized them …
* recently three who were so visted dropped dead … {Frs. Johnson, Bolduc + Thomson)

1) The Accused: All are being warned that once again all their names are being published in the ‘Media-Court’ viz., the Press … heads up or off ???

2) The Accused + disabled/retired : Your next move is a secure facility (Where???) being built …
3) Some will be advised to seek laicization …
4)All will be informed that their insurance ect. sustenance $$ will suffer some severe changes along with significant reduction in their monthly allowance.

DOES ANY OF THIS SOUND LIKE SOMETHING JESUS WOULD DO ?

GIO