Wednesday, January 06, 2010

International Cover-up, Priest Misconduct (Contribution)

The former coordinator of Jesuit sexual misconduct investigations, referred to here as Fr. JG, faces allegations that he molested a high school boy in 1971.

His accuser is disclosing his allegations after the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) encouraged him to look into filing a lawsuit against the Jesuits’ Province of Chicago, Fr. JG, St. Ignatius High School in Chicago, Ill., Loyola Academy in Willmette, Ill., and the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The story goes back to a hot August day in 2003, Charlie, which is not his real name since he wishes to be cited anonymously, had opened a letter from Loyola Academy, a Jesuit run high school in Wilmette, Ill. He read that his former teacher, had been charged with sexually abusing a number of students at his alma mater.

As if this news was not disturbing enough, Charlie saw that the provincial of the Jesuit’s Chicago province, in a letter dated August 19, 2003, had appointed Fr. JG as the national coordinator of Jesuit misconduct investigations. His appointment would be effective as of August 25, 2003.

Charlie, now in his fifties, was then struck by haunting memories of the day when he was a student at Loyola. As a senior in high school in the third quarter of the 1970-71 school year, he was called privately into the office of the dean of students, Fr. JG. Charlie exclusively told Tom McGregor, The UN Post reporter, that during the closed door meeting, Fr. JG allegedly grabbed his inner thigh and then rubbed his hand onto Charlie’s genitalia. As a consequence, Charlie forcefully pushed the priest away and verbally rebuked the priest.

For his instinctive reaction, Charlie was victimized yet again. After the meeting, Charlie was suspended from school, while Fr. JG informed Charlie’s parents that he insulted the dean of students. Later, Fr. JG garnered support from fellow Jesuits at Loyola to expel Charlie from school.

Charlie refused to remain silent. He told his parents, law enforcement officials, including a then presiding Judge and his then Congressman representing his district, and other Jesuit priests about the alleged incident.

However, Fr. JG refused to budge on his expulsion, but other Loyola Academy administrators, including the then Jesuit General in Rome, were more desirous of a compromise to prevent the scandal from getting exposed.

With his parents as witnesses, an agreement was reached. Charlie would be transferred to St. Ignatius High School in Chicago and as long as he passed his subjects, he would then receive an official diploma from Loyola Academy. Also, Fr. JG would be transferred out of Loyola Academy at the end of the school year and the Jesuits would restrain him from working with children, so long as he remains a priest in their order. Charlie and his parents, at that time, believed that this was the correct action to take.

Charlie explained to Tom McGregor, The UN Post reporter, that he felt that he made the right decision. He trusted the Jesuits would honor their pledge. He never expected the Jesuits would later appoint Fr. JG as coordinator of Jesuit misconduct investigations. He said in documents provided to the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Chicago that is “like putting the wolf in the hen house.”

Charlie also noted that since Loyola Academy administrators did allow him to receive the diploma, and Fr. JG was no longer employed there after the school year, it shows indirect proof of an admission of guilt. “Why would they let me graduate from Loyola if they thought I was lying?” he asked. He emailed to Tom McGregor, The UN Post reporter, his high school transcripts and other sensitive documents and evidence related to Fr. JG, which shows that his allegations maintain a strong element of truth.

Nevertheless, the Jesuits continued to protect Fr. JG. Public records disclose that Fr. JG studied for a doctoral degree in psychology. Official Jesuit websites claim that Fr. JG got a Ph.D. degree, but his dissertation can not be found on an academic records’ check, called the WorldCat search engine. By perusing an official licensing search engine, it could also be determined that Fr. JG is not licensed as a psychologist in the State of Illinois.

Hence, these questions: Did Fr. JG meet all academic requirements for his Ph.D. degree? If not, why do the Jesuits claim that he has a Ph.D. and permit him to offer psychological consultations to patients?

Charlie just wanted to block out memories of Fr. JG after the incident. He followed his father’s footsteps by working at their family owned business. He got married, he and his wife have raised a daughter together. With financial success, he eventually moved his family to a multi-million dollar home in an affluent suburb of Chicago.

For over thirty years, he assumed that Fr. JG could never haunt him again, but after receiving the letter from Loyola in August, 2003; his life was transformed unalterably once again by the Jesuits.

Charlie sent a letter to the Jesuit Chicago provincial, in which he accused Fr. JG of molesting him when he was in high school. In a response letter, Charlie was informed by the Jesuit provincial that the same Fr. JG would be assigned to investigate this case, since he was appointed as coordinator of Jesuit misconduct investigations. The letter did not even address the irony that Fr. JG would be investigating himself.

Realizing that he was going to be stone walled, Charlie sent two letters to the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Chicago to warn him that the Jesuits made a grave mistake by appointing Fr. JG as their lead investigator on sex abuse cases involving Jesuit priests. His two letters went unanswered. However, from the law offices of the firm representing the Jesuits’ Chicago Province, an attorney issued a legal threat, in June, 2009 against Charlie, demanding that Charlie is to cease all direct communication with the Jesuits’ Chicago provincial office.

Consequently, Charlie decided to pursue his own personal mission since 2003. He has been secretly gathering internal Jesuit documents, court related documents, and a body of evidence to prove the truth to his allegations that the Jesuit Province of Chicago is also allegedly engaging in dubious financial schemes and criminal activities, while doing their best to do a cover-up all their misconduct. He amassed over 14,000 pages of damaging documents that he stored in a secret location in the USA Midwest region.

Tom McGregor, The UN Post reporter, has already read thousands of pages of these documents and concluded that Charlie has a significant amount of evidence to show that improper and criminal behavior may have been conducted by the Jesuits.

As a background, about two years ago, Charlie got acquainted with a reporter in Texas. As the two started communicating, Charlie felt more comfortable revealing sensitive details about his life since the reporter pledged not to reveal Charlie’s identity to the public.

In early December 2009, Charlie granted the reporter a permission to contact SNAP. The identity of Charlie, the alleged victim, was never revealed to SNAP, but SNAP was notified of some damning evidence against Fr. JG.

The reporter’s email dated August 16, 2009 stated: “I received documents on [Fr. JG] … a student at St. Ignatius committed suicide and [his] name was written in the suicide note. [Fr. JG] is working at the Bellarmine Retreat House … [Fr. JG] stated on a witness stand and told Wisconsin investigators that he was not working at Loyola Academy in the 1970-71 school year … I have [access to] photocopy pictures of Loyola Academy and St. Ignatius yearbooks proving that [Fr. JG] was dean of students at both schools during the time he perjured himself [when he] claimed he was in Ohio …. My confidential source is prepared to file a lawsuit against the Jesuits, [Fr. JG], the Bellarmaine Retreat House, the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Chicago and others.”

An email response from SNAP stated: “This is terrific … but please help [him] understand that just because he ‘wants’ to file a lawsuit, does not mean he has the ‘right’ to file a lawsuit. That is why I suggested [on the phone] that he speak with an attorney and learn all he can about what options he has. I also recommended that he not just talk to any attorney, but rather that he speaks with one who is fighting the Jesuits and understands the opposition …”

When the reporter spoke with SNAP representative, she suggested that the reporter could sell access to his documents to a law firm intending to sue the Jesuits or request that Charlie pays for the reporter’s travel expenses. She gave this advice when the reporter requested advice on how to pay for added expenses of investigating the story as a reporter. To avoid any conflict of interest, this reporter did not receive any form of compensation from Charlie or from any law firm to move forward on a series of investigative reports to expose the alleged nefarious activities of the Jesuits.

According to an Internet search, a Summer 2009, Volume 45 newsletter published by the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, Ill., Fr. JG had been mentioned in an article about his new post as assistant director to [...] in the Development office. One paragraph states that Fr. JG “throws a great party.”

Charlie does not agree with this assessment of the alleged child molester. “The victims of his sex abuse certainly do not enjoy his so called parties,” Charlie said who expressed his deep concern that innocent minors might become victims of the sexual “shenanigans” of this alleged pedophile priest.
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SIC: UNP