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The Case For A NY State Grand Jury Investigation Into Catholic Church Clergy Sex Abuse Cover Ups.

August 23, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

The recent Pennsylvania grand jury report that covers six of the eight Catholic dioceses in the State of Pennsylvania names 301 “Predator priests” and over 1000 victims. The jurors themselves state that in their belief, they have not identified even half of the actual number of victims.

All around the globe for the past half-century, wherever an investigation of the Catholic Church has been undertaken, the same pattern of sexual abuse and cover-up is exposed, and the lengths that the Church’s hierarchy will go to to protect their own reputation and financial holdings is revealed, yet again….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Politics, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: #MeToo, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, Grand Jury Investigation, institutions, lobbying, New York, New York Attorney General, NY District Attorney, perpetrators, politics, predator, secrecy, sexual abuse, survivors

Better Get Out While You Still Can!

July 23, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

NY Republican Senators need to take a good hard look at whose bidding they are doing and whether or not they want to be associated with an institution more corrupt than even they are.

It didn’t start with the Boston Globe Spotlight Team’s exposure of Cardinal Law’s reign of horror in 2002 but ever since we’ve seen a ceaseless tide of revelations of Catholic priests sexually abusing children and Catholic Bishops covering it up. The scandal is so widespread that it’s safe to say that any diocese not dealing with a scandal at this point is probably only a “yet.”…

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Politics, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: allegations, Archbishop Wilson, bishop, Cardinal Dolan, Cardinal Law, Cardinal Ossa, Cardinal Pell, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, diocese, Flanagan, institutions, New York, Pope Francis, Senator, silence

Philip Robert Toale . . .

July 17, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

. . . was born 101 years ago, today, on July 17th, 1917, in New York City. He only got to walk this earth for 81 of those years, due to his love of golf. Well, not exactly. But he did die in a hospital recovery room after successful knee replacement surgery but unsuccessful patient care afterward. Although I’m sure this affected most areas of his life, especially any that required mobility, his stated reason for the operation was so he could play golf with less pain. Unfortunately, he never got to play another terrestrial round of golf to test that out. This November will complete our 20th year without him.

Everyone who knew him would say they could see parts of Phil Toale in his children, whether a physical resemblance or a corny sense of humor and gregarious nature. I know I can easily see my father in the facial expressions and mannerisms of both my siblings. And much to the chagrin of others, when any two of us are together (beware if it’s all three!) there results in an inevitable attempt to out-wit each other with the most clever puns, in Dad’s honor, of course….

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Filed Under: Opinion, Relationships Tagged With: 101st, Dad, gratitude, growing up

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Do no good!

July 13, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

Believe it or not, this is NOT an anti-Catholic rant.

Faithful who fill the pews and seminarians, priests, brothers and sisters who dedicate their lives to emulate the selfless life and teachings of Jesus, have my utmost respect and gratitude. My only critique is that they must be in some massive denial about the credibility of their Church’s leaders to stay affiliated with it.

The Roman Catholic Church is like an ocean liner, in the sense that it is heading straight toward an iceberg but can’t seem to make course corrections significant or impactful enough to change direction and avoid disaster.  It’s a disaster that is inevitable. Eventually, all empires grow too corrupt to sustain themselves and must fall. Unfortunately, while steaming along to this inescapable end, countless lives have been destroyed as the direct result of clerical elites attempting to preserve a status quo they have come to enjoy and believe they deserve.

Their hypocrisy adds a thick layer of insult to the unmistakable injury that results from childhood sexual abuse at the hands of trusted priests….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: bishop, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, diocese, institutions, secrecy, secret, sexual abuse, society, vulnerable

Does anyone else see a problem here?

June 15, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

Retired State Supreme Court Justice Robert Lunn (WHAM photo)

While the dozen-year-long David and Goliath battle with the Republican-controlled NY State Senate over the Child Victims Act (“CVA”) is being waged, the only path for any redress open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy is one dictated by the bishops and based on a plan first introduced in the Archdiocese of New York.

Now, the Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, 9th Bishop of Rochester, is following in the footsteps of His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, with his own version of the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (“IRCP”). He has hired a retired State Supreme Court justice to be both judge and jury in cases of victims who say they were abused by Catholic priests ordained or assigned in the Rochester area.

It will be Justice Robert Lunn alone who will decide if and how survivors will be compensated by the Diocese. His decision cannot be appealed, and the victims can either take it or leave it. He believes the Diocese of Rochester hired him to handle the sex abuse claims against local priests because he “took great pains to respect the victims’ privacy” in a case 22 years ago. We all know how important privacy is to the Church.

…

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Politics, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: bishop, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, diocese, institutions, New York, predator, secrecy, sexual abuse, survivors, trauma, vulnerable

I’m so tired!

June 12, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

Recovering from the effects of child sexual abuse takes a lifetime. There is no being cured of it. But, thankfully, life does regain the sweetness and lightness that was lost when, over time, you learn to stop blaming yourself for what happened.

I was able to bury the abuse for 20 years before I began to recall it. Then, after seeing there might be a connection between the wreckage of my life and events that derailed me in high school, I began learning how to show up for life, on life’s terms. After only 25 more years I was ready to give the shame back to its rightful owners. I sent a letter to my school, detailing as best I could, everything that happened to me that year. The world got much lighter after that….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, From Victim to Survivor, Opinion, Politics, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: Child Victims Act, courage, lobbying, New York, perpetrators, politics, secrecy, Senator, sexual abuse, shame, silence, society, survivors

A Trojan Horse, Poison Pill, and Red Herring All Rolled Into One.

June 6, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

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Welcome to politics as usual!

The bill Senator Young is proposing and that the Senate might actually get to vote on this session is an insult to survivors of childhood sexual abuse and to the intelligence of all New Yorkers. It is a Trojan Horse, poison pill and red herring all rolled into one.   Its purpose is not to give survivors the extended denied access to justice they seek but to shift the conversation away from the Republican-controlled Senate’s stonewalling any legitimate Child Victims Act for a dozen years.

For starters, Senator Young’s bill treats survivors differently from all other crime victims by inserting an additional, extra-judicial hurdle for the victims of child sexual abuse. New York State’s court system is good enough for every other crime, why do survivors of this one need a different process, one operating outside the regular judicial system?…

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Politics, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, Flanagan, institutions, lobbying, New York, perpetrators, politics, predator, secrecy, Senator, sexual abuse, survivors

Doing what’s right is always simple. Not easy, perhaps, but simple.

June 4, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

Pope digs deeper into roots of Chile sex abuse scandal

It’s okay for Pope Francis to look more deeply into the causes of the sexual abuse scandal in Chile, but it will take centuries to produce meaningful change, one outrage at a time. If however, the plan is to claim they only now realize the scope of the issue, then it is the only way to address the issue without exposing decades, if not centuries, of complicity.

While it appears Pope Francis wants to address the issue of sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church, he is attempting to do it without causing (any additional) harm to the Church’s reputation. This is a plan to merely weather the storm, not to actually make things right. Given the depth and breadth of the problem, it’s doomed to failure….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: bishop, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, institutions, lobbying, secrecy, sexual abuse

The Pope says “Never Again”. Good luck with that!

June 2, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

francisPope Francis did an amazing thing, for a pope, that is. He declared that the “culture of abuse and cover-up”, as it pertains to the sexual abuse of children by the Catholic Church, must end. The statement was made in a letter to the Catholics of Chile, where a sex abuse scandal has been on display for the whole world to see unfold.

That’s all well and good for Chile, but the rest of the Roman Catholic empire needs some attention as well. The highest ranking Catholic prelate ever was just convicted of covering up child sexual abuse in Australia and an even higher ranking one from the Vatican itself is about to stand trial there soon.

Add to Chile and Australia the 25 other countries, representing six out of seven continents, including 41 states or territories in the USA, that have new or ongoing child sex abuse cases involving the Catholic Church. It is going to take a lot more “never again”s to manage this! Even if (BIG IF) Pope Francis is sincere about this reform, he is trying to make a sharp turn with an ocean liner after finally seeing the iceberg dead ahead. I wish him luck….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Opinion, Sexual Abuse, Statute of Limitations Tagged With: bishop, Catholic Church, Child Victims Act, diocese, Flanagan, lobbying, New York, politics, secrecy, Senator, survivors

#KidsToo – where’s that outrage?

May 8, 2018 by Brian Toale Leave a Comment

Another man in a position of power over people has shocked us with alleged abuses of that power. Why does it surprise us anymore? And why should we be surprised that since the gates have opened up on reporting these abuses, they have become a flood, with no person too powerful to prevent being swept away? These days it would be surprising to find someone who hasn’t been abusive in some way when there was a significant inequity, be it of wealth, celebrity, influence, authority or simply strength.

image2The same disparity that enables exploitations like this to occur also keeps them from getting exposed. This is how it has always been.  Except now the balance of power has shifted. There is strength in numbers and courage inspires yet more courage. The flood is far from over and hopefully will continue until a true shift in society’s passive acceptance of this kind of behavior is finally burned away.

What should be shocking to everyone is …

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Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: AG Schneiderman

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Pennsylvania AG prefers law change over constitutional amendment for sex abuse survivors | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com buff.ly/3aidhyO

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"There are so many predators out there that we don't know about," he said. "We need this law so that we can expose them and make sure that they are never allowed to abuse another child again." buff.ly/2Roe6j2 pic.twitter.com/YRZA…

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NY’s Nearly 3,000 Lawsuits buff.ly/3d3DZx8

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An Overdue Path to Justice for Adult Sexual Assault Survivors buff.ly/3uG4oHm

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Law firm tallies 2,800 suits filed against Catholic entities under NY Child Victims Act | CNA buff.ly/2Rk6myx pic.twitter.com/TKSV…

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Law firm starts database of Catholic child abuse | News, Sports, Jobs - Adirondack Daily Enterprise buff.ly/2RdfLb5

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Push for Adult Survivors Act is renewed after budget season buff.ly/3dRxsVf

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State House advances 2-year child sex abuse lawsuit window buff.ly/3dKo71w

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Newark Archdiocese let priest work after one sex abuse allegation. Now there are 2 more buff.ly/3t0Cq8Q pic.twitter.com/mr5H…

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Darkness To Light Announces Rachael Denhollander As Ignite 2021 Keynote Speaker buff.ly/3rP3ztL pic.twitter.com/8KZv…

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In Y.U. child sexual abuse case, a ‘race against time’ to get elderly witnesses on the record buff.ly/3wvtKcH pic.twitter.com/3eQU…

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New York child sex abuse victims running out of time to go to court: advocates buff.ly/3dPHTJh pic.twitter.com/R7My…

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Diocese of Buffalo reminds people of Child Victims Act deadline buff.ly/3mjeNFH pic.twitter.com/Cb6P…

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Rally for survivors, victims of sexual assault held in Bradford - WENY News buff.ly/3rHyGaI

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"It is among a growing number of dioceses that are filing for bankruptcy because they must defend themselves from sexual abuse lawsuits." False reporting is so rare that this has to mean they are defending themselves against the TRUTH! buff.ly/3uekE1W pic.twitter.com/JZJy…

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The Vatican sanctions two Polish bishops for mishandling abuse cases. Translation from Latin - "They shouldn't have gotten caught!." buff.ly/3mgCw9K pic.twitter.com/AK5L…

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Catholic priest who admitted molesting boys dies at age 81 buff.ly/3sAxGq1 pic.twitter.com/i0uD…

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Commentary: Why child sexual abuse can often be a sustained, hushed up ordeal over many years buff.ly/2Pru0sb pic.twitter.com/9Bjw…

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Child sex abuse lawsuit 'window' amendment clears Pa. House buff.ly/2PaIbSm pic.twitter.com/RPI6…

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GOP leaders in Pa. Legislature: Fix Wolf administration's error and help child sexual abuse victims to get justice [editorial] buff.ly/31hSK8N pic.twitter.com/i3Vh…

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Recovery

  • Safe Horizon We will lead the way by empowering victims and survivors to find safety, support, connection, and hope.
  • SNAP SNAP is an independent, confidential network of survivors of institutional sexual abuse and their supporters who work to: Protect the vulnerable; Heal the wounded; Expose the truth.
  • MaleSurvivor.org You are not alone. The abuse was not your fault. It is possible to heal. It is never too late.
  • SATTI The Sexual Addiction Treatment and Training Institute (SATTI)
  • SIA New York Web Site for Survivors of Incest Annonymous

Media Coverage ~ Recent

  • WNYC Brian Lehrer – The "Lookback Window" Opens
  • News 12 NY at Archdiocese of NY
  • NY Post – Archdiocese HQ
  • New York Diocese has secret list of priests who have molested children
  • Safe Horizon to Epstein Victims: The Child Victims Act Can Help!
  • New York lawmakers approve Child Victims Act, allowing sexual abuse victims to sue
  • National Catholic Reporter (02/22/2018)
  • Legislature Approves Child Sex-Abuse Bill
  • Child sexual abuse victims say they want to be 'seen and heard'
  • States move to ease restrictions on child sex-abuse lawsuits
  • Dolan Releases 120 Name List / NY1 Spectrum News
  • Dolan names 120 priests accused of sex abuse / News-12 LI
  • Abuse survivors to Diocese of Rockville Centre: Release names of credibly accused priests
  • Williston Times / Rebecca Klar (02/27/2018)
  • WABC7NY Protect Our Children – Sexual Abuse, the Law & Justice – part 4
  • WABC TV SPECIAL, PROTECT OUR CHILDREN
  • Signed, X ~ Brian
  • They Were Sexually Abused Long Ago as Children. Now They Can Sue in N.Y. / NY Times
  • Survivor pushes for Child Victims Act – Lexi Nahl, News 10 ABC (03/27/2018)
  • CBS 6 Albany (01/30/2018)
  • Protect Our Children (02/16/2018)
  • Hidden Disgrace II – Fios1 News (02/08/2018)
  • CAPITOL PRESSROOM: Child Victims Act (02/06/2018)
  • Survivors' Public Protection Testimony (01/30/2018)
  • NY Daily News (01/30/2018)
  • Spectrum News (01/30/2018)
  • NY Child Victims Act – Going In with Brian Vines

Published Writing

  • NY Daily News Op Ed 02/14/2019
  • Letter: NY’s GOP senators turn blind eye to open secrets
  • The Island Now – Opinion (August 23, 2018)
  • "Rainy Weather" Words and Music by Brian R Toale
  • Times Herald Record – Opinion (03/30/2018)
  • Signed, X ~ Brian
  • NY Daily News – Opinion (03/28/2018)
  • The Island Now – Opinion (02/26/2018)
  • NY Daily News – Opinion (01/02/2018)
  • Albany Times Union – Opinion (07/11/2017)
  • The Worthy Adversary (06/22/2017)
  • NY Daily News – Opinion (06/20/2017)
  • NY Daily News – Opinion (05/23/2016)

Resources & Information

  • Abuse Tracker
  • Boston Globe Coverage
  • Child USA
  • Don't Put A Cap On Justice
  • Links to Official Reports on Child Sexual Abuse
  • MaleSurvivor.org
  • New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators
  • Safe Horizon
  • SATTI
  • SNAP
  • Survivors of Incest Annonymous

Documentaries

  • Betrayed by Silence
  • Hand of God (PBS Frontline) 2007
  • Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
  • Sex Crimes and the Vatican (2006)
  • Signed, X
  • Twist of Faith

Media Coverage ~ Older

  • Manhattan Express (06/01/2017)
  • NY Daily News (5/16/17)
  • NY Daily News (5/15/17)
  • Kings County Politics (05/12/2017)
  • News 12 Long Island (05/17/2016)
  • Newsday (05/16/2016)
  • WNYT News Channel 13 (01/30/2018)

Categories

  • Catholic Church (36)
  • From Victim to Survivor (6)
  • In Print (1)
  • Media Coverage (2)
  • Most Recent CVA Coverage (1)
  • Opinion (42)
  • Politics (28)
  • Relationships (2)
  • Sexual Abuse (38)
  • Statute of Limitations (35)
  • Vote Them Out (1)

Tags

#MeToo allegations anxiety Assembly bishop Boy Scouts Cardinal Dolan Cardinal Law Catholic Church CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE Child Victims Act control courage diocese fear Flanagan ghosts growing up guilt HEALING history identity institutions lobbying memories mental health New York perpetrators politics Pope Francis predator ptsd RECOVERY scar secrecy secret Senator sexual abuse shame SHARING silence society survivors trauma vulnerable

Recent Posts

  • There Is Hope For Healing October 11, 2019
  • Why I Am Suing My School. September 4, 2019
  • You can’t move forward while looking back over your shoulder! May 11, 2019
  • Giving Back the Shame May 7, 2019
  • Thoughts on Notre Dame May 3, 2019
  • Sick As Their Secrets February 26, 2019
  • “Flowers don’t bloom without rainy weather.” February 5, 2019
  • #Vote.Them.Out! November 3, 2018
  • The Furthest Thing From “He Said, She Said”! September 23, 2018

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