tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post5579135252917030196..comments2023-10-22T09:32:13.417-04:00Comments on Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog: A Shredded Memo, A Dead Cardinal, and A Bunch of LiarsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04116104602505815614noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-24668200394602069302012-06-23T08:50:03.989-04:002012-06-23T08:50:03.989-04:00Kopride; Have you been able to review the actual m...Kopride; Have you been able to review the actual memo? The reason I'm asking; there are 35 names on that list. According to what I saw on CBS this morning only 3 names were relevant to this trial.(?)<br>My specific question is how many young women / girls were on that list of accosted children? I KNOW this has happened due to a relative's experience.<br>Also, assuming that the ratio among Priests is at least similar to the general population, Priests are predominately Heterosexual.<br>When will that question be looked at?John N Floridahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04357407251913829421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-11309052514754132542012-05-17T06:45:28.242-04:002012-05-17T06:45:28.242-04:00So the Concordat was signed: the Center Party woul...So the Concordat was signed: the Center Party would be disbanded but the Church would be guaranteed control over the education of Catholic youth. (There were other issues as well, including Hitler’s demand to appoint the bishop overseeing German military chaplains.)<br><br>As it turned out, Hitler ignored whatever he wanted to ignore, although Catholics were spared a campaign of general violence orchestrated against them by the Party, the government, and the SA and the SS and Gestapo.<br><br>Although in a few years, to intimidate Catholic Bavaria, the regime tried to indict an entire monastery in that region for sex-crimes with youth … but the Bavarians were so adamant in their defense of the monastery that the regime backed off.<br><br>Eagerly connecting imaginary dots, commenter Guzman then quickly goes on to say that as a result of the Concordat, World War 2 happened and millions died and – in a marvelously obvious twist – Guzman connects herself to it all: her own “immediate family lost two and countless relatives in Germany!”. So she herself – if the story is to be credited – was the direct victim of the Papacy that caused World War 2.<br> <br>You read stuff like this, and realize that it may well represent not only ‘history’ for certain types of minds, but also that such a stitched-together web of assertions actually has induced and continues to induce numerous folks to believe that such a skein of simplistic cartoon-thinking, perversely mimicking serious historical thought and information, is actually accurate and rational. Which reinforces nicely the ‘justification’ for some people’s animus toward the Church.<br> <br>It’s a neat little gambit. But it isn’t historical thinking. (Which, I have been under the impression after reading some commenters, is something that shouldn’t happen on this site because it only confuses and distracts people. But that, apparently, is only true for historical thinking that doesn’t agree with the preferred group-think narrative. Otherwise though, as evidenced in this darkly marvelous skein about the Concordat, ‘history’ is just fine, thank you.)<br> <br>Good grief.Pertinaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15407357930254142688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-26501371016070916382012-05-17T06:41:51.052-04:002012-05-17T06:41:51.052-04:00There are those who would not let a few crummy fac...There are those who would not let a few crummy facts get in the way of a good roll. But I am not among them.<br><br>Demonstrating his/her historical chops, commenter Allen reports that the current Pope was a “registered Nazi” (nicely picking up on commenter Kopride’s baseless goody that in his/her considered professional estimation I “appear” to be a “registered sex offender” a few installments back).<br><br>Perhaps commenter Allen meant to assert that the current Pope was a card-carrying Party-member.<br> <br>But actually – as was required by law in the Third Reich – the Pope as a child was required to join the Hitler Youth. Which, while it sounds close enough to satisfy the ‘knowledge’ requirements of certain mindsets, is not the same thing as voluntarily signing up as an adult for membership in the Nazi Party.<br> <br>But Nazi equals Nazi, doesn’t it? How hard is genuine knowledge, really? Yah.<br><br>But as tuning forks will do when set to vibrating, his initial derangement is amplified by commenter Guzman who announces the fruits of her research: as Cardinal Pacelli the future Pope Pius XII signed a Concordat with Hitler’s Reich. Having made that accurate comment, commenter Guzman then proceeds to show us what a certain mindset can do with an accurate fact. <br>The Concordat was an “exchange of powers”. Apparently the Google search did not include the work of such researchers as historians Guenter Lewy or Anthony Rhodes who explain that excruciatingly complex historical reality.<br> <br>In 1933, immediately after taking office, Hitler had slyly offered the Vatican control over Catholic education (which many decades of efforts with pre-Hitlerite German governments had failed to secure). For such a gift, Hitler demanded the disbanding of the Catholic Center Party – many of whose Deputies were priests – which was already opposing Nazi efforts to pass the matrix of enabling laws necessary to cement Hitler’s power in Germany. The Vatican had opposed specifically Catholic political parties, but had always sought the right to run Catholic schools.<br> <br>Further, the Vatican was desperately seeking some way to contain the threat to all genuine belief that Nazism – especially now when in political control – presented. The only resort available was to get Hitler’s commitments on paper and hope – as Pacelli mentioned to a British diplomat – that Hitler would thus be bound.<br> <br>The alternative was to deny Hitler, have him crush all political opposition the hard way, and still not have any control over the education of Catholic youth. And perhaps unleash all manner of Brownshirt violence on German Catholics generally.Pertinaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15407357930254142688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-4907260106061683942012-05-16T03:29:24.955-04:002012-05-16T03:29:24.955-04:00Ralph,You are doing an amazing job on reporting th...Ralph,<br><br>You are doing an amazing job on reporting this story, and kopride is giving amazing legal insights, juror insights psychological insights, et cetera.<br><br>He could be the legal and psychological advisor/consultant when you write the screen play for the movie.<br><br>Here's my shot at a title - "The Worst Story Ever Told"neilallen76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04966954580793318142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-1464290193649280622012-05-15T22:39:58.906-04:002012-05-15T22:39:58.906-04:00Hodson is a Stradley Ronon lawyer, his father work...Hodson is a Stradley Ronon lawyer, his father worked for Stradley. Stradley was the AOP's firm. Conflicts are imputed to the firm. The issue is encompassed within RPC 1.7 , 1.10, and 1.13. Basically, could Stradley through Hodson represent the interests of both the entity and Lynn, as an individual in front of the Grand Jury? I am not going to give my opinion other than to say that; in hindsight, Lynn's interests were in not being indicted and prosecuted. The AOP certainly had its own interests with regard to ongoing civil claims, and the possible indictment of Lynn's supervisors., ie, Bevilacqua and Rigali. Now Bergstrom claims that the AOP's response to the 94 memo shows that the decisions were made at the top, but it is not clear that the memo helps the AOP in civil cases or it's own possible criminal liability. Again, I am not on this blog to opine about legal ethics but one firm was wearing lots of hats and trying to serve multiple individuals and the entity all of whom seemed to have different interests. And Stradley represented lots of other catholic affiliated organizations including the AOP's bank, Beneficial and they are GC to the catholic bishops. The roots and tentacles go deep and intertwine the firm and the catholic community. <br><br>So back to your question, I haven't the foggiest idea why a long time multi-generational Stradley lawyer would be thinking about anything else other than Lynn's best interests.kopridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-40006118982353256232012-05-15T15:53:34.408-04:002012-05-15T15:53:34.408-04:00Kopride, thanks for the insight on the Stradley-Ro...Kopride, thanks for the insight on the Stradley-Ronon archdiocese relationship; maybe you should be writing this blog. Any insight as to why Clark Hodgson served up Bill Lynn to the grand jury like a Christmas goose?Ralph Ciprianohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12188557653424544411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-55556028458900017952012-05-15T11:24:57.749-04:002012-05-15T11:24:57.749-04:00"Couldn't some of those cases be retried ..."Couldn't some of those cases be retried because the Catholic Church intentionally withheld evidence?"<br><br>There are very rare situations where old cases are opened but it is very unlikely. There were probably very few actual trials. Most of the cases were settled, based upon representations that the AOP did not have notice or knowledge of the propensity of the actual abuser; and that the abuser himself had no real assets to satisfy any judgment. Settled cases are not usually reopened. It would also not revive a case that was not filed within the statute of limitations and we are talking about a 1994 memo so most of the cases would likely be time barred. <br><br>Given that Avery just pleaded guilty, there were Avery victims who had timely claims; and the memo would certainly be relevant and discoverable since Avery was in the memo. The memo would likely be discoverable for most civil claims against the AOP arising from the period of time that Lynn held that position. Depending upon the discovery request, it might still be discoverable in cases where the AOP's response to known abusers was at issue. <br><br>The real folks harmed were victims who had their cases dismissed against the AOP on summary judgment based upon the lack of evidence that the AOP was aware of the abusers activity. It is highly unlikely that a court would reopen those cases based upon newly discovered or withheld evidence unless the case was on appeal or the judgment was not final. Essentially, the AOP got away with it. There are potential ethics charges that could be brought against the lawyers involved in withholding the documents, but it would probably not revive a dead case. PA also does not have an independent tort claim for spoliation of evidence; it is simply a discovery or sanctions issue. <br><br>Again, it is not my intent to offer legal advice to anyone who thinks that their case might have been affected by withheld evidence. They should probably sit down with a lawyer and get advice on their particular situation. As I said, there are rare situations where old cases are reopened.kopridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-57744985720105378482012-05-15T11:19:34.746-04:002012-05-15T11:19:34.746-04:00So many people knew and could have stopped these c...So many people knew and could have stopped these crimes against kids..!!<br><br>It is overwhelming to think how MANY innocent children could have been spared the life sentence of being sexually abused..<br>And keep in mind the Philly Archdiocese is not unique in how they handle protecting the predator priest within their diocese. Other dioceses need to be investigated for covering up and enabling sex crimes against kids, also.<br><br>Silence is not an option anymore. And those responsible need to be held accountable and jailed. This is the only way to get this corruption and abuse stopped.<br><br>Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511<br>snapjudy@gmail.com<br>(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. <br>SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)JudyJoneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11620799355111141596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-14162735683404161212012-05-15T10:00:42.681-04:002012-05-15T10:00:42.681-04:00Neil, I made a mistake in the above post. The Cat...Neil, I made a mistake in the above post. The Catholic Party in Germany prior to WWII was "The Catholic Centre Party," not the Catholic Central Party, even though the meaning is similar. When Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pius XII, effectively disbanded it, it gave legitimacy to Hitler's Regime in the eyes of the German People. It also withdrew a big voting block from the political scene, allowing the Nazis to waltz, undisturbed by Catholic morality, into power in Germany.JeannieGuzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04822849361330012598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-86859258578608757212012-05-15T09:42:56.989-04:002012-05-15T09:42:56.989-04:00Kop: I genuinely hope that you are right. In add...Kop: I genuinely hope that you are right. In addition to massive legal bills, there will be mounting concern by the Laity in the Archdiocese that their hard-earned contributions will be going to pay for more lawyers in the Archdiocese's defense. This should make enough Catholics mad enough that they'll simply abandon the Church. Now, would this be a "Bad thing?" I think not!JeannieGuzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04822849361330012598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-54413924645002918552012-05-15T09:37:10.951-04:002012-05-15T09:37:10.951-04:00Neilallen: Something that most people don't k...Neilallen: Something that most people don't know is that Pope Pius XII, before he became Pope, constructed or designed the ReichsKonkordat with Hitler. It was a treaty where they exchanged powers over certain areas of German life. One of them was turning "Catholic Youth" over to the Nazis, and disbanding, Catholic Youth, entirely. Another was closing down over 400, independent Catholic Presses in Germany, because the Pope wanted the Vatican Press to be the ONLY source of news for Catholic Germans. The BIG thing is that the Pope agreed that the Catholic Central Party should be disbanded. All of this was done in exchange for the Pope being declared, the spiritual leader of the German people. For his tireless efforts in juvenile diplomacy, Eugenio Pacelli was made Pope Pius XII. As a result of his diplomacy, millions of people, service men and civilians died, in addition to 6 million Jews, died in WWII. How many servicemen were lost in your family? My immediate family lost two and countless relatives in Germany! With the above being said, Joseph Ratzinger had no choice but to join Hitler Youth, since Catholic Youth had been absorbed in the movement to condition young teens to the Nazis' agendas.JeannieGuzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04822849361330012598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-78635563413489835292012-05-15T02:49:21.862-04:002012-05-15T02:49:21.862-04:00Imagine how much more document shredding and conve...Imagine how much more document shredding and convenient loss of memory has gone on all over the world. Philadelphia is just one archdiocese...Kay Ebelinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13753284586265566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-11550663785429510212012-05-15T00:02:14.132-04:002012-05-15T00:02:14.132-04:00Kop,Couldn't some of those cases be retried be...Kop,<br><br>Couldn't some of those cases be retried because the Catholic Church intentionally withheld evidence?PatOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461865437824551724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-69742518130793869202012-05-15T00:01:02.470-04:002012-05-15T00:01:02.470-04:00The Catholic church doesn't have the honor tha...The Catholic church doesn't have the honor that the mod has, and The Pope was a registered Nazi as a teenager, which is why he's thinking, "this is nothing compared to what we did when we were teenagers".neilallen76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04966954580793318142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-25871812365893133962012-05-14T22:59:40.719-04:002012-05-14T22:59:40.719-04:00The AOP threw Tim Coyne under the bridge and the c...The AOP threw Tim Coyne under the bridge and the counsel change strongly suggests that their old law firm Stradley Ronon is being thrown under as well. Tim Coyne was a Stradley alum; and Stradley was defending numerous civil cases in 06 where the 35 priest memo would be responsive to discovery requests. In other words, assuming that Coyne was even reasonably competent, he would have advised the Stradley lawyers of the discovery of the memo, and sought advice on whether it had to be produced in the various civil cases, or included in privilege logs so that lawyers could have sought a court order to compel production. As GC, Coyne would have had regular communication with his old law firm about the ongoing cases and what documents needed to be produced. In other words, the chance that Stradley didn't have a copy of the memo is extremely remote unless Coyne deliberately withheld it. <br><br>The AOP has replaced Stradley and Coyne, which means that they will be the patsies in the ongoing inquiries in numerous cases about why the memo was not produced in the 6 years of cases and active litigation before it was rediscovered. The AOP will say, "general counsel and the law firm determined what documents needed to be produced and they were in possession of the memo." IOW, don't blame us for our lawyers mistake. Anybody who knows anything about the relationship between the AOP and Stradley will say that the line between the firm and the client was not always clear. The size of the business relationship and secrets buried created a great deal of inertia that probably affected independent judgment. Stradley still does transactional work.kopridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14033734864815154844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-73268639268329060532012-05-14T21:46:22.987-04:002012-05-14T21:46:22.987-04:00Amnesiacs? Invertebrates? Chameleons? One never...Amnesiacs? Invertebrates? Chameleons? One never knows who will be walking out of 222 N. 17th St. next and making their way down to the Criminal Justice Center. <br><br>The missing, recovered, shredded memo......ah, the tangled web (of lies) we weave.skiadvocathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163668976028769558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-42954522292712821042012-05-14T21:44:58.737-04:002012-05-14T21:44:58.737-04:00It seems as though they should each be covering th...It seems as though they should each be covering their eyes, ears and mouth, like the three wise monkeys. Isn't lying still a sin?Mommahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01356032565586798733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8876661997317409023.post-28739494406939735132012-05-14T21:09:50.191-04:002012-05-14T21:09:50.191-04:00Between Msgr. Lynn's defense of following orde...Between Msgr. Lynn's defense of following orders and Bishop Senior and Father Oliver's testimony of not remembering this case seems caught between the Nazi's and the Mob. Not a whole lot of inspiration to be found here.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14668220537522709553noreply@blogger.com