News surfaced on the international front that further vindicated the heroic efforts of Buffalo whistleblowers. Within a week of the publication of The Buffalo News‘ front-page photo of Rev. Ryszard Biernat,former diocesan vice chancellor, in blue coveralls carrying a ladder in his current job as building maintenance manager... a multi-part documentary series in Poland finished up its television run revealing in one of its episodes shocking new details about the way officials in the Diocese of Buffalo allegedly handled physical reports of clergy sexual abuse.It is a shameful reflection not just of diocesan officials including our bishop, but of we laity 60 years after Vatican II. By not bothering to address even this single case, we laity collectively join our bishop in tacitly enforcing a universal gag order on all diocesan employees (especially clergy) who witness corruption or criminal/abusive behavior. The bishop's retaliation is just too damn severe. [Click title to read article]
Category: whistleblowers
Bishops buy their way out of moral crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo
[Audio available read by author] Our bishops (past and present) are spending millions of dollars to get the best attorneys money can buy so they can avoid accountability (suffering). While this latest lawsuit settlement provides a theater piece towards diocesan “renewal,” in reality the deals cut with the bishops cheapen the human suffering that they helped perpetuate—ruined lives, suicides, destruction of faith and loss of souls amidst the clergy sex abuse crisis. This is not how Christ the King taught his apostles to lead. [Click headline to continue reading]
A call for accountability: Bishop Grosz faces another Vos estis report under 3rd-party bishop reporting system
As a corroborating witness to allegations of Bishop Grosz's interference with the investigation of a clergy sexual abuse report, I recently filed a report to the Vatican using an official online reporting system in place. Allegations of his abuse of authority, punctuated by blackmailing the victim, grabbed national and international media attention. While our Buffalo bishop appears numb to this case, a particular arm of the Vatican is mandated by the pope to investigate such “Vos estis” reports. I'll walk you through the reporting process. [Click title to read more]
Revisiting Good Samaritan parable: Heartless reaction among diocese’s clergy to survivors of clergy sexual abuse
In a stunning set of recent communications to clergy sexual abuse survivors, a Diocese of Buffalo priest reveals a disturbing culture Jesus warned us about in his parable of the Good Samaritan. Diocesan whistleblower, Siobhan O’Connor, weighs in.