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| ChrisOLeary.com > Sins > TOC > Violations of VOS ESTIS LUX MUNDI |
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I started putting this piece together in mid to late June 2019, after VOS ESTIS went into effect. I then sent a link to it to Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston via a "send a message to the archdiocese" form on ArchBoston's web site. My goal was to alert the Pope and the Vatican to the fact that the Archdiocese of St. Louis was in violation of VOS ESTIS. A few weeks later, I received a letter from Cardinal Sean that he was going to hand-deliver this, and a letter discussing my meeting with Archbishop Carlson of ArchStL, to the Pope when he met with him in September 2019.
June 27, 2019 VOS ESTIS LUX MUNDI contains a number of provisions for the treatment of survivors, specifically in Article 5. Art. 5 – Care for persons §1. The ecclesiastical Authorities shall commit themselves to ensuring that those who state that they have been harmed, together with their families, are to be treated with dignity and respect, and, in particular, are to be: a) welcomed, listened to and supported, including through provision of specific services; b) offered spiritual assistance; c) offered medical assistance, including therapeutic and psychological assistance, as required by the specific case. §2. The good name and the privacy of the persons involved, as well as the confidentiality of their personal data, shall be protected. The problem, in sum, is that the Archdiocese of St. Louis — STILL — thinks their only obligation to survivors via the USCCB promise of an Assistance Coordinator is to give survivors the name of a psychologist if they don't already have one, which falls WELL short of the expectations set and the promises made in VOX ESTIS LUX MUNDI, particularly in Article 5. Violations of VOS ESTIS LUX MUNDIOn March 26, 2019 I met with Archbishop Robert Carlson of the the Archdiocese of St. Louis (ArchStL). In the interests of the truth, and so that others can understand what it's like to — try to — get help from ArchStL, I recorded that meeting. I gave ArchStL THREE MONTHS to respond to the requests I made during that meeting. When they didn't, I made the recording and the transcript public. This section uses the recording and transcript of that meeting to document violations of VOX ESTIS LUX MUNDI that either stretched beyond, or occurred after, June 1, 2019. Failure to AssistAs Sandra Price established during my March 26, 2019 meeting with Archbishop Carlson and her, the Archidocese of St. Louis is not in compliance with VELM Article 5 §1 which requires dioceses to... c) offered medical assistance, including therapeutic and psychological assistance, as required by the specific case. As Price made clear during my meeting, and Archibshop Carlson concurred, ArchStL did not believe it has any such obligation... SP: OK. So, typically, what Carol (Brescia) does… And you’ve talked to Carol… What Carol does is… Anybody in the diocese is free to call her. And what she does is link people to therapists if they do not have one. So that’s kind of her role for us. Yes, she really did say... "link people to therapists if they do not have one." That's it. The Archdiocese of St. Louis will give you the NAME of a therapist, but they won't PAY for your therapy sessions, which tend to run $100 per hour. What's more, I see no evidence that the attitude or beliefs of the Archdiocese of St. Louis has changed since June 1, 2019. While shocking, that would explain the behavior I've experienced since 2011 — the complete and utter failure to help me — and that I document and discuss in... During the March 26, 2019 meeting, +Carlson and Price mentioned that the provision of financial assistance is determined by a review board, but I have never been offered the chance to submit a claim or to even talk to the review board. What good is a process/program if access to it is never offered to survivors? If it's just a sham. Smear CampaignDuring my March 26, 2019 meeting I informed +Carlson of the fact that the Archdiocese of St. Louis has been running a Smear Campaign against me since 2018... …when asked to comment on O’Leary’s account, “The archdiocese’s record of Mr. O’Leary’s allegations are significantly different; however, due to a court order as well as our own ethical obligation, we are not at liberty to discuss Mr. O’Leary’s case.” Jones also said the information O’Leary shared initially changed multiple times by the time he broke off communication with the Office of Child and Youth Protection. That's a flat out, bold-faced lie, the truth of which can be assessed using ArchStL's own words... After informing Archbishop Carlson of the existence of the smear campaign, and the truth, I asked +Carlson to stop it. To tell the truth. To date, and continuing AFTER June 1, 2019 — making it a violation of VELM — no effort has been made by the Archdiocese of St. Louis to make it clear to the people of St. Louis that my story did not, in fact, change. StonewallingWhy do survivors get so frustrated with the Catholic church and their (arch)dioceses? Too often, it's because of stonewalling. Stonewalling is the act of repeatedly refusing to respond to the legitimate inquiries and pleas of survivors... Instead, survivors are just ignored. For example, I sent THREE e-mails to Sandra Price of the Archdiocese of St. Louis AFTER June 1, 2019... Mon, Jun 3, 2019 8:30 AM Meeting with Archbishop Carlson Mon, Jun 10, 2019 11:01 AM Appointment to Talk to Abp Carlson Tue, Jun 18, 2019 3:15 PM Follow-Up Meeting with Abp Carlson ...all of which went unanswered. And, worse — because they feed my mental illnesses and make me question my existence — unacknowledged. The Archdiocese of St. Louis has employed this tactic against me since 2011. And, critically, the stonewalling campaign continued AFTER the June 1, 2019 effective date of VELM. False Allegations of "Terroristic Threats"In February 2018, The Archdiocese of St. Louis contacted the Shrewsbury, MO police and alledged that I had made "Terroristic Threats" against ArchStL and Archbishop Carlson. Which is strange given that, during my March 26, 2019 meeting, Sandra Price admitted that those allegations were baseless... SP: All I can do is say, “I’m sorry.” During that meeting, I informed Archbishop Carlson of that incident and asked him to make it clear to the people of St. Louis that I hadn't actually made Terroristic Threats; that the rumors about me that were circulating in my former parish community, and that I suspect were started by ArchStL, had no basis in fact. To date — and despite my asking AFTER June 1, 2019 — ArchStL has issued no such public, or even private, statement. I don't even have a letter I can show my kids to prove I'm not lying. And, still, nobody from my (former) parish will talk to me, I assume because they are scared of me. Because the Archdiocese of St. Louis told them I'm crazy. And dangerous. 2019 July - Cutting Off ContactOn July 1, 2019 — one month AFTER June 1, 2019 — I received an e-mail from Sandra Price that, in addition to threatening to release confidential information, stated that the Archdiocese of St. Louis was cutting off communication with me. Price stated a — bogus — reason that I had named survivors. I of course hadn't. In fact, and as you can hear in the recording and read in the transcript, I danced around the names of the two people who I know for certain are survivors of abuse. CO: This is a direct message I received from a guy via Twitter later on that evening that’s consistent with my story....I know who he is. He’s not doing very well. He won’t get back in touch with me. But... Talking about... Dolan knew. Fr. Dolan knew what was going on. He saw stuff. In truth, ArchStL was mad I went public with my recording and transcript of my meeting with Archbishop Carlson, despite the fact that I did so because I had given them THREE MONTHS to issue a clarifying statement stating...
...and all ArchStL did was continue to stonewall me. Failure to ExcommunicateIt's my understanding that the punishment for sexually abuse a child during the sacrament of confession is excommunication. Why then was my abuser, Fr. LeRoy Valentine, only permanently removed? In 2002, then in 2011, and again 2013, I notified members of the Archdiocese of St. Louis that my abuser, Fr. LeRoy Valentine, had started abusing me during the sacrament of confession. And I'm not the only person to make such an allegation. However, I have never been told that Fr. Valentine has been or will be excommunicated. Is this punishment only rendered when the abuser is prominent, and not just a parish priest? Using a Smear Campaign as a De Facto
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