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Despite Vos Estis Lux Mundi, Pope Francis' de facto bill of
rights for survivors, the Archdiocese of St. Louis refuses to help
survivors. And the Pope refuses to enforce
Vos Estis, despite my having spent over a year attempting to
alert him to the
reality
of Vos Estis, at least in St.
Louis.
VOS ESTIS Violations by ArchStL
The Archdiocese of St. Louis
and Archbishop Robert Carlson, even after VOS ESTIS went into
effect, continue to...
- Believe they are under no obligation to help
survivors.
- Mistreat and abuse survivors.
What is needed is a VOS ESTIS investigation of Archbishop
Robert Carlson, the Archdiocese of St. Louis (ArchStL), and the hierarchy of
the Church itself, including the Papal Nuncio to the United States.
Present Violations Of Vos Estis
On March 26, 2019 I met with Archbishop Robert Carlson of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In the service of the truth and the
Church, and so others can understand what it's like to — try to — get
help from ArchStL, I recorded
that meeting...
I have since transcribed that recording...
I gave ArchStL three months to act on or even just respond to the
requests I made during that meeting; requests to end the
Smear Campaign they are running against me, among other things.
When they didn't, I made the recording and transcript public.
This section uses the recording and transcript to document
violations of VOX ESTIS that either stretched
beyond, or occurred after, June 1, 2019.
Failure to Assist
As Sandra Price established during my March 26, 2019 meeting with
Archbishop Carlson and her, the Archdiocese 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 Archbishop 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.
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 Campaign
During 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, bald-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.
False Allegations of Terroristic Threats
In February 2018, The Archdiocese of St. Louis contacted the
Shrewsbury, MO police and alleged that I had made "Terroristic
Threats" against ArchStL and Archbishop Carlson.
However, during a March 26, 2019 meeting, Sandra Price admitted that
those allegations were baseless...
SandraPrice: What
happened… We had employees in our building who were aware of
your Twitter account and saw some of the posts related to the
Rock Salt and the Shotgun thing, which to me was very vague, but
people were concerned...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 and, despite my informing Archbishop Carlson of the Smear
Campaign ArchStL is waging against me, and asking him to end it,
back on March 26, 2019, he hasn't.
Smear Campaign as de facto
Confidentiality Agreement
No, I wasn't asked/forced to sign a confidentiality agreement.
But what's the — de facto — difference between a
Confidentiality Agreement and a Smear Campaign?
Both mean the victim won't be listened to.
And have the same effect.
Physical Violations
The most recent violation by ArchStL was a physical violation by
an employee of the Archdiocese of St. Louis...
Stonewalling
Why do survivors get so frustrated with the Catholic Church and
their (arch)dioceses?
Too often, it's because of...
...which 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...
MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2019 8:30 AM
Meeting with Archbishop Carlson
FROM: Chris
O'Leary
TO: sandraprice@archstl.org
Let me know when I can meet again with
Archbishop Carlson.
Thanks!
Chris O'Leary
MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2019 11:01 AM
Appointment to Talk to Abp Carlson
FROM: Chris O'Leary
TO: sandraprice@archstl.org
Let me know when I could talk again to
Archbishop Carlson.
In part, I wanted to know when he's planning on
letting the people of St. Louis that I didn't lie to ArchStL.
As I
said, NOBODY from MQP will talk to me, and my kids think I'm lying
and treat me with suspicion.
Thanks!
Chris O'Leary
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019 3:15 PM
Follow-Up Meeting with Abp
Carlson
FROM: Chris O'Leary
TO: sandraprice@archstl.org
Please let me know when I could talk again to
Archbishop Carlson.
In part, I want to know when he/you are planning
on letting the people of St. Louis know my story didn't actually
change and I didn't lie.
As I said, NOBODY from MQP will talk to me,
and my kids think I'm lying and treat me with
suspicion.
Thanks!
Chris O'Leary
All of the e-mails I sent after the June 1, 2019 effective date
for VOS ESTIS went unanswered. And, worse — because they feed my mental illnesses and make me
question my existence — unacknowledged. And the Archdiocese of St.
Louis has employed this tactic against me since 2011.
Threatening Confidentiality of Survivors
On July 1, 2019 Sandra Price of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
threatened me with the release of confidential information —
gained, I assume, during the discovery phase of my lawsuit — in
an e-mail.
The statement above is a CLEAR violation of Article 5 §2 of VOS ESTIS
LUX MUNDI which states...
§2. The good name and the privacy of the persons involved, as
well as the confidentiality of their personal data, shall be
protected.
And it might even represent extortion.
Cutting Off Contact with Survivors
On 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.
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...
- It Happened.
- My story DID NOT change.
- I didn't make Terroristic Threats.
...and all ArchStL did was continue to stonewall me.
Failure to Excommunicate
It'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?
Historical Violations Of Vos Estis
I don't know if VOS ESTIS can be applied retroactively.
If it can be, then I am aware of a number of violations.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
As I explain in my discussion of my experiences with...
...he failed me on multiple occasions.
From 1977-1979, then Father Dolan saw at least some of what Fr.
LeRoy Valentine was doing to us. I don't know what Fr. Dolan did or
said, but I do know that nothing changed.
When I went to ArchStL for help in early March 2002, then-Bishop
Dolan called me back. That itself is a conflict of interest.
Then, after I told Bishop Dolan what I remembered, he immediately
— without ANY investigation — told me that my memories didn't mean
anything.
Bishop Dolan and the Archdiocese of St. Louis — then led by Cardinal Rigali
—
failed to notify me, much less assist me, when my abuser, Fr. LeRoy
Valentine, resigned at the end of March 2002.
On May 9,
2011 I met with a Review Team, a meeting that itself was a
policy violation due to the presence of multiple lawyers for the
Archdiocese of St. Louis.
What's more, during that meeting the members of the Review Team
informed me that they had no knowledge of my 2002 conversations with
Cardinal Dolan and a woman who I suspect was Nancy Brown, meaning
that someone — presumably Cardinal Dolan — had removed all trace
of my existence from the file of Fr. LeRoy Valentine.
Archbishop Robert Carlson
According the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and as is documented by
my recording of my March 26, 2019 meeting with Archbishop Carlson,
their only obligation to survivors is to provide survivors with the
name of a psychologist. While that would explain their inaction, I
don't understand the justification for what I call the...
1. In 2011 and the following years, after first blaming everything I was going through on my father,
Deacon Phil Hengen — the representative of the Archdiocese of St.
Louis who I was working with — eventually asked to speak to my psychologist.
However, despite my doing everything that was required, Deacon
Hengen never did try to get in touch with my psychologist. Also, while Deacon Hengen did, on a couple of occasions, ask me
to provide him with a Treatment Plan, he never offered to pay for
its preparation. And I certainly didn't have the money to do so.
2. On May 10, 2013 my abuser, Fr. LeRoy Valentine, was permanently
removed by Archbishop Robert Carlson and the Archdiocese of St.
Louis. At no point before, on, or after this date was I...
- Informed of this.
- Warned about this.
- Offered assistance.
Needless to say, that act of
Gaslighting sent me
into a psychological crisis from which I have yet to recover.
3. In January 2014, the Archdiocese of St. Louis produced, under
court order, a list of allegations that came to be know as the
matrix.
That list was incomplete.
I know because my allegation wasn't listed in the matrix.
And that is despite the fact that I made my allegation to the
Archdiocese of St. Louis on two separate occasions...
- 2002 - Timothy Cardinal Dolan
- 2011 - ArchStL Review Team
4. On March 26, 2019 I met with Archbishop Robert Carlson of the
Archdiocese of St. Louis. One thing I wanted to do — and
accomplished — was to inform him of my plight and asked him for
financial assistance paying for therapy, etc. Before I could do so, and as you can hear on the transcript of
the meeting, Archbishop Carlson flat out refused to do anything to
help me.
AbpC: But my hope with everybody I’ve
met is that…Even if we can’t have healing with the church because of
what has happened…
I was so stunned that I didn't — and couldn't — respond but, if
I had, it would be with a very basic question.
Why not?
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