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Friday, March 22, 2002
Local Priests Respond to Abuse Claims
By Chris Blow
and Jeff Silver
Staff Writers
Local Roman Catholic Church offi
cials are discounting the effects a nation
al scandal of sexual misconduct by
priests might have on their churches.
Officials also say they denounce the
priests’ misconduct and that such actions
will not be tolerated in the local diocese.
For the first time, Pope John Paul II
on Thursday condemned the sexual
abuse allegations in the Catholic Church.
The charges made headlines in January
after the Boston Globe reported that
Rev. John Geoghan, 66, was accused of
molesting more than 130 children. Since
then, similar charges have been levied
against priests nationwide.
Leaders of the Diocese of Raleigh,
which serves Chapel Hill and all of east
ern North Carolina, have emphasized
their disappointment with the individuals
involved in the allegations.
In a statement released March 5 in the
diocese’s newsletter, NC Catholic,
Bishop F. Joseph Gossman of the diocese
emphasized his intolerance of sexual
Bush: 'Two-Bit Terrorists' Won't Halt Peru Trip
The Associated Press
MONTERREY, Mexico - A day
after a deadly car bombing, President
Bush said Thursday that “two-bit terror
ists” would not stop him from visiting
Peru or thwart his goal of building better
ties throughout Latin America.
“Sometimes it seems like the terror
threat might be going away, but all you
got to do is look on your TV today and
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abuse. “In my 27 years as your bishop I
have never knowingly ordained,
assigned or accepted a priest for ministry
to serve in any assignment when such an
individual had previously engaged in the
sexual abuse of a minor,” he wrote.
Under diocese regulations, any mem
ber of the church who is accused of sex
ual abuse will be placed on administra
tive leave and the case will be immedi
ately investigated by law enforcement,
the newsletter said.
Statewide, there have been two
reported sexual abuse cases involving
priests - both in western North Carolina
- since the 19605, said Frank Morock,
spokesman for the eastern diocese.
The first incident, which occurred in
1969, was brought to light in 1982, he
said. “The priest admitted that something
happened, and he was immediately
removed and forced to retire - that day.”
The second case of abuse occurred in
1978 and was reported in 1979, after that
priest already had retired. No legal
action was taken because the family of
the abused person did not want to press
charges, Morock said.
The national sexual abuse scandal
be reminded about how evil these mur
derers are,” Bush said.
The president got a send-off for a
four-day trip to Mexico, Peru and El
Salvador with a raucous airport rally in
the Texas border town of El Paso.
“We cannot let the terrorists take over
freedom-loving societies, and we will
not,” Bush said, decrying a suicide
bombing in the Middle East, a grenade
attack on a church service in Pakistan
began injanuary when the Boston Globe
reported that Cardinal Bernard Law of
Boston moved Geoghan, an accused child
molester, from church to church rather
than removing him from his position.
Since January, more than 55 priests
across the country have been removed
because of sexual abuse accusations,
The New York Times reported Saturday.
Father John Heffeman Jr. of the
Immaculate Conception Roman
Catholic Church in Durham said he
thinks Law should be removed because
of his “lack of insight and oversight.”
Father Phillip Leach, pastor and cam
pus minister at the Newman Catholic
Student Center at UNC, said he thinks
the recent scandal has had little effect on
the University’s Catholic community.
Leach attributed the lack of impact to
the maturity of college students who show
the initiative to attend church while in
school. “They don’t go to mass because
their moms make them or their fathers tell
them they’ll go to hell (if they don’t),” he
said. “This is a pretty self-selective group.”
Leach said that, in addition, students
who are mature enough to be active in
UNC’s Catholic community understand
and a car bombing near the U.S.
Embassy in Lima, Peru.
Bush’s first stop was in Monterrey for
a U.N. summit on global poverty.
The subject of terrorism loomed large
over Bush’s day. Before boarding Air
Force One for El Paso, Bush met with
Milton Green, whose wife and step
daughter were killed in the Pakistan
attack. And while en route, he called
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
News
the imperfection of the institution.
Leach said, if anything, he has seen stu
dents more committed to the religion after
the news stories came out pinpointing
Geoghan and other accused priests. Leach
mentioned the story of a student who said
the recent events have furthered his
resolve to enter the priesthood. “He said,
‘I want to show I am committed to my reli
gion in spite of all this,’” Leach said.
But Leach said the priests’ actions are
nonetheless a problem the church will
have to face. “As in any human being’s
life, there are things (the church) can be
extremely proud of and things we are
ashamed of,” Leach said. “The
(Catholic) Church is a macrocosm of the
human experience.”
Peter Kaufman, a UNC religion pro
fessor, also said the Catholic church will
survive, despite the incidents. “The
church will persevere, most likely with
improved sensibilities toward sexuality
in the priesthood and in general.”
Staff Writer Will Arey
contributed to this story.
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
to discuss an attack by an offshoot of the
Red Brigades terror group in which an
Italian economist was killed.
The president told reporters in
Washington that Wednesday’s attack in
Lima, which killed nine people, would
not make him change his travel plans. He
is to visit Peru on Saturday, the first U.S.
president to do so. He said he trusts that
President Alejandro Toledo will make his
country safe for his American visitor.
Developments in the War on Terrorism
4 to Be Charged in Reporter Death
■ The chief prosecutor in the case of slain Wall Street
Journal reporter Daniel Pearl said Thursday that he itj p yi COL
has enough evidence to bring a murder charge , h *
against the main suspect even though Pearl's body f tCICKS
has not been found.
Rumsfeld Outlines Tribunal Rules
■ Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday that the Pentagon's new rules
for military tribunals were designed to protect the rights of accused terrorists
while also protecting the security of Americans.
Powell: Designate Al-Aqsa Terrorists
■ The Bush administration said Thursday that it is taking steps to designate the al-Aqsa
brigades, a Palestinian militia, as a foreign terrorist organization. The brigades are linked
to the Fatah faction of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Specialists Use Education
To Combat Child Abuse
By Erika Heyder
Staff Writer
Recent child pornography ring busts
and charges against clergy members
nationwide have increased local aware
ness in educating the targets of predators.
Although child abuse cases are
uncommon in Chapel Hill, experts say
there is still reason for concern.
According to the Orange County
Rape Crisis Center, one in three girls
and one in six boys are sexually assault
ed before the age of 18.
Sabrina Garcia, a domestic violence
and sexual assault specialist who works for
the Chapel Hill Police Department, said
the bulk of the department’s cases includ
ed harassing letters, e-mails and verbal
harassments. “We are very fortunate that
we do not have a lot of cases reported,”
Garcia said. “We’re still a small enough
place where people are still aware and
Hijp Daily (Ear Mrrl
they report any unfamiliar scenes.”
Orange County officials say the low
numbers can be attributed to the coun
ty’s use of school intervention and edu
cation on the issue.
Matt Ezzell, the community educa
tion coordinator for the Rape Crisis
Center, said representatives from the
center spoke to 10,000 students in 2001,
including students in every kinder
garten through fourth-grade class in
Orange County and Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City schools, as well as some
middle school and high school classes.
“We follow an empowerment educa
tion model to empower kids and show
them that they have rights and to help
promote their safety,” he said.
Ezzell said he speaks with parents and
teachers to inform them about how to
deal with a child who has been abused.
“We show them how to talk to kids
and break it apart so that it will not be
so scary,” Ezzell said. “We want to show
them different ideas on how to
approach the kids and make them feel
positive and empowered.”
Ezzell said he hopes the measures will
help prevent future cases by teaching
kids how to say no and show them how
to protect themselves. “I think there is a
lot of silence, and there is always work to
be done so kids aren’t carrying around
such a heavy burden,” Ezzell said.
According to Garcia, juvenile abuse
cases involve children ranging from
infants to 17 years old. Cases with
younger children usually involve imme
diate access between the child and the
offender. Molesters are often neighbors
or family members of the child, she said.
Garcia said technology allows for
more contact with strangers. “As children
get older, the natural progression is to
remove family and broaden social con
tacts through devices like chat rooms.”
Garcia said children are often left
unchaperoned to chat with strangers
who can exploit a child’s insecurities.
Garcia said agencies like the Rape
Crisis Center are available to help con
nected family members and friends in
addition to the victims.
“Both the children and the people
close to them feel the effects," Garcia
said. “We have to hold offenders account
able and mandate corrective treatment”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
go to dailytarheel.com
■ Blue Cross Blue Shield
Looks to Make Profit ■
By Scott LaPierre
■ School Board Discusses
Minority Achievement Plan ■
By Adrienne Clark
Campus Calendar
Today
5:30 p.m, - Bicyclists unite and take
back the streets! Join students and other
community members for the monthly
fun-filled bike ride en masse down
Franklin Street sponsored by the
Student Environmental Action
Coalition. Meet today at the sundial
behind Morehead Planetarium.
8 p.m. - The UNC Fellowship of
Christian Athletes presents Chris Rice
in concert. Tickets are $3 in the Pit or at
the door as long as available. The con
cert is at the Church of the Good
Shepard, located at 3741 Garrett Road
in Durham. Seating is general admis
sion.
8:15 p.m. - Department of
Dramatic Art Studio 1 presents
“MELON” by Simon Gray, directed by
David Chapman. Co-produced by the
Office of Intellectual Life. The show will
take place today through Monday at
8:15 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m. and
Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Playmakers
Theatre. Admission is $5 or free with
PRC card. Questions? Call 962-1132 or
e-mail dfchap@email.unc.edu.
Cljr Daily Ear llrrl
RO. Box 3257, Chapel Hill. NC 27515
Katie Hunter, Editor. 962-4086
Advertising & Business. 962-1163
News. Features, Sports. 962-0245
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