Vindicated: Michael Geilenfeld, Executive Director of St. Joseph Family of Haiti
Congratulations to Michael Geilenfeld, Executive Director of St. Joseph Family of Haiti, to whom a jury awarded $14.7 million after "online activist" Paul Kendrick "endlessly defamed, bullied, and harassed" him by claiming that Geilenfeld had repeatedly abused children in his care in Haiti.
Geilenfeld is a former Brother with the Missionaries of Charity Brothers, created by Mother Teresa. Since 1994, Geilenfeld has operated St. Joseph Family of Haiti as a full-time residence and school for Haitian children with physical and mental disabilities, providing these needy children permanent residence, room and board, meals, physical therapy, recreational therapy, formal education, religious education, and more.
As a result of Kendrick's defamation campaign against Geilenfeld and Hearts With Haiti – the organization that raised funds for St. Joseph's – reliable donors ceased supporting Geilenfeld's operation out of fear that their money might be supporting child abuse. The damage that Kendrick wreaked was utterly devastating.
Click to read the lawsuit (pdf):
Hearts With Haiti / Michael Geilenfeld vs. Paul Kendrick
Truth wins out
Kendrick's attacks on Geilenfeld and Hearts With Haiti began in 2011 when Kendrick "published to third parties through public blogs, public website postings, public radio broadcast, and hundreds of e-mails, defamatory statements that [Geilenfeld and Hearts With Haiti] sexually abuse children and otherwise support child sex abuse."
Some of Kendrick's messages are so sexually graphic that we will not post them here. (Again, if one wishes, one can read the actual lawsuit.)
However, in one of his missives from a December 2012 mass e-mail, Kendrick wrote:
Hey, Geilenfeld, you sick son of a bitch [...]
Count on this, Geilenfeld. You are going to prison for the rest of your miserable life for the horrible and despicable sex crimes you have committed against poor and vulnerable Haitian children.
Lots of luck if the Haitian Police detain you in a Haitian prison. Word will spread fast among the inmates that you have sexually assaulted and raped their Haitian children.
Kudos to the jury for seeing through Kendrick's bile and falsehoods and seeking to restore integrity. We hope that other falsely accused Catholics will step forward and fight back against lies and smears against them.
Justice demands it.
This sure is great news, not just for Michael Geilenfeld, but for all of those who labour in the vineyard.
Christ said to his disciples……"I am sending you out to be like lambs among wolves". The unwise think that these words were only relevant to the first century. Older heads know that they are relevant to all times, including this century.
This will now re-assure the laity and clergy that the "wolves" can be kicked were it hurts…the hip pocket nerve.
A very big kick……$14.7 million in damages,…awarded against this particular character assassin.
Hopefully it will make the other wolves think twice… and slink away with their tails between their legs.
No argument here Mr. Harris. that the wolves once again can be kicked were it hurts. In the hip pocket. Billy Doe will be getting paid, the lawsuits back in May of this year will be getting paid all because the wolf is running away with his tail between his legs. A happy ending for a man who pulled the teeth of the proverbial big bad wolf. Dentures Anyone ?
Why did Kendrick do this?
He seems pretty damned sure in that e-mail. Does he have 17 million to pay? Who's going to pay?
Why would Kendrick do this?
Showing the suit doesn't explain why?
Do you have a transcript of the trial?
He had no victims sworn statements to back up his accusations? Wha….?
Ahhhhhh! Now I see. Haitians testified in this trial that they were molested by Gellenfeld in the 1990's and Kendrick accused him in 2011 as if it were hapenning now. Mmmmm!
And you are proud of this, why?
A non victim goes nuts, arguablly because a sworn to child abusor is still in charge of children and risks his home (maybe not Maine has homestead rights i think.) to call attention to this?
This is a victory for you?
Oh baby! This is sad.
With this news also comes the news out of Philadelphia.
" THE ARCHDIOCESE CAVED. BILLY DOE WILL GET PAID"
Words used by Ralph Cipriano to describe the settlement and ending of a nightmare for Billy Doe after he was raped and abused by two Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests and a Archdiocese of Philadelphia school teacher and another priest who facilitated the abuse to happen. All who are still serving prison sentences after being convicted in a court of law except for one of the abusers Charles Engelhardt who died in prison.
May Billy Doe and his family be able to put closure to the horrific events this young man had to endure at such a young age.
Except if it was bogus then the Arch was extorted by a great con man wasn't it?
When they say it aint about the money it is about the money.
Dennis Ecker, on August 20, must be engaging in self-delusion if he thinks that justice was done in the Billy Doe case,
Let's try to do a quick reality check. The onus is always on the accuser to establish guilt, beyond reasonable doubt. Remember these were criminal trials.
The only accuser against Fr, Engelhardt was Billy Doe… nobody else, despite the priest being in contact with altar boys for 40 years.Yet we are told a pedophile is a recidivist. Meaning they offend over and over again.This guy was accused just once, by Billly Doe,
That fact alone should have caused doubt. The only evidence was the testimony of this lone accuser… no forensics, no witness, no past pattern of deviant behavour. This means the jury were left with just one question…should they believe Billy Doe, or not?
Was he somebody whose character inspired confidence?. Can we trust this guy?
Well in truth the answer to that question should have been easy. Had they been told that this Billy Doe was a habitual drug addict, and known criminal… then they would have returned a verdict of not guilty. He had been arrested six times for drug trafficking and admitted to hospitals and clinics twenty-five times, for his own addiction.
The inescapable truth is that Dennis Ecker would not have trusted this guy to tell him the time of day. Let alone believe his words in crucial evidence, that would send another man to prison.
Billy Doe won only because of anti-Catholic bigotry, and that sums it up.
Amen
Malcom, if you were in court you would have known there was another person who took the stand and gave the jury a reason to believe Engelhardt was not a virgin to sexual abuse of children.
On the 21st Dennis Ecker informs me that, had I been in court, I would have learned that Fr,Engelhardt was previously accused of sexual abuse of a child. Really?
He didn't state who that person was?… nor did he make clear whether he himself was actually in the court?
I got my outline of this case from Ralph Cipriano's website…Cos no longer trust the mainstream media to report fairly… on anything to do with the Catholic Church.
Cannot recall any other alleged victim accusing this priest, so would like to know what Dennis Ecker is referring to? Perhaps he is trying to muddy the water by bringing it the testimony of Leo Hernandez, a best buddy of Billy Doe?
Leo was there to claim that Billy Doe had told him about the abuse, soon after it happened. Over a dedade before….., strangely Billy didn't tell those nearest and dearest to him…., not his mother, or his father (a policeman) or his brother (also an altar boy). Anyway Leo Hernandez was portrayed before the jury as a clean-cut straight-shooting, honourable discharge from the Air Force, anti-drug, anti-gay individual who lived with his wife and child. Gee….what a great build-up to convince the jury of his credibility.
A few months later he himself accused a chiropractor of sexually abusing him… after making him swallow drugs, he took out a lawsuit against this guy. Subsequent enquiries revealed that Leo was not what he seemed to be. Discharged from the Air Force for "inability to adapt". Caught for taking steriods, dancing in a gay strip club, and living alone, not with any wife and kid? So I guess the jury in the Billy Doe trial were deceived. Had they known the real Leo Hernandez, they would have discounted his evidence, on the grounds that he was a proven liar.
Am convinced that a lot of abuse allegations have been made against the Catholic Church by a bunch of opportunistic liars. Normally a free press would prevent this from going to far. But the tyranny of 'advocacy journalism' has actually encouraged what is happening.
Dennis Ecker, and his kind, are just jumping aboard the band-wagon. Mercifully, for my sanity, I have foreseen where that band-wagon will ultimately take them.
Will just say that it's gunna be mighty hot.
Please let's not over look the heralding of a priestly victory in Geilenfeld's "victory by TMR.
How does this prove anytrhing good about your church's behavior regarding sex abuse of catholic kids?
You are heralding a child molestor. What's wrong with you?
You seem to care more about money than about your own injured children.
You get excited/extatic about a $15 million settlement while ignoring the fact that Geilenfeld was a child molestor and that he still gets paid, by you through your church, to "care" for and to "guide" children.
Yet It's been claimed here at TMR that it's the victims who are all about money. When in reality the majority of victims get nothing.
Why doesn't the church publish/ announce exactly where and how much and to whom settlements have been paid? Let's have an overview of this whole mess.
I'm afraid that will never happen; because the church doesn't want the world to know how few victims have actually been compensated by them. It would screw with the church being seen as "Good" and "Caring" and "Just". Got to keep that false face shiny.
Is it safe to be anywhere with a priest ? A story broke yesterday of a priest who was sentenced to 6 months in a federal prison after he groped a woman on a flight from Philadelphia to L.A. This predator got up from his assigned seat, moved next to a woman sitting with noone beside her and began to grope the woman's genitals and breasts while she slept. He did not stop touching her until she woke up. The priests defense was he thought it was consensual and felt she was allowing him to do it. SHE WAS ASLEEP YOU FOOL. His attorney tried to get the charges lowered but that was not happening.He now has a felony record and on his way out of the priesthood.Question is do we need to investigate everywhere this priest had been while in Philadelphia for other victims or was he just passing through and do we need to check the parishes this priest may have been assigned for other victims. Interested to read what others have to say.
On August 25th, Dennis Ecker again attempts to muddy the water and to stain the reputations of all priests, when he asks "is it safe to be anywhere with a priest?".
Quick answer to that is… yes, it is safe to be around Catholic priests.Why do I say that?
Because for the last 9 years we have data on the number of credible accusations made against priests in the U.S. There are about 40,000 Catholic priests in the U.S. and the number of credible accusations each year averages a remarkable low 9 only. These stats refer to credible accusations made, involving current minors.
This is really about the safety of children and their parents can be assured that their kids are safe around priests. These stats are compiled by an independent organization, out of Georgetown University.
So on my shaky maths there is only about one chance in 4,000 of a child ever being molested by a priest.
The chances of a child being molested by a schoolteacher, in a state school, is about 100 times greater. But we never hear about that… because there's no bigotry against schoolteachers in state schools.
Have to wonder if Dennis would have rushed to comment if this particular airline passenger molester had been a schoolteacher.?
Oh Great. The Philadelphia Archdiocese today picked out their slogan ahead of the papal visit. It happens to be I'LL BE THERE" The title to a song from a well known pedophile who you can actually see on this blog listed under Hollywood Shame and that is Michael Jackson. Don't get me wrong I think the guy is a pig too but is there not some type of conflict of interest here Dave. Catholic church approves of a molester by using his words and you wish to persecute him and rightfully so. Whose phone will be ringing first ? Yours Dave to Chaput or Chaput to you telling you to take down the banner ?
Seems my friend Malcolm has a fault in his memory regarding the court case regarding the late Engelhardt but that is not suprising. Only another member of the catholic church who believes priests can do no wrong and would like the rest of us to believe the same. I believe its time for him to graduate from the old school.
He then reports to us a number of 40,000 priests in the U.S. He may or may not be correct in his numbers but if he would like to use that number it is still far less then the number of clergy abuse victims in this country alone.
He then points out some number he got from some INDEPENDENT group in a drop of clergy abuse. I will only agree to that because the decrease in his numbers only is do to the drop in priests. Therefore to turn your back on catholic church clergy would still be premature and a mistake.
Dennis Ecker, on the 29th, suggests that my memory is flawed regarding the Billy Doe versus Fr. Engelhardt trial.
Well am still waithing for him to answer my question….., cos if he is right,it will prove his point about my alleged faulty memory,.
So again I ask him….. who was this other person who, accused this particular priest of sexual assault?.
Off subject:
Could some one explain to me what the difference is between a woman going to confession and being granted absolution for having an abortion; and what Francis is in the news for today?
Granted I've been away from "the faith' a while. But I thought all "sin" including abortion was forgiven if one repented and confessed.
Because procuring an abortion means automatic ex-communication and removal from the sacraments (including Confession), only a bishop could absolve the sin (per Canon Law).
However, here in the United States, most priests already had permission from their bishops to absolve the sin of abortion. So the news from pope Francis was almost a non-issue here in the US.
In other areas of the world, however, this is bigger news. All priests in the world can absolve the sin of abortion.
That is it in a nutshell, as I understand.
Thank you, David. Are there any other "sins" offering automatic excommunication; that can only be absolved by a bishop?
I have not seen a simple, clean list of the sine, but I believe they are outlined in the Code of Canon Law.
I think if you start here and click ‘next’, there are sins described:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P52.HTM
Thanks again Dave.
Mighty quiet around here. Preparing for the pope's visit no doubt.