Law enforcer or foolish storyteller? Josh Shapiro, Attorney General of Pennsylvania
This is Part II of a special TheMediaReport.com analysis of the Pennsylvania grand jury report.
Click here for Part I.
We will never deny that many stories of clergy abuse are tragically true. Of this we must always be mindful. However, if there is one thing that this site has demonstrated repeatedly over the years, it is that not all accusations are created equal.
Let us look at some of the more alarming abuse claims from Pennsylvania's "grand jury report," authored by the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro, that have received wide media attention:
A victim's mouth washed out with holy water?!
It is a stomach-turning story, indeed:
"Monsignor Thomas Benestad made a 9-year-old give him oral sex, then rinse the boy's mouth out with holy water to purify him."
Did this actually happen? No, it didn't. But don't just take our word for it.
Msgr. Thomas Benestad
In 2011, some chap e-mailed the Diocese of Allentown claiming that he had a "memory" (yes, a "memory") from thirty years earlier. He claimed that, starting at nine years old, he was regularly pulled out of weekly CCD class for oral sex for over two years. The accuser says his abuse began when he was told that wearing shorts to CCD class was "sinful," and after a nun escorted him to Benestad's office, Benestad forced him to perform oral sex on him.
But that's not all. After the boy was finished, Benestad would perform oral sex on him as well. Uh-huh. And then Benestad would somehow magically "produce a clear bottle of holy water and squirt it into the victim’s mouth to purify him." Because what priest doesn't keep a "clear bottle of holy water" handy at all times, right?
The accuser's story is such a crock that even a wild-eyed leader at SNAP would have a hard time believing it. Monsignor Benestad has been a priest for nearly a half century, and Benestad's attorney has forcefully replied:
"Monsignor Benestad has never done anything that would be deemed inappropriate with any individual. Monsignor Benestad has never done anything that would be deemed immoral by the church with any individual. Monsignor Benestad has never done anything illegal with any person as judged by any civil or criminal authority."
[**Click to read Msgr. Benestad's response to Pennsylvania's report (pdf)**]
Attorney General Shapiro is simply nasty for not informing the public that two entirely separate investigations exonerated Monsignor Benestad.
Let's move on.
A scene from 'Airplane'?
Rev. John P. Fitzgerald
Naturally, Shapiro did not identify the accuser as a crook, but we will have Fitzgerald's attorney explain:
"The allegations of misconduct against Rev. John P. Fitzgerald are false. The allegations contained in the Summary referring to Rev. Fitzgerald are the product of a fabrication made by a convicted thief, a convicted violator of the Controlled Substances Act, a person who 'punched his father in the head and body, kicked his mother in the midsection and choked his sister when they tried to stop him from driving after snorting heroin,' according to a police report filed based on the statements of his father, mother and sister."
And when the accuser sat down for a 2014 interview, he "dramatically changed his allegations." There were also a couple other major problems: The chapel at Pittsburgh International Airport did not even exist until years after the accuser said his abuse occurred. And aviation experts testified that it was "physically impossible" for Fr. Fitzgerald to have been simultaneously flying an airplane and sexually abusing a boy "without crashing the aircraft."
Naturally, Fr. Fitzgerald has vehemently denied the preposterous accusations against him. And it should also be noted that Fr. Fitzgerald has had no other allegations against him in over four decades in ministry.
[**Click to read Rev. Fitzgerald's response to Pennsylvania's report (pdf)**]
A priest did what with a crucifix?!
Then there is the case of Fr. Gregory Flohr. In November 2004, a sole accuser surfaced to claim that for a period of years back in the 1960s, starting when he was 10 or 11 years old, Flohr repeatedly touched his genitals and forced him to perform oral sex on him. (Are you sensing an ongoing theme here, everyone?)
But there's more. The accuser's tale ends with a spectacular "final act":
"Flohr's final act of sexual abuse against the victim occurred in November 1969, when Flohr allegedly took the victim into the confessional of the Immaculate Conception church and began kissing him and tied him up with rope into a 'praying position.' The victim began to scream, so Flohr tried to silence him by forcing his penis into his mouth. 'When the [victim] refused the priest allegedly became angry and sodomized the [victim] with a crucifix approximately 7″x 5″x 1″ in size.' Flohr then stated that the victim was a 'bad boy' and let him go. Following this incident, the victim deliberately set the church carpet on fire."
We are supposed to believe this? That no one else was around when this happened in a confessional in a church? Where was everybody else? The boy screamed out loud, and the priest's idea to quiet him down was to – what? – try and shove his penis in the boy's mouth and then sodomize him with a crucifix? As if that would shut the boy up? Really? And where did the rope and crucifix magically appear from?
One cannot help but wonder what Fr. Flohr had to say when confronted with these alarming accusations against him. Well, he said nothing. He was already dead. And he had no other accusers in over four decades of ministry.
Remember Philadelphia!
In light of Shapiro's crooked attack against the Catholic Church, it is important to be cognizant that we have witnessed an untrustworthy "grand jury report" before.
One of the last times a similar report made huge headlines was back in 2011 with the Philadelphia grand jury report. It was truly an international spectacle. Mugshots were plastered across the media landscape, and the media's drumbeat against the Church banged loudly yet again.
And although it took years for the truth to rise to the surface, we eventually learned that the Philly report was a complete work of fiction. On the testimony of a criminal drug addict and serial liar by the name of Danny Gallagher, innocent men went to prison, and one priest, Rev. Charles Engelhardt, even died there. It is clearly one of the great injustices in modern American history. If you didn’t already know this, you should.
If it were not for the luck of a dogged journalist by the name of Ralph Cipriano – who began covering the Philly cases as pro-prosecution until he realized he was witnessing a con – this outrage never would have seen the light of day.
Some people have characterized the recent Pennsylvania report as "just the tip of the iceberg." It is, but it is just the tip of the iceberg of the massive fraud being perpetrated against the Catholic Church. (Indeed, there are many others in the Pennsylvania report who have been wrongly assailed.)
Wake up, everyone. Especially you all in the Catholic media. Quit fretting over your own optics (the saints surely didn't!), and speak up in defense of wrongly maligned Catholic clerics and against this crooked Pennsylvania report.
Justice demands it.
[See also Part I of our special analysis: "PART I: Pushing Aside Media Hysteria:
We Uncover Pennsylvania's Dishonest Grand Jury Report"]
just becuase you don't WANT to believe it and there is not VIDEO evidence, DOES NOT mean it didn't happen. give these victims the peace they deserve. they've suffered enough.
Where in the grand jury report were the accused given due process?
Thank You Sara. And Ken, by due process do you mean to give the pedophiles, pederasts, perverts and bishop excusers the chance to lie, deny and deceive as they have done for decades in the past. Fulfill the promises made that criminals would be sent to the authorities, open up all the secret church files around the world and let the light shine in on all the darkness. NO, ain't gonna happen now is it? Business as usual with more empty promises that they're going to straighten this mess out. We are sick and tired of all these empty promises. A church that hides and conceals the filthy truth is NO church of the Almighty, Pure and Precious God. Who do you think you've been fooling? Only yourselves.
To "Sara" and "Phil"-what I WANT to believe is the truth-
This Penn state report was not based on trials, but testimonies(under oath?) of some people in a courtrooom, with their lawyers, and NO DEFENDENTS present to defend themselves or having their lawyers present-Understand?
There were NO TRIALS to determine guilt of innocence in this a Grand Jury report.
How would you feel if this happened to you? This hysteria is what the Communists and Nazis used agaisnt the Church and still do, and what fascist minded people still use to blame whoever they want.
Its called "hearsay ' evidence and that is almost never held up as evidence in any court.
Woudl you or any of us want tobe accused of this crme and, if innocent, not want to defend ourselves.
Well, you can t defend yourslef if your DEAD, which a lot of the names of priests on the list are, and have been, for a while.
If you really want justice like we're supposed to have in the US, then let there be trials, like a democratic nation is supposed to base their judicial system on.
There have been too many false accusers who walked off with millions, and left an innocent priest in jail, like Fr Gordon McCrae.
If you just dont like the Church, then be honest and dont hide behind the 'victim' who has not even proven their case yet, and maybe never can.
Guy
You people have some nerve accusing victims of lying just to protect these criminals. Why don’t you go personally visit each and every victim and explain to them personally why you don’t think they are telling the truth. Of course these predators have been cleared by the church….the church doesn’t want to admit they have been covering this up! You’re pathetic.
Phil Rodgers, on the 21st, asks why Dave Pierre does not visit each and every victim personally, and explain why he questions their respective stories. Well….the obvious reason would be that we don't know their real identities….and 'John Doe' doesn't help much?. Another reason would be that perhaps we would be accused of… 'further victimizing the victim' if we questioned them. Finally what is wrong with putting the case for the defence… given that a complicit media has already put the case for the prosecution?
Hi Phil. Are you in the KC metro by chance? I had a teacher of music theory with the same name. What troubles me about the PA grand jury report is there was -0- opportunity for the accused to face their accusers and/or answer the charges. Rebecca Randles is pushing for the same thing here in KC. I shudder to think that we live in a society where just the presence of an accusation would ruin one’s life. R
Let the accuser make his accusation. Let the accused answer the accusation. Examine ALL pertinent facts. Then and only then render judgement and administer punishment. This has not happened in PA. It will not happen in KC if Randles gets her way. 3 accused priests in KC have proven their innocence, but their ministries and reputation were ruined. Randles had her derrière handed to her in the Tierney trial. She had two choices: be exposed violating a gag order to manipulate public opinion, or drop the case. She threw her client under the bus and walked away to save her own butt. Randles, if you’re lurking here, I double dog dare you to take a case against a local Baptist Church.
Thanks for doing some digging. I knew the reports were suspicious. Don't listen to the people who have been manipulated by the media into being outraged by bogus offenses.
the denial in this website is mind boggling. You don’t have to defend evil bishops and priests in order to defend Roman Catholicism. Get some logic, reason, and discretion in your ability to think. It is obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence that there is a certain segment of Church hierarchy whose job it is too put a lid on evil priests and bishops that like sodomy, and pre and post pubescent boys by shipping them around to hide them from exposure. Just because there are a few evil priests and bishops including the pope doesn’t mean Jesus is savior. Stop defending the business of Roman Catholicism at the cost of your soul.
Hi Dan. If due process reveals the accusations to be true, then prosecute the crime and render punishment accordingly. But the due process must be given. The accused has the right to face his accuser and give his account. This is spelled out plainly in the Old Testament, affirmed by Jesus and St. Paul in the New Testament, and practiced by decent civil authorities since. This “grand jury” is a grand thumbing of the nose to that basic and biblical principle.
Ken, I'm all for due process. What I must question is did victims that came to the pastors, Msgr.s or bishops with their accusations years ago, did they receive due process or justice? NO, They were called liars or asked along with their families to not stir up trouble for their holier than thou church. When a few or several accusations came in, the priest was secretly shipped to unsuspecting dioceses, where the priest could molest more victims.
I personally experienced nothing close to due process or justice when I was falsely accused by priests, nuns, corrupt cops and thugs of your church. They came to court in full dress (white collar and habits) and I was judged the liar and guilty before I opened my mouth.
Now after all the injustice, denials, lies and secrecies of the church, we hear cries that these liars and sexual deviants deserve due process and justice? I'd say that this is terribly disingenuous to even ask for such a thing. What the church does need to do is be honest for a change, admit to all the pedophilia, perversions and coverups and clean house. Problem is that many evil people aren't willing to admit to their wickedness and the church has done everything in their power to facilitate the disgusting mess they are presently in. Now they're trying to place blame on a homosexual atmosphere in the church. The majority of crimes were homosexual in nature, but grown men who harm innocent and at times very young children, have taken homosexuality to a whole new and horrible level. The hierarchy of "the Church" only have themselves to blame. At this point, I believe justice and due fair or honest process to be virtually impossible. servant of the Just God, His justice will soon be served.
I happen to know or have known three of the priests named in the Pennsylvania report. Two of the three I believe to have been falsely accused. But the third, the one I thought for sure would have been falsely accused, actually did confess to molestation incident to providing alcohol to minors. The other who I think was innocent nevertheless had willingly allowed a cult of personality to be built around him and I surmise that he was accused by individuals who wanted to be closer to him and whom he repulsed. Innocent, but he was foolish in putting himself in a vulnerable and false position. The third is the only one still living, and the report says that while his case was referred to a county DA, no charges were filed. Correct, but the report could have said that the DA publicly said there was no evidence against the priest and that the Church had violated the priest's rights in throwing him under the bus as a panicked response. A Church investigation independent of the bishop ended in an apology to the priest, but the bishop refuses to admit he and his predecessor were wrong in their trashing of the priest.
So the report is a mixed bag. There is a sub-set of the cases that are indeed cases of clerical abuse. But many, and perhaps most, have no substance. And, finally, the instigation for such abuse as did occur, and its cover-up, was a homosexual-tolerant culture in the seminaries. Neither the Pennsylvania AG nor the bishops will touch that.
This is precisely where the problem lies, Louis, it's only the honest pedophiles or child molesters that admit to their sins that we believe. You said it yourself, "the one I thought for sure would have been falsely accused, actually did confess to molestation incident to providing alcohol to minors." Do you know many child molesters who are willing to admit that they're perverts and have harmed children? They say that for every predator that is caught there is over 20 more that have not been reported or admitted to their guilt. Chances are all three of your aquaintances are guilty, but the other two are smart enough not to admit guilt unless they can find indisputable proof. Once again, denying priests, dead priests or Statute of Limitations cases do not equate to innocent priests or bishops.
How can you claim "a sub-set of the cases that are indeed cases of clerical abuse. But many, and perhaps most, have no substance." We're you there to witness what these creeps did in the secret darkness? Have you even read the report? There is plenty of substance, multiple victims and crimes and even more disgusting coverups and transfers of guilty priests. The one-tenth of the report I read was so disgusting that I haven't wanted to look at the rest. You just can't make-up your own conclusions as if they're facts.
KenW the accused have been examined by the church. They've had their "trial" and those that are dead are tried on the accuracy of the victims claims. Claims that are looked at again and again by therapists, insurors, their lawyers, church lawyers and victims lawyers. A large percentage of claims are past the statutes of limitations. So perpetrators get off scot free. And then we have chancers like you who think you have a political line that works i.e. the accused haven't had their day in court. They have a court of all who were involved in the act, in the cover up, and the getting away with soul murder. Your absurd desire to play innocent when your own last 3 Popes have apologized. for the crimes committed against us. The little that that's worth.
What if it was you? The actual university studied stats are that in the general public which includes pastors and rabbis, a little over 2% are pedophiles, among other professionals such as, doctors, lawyers it is 6%, among high school teachers 10%, among priests specifically a little over 1% so it hardly makes sense to taint majorities with a broad sweeping 'grand' jury report unless one has another motive. That is not justice.
The credibity of the report is diminished when the accused are not given proper due process. Shrill language and omission of contextual information only raises more doubts regarding the veracity of the report.
The "Church" did everything in their power to conceal the truth and avoid sending their sex offenders to the civil authorities. Many victims and parents were reporting their abuse years ago, which may have been within the Statute of Limitations and cases would be easier to prove against living priests, but the Church convinced authorities and at times DAs that they would take care of the problems. Perpetrators avoided prison time and victims were bribed to keep silent, all for the good of the Church. Now that the horrible extent of repeated sexual crimes against innocent children have been uncovered and exposed in just one state, and the role your bishops played in hiding the crimes, you're all calling foul and insist on due process. I think the only due process and justice your clergy deserves is that of the Almighty, when true and fair justice will be served. I pray that day comes soon before more childrens lives are destroyed by the wicked liars and deceivers of your cult of perverts and their excusers. servant Dan
So much damage done to the Catholic Church,,
Theresa, so much damage "the Church" has done to themselves and done to the innocent children whose lives they've totally destroyed. Nothing like destroying your own, you sick creeps.
Thank you for doing this searching and reporting. I know that some of the stories are true but there are also those that seem a little suspicious and without a priest being able to defend himself, we need to be very careful in our accusations.
Look -all of you who want to believe that the Church has done nothing but evil to people for centruies, need to know:
We have never whitewashed or slanted our history-its there for everyone to see. THose did wrong are acknowlegedand vilified. But-the Church cant throw its own to the wolves and expect to carry on in its God given work.
Christ is the Church -we are only invited to be a part of it-and for all the Judas' we've had , the Church still stands and always will, because it it CHrists's.
We've been reforming ourselves for 2000 years, and it will continue til the end of time.
The good people of the Church have been ignored and forgotten because no one sees any good in themselves of in any one else-so they crucify all they see-that's their problem, no one elses.
Ridiculous lies and not worth a comment.
Dan-It took me a while to figure out that you are/were the head or one of SNAP-
the now discredited 'victims rights' group.
It cannot be that you still are harping about 'victims' when you know that your own SNAP has lied about who 'victims' were and who the 'guilty ' priests were.
SNAP even got taken to court for defamming a priest and the priest WON!
I hope all priests who are falsely accused of abuse do this-Man, will they clean up/.
It is people and groups like the Media, SNAP and Shaprio that are taking this country down a path to fascist Marxist Liberalism-who excuse your own who abusers, and yet look for others to persecute even when you know there are some who are innocent.
They way you judge comes back to you -so I encourage you to be honest for once and start defending the truly innocent and go after the truly guilty.
Otherwise, there will be no justice for anyone -
GOd BLess you, Dan-
I hope God gives you peace like you never dreamed possible
If you want it, you'll have it-but you have to ask for it .
GS
Well Guy, you're sure showin' yourself to be like all the other typical lyin' catholics that post in this forum and the many phonies who falsely accused me from your cult. What's wrong with you people that you think you can lie about another and believe that makes it God's honest truth. Why do you think the media and all those the church has victimized are tired of your empty promises, ignorance and lies. How can we accept anything that comes from a catholic forked tongue.
I've never worked for SNAP, never ever. The fact that you've accused me of such, in an attempt to link me somehow to "fascist Marxist Liberalism" is downright cowardly, but why should that surprise me. Why not call me a Socialist Commie pig? Isn't fascism the polar opposite of Liberalism, or were you just throwing any accusation at me to see if something sticks?
Only the children were the "truly innocent" victims and the majority of your priests "truly guilty". Priests that sued or got off through denials, were many times guilty of other child rapes or molestations. I'm not in any way defending the few cases where priests were falsely accused. That would be terribly unfair to any innocent person. It is getting extremely hard to believe priests, bishops or cardinals, when there have been those who claimed innocence and later admitted to their guilt. It's very dfifficult to trust or believe a church plagued with liars, deceivers and deniers. Once a skunk has sprayed you multiple times, not many will listen to him convincing you that he's just a harmless squirrel with a stripe.
I'm already at peace with my Creator, more than you could ever dream possible, but true peace will not come until corrupt false religions and the wicked leaders of this world are wiped from the earth. Then we will have the fulfillment of peace, truth, justice and above all, love.
LMFAO! Dan is SNAP?
Jesus is this where the evil and the stupid coagulate?
Jesus: "Why yes Jim it is."
I thought so Jesus.
Jesus: " Jim did I hear right? Did someone accuse Dan of being SNAP?"
Yep JC they did.
"Did I really make people this stupid?"
I'm afraid so Jesus.
"I may need to rethink this whole religion thing. If humans are this dumb then inflicting religion on them was not the right way to go."
Well JC look you sent us Marx and they still don't get it. It really is all that corporatism they've been sold in school. And let's face it, many of the people here didn't get too far in education.
"That's why I sent Karl. he was put here to sort out filthy economies like capitalism that work well only for the elite and not the many. My many"
I get that JC. You were really the first communist or socialist. It's awfully hard to see you on the side of the fascists and other morons that roll through TMR. Good luck with enlightening them Jesus. You've been trying for 2000 years and they still would paint you as a royalist rather than the worker you were.
See Dan, Jesus talks to me too and he's a commie.
Jim, don't tell me that "the Church" has now declared you a saint? You're scarin' me, Jim. Next thing ya know you'll be havin' visions of the "Queen of Heaven" sporting a rainbow colored tutu.
Did you come to Jesus after watching a Genesis concert and the song "Jesus He Knows Me". If you haven't seen this spoof about phony christian hypocrisy, you should check it out on YouTube. It's pretty funny if there wasn't so much truth in the big front these phony religions and mega-churches put on, while brainwashing the 'mass'es. Excuse the pun.
If you can have imaginary friends so can I.
What is really sad, Jim, is that God and Christ would love to be your real friend. It is written, but I'll paraphrase, "It's a great sacrifice for someone to give up their life to save another. Yet Christ sacrificed his life to save the world." God's precious gift to us. And He loved us so much that, as with any gift, you can accept it or send it back. Rejecting His offer will never be the wiser choice, but that choice is all yours. Truly evil and unrepentant sinners in history have already rejected that gift. The truly wicked don't need God, so He most likely doesn't need them.
'Louis', on the 23rd, makes comments which are relevant to his neck of the woods. But I have to wonder if his observations have a wider relevance to the entire 'abuse scandal'? Because, in effect, with his first hand knowledge, he gives us insights, which is not distorted by others. Not distorted by artful lawyers and their opportunist clients. And not spun by media bias… to make it look as if the accused priest is always guilty. Virtually the same thing is happening in Australia. Because the wider public gets its views from the mainstream media. A media that failed to notice that Archbishop Wilson was convicted ot "covering up", despite there being no compelling evidence to show that an alleged conversation ever took place. A blatant example of a "kangaroo court". Just hope and pray that more people of 'Louis' speak up.
Malcolm, I refer you to my response to Louis on Aug. 23 @ 6:02pm. Why is it that you excusers and deniers think everyone else is wrong, the "media bias", "artful lawyers and their opportunist[ic] clients", instead of the truly guilty pedophile and perverted priests and their bishop "excusers and deniers". You catholic apologists are so terribly disingenuous. Wilson and his attorney say mandatory reporting was not necessary in the 70's. That would indicate that there was a conversation or conversations.
In the case of Cardinal McCarrick, he's demoted to Archbishop and "The vatican ordered McCarrick to a life of prayer and penance until the accusations are examined in a Church trial. Pope Francis ordered the former cardinal to stay in seclusion." Why isn't he behind bars until the civil courts can decide his fate. Vatican business as usual, not zero tolerence as they keep claiming. Boy are the creeps of "the Church" and all their excusers and deceivers in for a "Big day of reckoning and it ain't gonna be pretty". Malcolm, stop your ignorance and your claims of "kangaroo courts". Your cults in-house trials, failed Commissions and Tribunals, secrecies and coverups demonstrate the worst examples of "kangaroo courts" that have been going on for decades in your phony church. Why don't you hop back in your mother's pouch and keep your head in the darkness. servant of the One True God
Hello I'm the One True God of the servant's.
Don't believe a word this person says about me or your faithr or I'll burn you in Hell forever.
Best of Luck, God.
The "One True God" would like to inform Catholics that He believes it would be wise for you to listen to the advice of a God, Christ and Bible mocking homosexual atheist, if you would really like to know the truth about Me.
Bless you, Mrs. god aka Beelzebub
P.S. Forgive me that I can't even spell the word 'faithr', seeing that I have none.
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28
Fine that you think you can mess with me Jim, but it would be wise not to mess with the One who created you, who can annihilate you not only in this life, but for all eternity. It takes quite a bit of foolish pride to think you're tougher, wiser or stronger than the Almighty. Best of Luck.
Mathew's quite the little optimist. I never told him to say that.
Sincerly yours God the Father.
I spit roasted Mat for a couple of years over that mistranslation.
He should have kept stum as should all My real servants. I don't need anyone to write down anything. I'm God. Believe me I can write. I wrote the 10 Commandments right? No interpretations there. All the other Bible writers were doing just what Jim's doing here. Writing what's in their heads as to what I, God would say according to them.
Nice try, Jim, but you're not God, you don't believe in God, you think you can mock God, so you can't speak for God. NEVER EVER!
I don't have to believe in God to pretend I am him/them.I can also pretend to be Peter Pan or any other literary fantasy. God's easy. And why would God, if it existed, even care about being mocked by a microbe? For a God your's seems to be a neurotic. "Eeeewww the human ants don't love me they must burn forever." Go tell your God to get a life and to f off with the torturing.
DITTO! 9/14/18 @ 10:26pm DITTO and then some!
I would like you to explain to me how Peter, you know one of those "Bible writers [that] were doing just what Jim's doing here. Writing what's in their heads", had people like yourself pegged over 1900 years ago? And knew it would become worse in these last days.
"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires." 2 Peter 3:3
I would suggest to you that it might be wise for you to stick to "pretend[ing] to be Peter Pan". Maybe Tinker Bell will sprinkle some Fairy Dust on you.