Baltimore Sun article states that Catholic officials KNEW...

[KSweeley]

about the Baltimore area Catholic teacher who was a serial abuser who is currently in jail requesting release, John Joseph Merzbacher.

Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...638,full.story

That incident is one of several outlined in court documents, analyzed in a Baltimore Sun investigation, indicating that Weisman and other Catholic officials were aware of the lay teacher's sexual abuse of students in the 1970s but did not report it until Merzbacher was criminally investigated in the 1990s.

Recent accounts from more than two dozen former pupils and a review of hundreds of pages of documents describe several situations in which critics claim the church had opportunities to protect schoolchildren from Merzbacher, but did not notify police of the allegations against the teacher.

And ain't this something, the Catholic Church refused to allow this nun, Weisman, to be interviewed for this article regarding what she allegedly saw but did not report:

The screaming girl thought she was about to be rescued, according to court records that describe the scene at the Catholic Community Middle School in Locust Point. But Sister Eileen Weisman, who had a key to the room, merely chastised the teacher, John Joseph Merzbacher, for locking the door.

"[Weisman] looked down and her exact words were 'John, oh John, I told you never to lock the classroom door,'" Linda Tiburzi, who described the incident in a civil court deposition in the mid-1990s, said in a recent interview. "And then she looked at me and said 'I never want you staying after school again.' ... That's all she said, that's all she did, there was nothing, there was no investigation, there were no questions."

Weisman, a nun with the School Sisters of Notre Dame, denied knowledge of the abuse in 1994 in her only public comments on the matter. Catholic officials did not make her available for interviews for this article.

[octoburn]

From your link ~

Weisman and two archdiocesan priests — identified in court documents as Herbert Derwart and Richard Tillman — were involved in firing another teacher who said he brought concerns about Merzbacher to them in 1974. The officials allegedly told the teacher, Gary Homberg, that he could continue in his position "only under the condition [he] made no mention to anyone of [his] observations of John Merzbacher's sexual misconduct, the allegations and rumors about John Merzbacher, or the school's or church's knowledge of these allegations."

That she is still a member of the Roman Catholic clergy and still seemingly being protected by them speak volumes. WWJD?

How completely disgusting on so many levels.

[MDCivilServant]

about the Baltimore area Catholic teacher who was a serial abuser who is currently in jail requesting release, John Joseph Merzbacher.

Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...638,full.story

And ain't this something, the Catholic Church refused to allow this nun, Weisman, to be interviewed for this article regarding what she allegedly saw but did not report:

There should be an investigation to determine if the nun knew about the abuse and protected the abuser. If she did she should be prosecuted.

If found guilty then Sister Eileen Weisman should be put in a jail cell.

[KSweeley]

From your link ~



That she is still a member of the Roman Catholic clergy and still seemingly being protected by them speak volumes. WWJD?

How completely disgusting on so many levels.

Totally agree with you 100%. I was raised as a Roman Catholic by my parents, learning about the history of the Roman Catholic Church (the crusades where the RCC sent out armies to kill any non-Catholic), the Pope during the time of Hitler and the Nazis signed a secret agreement with Hitler that the RCC would not interfere with the Nazis, now more recently the sexual abuse and molestation scandal with the RCC hierarchy covering it up and not reporting it to police here in the U.S. and their bigotry of LGBT people and females, I want to completely distance myself far away from the RCC seeing their their history and bigotry against LGBT people and females (wonder why there's no female priests or archbishops within the RCC? Bigotry, that's why).

[octoburn]

i do not have a problem with the exclusion of women from the clergy in the RCC since they have a right to their own beliefs and each of us has the right to not follow them.

I do have a problem with what seems to be the organizational culture of denial, cover~up and protection of sexual abusers. While it is not unique to the RCC, cases like this one indicate that the protection of those involved continues there. Such accusations need to be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted IF warranted.

[MDCivilServant]

...the Pope during the time of Hitler and the Nazis signed a secret agreement with Hitler that the RCC would not interfere with the Nazis, .

I didn't realize the purpose of this thread was to open up a rant on the Catholic Church. I never heard about a secret deal between Hitler and the Church. Do you have a link.

The deal must have so secret that Father Maximilian Kolbe was never told.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe

"At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from the camp, prompting SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker in order to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife! My children!", Kolbe volunteered to take his place.[16]

In his prison cell, Kolbe celebrated Mass each day and sang hymns with the prisoners.[citation needed] He led the other condemned men in song and prayer and encouraged them by telling them they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. Each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe remained alive. The guards wanted the bunker emptied and they gave Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Some who were present at the injection say that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection.[17] His remains were cremated on 15 August, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.[2]"

[Just Pondering]

A tragic Catholic story from the 1970's served up for Sunday breakfast.

With everything going on in the world, why was this the front page headline on today's Sunday Sun?

[demopublican]

A tragic Catholic story from the 1970's served up for Sunday breakfast.

With everything going on in the world, why was this the front page headline on today's Sunday Sun?

I just wish it was an above the fold headline for every day from 1970 to present.
This freaking predator is trying to get out of prison.

[KSweeley]

I didn't realize the purpose of this thread was to open up a rant on the Catholic Church. I never heard about a secret deal between Hitler and the Church. Do you have a link.

The deal must have so secret that Father Maximilian Kolbe was never told.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe

"At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from the camp, prompting SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker in order to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife! My children!", Kolbe volunteered to take his place.[16]

In his prison cell, Kolbe celebrated Mass each day and sang hymns with the prisoners.[citation needed] He led the other condemned men in song and prayer and encouraged them by telling them they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. Each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe remained alive. The guards wanted the bunker emptied and they gave Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Some who were present at the injection say that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection.[17] His remains were cremated on 15 August, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.[2]"

Here's a book regarding the secret agreement between the RCC and the Pope, a true eye opener: http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Pope-S...itler%27s+pope

The "explosive" (The New York Times) bestseller--now with a new introduction by the author

When Hitler's Pope , the shocking story of Pope Pius XII that "redefined the history of the twentieth century" (The Washington Post) was originally published, it sparked a firestorm of controversy both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Now, award-winning journalist John Cornwell has revisited this seminal work of history with a new introduction that both answers his critics and reaffirms his overall thesis that Pius XII, now scheduled to be canonized by the Vatican, weakened the Catholic Church with his endorsement of Hitler--and sealed the fate of the Jews in Europe."

[Daan]

Here's a book regarding the secret agreement between the RCC and the Pope, a true eye opener: http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Pope-S...itler%27s+pope

The book you reference has been reviewed on Amazon by 276 people and has received 105 one star ratings.

The book, "Hitler's Pope" has also received other criticism:

"errors of fact and ignorance of context [that] appear on almost every page."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler'...nwell.27s_work
Quote

With respect to Cornwell's allegations of antisemitism, Rychlak stated that "When Pius XII died in 1958, there were tributes from virtually every Jewish group around the world".[18][19]

Rychlak also alleged that Cornwell manipulated the photograph on the front cover of the American edition of the book, and incorrectly dated the photo as having been taken in March 1939, the month that Pacelli was made Pope. Rychlak charged that this had been deliberately in order to give the impression that Pius had just visited Hitler when, in fact, the photo had been taken in 1927 as Pius was leaving a reception held for German President Paul von Hindenburg.[20] Robert Royal has also repeated this allegation.[21]

In his 2005 book The Myth of Hitler's Pope, the historian and rabbi David G. Dalin countered Cornwell.[22] Dalin suggested that Yad Vashem should honor Pope Pius XII as a "Righteous Gentile," concluding that "[t]he anti-papal polemics of ex-seminarians like Garry Wills and John Cornwell...of ex-priests like James Carroll, and or other lapsed or angry liberal Catholics exploit the tragedy of the Jewish people during the Holocaust to foster their own political agenda of forcing changes on the Catholic Church today."[23] Dalin called the book's conclusions "unverified" and "strongly anti-religious".[24] Eugene Fisher, who has a PhD in Hebrew culture and education, said it was a "sad commentary on the secular media that this anti-Catholic screed was ever published".[24]

End Quote


There are opposing opinions, from credible sources, regarding Pope Pius XII.

.

[lane17]

I just wish it was an above the fold headline for every day from 1970 to present.
This freaking predator is trying to get out of prison.

He should never see the light of day again and the sister should be right in the cell with him.
However, what I don't understand is why didn't any parents go to the school and confront him for what he did to their children? They must have known.

[Balmerboh]

Here's a book regarding the secret agreement between the RCC and the Pope, a true eye opener: http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Pope-S...itler%27s+pope

The State of Pennsylvania also should be just as ashamed for its role in actively covering up Jerry Sandusky's crimes.

The RCC, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore, has royally screwed this up for decades.

Religious and secular institutions both have disgusting people within them.

[johnpolitics]

The coverup of the abuse scandal is one reason why gay marriage passed. The priest told the flock what to do and the flock said "flock you."

[infinite looper]

you can't be serious. gay marriage passed because it's the right thing to do. how does it feel to be under the tide of change? you gotta come up for air sooner or later, son.