Since Bishop Thomas Doran was assigned to oversee operations of the Diocese of Rockford, he has spent millions of dollars – donated by parishioners like you – in court fees, attorney fees, settlements, etc. relating to child sexual abuse by clergy.
Doran used to retain the services of the high-powered law firm of Hinshaw and Culbertson with offices in Chicago and Rockford. Since then, he has hired his lead attorney from the firm, Ellen Lynch, to work for him full-time as his legal counsel and as his Human Resources director. If a parishioner contacts the diocese to file a complaint against a diocesan or parish employee or volunteer, Doran’s attorney is the one who takes the call. The public is strongly discouraged by victims advocate groups from calling the diocese with complaints of misconduct. Instead, call the police or local media outlets and stop donating money to the Church.
Doran, through the services of Lynch and others, has been found in contempt of court for refusing to turn over court-ordered documents relating to a since-convicted priest, Mark Campobello. Prosecutors requested Campobello’s personnel file and transfer records as part of their investigation into the Campobello’s crimes against children and the diocese’s knowledge of them. With parishioners’ donated funds, Doran paid a court fine and appealed to a higher court in an attempt to get out of releasing the files. The diocese argued releasing the files would be against Canon (Church) law and in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. They argued they didn’t have to give up the file because of the separation of church and state, patient-doctor privilege, confessional privilege, and any other excuse they could dream up.
The 2nd District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled against the diocese’s arguments and ordered the files be released to the judge overseeing the case for further review. According to the ruling, Church law and the First Amendment do not excuse Church officials from following the law like everyone else and that criminal matters are not the same as theological matters. The ruling found that every conversation between a priest and his bishop does not constitute a “confession” as the diocese had argued.
Bishop Doran, a “Canon law expert” was involved in the drafting of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, Texas in June 2002. The Charter promises openness, transparency, and cooperation with civil investigations into allegations of child molestation. At every turn during both the criminal and civil cases of Campobello and the Rockford Diocese, Doran and his attorneys resisted turning over files and information and pushed to have related documents sealed.
At the start of the civil case, the victims’ attorney was surprised at how anxious Lynch was to settle the case. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Lynch asked for an amount and was ready to write a check. She complained that the plaintiffs’ attorney would not give her a number. That’s how Bishop Doran operates. Many victims sue in an effort to gain truth and information as well as to prevent others from also being victimized as well as compensation for the crimes committed against them due, in part, to the negligence of those who facilitated the criminal abuse by transferring child predators around. In the Campobello case, Doran and Lynch didn’t want to be bothered with any search for the truth. They preferred to write a check and sweep the dirty little facts under the rug. That’s what they’ve always done in the past and they are only able to do it because parishioners keep giving them money without accountability.
Doran eventually settled for $2.2 million for two victims without any consequence to himself or other culpable personnel of the diocese. This was after spending millions of dollars on court and attorney fees, unnecessarily dragging it out by fighting every single request made by the victims’ attorney. It’s referred to as Deny, Delay, and Defend. For the Church, it’s not about getting to the truth and compensating victims accordingly; it’s about denying any wrongdoing, delaying the process until the already wounded victims reach the point of giving up, and defending secrecy and pedophiles no matter what the cost. It goes along with Pray, Pay and Obey for the laity.
Since the diocese is anything but transparent in its financial operations, parishioners cannot be sure how much has been paid or for what. In 2004, the Rockford Diocese came out with a “Review of Diocesan Finances – 2003”. This report listed operating expenses for such things as “Educational costs”, “Parish Operations”, and “Social Services”. There was no ‘piece of the pie’ for “Attorney and Court fees” or “Sex Abuse Settlements”. A call was made to the author of the report, Wayne M. Lenell, as he had invited questions be directed to him. Lenell is the Director for Financial and Administrative Services for the Rockford Diocese. After hearing what the line of questioning would be for Mr. Lenell, the caller was told he “cannot take the call” and “would not be returning the call”. Parishioners cannot rely on Church officials to be honest with them regarding the cost or handling of child abuse by clergy cases. Parishioners must accept that their well-intended donations are being used to hide criminal activity against children, defend and support the perpetrators, and falsely promote the bishop as a compassionate person.
Rockford Diocese Sex Abuse Cases
Harlan Clapsaddle abused at least three boys, all brothers, while serving at St. Anne’s parish in Dixon. Doran continues to financially support Clapsaddle who currently lives in Florida. Doran made the boys sit through intensive questioning of their abuse. The interrogation took place inside a church. Doran ‘offered them counseling’ but only with the condition that he would ‘monitor’ the counseling and receive recordings, transcripts, or reports of the counseling sessions so he could “keep track of the progress”. The boys refused Doran’s conditions and were left to seek and pay for counseling on their own. The diocese paid a total of $82,000 for all three victims, before attorney fees.
Ted Feely served at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Rockford as a Franciscan friar. The Rockford Diocese has acknowledged the abuse he inflicted upon two boys but has fought one of the men in court as it always does. Feely is deceased but his victims are still recovering from his crimes. Bishop Doran has made no attempt to find other victims.
James Gaynor was a priest at St. Rita of Cascia in Aurora when he is accused of repeatedly molesting a boy while he was 4 and 5 years old. Gaynor has since died of AIDS and Doran has known of the allegations since 2000 yet has done next to nothing to assist the victim or find more victims of Gaynor.
Edwin Banach was a priest at St. Anthony of Padua when he allegedly sexually abused two boys. These allegations have been known by Doran since 2002 but the bishop has done next to nothing to help the victims or find other victims. In fact, Doran uses the fact that Banach, like Feely and Gaynor, is deceased as an excuse to drop the matter. Meanwhile, he has made little to no attempt to find more victims or to seek out witnesses, records, etc. The Catholic Church is expert when it comes to cover-ups.
Richard Kuhl was accused of molesting at least six young girls in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The Illinois Statute of Limitations prevents many victims from seeking justice in the court system but the trauma inflicted upon them at such a tender age is so severe that it takes years and decades before they can so much as acknowledge it and go public with the allegations. By that time, the Statute of Limitations has often expired. Bishop Doran has joined with other bishops in spending millions of parishioners’ dollars to fight efforts to change the laws on Statutes of Limitations.
William Joffe is another deceased priest alleged to have molested children. He was assigned to St. Mary’s parish in Woodstock, St. Patrick parish in Dixon, St. Mary parish in Morrison, and the Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling. Again, Doran offered counseling for Joffe’s victims under his own terms and this time Doran has made more of an attempt to seek out more victims. However, while Doran has allowed a Campobello victim and her family to be named, blamed, and bullied on the internet by Church employees, volunteers, and parishioners, it is no wonder why more victims do not come forward to seek help.
Mark Campobello was a priest in residence at St. Peter parish in Genevawhen he sexually molested at least two students. He pleaded guilty and served nearly 3 ½ years in prison. The parish pastor, Joseph Jarmoluk, has been involved with a web site that attacks the victims and encourages the stalking and harassment of other parishioners who publicly supported them. One of the men involved with the web site is a convicted confidence man with a long history of portraying himself as someone he is not and bilking investors out of millions of dollars, according to Illinois and Texas authorities. Doran ordered Jarmoluk to disassociate himself with the web site and the filming of a phony documentary about him called “Forsaken”. Jarmoluk always denies any involvement with the anonymous web site which is filled with documents stamped “Jarmoluk File” on them; he posed for pictures and granted a staged interview. Jarmoluk has defied precepts placed upon him by Doran and Doran has turned a blind eye to this defiance. Jarmoluk continues to serve as pastor of the parish and his web site continues to mock, harass, and bully innocent people. Complaints made to the diocese of the harassment by parish employees and volunteers have fallen on deaf ears in Rockford, despite repeated violations of the written Code of Conduct of the Rockford Diocese. Remember, Ellen Lynch handles these cases.
David Huber was assigned to St. Mary’s parish in East Dubuque while under investigation for misconduct with children, sexual in nature. Rockford Diocese officials had known for many years of speculation about Huber’s inappropriate behaviors but Doran didn’t remove him until the civil authorities were called. In a letter read aloud to the St. Mary’s congregation, the diocese informed parishioners only that Huber had been removed for “personal reasons”. Doran never attempted to find more victims or notify members of other parishes where Huber had previously been assigned.
Find out more about these priests and their cases at bishopaccountability.org .
What do Survivors and Others Think of Bishop Doran’s Performance
as the head of the Rockford Diocese?“It’s sad that Bishop Doran seems to be more concerned with the well-being of the pedophile priests than he is with the victims, the affected parishes or the opinions of the people who make up the Church and contribute to it with their weekly donations. One wonders what, if anything, he took away from the 2002 bishops’ conference.” – Kevin Misslich, a former Rockford resident who was abused, along with his brother, by Rockford’s Harlan Clapsaddle in the 1970’s.
“It sickens me to see the lack of compassion in the Church’s response to the victims. The response I received from the [ Rockford] diocese was wholly inadequate.” -Ronald Zaha, abused survivor of Rockford’s James Gaynor.
“I have more respect for organized crime. At least they admitted what they were.” – Donald Bondick, survivor of Rockford pedophile priest Ted Feely
“It only makes sense for a bishop to come forward if he listens with his heart and says we have a perpetrator; and to also let the victims know there is help available. That’s the Christian thing to do. Will they do it? That’s what’s so frustrating.” – Donald Bondick, abused survivor of Rockford’s Ted Feely.
“It’s our contention that when the framers of the Constitution were making the effort to protect religious freedom we don’t believe it was intended to cover up and conceal sexual abuse of children.” – Barbara Blaine, survivor and founder of Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests, responding to Bishop Doran’s courtroom antics.
“It’s hard to be ‘open and transparent’ when all your efforts seem directed at keeping the public in the dark. What amazes me even more is the willingness for so many churchgoers to just accept their leaders’ actions without question. The secrecy of the leaders and complacency of the followers in the past are the two biggest reasons the church has such a problem today. If those conditions don’t change – and it appears they haven’t – then no one should be surprised by more problems in the future.” – Bill Page, former columnist for the Kane County Chronicle.
“Mark Campobello is a sexual predator, and he preyed on young, impressionable girls. If anything, you’d think the diocese would want to open all of his records for review by authorities to determine if he had committed other such acts. To keep them locked away, indeed, to fight their release, could mean important information is being withheld. Church members can’t be blamed if they start to wonder just whose side their leaders are on.” – Kane County Chronicle editorial dated August 17, 2004
“But in the court of public opinion – which matters to a church trying to restore confidence among much of its own membership – it is understandable if some people conclude that segments of the Catholic Church have learned little or nothing from its devastating sex abuse scandals.” – Daily Herald editorial dated May 9, 2004.
“We reject the [ Rockford] Diocese’s attempt to conjure a right to secrecy, and with it immunity from the State’s subpoena power, simply by pointing to the veil it has cast over itself.” – The 2 nd District Appellate Court of Illinois in a ruling dated June 2004.
“The Diocese also claims a first amendment interest in not exposing to the public the ‘religious thoughts and ideas of members of the Church’ that supposedly are contained in the intervention committee and misconduct officer records. Like the State, we cannot quite envision what theology could add to the investigation of alleged acts whose heinousness is obvious to the naked moral sense.” – The 2 nd District Appellate Court of Illinois in ruling dated June 2004.
“If the [Rockford] diocese and [St. Peter of Geneva] parish officials haven’t done anything wrong and their internal records are benign, then why is the diocese fighting discovery and breaking speed records in attempting to enter into settlement negotiations to make this case go away? Doesn’t the diocese have more noble causes in which to invest its money than its own lawyers?” – Frank Bochte, resident of Geneva.
“For attorney Lynch to say she is protecting the girls is disingenuous. Lynch is protecting many adults who made a lot of serious mistakes and have been busy the last couple of years trying to make the public think otherwise.” – Mary Lu O’Halloran, resident of Geneva, Illinois.
“If parishioners want to continue to pay [attorney Ellen] Lynch’s legal fees so she can continue her quest to deny justice to Campobello’s victims, that’s a decision each parishioner has to live with. I hope each parishioner who chooses to support our diocese and/or parish with their checkbooks thanks God that their son or daughter has never had to suffer as a result of a sexually abusive priest…and asks themselves if the actions of our diocese as played out in Judge Brown’s courtroom are truly reflective of a compassionate church.” – Frank Bochte, resident of Geneva, Illinois.
“In the courtroom the strategy was clear to the dozens of us that cared enough to witness for ourselves what was going on. Intimidation! It is the same strategy being exercised all over the country. Hierarchy hires attorneys; they create delays to have a case drag out for protracted periods of time so that the faithful get tired and passively give up. Intimidation is the clout to wear down the faithful.” - Janet Hauter, resident of South Barringon Illinois, referring to Bishop Doran’s courtroom antics in the Campobello case.
“There is an obvious lack of leadership at St. Peter’s and in our [ Rockford] diocese. [Pastor Joe] Jarmoluk answers to our bishop, who in turn answers to our pope. In other words, Jarmoluk can do whatever he wants with no one but the bishop to call him to task. Many who dare question our clergy or diocese are shunned, harassed and called ‘intrinsically evil’.” – John O’Halloran, resident of Geneva Illinois.
“Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. Too many Catholics are on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing….. The situation will not change unless and until the throngs of good, decent Catholics rise up to stop supporting the status quo….. The question isn’t when the cover-ups will stop. The question is: When will the Catholic faithful remove their blinders and say enough is enough?” – Frank Bochte, resident of Geneva Illinois
“What distresses me the most is the majority of Catholics are like the three see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil monkeys…. It is time to call Bishop Thomas Doran and his team of supporters to accountability and transparency. The time has come to face the music, and the violins are warming up.” – Janet Hauter, resident of South Barrington, Illinois.
“Pull your heads out of the sand, learn and demand the truth for yourself, and stop relying on hierarchy to do your thinking for you. You are adult enough to demand responsibility from yourself for your thinking, and responsibility for telling the truth from those who are the hierarchy in your church.” – M. Klemenz, resident of Elgin, Illinois.
“Some will argue it is wrong to stop giving to the parish and that it serves no purpose. I, and others, contend that so long as a diocese and a parish act in a way that is so inconsistent with the principles of our Catholic faith, we cannot in good conscience support them financially.” – Frank Bochte, resident of Geneva, Illinois.
News Articles regarding the Rockford Diocese
Rockford Diocese (unenforced) Code of Conduct
Rockford Diocese (unenforced) Volunteer Acknowledgment Form
Rockford Diocese Public Relations Statement on $2.2 million settlement
FireThePope.com
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