Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee
The sexual abuse scandal in the Milwaukee Archdiocese is a series of sexual-abuse cases that occurred in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US.
Cover-ups of reports of sex abuse
In 1984, Archbishop Weakland responded to teachers in a Catholic school who were reporting sexual abuse by local priests by stating "any libelous material found in your letter will be scrutinized carefully by our lawyers." The Wisconsin Court of Appeals rebuked him for this, calling his remarks "abrupt" and "insensitive". In 1994, Weakland said those reporting sexual abuse were "squealing". He later apologized for the remarks.According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a deposition released in 2009 revealed that Weakland shredded reports about sexual abuse by priests. Weakland admitted allowing priests guilty of child sex abuse to continue as priests without warning parishioners or alerting the police. Weakland stated in his autobiography that in the early years of the sexual abuse scandal he did not understand that child sexual abuse was a crime.
2003 report on sexual abuse
Following public testimony by victims before a combined session of the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committee, a report on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee was published in September 2003. In response, Archbishop Timothy Dolan held a meeting with victims, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, and clergy.Dolan helped the archdiocese avoid bankruptcy resulting from the lawsuits, and closed a $3 million budget deficit in 2008. He later called the sexual abuse scandals the most challenging issue of his tenure in Milwaukee, saying "Does it haunt me? Yes it does. And I'm not afraid to admit that." Dolan said the church has made significant progress on addressing the scandal but that much work remains.
2011 bankruptcy filing
The archdiocese said that these additional cases would incur legal fees the diocese could not afford. The archdiocese has assets of about $98.4 million, but $90 million of that is already allocated. An attorney for some of the victims alleges that there were more than 8,000 cases of abuse by more than 100 staff.Renamed buildings
On March 18, 2019, it was announced that former Archbishops William Cousins and Rembert Weakland would have their names removed from buildings in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee due to their poor handling of sex abuse cases. The renaming of office center which were named in their honor commenced on March 22, 2019.Franciscan Friars controversy
On September 3, 2020, it was revealed that Wisconsin Franciscan Friar Paul West was extradited to Mississippi on sex abuse charges. Father James Gannon, the leader of a Wisconsin-based group of Franciscan Friars, had previous negotiated settlements for some of West's accusers in Mississippi. In addition to the Mississippi sex abuse charges, West has been charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child in Wisconsin.Prominent non-criminal cases
None of the clergy in this section were prosecuted in Wisconsin for sexual abuse crimes. In most cases, the crimes were too old to prosecute. However, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee determined that the accusations against these clergy were credible.Reverend. Frederick J. Bistricky
Starting in 1967, Reverend Frederick J. Bistricky was serving on the staff of St. Augustine Church in Milwaukee. In 1974, several parents wrote to the archdiocese about his behavior with their teenage boys. The boys had reported that Bistricky encouraged nudity among the boys and took photographs of them. He also walked around nude himself. After receiving this information, Archbishop Cousins reprimanded Bistricky. When his inappropriate behavior continued, the archdiocese ordered him to seek counseling. However, he remained in ministry, serving in four more parishes.The archdiocese rediscovered Bistricky's file in 1997 and Bishop Sklba restricted him from ministry and from any contact with minors. In March 2002, a man reported that Bistricky had sexually assaulting him for four years, starting in 1968. Prosecutors determined that the crime was beyond the Wisconsin statute of limitations. In November 2002, at a public meeting, Archbishop Timothy Dolan was informed that Bistricky was still celebrating mass in a parish. Dolan said he would stop that immediately. Another victim came forward in 2005.
Reverend Daniel A. Budzynski
In 1973, Reverend Daniel A. Budzynski was assigned to the pastoral staff of St. Peter Claver Parish in Sheboygan. That summer, the archdiocese received its first allegation that Budzynski had sexually abuse a boy. Bishop Cousins put him on a leave of absence, then reassigned him in 1974 to St. Joseph Parish in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was removed again in 1982 from Newman Parish in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and sent to a rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse and what was described as psychosexual problems.During a psychological evaluation in 1994, Budzynski admitted to abusing 30 young boys and girls. One victim reported that when was age seven in 1971, he forced her to perform oral sex on him in the church rectory. A second 12-year-old victim reported him fondling her genitals when they were alone in a car in the 1970s. An 18-year-old college student said that Budzynski started rubbing his chest one evening when they were consuming alcohol alone.
Reverend Lawrence Murphy
In 1950, Reverend Lawrence Murphy joined the faculty of the St. John School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin. By 1963, he had been named its director. In 1973, the archdiocese received its first report from several former students that Murphy had sexually abused them at St. John. The position of the archdiocese was that Murphy was too important to St. John to be removed. It was also reported to local law enforcement, but they chose not to investigate it.By early 1974, the archdiocese was receiving numerous reports about Murphy, prompting his removal as director in May 1974 and from all school ties that summer. Archbishop Cousins put him on a leave of absence, which became an indefinite suspension from ministry. The archdiocese was sued by several victims in 1975; the archdiocese settled with them.Murphy was finally evaluated by a psychotherapist in December 1993. During the interview, he admitted molesting hearing impaired boys at St. John from 1952 to 1974. Murphy died in 1998; he was never charged in any criminal case.
Several of Murphy's victims share their stories in 2006. They described being assaulted during confession and in the middle of the night. Many of them were unable to communicate with their hearing parents. Their connection to them was Murphy, who understood American Sign Language, preventing them from reaching out for help. Murphy admitted to abusing 30 boys, but some of his victims thought that was an underestimate. By March 2010, there were four lawsuits against the archdiocese regarding Murphy.
Criminal cases
This is a list of several priests, a nun and a religious brother who were convicted of sexual abuse crimes in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.Reverend James L. Arimond
In 1989, a family notified the archdiocese that their son had been sexually abused by Reverend James Arimond when the boy was age 16 during the late 1980s. The archdiocese immediately suspended Arimond from ministry. He pleaded no contest in 1990 to fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 45 days in the House of Correction under the work-release program.Reverend Peter Burns
The archdiocese in 1986 assigned Reverend Peter Burns as an assistant pastor to St. Peter Claver Parish in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. his first posting since ordination. In 1987, Burns admitted to Archbishop Richard Sklba that he had fondled a 13-year-old boy from the parish. Sklba sent Burns to a therapist, but allowed him to remain at St. Peter Claver without notifying the parishioners. Burns continued to entertain young boys at the parish rectory.In September 1991, Burns was arrested after another man came forward with sexual abuse allegations. The second victim said that when he was age 13, Burns touched his genitals during a sleepover at the St. Peter Claver rectory. After Burns' arrest, the original victim restated his original accusation. Burns pleaded no contest in 1992 to second-degree sexual assault charge on the second victim and was sentenced to nine months in jail and 10 years probation.
Reverend William J. Effinger
Beginning in 1973, the archdiocese assigned Reverend William Effinger to the pastoral staff of St. Francis De Sales Parish in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. A parishioner at St. Francis reported to Archbishop Rembert Weakland in April 1979 that Effinger had molested their son a few days ago. A month later, Weakland received a similar report about an incident in 1977. In response, he removed Effinger from St. Francis and sent him to counseling. However, in July 1979, Effinger was assigned to a new parish, Holy Name in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as an associate pastor.In 1983, the vicar for clergy reported that Effinger was allowing boys on sleepovers at the Holy Name gym to drink wine and beer. The vicar also said that he was bringing some boys to his cabin on weekends. A counselor with the archdiocese advised that Effinger was abusing alcohol and needed help. He was arrested on driving under the influence charges in 1987 and sent to a rehabilitation center in 1989. Effinger remained in ministry at Holy Name Parish.
The archdiocese in June 1992 received a second report of the two sexual abuse allegations from 1979, but did not suspend Effinger from ministry until they were reported in the news media in September 1992. He was indicted in January 1993 of second-degree sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at Holy Name between 1987 and 1988. Effinger pleaded no contest in July 1993 and was sentence to ten years in prison. Nine other individuals voiced accusations against Effinger after his conviction.