‘Sovereign Citizen’ Who Shot at Police

Woman Sentenced for Harboring ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Who Shot at Police

Amplify’d from www.splcenter.org

Woman Sentenced for Harboring ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Who Shot at Police

A Michigan woman has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for harboring a sovereign citizen who fired shots at Florida state troopers when they tried to stop him last year, an act that once again shows the danger faced by officers when they encounter extremists from the bizarre world of sovereign citizenry.

Yvonne Theresa Clark, 35, of Royal Oak, Mich., pleaded guilty on Friday to interfering with an officer and conspiracy to interfere with an officer. She was one of five people arrested for harboring Brody J. Whitaker, 37, a month after he opened fire on two troopers who pulled him over on Interstate 75 in Florida’s Sumter County. As part of a plea agreement, Clark will spend 90 days in jail.

According to news reports, Whitaker claimed to be a sovereign citizen almost immediately after his arrest, declaring during his April 2010 arraignment, as his public defender urged him not to speak: “I am a sovereign. I am not an American.” While his motives for firing on state troopers are unknown, Whitaker might have felt – as sovereign citizens do – that the police had no authority over him and he was resisting a tyrannical government. After firing four shots at the officers, Whitaker managed to escape on foot. U.S. marshals eventually tracked him to a residence in Winsted, Conn., where he was captured by SWAT teams and heavily armed state troopers.

No one was injured in Whitaker’s antigovernment rebellion. That wasn’t the case in West Memphis, Ark., where Jerry and Joe Kane, father-and-son sovereign citizens traveling the country on the seminar circuit, shot and killed police officers Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans during a traffic stop on Interstate 40. After shooting Paudert and Evans, a scene recorded in graphic detail by the officers’ dashboard camera, the Kanes fled in their white minivan and were killed hours later in a shootout with police.

Sovereign citizens, who likely number in the hundreds of thousands nationwide, are a particular brand of antigovernment extremists who believe they – not judges, juries, law enforcement or elected officials – get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore. While Clark was not determined to be a sovereign citizen during her sentencing, she was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment. Whitaker, who also claimed he was the “grandson of God,” fought his extradition but ultimately was returned to Florida to face criminal charges. Read more at www.splcenter.org

 

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Chicago school usurps parental authority

Amplify’d from www.onenewsnow.com

Chicago school usurps parental authority

Bill Bumpas - OneNewsNow

In an extreme example of the "nanny state" mentality, a public school in Chicago is forbidding students to bring lunches from home and is ordering them to only eat food from the school cafeteria.

The principal at Little Village Academy (K-8) on Chicago's West Side told the Chicago Tribune that making students eat the cafeteria food, unless they have a medical excuse, is intended to protect them from their own unhealthful food choices.  "Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at school," said Elsa Carmona. "It's about nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve [in the lunchroom]. It's milk versus a Coke."   While the administrator makes the nutrition argument, former public school teacher Dr. Karen Gushta -- research coordinator at Coral Ridge Ministries and author of The War on Children: How Pop Culture and Public Schools Put Our Kids at Risk -- tells OneNewsNow it usurps parental authority.   "It's another effort to take away parental rights and the right of a parent to make decisions about what is in the best interest for the welfare of their own child, and place that right in the hand of an administrator or some government agent or whomever it may be," she laments.   Gushta contends there is a growing effort by government officials to take away rights -- all in the name of what is good for us. Parents especially, she says, need to connect the dots and be aware of what could come down the pike. "Today it's food choices and maybe school choices," she suggests. "Tomorrow it may be how you choose to discipline your child or where you want your child to attend worship."   The Tribune article also points out that the federal government pays school districts for each free or reduced-price lunch served -- meaning schools that ban homemade lunches also put more money in the pockets of district food providers.   What do you think is the real motivation behind schools' decision to ban lunches from home -- and force students to eat cafeteria food? Vote in our poll

Other Stories in Education Returning 'kidnapped' children to their parents Cure for education -- break union power School official welcomes Bible's influence A foundation of biblical truth 'School choice' wins a big one Walmart case could open floodgates For cryin' out loud! School event counters 'gay'-themed days Obama 'hypocritical' on school choice Unions fight to keep money flowing School backs off promotion of Eastern mysticism 7th-grader stands up for faith Reauthorization of school vouchers on docket Incarcerated parents' treatment 'appalling' Students get federal aid ... so colleges raise prices Teacher pushes true history in ethnic studies Homosexual indoctrination bill advances in CA Charter schools tied to Muslim group? 3rd-grader denied playground witnessing Homeschoolers boot creationist Read more at www.onenewsnow.com

 

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Man Abused Sleeping Woman on Plane

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Abusing Sleeping Woman on International Flight

Amplify’d from newark.fbi.gov

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Abusing Sleeping Woman on International Flight

NEWARK, NJ—A Berkeley Heights, N.J., man admitted today that he sexually abused a woman who was sleeping while on board a flight from Hong Kong to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Ramesh Advani, 64, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to an information charging him with abusive sexual contact.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made during Advani's guilty plea proceeding:

On May 21, 2010, Advani was seated next to a woman while on board an overnight Continental flight from Hong Kong to Newark. While the plane was in the air over international waters, the victim fell asleep in her seat, covered with a blanket. While she was asleep, Advani reached his hand under the blanket and sexually abused her.

When the woman awoke, she realized what was happening and got up from her seat to inform the flight's crew members.

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all sexual abuse cases that occur in American airplanes over international waters, because such crimes are not within the jurisdiction of any state.

The count to which Advani pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for August 1, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for the investigation of this case. The president has designated April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in order to highlight an issue that impacts our society and to challenge citizens to learn more and become involved in finding solutions to a collective problem.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara Llanes and Zach Intrater of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: John Arlia, Esq., New York Read more at newark.fbi.gov

 

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Man Abused Sleeping Woman on Plane

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Abusing Sleeping Woman on International Flight

Amplify’d from newark.fbi.gov

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Abusing Sleeping Woman on International Flight

NEWARK, NJ—A Berkeley Heights, N.J., man admitted today that he sexually abused a woman who was sleeping while on board a flight from Hong Kong to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Ramesh Advani, 64, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to an information charging him with abusive sexual contact.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made during Advani's guilty plea proceeding:

On May 21, 2010, Advani was seated next to a woman while on board an overnight Continental flight from Hong Kong to Newark. While the plane was in the air over international waters, the victim fell asleep in her seat, covered with a blanket. While she was asleep, Advani reached his hand under the blanket and sexually abused her.

When the woman awoke, she realized what was happening and got up from her seat to inform the flight's crew members.

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all sexual abuse cases that occur in American airplanes over international waters, because such crimes are not within the jurisdiction of any state.

The count to which Advani pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for August 1, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for the investigation of this case. The president has designated April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in order to highlight an issue that impacts our society and to challenge citizens to learn more and become involved in finding solutions to a collective problem.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara Llanes and Zach Intrater of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: John Arlia, Esq., New York Read more at newark.fbi.gov

 

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Mayor and Aide Sentenced in New Jersey

Former Assemblyman and Perth Amboy, New Jersey Mayor Joseph Vas and Aide Melvin Ramos Sentenced to Prison for Mail and Federal Election Fraud

Amplify’d from newark.fbi.gov

Former Assemblyman and Perth Amboy, New Jersey Mayor Joseph Vas and Aide Melvin Ramos Sentenced to Prison for Mail and Federal Election Fraud

NEWARK, NJ—Former Assemblyman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas and his longtime aide, Melvin Ramos, were sentenced today to 78 and 37 months in prison, respectively, for corruptly misusing Vas' position as mayor to steal affordable housing funds and for committing federal election fraud, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

The defendants were convicted following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, who also imposed the sentences today in Newark federal court. Vas, 56, and Ramos, 55, both of Perth Amboy, were each convicted of two counts of mail fraud for misappropriating $360,000 in affordable housing funds. The jury also convicted Vas of one count of fraud and misapplication of funds in connection with unlawfully misapplying $90,000 in low income housing funds; one count of making false statements to FBI agents; and one count of accepting contributions to a federal candidate in the names of others. The jury also convicted Ramos of one count of making contributions to a federal candidate in the names of others and two counts of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission ("FEC"). The jury acquitted Vas and Ramos of four counts of mail fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Vas and Ramos misused Vas' position and authority as mayor to assist Vas in selling a 12-unit Perth Amboy apartment building on DeKalb Avenue in Perth Amboy. As part of the scheme, Vas bought the building in December 2005 for approximately $660,000—well under the $955,000 property appraisal Vas had obtained. Five months later, Vas "flipped" the property to a contractor for approximately $950,000. To induce the contractor to buy the property, Vas and Ramos assured him that a significant amount of affordable housing funding would be available to offset the cost of renovating the building. After selling the property, Vas directed city employees to submit a resolution to the Perth Amboy City Council to authorize $360,000 in funds for the rehabilitation of the property. City Council members voted to approve the resolution on June 14, 2006. Though Vas was present at the council meeting, he did not disclose any facts regarding the profit he received from the sale.

Vas also misused his authority to direct city employees to make a $90,000 advance payment, even though state officials had not yet approved this project as state law required. Vas failed to completely recuse himself from this matter. Vas and Ramos also concealed material aspects of the arrangement and used mail and a courier service in furtherance of the scheme.

In an interview by FBI agents in December 2008, after the investigation began, Vas falsely stated that he had never spoken with the contractor about the availability of city funds for the property, and that he never directed city officials to sign off on the $90,000 disbursement.

Ultimately, Vas used approximately $75,000 of his approximately $290,000 in profits from the sale of the apartment building to fund his 2006 congressional primary campaign for the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's 13th District.

Ramos was convicted for his participation in a scheme to use conduit donors to funnel contributions to that same campaign. Ramos, who was Vas' campaign treasurer, used four straw donors to contribute between $2,000 and $2,100 each to the campaign. Ramos funded the straw donations by giving cash to each donor, who then gave Ramos a check made out to the campaign fund. He then filed false and fraudulent reports with the FEC regarding the contributions.

The jury also convicted Vas of accepting campaign contributions which he knew to have been obtained in violation of federal election law.

U.S. Attorney Fishman stated: "The lengthy prison sentence the defendants will serve is an appropriate punishment for abusing the power of Vas' office."

In addition to prison terms, Judge Wigenton sentenced Vas and Ramos to three years of supervised release and ordered them to pay $90,000 in restitution to Perth Amboy. Vas was also ordered to pay a $73,200 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, for the investigation leading to today's sentences. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Howe, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office Special Prosecutions Division, and Jenny R. Kramer, Acting Deputy Chief of the Office's General Crimes Unit.

Defense counsel: Vas: Alan L. Zegas and Edward J. Byrne, Esq., Chatham, N.J. Ramos: Jerome A. Ballarrotto, Esq., Trenton, N.J. Read more at newark.fbi.gov

 

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Religion of Tolerance

Religion of Tolerance: What Happens When Public Officials Hold Hearings About Islamic Terrorism

Amplify’d from www.debbieschlussel.com

Religion of Tolerance: What Happens When Public Officials Hold Hearings About Islamic Terrorism

By Debbie Schlussel As I’ve said a gazillion times over the years, Muslims are a one-way street when it comes to tolerance.  They don’t tolerate anything from us, but they expect us to tolerate even their most absurd, most intolerant, most violent of behaviors and edicts. New York State Senator Greg Ball learned that the hard way, when he received this monkey marked with anti-Semitic hatred from Muslim Jameela Barnette, a woman who has posted nutty, anti-Semitic, bigoted articles and comments all over the net, including on Facebook and Salon. Religion of Peace Sends a Message to Public Official If  you or I sent something like this to, say, Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison, we’d be charged with ethnic and religious intimidation and sent to prison.  But, when the shoe is on the other foot, well . . . nothing happens: A suspicious package mailed to state Sen. Greg Ball containing a stuffed Curious George monkey pinned with Stars of David and a vicious, anti-Semitic and racially charged screed left the Republican undaunted, saying he will continue pushing forward with his agenda on national security.

“A threat like this I let law enforcement do their job,” said Ball, R-Carmel, Tuesday night. “Letters that do keep me up at night are from rank-and-file law enforcement and personnel worried about weaknesses in security.” State police responded at 1:05 p.m. to Ball’s office in Albany’s Legislative Office Building Tuesday where they said they found the package that also contained a vial with an unknown substance. The Albany Fire Department Hazardous Materials team transported the contents to a Department of Health laboratory for analysis, police said. An investigation is ongoing. The letter signed by Jameela Barnette with kind regards accused Ball, a Catholic, of being a Jew-worshipping, Muslim hater. “Instead of bashing the intellectually superior Muslims, shouldn’t a handsome, cannibalized crazy, Christian cracker like yourself be in church chomping on Jew-god corpse and washing it down with Jew-god blood under the pretense of ‘Holy Communion,’ ” the letter stated. The one-page diatribe went on to talk about the Curious George present, saying …”the plush monkey/miniature Jew I have gifted you with is an accurate representation of who the Jews are and what you stupid Christians worship.” Ball, who chairs the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee, said he will press on with homeland security hearings, with one scheduled for May 17. He called the letter “full of hate” and “illogical” and declined to speculate on whether it had anything to do with the first hearing he held Friday in lower Manhattan “to assess the state of security in New York,” as the state approaches the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At that hearing, a discussion about Muslims in America and whether a group within that population is working to undermine the U.S. Constitution and replace it with Islamic law turned heated. Hey, where is the CAIR Action Network condemnation of this? For the record, one of the causes of controversy was the testimony of Nonie Darwish at Ball’s national security hearing.  She is in the same league as other “former Muslim” charlatan con men like stalker Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and Arabic-accented frauds like Hanan Tudor a/k/a “Brigitte Gabriel.” Yup, Darwish is very similar to the rest in this industry they created post-9/11 (while they were nowhere to be seen before that). In my own experiences with Darwish, I, at first, liked her. But she repeatedly lied to me about the most obvious and basic of things and isn’t to be taken seriously. She is in this for a buck (and only a buck), and she’s made plenty off of her shrieking, but there’s little real knowledge behind it. Just good business sense to con sucker Christians and Jews out of their money, like a carnival act. And in an appearance on Sean Hannity’s FOX News show, she ripped off an exclusive column I wrote in the New York Post about going undercover at a Hezbollah rally and an imam there, entirely without credit, but was still obviously clueless. She pretended she knew something about this, but she didn’t. She just plagiarized me without credit, because that’s what she does. There’s no there there. And that’s why she resorts to things like clowning around in fur coats for silly calendars. Her “Former Muslims United” group is more like “Former Muslims United for Big Bucks.” A total phony. She isn’t about courage. She’s about a solid retirement fund. Sadly, many gullible elected officials, TV and radio personalities, and other Americans, including State Senator Ball, think that if someone has an Arabic accent and an Arabic name that automatically means they are experts on Islam and Islamic terrorism, and it means no such thing. It would be like saying that someone named David Horowitz is an expert on Judaism. And I could show you hundreds of people with that name who know very little of that. 1.8 billion people are not experts on Islam or Islamic terrorism. And it’s foolish to think otherwise, which is the premise of the whole Darwish/Shoebat/Saleem baloney act. Also sad is that people like the State Senator think we need Muslims and “former Muslims” to testify on the Islamic threat. Um, I don’t need Ahmadinejad to testify to me on the dangers of Iran and the Ayatollahs. I already know that for myself. My source of knowledge is my own research and education. I don’t need a con man or woman with an Arabic accent to confirm something I know far more about. I also don’t need them as my savior. If you do, you’re ignorant. Read more at www.debbieschlussel.com

 

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Planets Could Exist in Weird Space-Time

Massive Inhabited Planets Could Exist in Weird Space-Time Orbit Inside Black Holes

Amplify’d from www.dailygalaxy.com

Massive Inhabited Planets Could Exist in Weird Space-Time Orbit Inside Black Holes

"Advanced civilizations may live safely inside the supermassive black holes in the galactic nuclei without being visible from the outside." Vyacheslav Dokuchaev at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

We love Russian astrophysicists at The Daily Galaxy: The discovery of stable orbits inside certain kinds of black hole implies that planets and perhaps even life could survive inside these weird objects, says Vyacheslav Dokuchaev at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Dokuchaev points out that certain black holes can have a complex internal structure that could allow photons, particles and perhaps even planets to orbit the central singularity without ever getting sucked all the way in. Cosmologists have been aware for some time that there are regions inside charged, rotating black holes where objects such as photons can survive in stable periodic orbits.

Dokuchaev's contribution is to study these orbits in detail and to explore their dynamics. One of the problems that would at first seem to negate any chance of planetary orbits inside a black hole is that inside the event horizon of a black hole, radial dimension becomes time-like, rather than space-like. Conventional orbits are clearly impossible. But further in there is another horizon where the dimensions switch back again (at least, inside charged and rotating black holes). This is the inner Cauchy horizon and it's beyond here that Dokuchaev says the interesting orbits for massive planets exist. Dokuchaev calculates that the stable orbits are nonequatorial and have a rich structure. They would also be brightly illuminated by the central singularity and by photons trapped in the same orbit. Dokuchaev also believes that a planet in such an orbit could support a complex chemistry that is rich enough to allow life to evolve. "Advanced civilizations may live safely inside the supermassive black holes in the galactic nuclei without being visible from the outside," he says. Such a civilization would be subject to huge tidal forces and  energy density that builds up in these stable orbits as photons become trapped. There's also the problem of causality violations, which some cosmologists predict would afflict this kind of weird space-time. The Daily Galaxy via technologyreview.com Get Your Daily Dose of Awe @'The Daily Galaxy' in Your Facebook News Feed Image top of page: Near-infrared images of the active galaxy NGC 1097, obtained with the NACO adaptive optics instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, disclose with unprecedented detail a complex central network of filamentary structure spiralling down to the centre of the galaxy. These observations provide astronomers with new insights on how super-massive black holes lurking inside galaxies get fed. Read more at www.dailygalaxy.com

 

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Adventist Flashmob

400+ Adventist teens stage Christian flash mob at Universal CityWalk



More than 400 Adventist teenagers staged a flash mob with a Christian message Saturday, April 9 at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Fla.



All of a sudden, hundreds of teens began chanting, "Look! Look! Jesus coming, I'm not ready! Are you?"



The flash mob was organized by the iServe United Youth Congress, an Adventist youth event held this year in Orlando, Fla.



Watch the videos below:

Amplify’d from www.youtube.com

Adventist Flashmob - BAYDA United Youth Congress 2011

Over 400 young people perform a flashmob at Universal Citywalk, Orlando, FL during BAYDA United Youth Congress 2011. Read more at www.youtube.com

 

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Mexico Unsafe for Everyone

Amplify’d from gawker.com

Mexico Now Unsafe for Everyone

Hamilton Nolan — Most Americans think of our neighbor to the south, the land of Meh-hee-ko, as a place primarily populated by taco-wielding mariachi bands passing out tequila shots in a welcoming spirit of friendship, speaking "espanyole." We regret to inform you that that impression may be overoptimistic.

The WSJ reports that for the first time since this little Neverending Drug War began, the U.S. government has posted an official warning that "Mexican criminal gangs may intend to attack U.S. law-enforcement officers or U.S. citizens" in certain parts of the country, including Tamaulipas.

But hey, the 116 bodies found in the Tamaulipas mass grave this week are Mexicans. It ain't so safe for them either.

[Photo: AP] Read more at gawker.com

 

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Wisconsin: Case of an Accused Priest

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

Events in the Case of an Accused Priest

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

The case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, accused of molesting as many as 200 deaf boys at a school in Wisconsin, stands out among the cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests because of the number and vulnerability of the victims, and the availability of documents revealing how church officials handled the matter.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, via Associated Press

The Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy in 1974. He was accused of molesting as many as 200 deaf boys at a school.

The Predator Priest Who Got Away

Documents: The Case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy

Vatican Official Defends Pope’s Handling of Case (April 1, 2010)

Father Murphy died in 1998, still a priest, despite documents showing that a priest had informed church officials as early as the mid-1950s that deaf children had complained that Father Murphy was molesting them. The police and prosecutors in Wisconsin were also informed by the victims and their advocates, but failed to act. The documents show that during the mid-1990s, Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee, facing the threat of lawsuits and hearing wrenching testimony from deaf adults who said they had been abused by Father Murphy, concluded that Father Murphy should be removed from the priesthood. Archbishop Weakland appealed on July 17, 1996, to the Vatican office of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Ratzinger then headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which had oversight of the case because Father Murphy was suspected of using the confessional to commit his crimes — a crime that is considered particularly serious under the church’s canon law because confession is a sacrament. The documents show that Archbishop Weakland sent two letters to Cardinal Ratzinger, and one to the Apostolic Signatura, the church’s highest court, asking for guidance on whether to conduct a canonical trial of Father Murphy. After eight months, on March 24, 1997, Archbishop Weakland received a response from Cardinal Ratzinger’s second-in-command in the doctrinal office, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, now the Vatican’s secretary of state. Archbishop Bertone instructed the Milwaukee archdiocese to proceed with a canonical trial of Father Murphy, which could result in defrocking the priest. On Jan. 12, 1998, Father Murphy sent a letter from his home in Boulder Junction, Wis., to Cardinal Ratzinger. He asked for a cessation of the trial because he was 72, had had a stroke and had repented, and because the case was beyond the statute of limitations. On April 6, 1998, Archbishop Bertone wrote to Bishop Raphael M. Fliss of the Diocese of Superior in northern Wisconsin, where Father Murphy was living, saying that the statute of limitations was waived in this case. But Archbishop Bertone suggested that given Father Murphy’s letter asking for leniency, Bishop Fliss should employ “pastoral measures” instead of a trial. Under church law, those measures can include prayer, repentance and restrictions on what kinds of ministry and sacraments the priest may perform. Bishop Fliss wrote back to Archbishop Bertone on May 13, 1998, saying, “It is in my judgment that all reasonable pastoral methods have been exhausted” and that a trial against Father Murphy was necessary. On May 30, 1998, while Archbishop Weakland, Bishop Fliss and the auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee were in Rome for a regular visit to the Vatican, they met with Congregation officials, including Archbishop Bertone. A log kept on the Murphy case and signed “RJS” — the initials for the auxiliary bishop, Richard J. Sklba — briefly summarized the Vatican meeting on May 30, 1998: “It became clear that the Congregation was not encouraging us to proceed with any formal dismissal” of Father Murphy. The reasons were that for 24 years he had shown “apparent good conduct,” and that with so much time passed between the crimes and the trial, it would be difficult to try him. The minutes of the meeting said that a trial would be difficult because of the problem of getting proof without increasing the scandal. The minutes said Archbishop Weakland should limit Father Murphy’s ministerial duties instead. Archbishop Weakland, the minutes said, “reaffirmed the difficulty he will have explaining this to the community of the deaf.” The translated minutes were sent to Bishop Fliss on Aug. 15 by the Rev. Thomas T. Brundage, then the judicial vicar in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the official responsible for presiding over the trial of Father Murphy. A letter on Aug. 19, 1998, from Archbishop Weakland said he instructed Father Brundage to halt the trial. Father Murphy died on Aug. 21, 1998. Father Brundage, who is now working in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, posted an essay this week saying he was never informed that the trial of Father Murphy had been halted. He also said that he had been misquoted in both The New York Times and The Associated Press. In an interview on Wednesday, Father Brundage acknowledged that he had never been quoted in any Times articles about the Murphy case — and the paper did not misquote him. He said he was misquoted in an Associated Press article that was posted temporarily on the Times Web site, and he mistakenly attributed that to The Times. He said the documents show that the Vatican had encouraged the Milwaukee Archdiocese to halt the trial, but they did not use strong language and actually order a halt. He said that he never saw the letter from Archbishop Weakland abating the trial until it appeared on the Times Web site last week. “The only possible explanation I can come up with is that Archbishop Weakland withheld the letter, knowing the reaction I would have had,” Father Brundage said. Father Brundage said he would have been appalled because he was absolutely convinced that Father Murphy should be put on trial, because, “This was a horrendous case.”   This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: April 2, 2010 An article on Thursday that detailed the chronology of the case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who was accused of molesting as many as 200 deaf boys at a school in Wisconsin over many years, misstated the date of his death in 1998. It was Aug. 21, not. Sept. 2. Read more at www.nytimes.com

 

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