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September 23rd, 2010
09:10 AM ET
Deaf victim of sex abuse is suing pope, and going public with his story for the first timeEditor’s note: A one-hour CNN special, “What the Pope Knew,” will air Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, 8pm and 11pm ET. This story is drawn from that exclusive report. By Scott Bronstein MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Terry Kohut has kept a dark secret for nearly 50 years. Now he is breaking his silence, becoming a key figure in the sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the growing controversy over what Pope Benedict XVI did about it. When Kohut was barely a teen, and for years afterward, he says, he was sexually molested and assaulted by the headmaster and priest of the school where he lived, St. John’s School for the Deaf, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. What occurred there is one of the most notorious cases of sex abuse in the Catholic Church.
Kohut was not alone. From 1950 to 1974 the headmaster of St. Johns, Father Lawrence C. Murphy, raped and molested as many as 200 deaf boys, according to court and church documents. Kohut has now filed the first sex-abuse lawsuit against the Vatican actually naming Pope Benedict, previously known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as a defendant.
The Vatican’s “policy of secrecy” in abuse cases, and its “directives to conceal the sexual abuse of children” by priests, the lawsuit says, helped bring about the abuse of Kohut and others by Father Murphy. Kohut has never before gone public or spoken about what Father Murphy did to him. He has remained anonymous in the suit, listed only as “John Doe 16,” one of dozens of men alleging abuse. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Kohut, 60, spoke with his hands and through an interpreter, describing how the abuse by Father Murphy started.
“I went into his office, the door was closed,” he said. “And Father Murphy said, ‘Take your pants down. And so I did… you know, he was always in his black attire with a white collar, and you know … I was questioning why he would ask me to do that. Here he is, a priest, and – I have to obey him. And he proceeded to touch me.” What happened to Kohut and the other deaf boys -– and the handling of the Murphy case by Ratzinger’s office - are central issues in a widening examination of the church’s role in covering up sexual abuse by priests. Did that approach reach as high as the man who would become the pope? “I think what the Murphy case shows is the deference that Cardinal Ratzinger and Pope Benedict would give to the priests,” said David Gibson, a pope biographer and author of “The Rule of Benedict.” Ratzinger, like other Vatican officials “would always accede to the priest’s wishes first, rather than the victim’s wishes, rather than justice for the victims. They were secondary to what the priest wanted and what he felt was best for keeping things quiet and taking care of the institutional church.” Steven Geier and Carl Nelson were also deaf students who say Father Murphy sexually assaulted them repeatedly. They say Father Murphy would prowl the dorm at night, visiting boys in their beds, raping and sexually assaulting them. He would also routinely assault and molest his victims in one of the church’s most sacred places – the confessional – church documents show.
Father Murphy is believed to have picked out victims who were especially vulnerable, or had been through tragedy already in their young lives. Terry Kohut fit that pattern. His older brother was electrocuted and died when he was just 10 years old. The next year, their father hanged himself. And the following year Kohut’s only close companion, his dog, died. “It all really tore me up…. I saw Father Murphy and I thought that he could be a second father. But to my shock he took advantage of that.” Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson is the lead lawyer in Kohut’s lawsuit. Anderson has filed hundreds of lawsuits for sexual abuse victims of priests, and has obtained a massive trove of internal Vatican documents to build his case against the pope. He says numerous abuse cases show that Vatican officials all the way to the top, including then Cardinal Ratzinger, did little to help the victims, and were mostly interested in protecting the church from scandal. Father Murphy was “one of the worst pedophiles” in U.S. history, says Peter Isely, a leader in SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Isely, of Milwaukee, says he himself was raped repeatedly by a priest as a child. He has led groups of victims to Rome to criticize the church and demand accountability – especially in the case of Father Murphy. “This is the story of a man raping and assaulting 200 deaf children,” he says. “To think that there are all these children being raped -– these disabled deaf children - who can’t even scream out, can’t speak out. It’s monstrous.” “It wasn’t easy living in the dorm,” said Geier, 60, through a deaf interpreter. “There were no parents there. No police. We were stuck. It was like a prison. You can’t get out.” Groups of boys tried to tell local police and even the local District Attorney in Milwaukee about what was being done to them, according to Kohut, Geier, Nelson and others CNN interviewed. But no one ever believed their story, and local police even drove them back to the school, returning the boys to Father Murphy. After years of allegations and reports of abuse, and threats of lawsuits, local bishops finally moved Father Murphy in 1974 to remote northern Wisconsin. There, more abuse allegations later surfaced. On July 17, 1996 the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rev. Rembert Weakland, wrote to then-Cardinal Ratzinger at the CDF, describing Father Murphy’s abuse and his “use of the confessional to solicit sinful actions.” Rev. Weakland asked Cardinal Ratzinger how to proceed. After eight months and two more letters to the Vatican, Rev. Weakland heard from Cardinal Ratzinger’s secretary, telling him to proceed with a secret church trial, which could result in Father Murphy being defrocked, or removed from the priesthood. The trial preparations were under way, and the case was moving ahead. One church document describing the local investigation results said the Murphy situation “may very well be the most horrendous, number-wise, and especially because these are physically challenged, vulnerable people.” But as the secret trial preparations moved ahead, on Jan. 12, 1998, Father Murphy wrote a personal letter to Cardinal Ratzinger. “The accusations against me were for actions alleged to have taken place over twenty-five years ago,” Murphy wrote. “I am seventy-two years of age, your Eminence, and am in poor health. I have repented of any of my past transgressions.” The priest basically asked to be left alone, writing “I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood. I ask your kind assistance in this matter.” After Father Murphy’s personal letter to Cardinal Ratzinger, and despite the entreaties of the local archbishops and the detailed case file against Father Murphy, something seemed to change. Cardinal Ratzinger’s secretary wrote again to Archbishop Weakland, but this time the letter and approach from Rome struck a different chord, seemingly sympathetic to the Father Murphy. Cardinal Ratzinger’s secretary described Father Murphy’s personal letter, and then asked Archbishop Weakland “to give careful consideration” to “pastoral measures” instead of a trial, such as counseling and supervision “destined to obtain the reparation of scandal and the restoration of justice.” The local archbishops disagreed, and one wrote back to Rome that “scandal cannot be sufficiently repaired, nor justice sufficiently restored, without a judicial trial against Father Murphy.” And in May 1998, Archbishop Weakland and several other Milwaukee officials flew to Rome to meet with Cardinal Ratzinger’s team about the case. Notes from the Wisconsin Archdiocese log of that meeting state: “It became clear” that Cardinal Ratzinger’s office “was not encouraging us to proceed with any formal dismissal…” Finally on August 19, 1998, Archbishop Weakland wrote that he would follow the CDF’s suggestion and stop the trial of Father Murphy, and instead “put together a pastoral plan” for him. That meant Father Murphy remained a priest for the rest of his life. He died in 1998 and was buried in Milwaukee with the full dignity and honors of a Holy Roman Catholic priest in good standing, angering many who knew what he had done. The Vatican has called the Murphy case “tragic,” issuing a statement earlier this year saying it “involved particularly vulnerable victims who suffered terribly from what he did. By sexually abusing children who were hearing-impaired, Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him.” The Vatican pointed out that more than two decades passed before Murphy’s abuse came to the attention of local church officials, police, and the Vatican. Its actions, the Vatican stated, were taken “in light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years.” In a rare interview, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s prosecutor, told CNN he understands the frustration and anger in the Murphy case. “If the case would have been decided today with the knowledge we have, the judgment may have been different… We’re talking about human judgment here.” Asked whether the judgment by Cardinal Ratzinger was faulty in the Murphy case, Monsignor Scicluna replied, “I wouldn’t say faulty because it is a judgment that took care of reparation, of scandal in the sense that it expected a public admission of guilt and it also ensured that Father Murphy be kept in a ministry which did not constitute a risk.” Asked if the Murphy decision were a mistake, Monsignor Scicluna said, “No, I wouldn’t call it a mistake. I would call it a different take on a very difficult case.” But Terry Kohut and other victims say justice for them could not even begin without Father Murphy losing his title and good standing as a priest. Kohut, whose lawsuit alleges that through a policy of secrecy “the Holy See knowingly allowed, permitted and encouraged child sex abuse by its priests, including Murphy,” has a question for the pope today: “I would ask him why? Why did you stop that trial? Why did you give pity to Father Murphy? I mean what about me, what about the 200 other boys?” Steven Geier agrees and has his own message to the Pope: “I believe this pope knew everything. He knew it was happening. I feel like all he did was ignore every deaf child who was abused by Father Murphy. In their eyes the church comes first, not the kids. They asked us to forgive them, forgive Father Murphy and there is no way that we could ever forgive him. Tell the pope to stop all this bull-.” Kohut has written numerous letters to church officials about the abuse. Some of them were sent to top Vatican officials, including Cardinal Ratzinger. In a letter to Father Murphy in 1995, Kohut wrote: “I would lay awake every night, shaking in fear that this would be a night you would touch me. Can you imagine that? Can you? Jesus on the Cross on the wall saw you coming every night to molest us. He must have been shocked and grieved every time. I hope he cried like we did, because we were innocent children.” Kohut says Father Murphy never responded. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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In this day and age, Jesus is soon to return. Yall better wake up and know the word of God for yourselves. These type of evil practices are not new, everywhere, and in every man made religion. Catholicism has many pagan/satanic symbolism and roots and is not based on a true relationship with the one and true living God. If we didnt waste so much time worshipping and idolizing people in the name of religiion and celebrity and whoring after everything material and what feels good, we would be able to see the truth in all things. This so called Priest, ...Eddie Long.. both disgusting and will absolutely burn in hell for what they have done. But we have a responsibility to search for God like we are searching for gold without the mistake of leaving our own salvation into someone else's hands that are made of flesh JUST LIKE YOU. This is a time to wake up and look beyond what your naturla eyes and ears see. The inner demonic spirits of lust comple these people to do things that are not common to man. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but things of the spirit. And if you are fooled to believe that it is more to you than your flesh, you wont be able to comprehend what Im saying. The Koran can't help you put on the whole Armour of God. The holy spirit throught discernment, prayer,and a true understanding of God is what will keep you. Wake up.
You...are truly brainwashed......to beleive that some fictional character is going to swoop out of the skies and save us....really? Maybe you should ask the 6 million + Jews who were tortured, gassed, burned and starved....or all the babies that die when tribes in Africa have to make an exodus because of wars and have no choice but to leave infants on the road covered in rocks so that animals won't eat them ( I've seen this personally )....they cry until they can't anymore, you can hear them........How many people die because of religion? If there is a god.....he should be on trial for crimes against humanity......
God didn't create religion. Men did. Men are responsible for all those tragedies.
Boxcarmike,
Don't forget the 52,000,000 babies who have died due to no religion.....since 1973
@Catholicmom: Again, "logic flag"...... 10 yards, repeat first down. You are making an argument from assumption and speculation. Apparently, you still can't find your way to the reference section of the library? Joking aside, I would be happy to recomend some reading for you to learn about logical reasoning and debate. It would be my pleasure, and even though our views are different, it would allow your comments to be taken with a level of scincerity that you deserve.
@CatholicMom
I'm sorry, but I have to call you out here for a Reality check and demand figures, statistics, sources, and references to back your numbers up with (and statistical sampling doesn't count).
Also, for comparison, how many babies died with religion?
Then finally – how many died because of religion?
Just wonderin'
Kate,
Since I can-not figure out which words are being mode-rated in my posts…here is a short-ened version….check out ‘govern-ment’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Alan Guttmacher Inst!tute (AGI) on abortion statistics.
Where would you get your figure if not from statistics on abortion? Do you have better sources for this?
II'm in agreement with some comments. Father Murphy is not a father in any terms.God is our father. Mr. Ratzinger is only a mortal man. I'm an interdenominational christian. People need to have a personal relationship with Jesus instead of a pope. Sounds like Murphy has an antichrist spirit full of devils, needs to be delivered ..if possible. He needs to totally repent , resist and renounce Satan and all his works. So much damage has been done by him. Some christians believe that people aren't so much the enemy as the destroyer satan is. He always hides in a shroud of secrecy. May Jesus heal these people who were victimized by this man, also other people who have been led astray by false religion.
Murphy is in Hell and demons are having their way with him every night... There IS justice. (That's putting it politely in case there are children reading)
Reality
First, if the man touched little boys... give him punishment.... But going after the pope too is not only about money but it's also an attemt to kill a religion at the most extreme! That would be like me trying to sue obama if a school teacher touched me and then I wrote a letter to obama and he didn't do anything about it. It's like I am sure he took the time to read it... 200 Kids well why are they not coming forward? Just Terry? really? are you all that nieve? Social media is so dumb now days!!!! If any of you understood religion, any religion for that matter, you would realise that murphy's acctions do not reflect faith! It doesn't make one a Hypocrite to still believe. It just proves that we are all sinners and that in the end no one is truly good enough for a heaven... So if you understand the history of Jesus that is why a man without sin had to die! Because God knows that we all suck at life!!!!!!!!!! A hypocrite Christian is one who believes but sins anyway thinking that God is ok with it... Any wrong you do in Gods name will not be forgiven! Sorry Father Murphy... Hope your image of hell isn't as bad as mine... Then again who am I to judge...
One more time:
Not that I disagree with the person whose ID is the same a mine, keep in mind that this blog and its moderators have significant control issues, one being allowing the same ID to be used by two different individuals.
Other issues:
The moderators of this blog have set up a secret forbidden word filter which unfortunately not only will delete or put your comment in the dreaded "waiting for moderation" category but also will do the same to words having fragments of these words. For example, "t-it" is in the set but the filter will also pick up words like Hitt-ite, t-itle, beati-tude, practi-tioner and const-tution. Then there words like "an-al" thereby flagging words like an-alysis and "c-um" flagging acc-umulate or doc-ument. Ditto for s-ex, s-exual, ped-ophilia, You would think that the moderators would have corrected this by now considering the number of times this has been commented on but they have not. To be safe, I typically add hyphens in any word that said filter might judge "of-fensive".
More than one web address will also activate “waiting for moderation”. Make sure the web address does not have any forbidden word or fragment.
@Reality (The annoying one)
Testing identities
Just testin'
@Reality (the annoying one)
It's called The Scunthorpe Problem
Just educatin'
lmao! episcopal, christians,catholics,mormams,etc pls remember one little thing! holy scriptures were never written other than hebrew,arab farsy and not english or spanish or italian nevertheless latin lol only stupid people contribute to ridicolous and absurb religious organization among us lol people need god and common sence not some retard preaching non sense .
Maybe the US Catholics should break away from Rome and form the American Catholic Church, much like the Anglican
and Lutheran faiths did years ago. Seriously, if the Vatican hasn't changed after all these years and with all these scandals...it never will, and it's wishful thinking that it would!
.. and what difference would that make? There are priests in the US that have been outted as pedos as well.
I'm thinking they could more easily change rules: i.e. priest can be married, date, women could become priest.
Get some new blood up there on the altar. I think this would help.
@Roy: Get some new blood on the altar?! Who are you Christine O'Donnell? LOL! Just kidding... just kidding...
@Frogist
Oooh, you're bad 🙂
Just laffin'
@Kate: I just couldn't help myself...
@Frogist
It's OK, we'll relocate you to a new blog comments section and hide all the evidence, swearing everyone else to secrecy.
Just witsecin'
One reason I will never admire the Vatican or the Pope anymore is because they protected their priests rather than protecting the innocent victims that were molested. Just disgusting and disgraceful I am really at a loss for words.
It’s interesting how so many people lack common sense. The article says this priest was abusing these boys from 1950 – 1974. Cardinal Ratzinger became head of the congregation after 1978. How in the world could he do anything about it if he wasn’t even there. Also the abuse wasn’t reported to the congregation until the 1990s. How could he do anything about it if he didn’t know about. Former Cardinal Ratzinger found out about it approximately four years before this priest died.
I agree in all you said besides this so called pope should be in jail for what is ever left of his nasty perverted life.
Hey Scott, how can a deaf person break his silence??? Is he talking now? LOL
"By Scott Bronstein
CNN Special Investigations Unit
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Terry Kohut has kept a dark secret for nearly 50 years. Now he is breaking his silence......"
My god, are you that much of an idiot? He's deaf, not mute. Deaf people are capable of sound you know. Maybe you don't. Bloody idiot.
First, if the man touched little boys... give him punishment.... But going after the pope too is not only about money but it's also an attemt to kill a religion at the most extreme! That would be like me trying to sue obama if a school teacher touched me and then I wrote a letter to obama and he didn't do anything about it. It's like I am sure he took the time to read it... 200 Kids well why are they not coming forward? Just Terry? really? are you all that nieve? Social media is so dumb now days!!!! If any of you understood religion, any religion for that matter, you would realise that murphy's acctions do not reflect faith! It doesn't make one a Hypocrite to still believe. It just proves that we are all sinners and that in the end no one is truly good enough for a heaven... So if you understand the history of Jesus that is why a man without sin had to die! Because God knows that we all suck at life!!!!!!!!!! A hypocrite Christian is one who believes but sins anyway thinking that God is ok with it... Any wrong you do in Gods name will not be forgiven! Sorry Father Murphy... Hope your image of hell isn't as bad as mine... Then again who am I to judge...
Not that I disagree with the person whose ID is the same a mine, keep in mind that this blog and its moderators have significant control issues, one being allowing the same ID to be used by two different individuals.
Other issues:
The moderators of this blog have set up a secret forbidden word filter which unfortunately not only will delete or put your comment in the dreaded "waiting for moderation" category but also will do the same to words having fragments of these words. For example, "t-it" is in the set but the filter will also pick up words like Hitt-ite, t-itle, beati-tude, practi-tioner and const-tution. Then there words like "an-al" thereby flagging words like an-alysis and "c-um" flagging acc-umulate or doc-ument. Ditto for s-ex, s-exual, ped-ophilia, You would think that the moderators would have corrected this by now considering the number of times this has been commented on but they have not. To be safe, I typically add hyphens in any word that said filter might judge "of-fensive".
More than one web address will also activate “waiting for moderation”. Make sure the web address does not have any forbidden word or fragment.
It's interesting how so many people lack common sense. The article says this priest was abusing these boys from 1950 – 1974. Cardinal Ratzinger became head of the congregation after 1978. How in the world could he do anything about it if he wasn't even there. Also the abuse wasn't reported to the congregation until the 1990s. How could he do anything about it if he didn't know about. Former Cardinal Ratzinger found out about it approximately four years before this priest died.
@Get-real: you said "How could he do anything about it if he didn't know about. Former Cardinal Ratzinger found out about it approximately four years before this priest died"
yes... because absolutely NOTHING can be accomplished in FOUR years time. Oh and does justice have an expiration date I wasn't aware of? So I guess If I go and kill 200 people it'll be cool as long as 25 years has gone by right?
You're a moron.
@Get Real: You mean, apart from the fact that Ratzinger was contacted about this case and then after reading the priest's letter decided not to allow a trial? Well apart from those small points, I suppose you could say that this is one case where the former cardinal is directly involved in covering up or excusing abuses. And it may point to other similar cases where further coverups occured.
The church is being directly challenged by an individual. It is now either in denial or wishing in its useless prayerful way that it was in the Middle Ages where this annoying upstart could be burned alive for his treachery!
They shouldn't be suing the Pope, they should be suing the local police who ignored the children's complaints! That is far far worse!!
thank you
They should be suing them both.
I am no longer a practicing catholic ..haven't been for sometime .....I owe it to the victims
I can only say how sorry I am
I watched one year on TV when all the "Bishops" gathered in Texas
to talk about the abuse ....
one of them said........ I quot "I will not rat-out someone"
I was done
What type of Muslim should we become Mark? Sunni muslim? shiite muslim? they both hate and kill eachother and not just extremists. I worked with Muslims who seemed very nice guys and always spoke out against terrorism, but they told me they would poison their sister if she ever dated a white guy. Another muslim shop owner who was always pleasent said he would be the first to strap bombs to himself if mecca was attacked after 9/11.
Why are christians oppresed and unable to worship in peace? why are there no stable peaceful muslim countries?
Islam is no better than christianity and no worse!
All the abuse occurred before 1975. Ratzinger was notified over 20-years later in 1996 (Ratzinger did not come to Rome until the early 1980's). Fr. Murphy was retired and he died two years later in 1998. To blame Ratzinger for Fr. Murphy's abuse is totally illogical. Only someone totally uneducated or completely biased against the Church can blame Ratzinger in this case.
And when Ratzinger took over the CDF and was informed of this priest's abuses against deaf children, he allowed him to quietly retire with full honors and helped him avoid prosecution. And you think that is just fine? PLEASE stop making excuses for this nasty old man and his child molesting friends.
Benjamin, you should become Ratzinger's lawyer. Seems you have buried your head in the sand.
DEATH TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH! END OF DISCUSSION!
I don't understand why these people don't sue the police and the local government for not listening to their accusations. Seems to me like authorities in Milwaukee would have been better suited to end this horrible situation while it was occurring rather than an office 5000 miles away some 20 years later...
Agreed! These authorities in Wis. should absolutely be held accountable – as the Vatican and Benedict himself, should also be.
Victims should use public forums like this to name the abusers. Why keep them anonymous? Protect our children.
What should Pope Benedict do now?
Step 1. Apologize
Step 2. Resign
Step 3. Stand trial
Step 4. Burn in hell (sorry, maybe Jesus will forgive him, but not me.)
Curios how do you believe in Hell and Jesus but not forgiveness. How do you believe in Hell and Jesus but don't think that you also having fallen short of the glory of God and deserve death.
These religio-fascists have been brainwashing and abusing children for CENTURIES...it is part of their "culture"...
Aside from the fact that ALL religion is an enormous hoax, these perverts should be removed from society.
how did this man become pope? head of the entire catholic church? outrageous!!! my heart hurts for all those abused.
It's time for this Pope to resign. After reading this story I am sickened. I think it is time for all Catholics all over the world to ask him to resign. How pedophilia can be swept under the rug is just disgusting!