Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Beg OCA Holy Synod to Defrock Archbishop Seraphim Storheim

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Storheim was OCA’s Highest Ranking Cleric in Canada: Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting a Young Boy

SNAP to church officials: “You’re breaking your own abuse policy”

For more information:

• Melanie Jula Sakoda ((925) 708 6175, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com)
• Cappy Larson (cappy@rlarson.com)
• David Clohessy ((314) 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)

Members of an abuse survivors’ group are urging OCA officials to defrock Canada’s highest ranking archbishop, who has been found guilty of molesting a child. Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, say that the denomination’s panel which is responsible for disciplining clergymen is breaking church policy by not permanently ousting Archbishop Seraphim Storheim, who was convicted in January of sexually violating an 11-year-old boy.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Archbishop-Storheim-found-guilty-of-sexually-assaulting-altar-boy-241849391.html

The synod of bishops of the Long Island-based Orthodox Church in America (OCA) will begin its spring session in Syosset NY tomorrow. Among the items on their agenda are further “decisions” concerning Storheim.

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-to-begin-spring-session-march-18

http://www.pokrov.org/wp-content/uploads/2014.03.02-Letter-from-Metropolitan-Tikhon-to-SNAP.pdf

The Policies, Standards, and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct, approved by the OCA’s synod at their Fall 2013 meeting, state that “Any clergy … found to have committed child sexual abuse … shall be deposed by the Holy Synod of Bishops, and shall be permanently prohibited from exercising any functions or responsibilities of parish ministry. …”

http://oca.org/PDF/official/2013-10-PSP-Sexual-Misconduct.pdf

Cappy Larson of SNAP said, “This is a no-brainer and should’ve happened weeks ago. Both Archbishop Seraphim’s guilt and church policy are crystal clear. Church officials’ delays and indecision are helping a criminal and hurting his victims”. SNAP is writing to the synod, pleading with them to enforce their abuse policy. Melanie Jula Sakoda, also of SNAP, said, “Let’s make sure that this convicted child molester can never again use his religious titles or roles to get access to and hurt another child”.

From 1990 until his suspension in November of 2010, Storheim headed the OCA’s Archdiocese of Canada, based in Ottawa ON. Prior to that, he worked in Edmonton AB, Winnipeg MB, London ON, Charlotte NC in the USA, and in Finland.

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The text of SNAP’s letter, sent today by fax and email to nine bishops (names at bottom), is here:

Dear Sirs: 

Archbishop Seraphim Storheim was convicted of the sexual abuse of an 11-year-old boy on January 24, 2014. Section 10.05(B) of your newly adopted Policies, Standards, and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct states clearly that, “Any Clergy who … is found to have committed child sexual abuse … shall be deposed by the Holy Synod of Bishops, and shall be permanently prohibited from exercising any functions or responsibilities of parish ministry. …”

Please Gentlemen, Archbishop Seraphim has been found guilty in a court of law of child sexual abuse. Although the judge did not find that there was enough evidence to convict the archbishop of abusing the boy’s twin, his allegation is certainly credible and should also be taken into account.

We know that there is a very active group supporting the archbishop and urging you to hold off taking action until any appeals are completed. As members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the three of us know first-hand the devastating effects of child sexual abuse. We are pleading with you to send a strong message to your flocks. If the sexual abuse of children truly is not tolerated in the OCA, defrock Archbishop Seraphim now.

Policies do not protect children. Actions protect children. The archbishop has been convicted. Do the right thing and follow your own guidelines.

Sincerely,

David Clohessy

St Louis MO, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

(314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)

Cappy Larson

San Francisco CA, SNAP Orthodox Director

(cappy@rlarson.com)

Melanie Jula Sakoda

Moraga CA, SNAP Orthodox Director

(925-708-6175 cell, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com)

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Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard

Orthodox Church in America

PO Box 675

Syosset NY 11791

Tel:

(516) 922 0550

Fax:

(516) 922 0954

E-mail: 

metropolitan@oca.org

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Archbishop Nathaniel Popp

PO Box 309

Grass Lake MI 49240-0309

Tel:

(517) 522 4800

Fax:

(517) 522 5907

E-mail: 

nathaniel@roea.org

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Archbishop Nikon Liolin

PO Box 149

Southbridge MA 01550

Tel:

(508) 764 3222

E-mail: 

bpnikon@aol.com

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Archbishop Benjamin Peterson

1520 Green St

San Francisco CA 94123

Tel:

(415) 567 9378

E-mail: 

vikenty@msn.com

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Archbishop Alejo Pacheco-Vera

Av Rio Consulado E Iruapato #53

Col Penon De Los Banos

Mexico, DF 15520

Tel:

5784-5198

Fax:

5784-5198

E-mail: 

obispoalejo@yahoo.com.mx

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Bishop Melchisedek Pleska

PO Box 1769

Cranberry Township PA 16066-1769

Tel:

724-776-5555

Fax:

724-776-5555

E-mail: 

melchisedek999@yahoo.com

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Bishop Michael Dahulich

33 Hewitt Ave

Bronxville NY 10708

Tel:

(914) 779 6580

Fax:

(914) 779 6581

E-mail: 

bishopmichael@nynjoca.org

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Bishop Alexander Golitzin

519 Brynhaven Drive

Oregon OH 43616

Tel:

419-693-9540

Fax:

419-693-9541

E-mail: 

alexander@bdoca.org

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Bishop David Mahaffey

7031 Howard Ave

Anchorage AK 99504-1899

Tel:

907-538-9318

Fax:

907-677-0646

E-mail: 

otyetz@hotmail.com

17 March 2014

Barbara Dorris

SNAP: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ny_clergy_sex_abuse_victims_beg_synod_to_defrock_archbishop

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Editor:

Do make your voice heard… that’s why the contact info is here. We shouldn’t have a convicted criminal as a bishop. By the way, he wouldn’t be “laicised”; he’d be stripped of the episcopate. The Church only allows “one punishment” per crime. That is, deposition from the episcopate entails reduction in rank to the ordinary priesthood. The Mother Church had an analogous case in Vladimir Oblast (the problem was a priest, not a bishop). It didn’t go to court because the ruling bishop acted with dispatch… you see, the Moscow tabs got wind of it, publicised it, which galvanised the Patriarch into action, who built a fire under the local bishop. The local bishop forbade the priest involved to have contact with children and fired him from his post (which satisfied the Prokuratura, which didn’t bring a criminal case). That is, the Church punished the perp, so, there wasn’t need for a trial. Had the OCA done likewise, there wouldn’t have been all this shitstorm.

Contact the bishops… state your mind… state it clearly… demand that they follow their own rules. Then, they should send Seraphim off to a monastery with no access to children (which is, I believe, what the Canadian government really wants). That’s fair to everybody.

For God’s sake, let it not be “business as usual!” However, the news that the Holy Synod chose the unsuitable Mark Maymon (he disobeyed Philip Saliba’s direct orders… therefore, he’s unfit to serve as ruler of a doghouse, let alone a diocese) as a ruling bishop gives me little hope. If the Holy Synod elevates disobedient and hubristic SOBs to its dioceses (what’s more, someone championed by the questionable Paffhausen and who had an anti-Orthodox un-Christian Evangelical formation)… it’s quite possible that they’d be impervious to reason and logic. However, we MUST make an effort. We shall see…

BMD

Advertisement

RT Knocked Off YouTube… It’s Back Up Online… Galician Hackers?

Ask yourself… “WHY would certain elements want RT down?” Then, ask, “Should I give such people credibility?” Yes… indeed… should you?

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RT’s YouTube channel, which in June last year became the first-ever TV news channel to reach 1 billion views, experienced a temporary shutdown of services on Tuesday, exactly two years after a similar incident. Viewers attempting to reach the RT YouTube channel were denied access and saw, “This account has been suspended due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy against spam, gaming, misleading content, or other Terms of Service violations”. The services were down from around 07.00 UTC until shortly before 10.00 UTC (from 00.00 to 03.00 PDT. 03.00 to 06.00 EDT. 11.00 to 14.00 MSK. 18.00 to 21.00 AEST). A similar incident exactly two years ago kept the YouTube channel offline for about eight hours. Then, YouTube confirmed that it was their mistake and apologised for the incident. Head of Social Media at RT Ivor Crotty added, “As a world leading news producer on YouTube we value timely information and regret the service fail to the half-million people logging on this morning. We look forward to clearing this up ASAP”. RT began broadcasting in 2005… the same year that YouTube came online… disrupting broadcast news media consensus and creating a savvy online viewer community.

18 March 2014

RT.com

http://rt.com/news/rt-youtube-suspended-glitch-534/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Editor:

I’d note that many of the people at Langley and NSA specialising in Russia are Galician Uniate fanatics (or of other anti-Russian nationalities). There’s no doubt that their fingerrints are all over this (actually, I think WITHOUT Google’s permission… Sergei Brin is many things, but he isn’t a political nutter). Note well that the channel is back up and running. Of course, this may have been payback for the Russian cyberwar people pinning the West to the mat over the weekend. NATO’s cyber-abilities were down enough to require its PR flacks to issue spin, which means that it was very serious, indeed. I believe that the West planned an operation to disrupt the all-Crimea referendum, which Russia foiled by disrupting NATO computer networks. This is as much warfare as dropping bombs and throwing grenades are… and Russia won. Keep this in mind… the West doesn’t want the Russian POV “out there”… it’s much more logical and reasonable than the Western propaganda about the junta is. Look for other cyberattacks on Russian online resources. Over the weekend, Galician hackers tried taking Russian media sites down. Another trick that these creeps use is that they call all pro-Russian sources “purveyors of hate speech” in an attempt to get them banned in certain venues (many places “filter” the internet, and elements in the Galician Uniate diaspora have gotten very good at manipulating academic and government venues).

Have a care… we only have a lull. Reflect on this… the junta terrorists haven’t paid the army or police, nor have they paid salaries or pensions of ordinary folks. Of course, the oligarchs continue to rape the country, this time, with American approval (Yatsenyuk nicking national treasures and taking them to the USA… what fucking brass balls). There’s PRIVATION in the Ukraine. Note well that the Western media is SILENT on this. None dare call it EVIL…

BMD

The Left is Making a Comeback

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Are progressives on the march? Some days, it sure looks that way. From the EU to the Americas, progressives… Liberals, Democrats, New Democrats, Liberal Democrats… increasingly seem to be pushing back the blue conservative tide. It wasn’t always thus. Less than two years ago, I wrote a little book called Fight the Right (It’s an excellent Christmas or Hanukkah present, by the way). The subtitle of Fight the Right was A Manual for Surviving the Coming Conservative Apocalypse. That was the book’s central theme… that conservatives, from Europe to the Americas, were increasingly winning elections. A couple of years ago, conservatives were on the ascendancy, for all sorts of reasons. They were better funded, thanks to their well-heeled big corporate backers. They were better organised than at any time in their history. The corporate rightist media adored them. The politics and economics of the era seemed to favour them, too. Moreover… up here in the Great White North, at least… there was plenty of division and disunity on the left, and lots of splitting of the vote. The right was taking advantage of that, election after election, and coming up the middle to win.

Two years ago, there was a rising right-wing tide everywhere. From Rome to Riga, from Maine to Miami, from Whitehorse to Witless Bay, conservatives were the team to beat. The right governed most of the EU, with nearly all the EU’s 28 member states being ruled by conservatives. In Canada, conservative parties ruled the roost in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and of course nationally. There were (then popular) right-wing municipal bosses, like Rob Ford. Down in the USA, the Gallup poll reported that just about half of all Americans considered themselves conservative… or very conservative. Only a tiny percentage of Americans… a miserable 20 percent… called themselves “liberal”. Well, that was two years ago. Times are a-changin’, to quote the bard. In the USA, despite facing a Republican challenge financed with billions of dollars, Barack Obama came back with a convincing victory. In the EU, many of those conservative leaders… in Italy, in France… are gone. Here in Canada, Conservatives can’t seem to chip away at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s popularity. Despite spending buckets of dough on attack ads, and despite lots of nasty politicking, Trudeau’s maintained a healthy lead in the polls for many months. The NDP’s Tom Mulcair remains competitive, too. That’s just the temporal world.

Even on the spiritual level, it seems like progressives are winning the day. A year ago this week, Francisco became pope… and he immediately became the world’s most influential progressive leader, challenging the Roman Catholic Church’s orthodoxy on everything from capitalism to gay rights. Pope Francisco has been a revolutionary, in almost every sense of the word. He’s hammered the greedy excesses of capitalism in apostolic exhortations. He’s suspended bishops who’re more into those who have bling, rather than those who have nothing. Just recently, the pope was in glowing stories on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine… did you ever think you’d live long enough to see a pope on the cover of Rolling Stone?

Rumours of the left’s death were premature, to say the least. My own prediction of a right-wing hostile takeover wasn’t entirely correct, either. The ideological pendulum… which was careening off to the right… is now swinging back to the centre, and the left. There are all kinds of reasons for that. Post-recession jitters have faded. Stimulus spending worked. Austerity measures are increasingly unpopular. Voters are just plain sick of conservative policies and politicians. Whatever the reason, one thing can’t be disputed… progressives are getting competitive again, from the Vatican to the EU to the Americas. Those on the right? Check your rear-view mirror. That’s the lefties you see… and we’re getting closer.

14 March 2014

Warren Kinsella

Calgary Sun

http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/03/14/the-left-is-making-a-comeback