Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2026

COVID TALES: Never Forget_When they mocked the deaths of those who doubted

Scientists are paying a huge personal price in the lonely fight against anti-vaxxers

Anti-vaccine protesters at a Los Angeles rally  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
 
By Michael Hiltzik
Business Columnist
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Oct. 20, 2023 3 AM PT
 
In the preface of the new book by vaccine expert and pro-science crusader Peter Hotez, there are several acknowledgments of a kind that may never have appeared before in a book like it.

There, Hotez expresses gratitude to the Houston Police Department, the Texas Medical Center Police Department and the security force of the Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

These are all places where Hotez plies his profession. He thanks all those departments “for keeping my family and me safe during this time of aggression.”



    The health sector and the scientific sector don’t quite know what to do because this is a politically driven attack, coming from extremist elements of the Republican Party.

— Pediatrician and vaccine scientist Peter Hotez

These words tell a story all their own: how the anti-vaccine and anti-science movements have incorporated physical threats into their despicable arsenals. I wrote nearly two years ago that, unable to produce scientific support for their views, they had turned to stalking and intimidation to discourage critics.

Things have only gotten worse since then, as Hotez reports in his new book, “The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning.” A professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor and a courageously outspoken advocate for public health, Hotez documents how agitators on the extreme right have graduated from trying to sow mistrust in science to targeting individual scientists such as himself. 

The heart of his book is a call for government agencies and professional organizations to wage an aggressive battle against anti-vaccination and anti-science propaganda. What’s needed, he says, is something akin to an interagency task force to address the problem, because the scientific community as it’s currently organized can’t do so on its own.

“The health sector and the scientific sector don’t quite know what to do because this is a politically driven attack, coming from extremist elements of the Republican Party,” he told me. “What you see instead are responses that skirt around the edges. You’ll see public health agencies step up their pro-vaccine messages, and sure, that’s important, but it doesn’t get to what’s really driving this.”

Hotez identifies several reasons for scientific organizations’ ineffective response to the spread of scientific misinformation and disinformation. “They don’t have the skill set or the background to know how to deal with this,” he says.

Then there’s their traditional commitment to political neutrality. “They say, ‘We’re a scientific or health organization, we have to be politically neutral.’” He cites the observation by Elie Wiesel that “neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” 

On Oct. 13, Hotez received the inaugural Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America for his long public campaign against anti-science propagandists. The battle came at a considerable personal cost.

Online trolls have compared Hotez to Hitler and Stalin. He has been “doxxed” through the publication of his email address and office phone number, and showered with email threats calling for his torture or public execution. Many threats were larded with antisemitism.

Hotez is not alone. “I get hate mail, I get physically harassed, I’ve gotten three legitimate death threats that have had to be investigated by the FBI,” Paul Offit, a prominent vaccine scientist in Philadelphia, recounts in “Shot in the Arm,” a new documentary by Scott Hamilton Kennedy about the damage done to public health by anti-vaccine propaganda. (The documentary will open at the Angelika Film Center in New York on Nov. 2 and the Laemmle Glendale in Southern California on Nov. 17.)

The film includes a clip of Del Bigtree, a leading anti-vaxxer, addressing an audience with the words: “Do you think it’s a good idea to let the government own your baby’s body? Anyone that believes in the right to bear arms to stand up against your government, I don’t know what you were saving that gun for then.”

Hotez’s book and the film both trace the evolution of vaccine science, starting with the discovery by Edward Jenner in the 1790s that people exposed to cowpox via inoculation would be rendered immune from the much more dangerous smallpox (“vaccination” derives from the Latin for “cow,” vacca), and the evolution of the anti-vaccine movement.

“As both a pediatrician-scientist who develops vaccines and a parent of an adult daughter with autism,” Hotez writes, “I have had a front-row seat on the modern anti-vaccine movement in America.”

Anti-vaccine activism had existed almost for as long as there were vaccines, but the movement got an enormous shot in the arm, so to speak, from a notorious article in the Lancet, a respected British medical journal, in 1998. The paper by a team headed by British physician Andrew Wakefield purported to identify a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. 

The Lancet retracted the paper in 2010. After an investigation, British medical authorities effectively revoked his medical license. Countless subsequent scientific studies have established that there is no connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Nevertheless, Wakefield’s paper promoted an almost immediate plummet in MMR childhood vaccinations in Britain and its claim remains central to the anti-vax movement to this day — a movement that continues to lionize Wakefield, who now lives in the U.S., as a truth-teller.

The historical roots of the anti-science movement date back more than 100 years, Hotez writes, to when authoritarian regimes such as Stalin’s recognized that discrediting scientific experts assisted their path to personal power. Its appeal to the modern Republican Party has much to do with economics — challenging the scientific consensus on global warming, for example, allows the GOP to serve the anti-regulation interests of its Big Business patrons.

The anti-vaccine movement was in many respects a natural fit. Its invocation of shibboleths such as “medical freedom” and “health freedom” — coded justifications for opposition to vaccine mandates — led to its getting “picked up by the Republican Tea Party in Texas,” Hotez says.


U.S. vaccination rates against COVID show a partisan slant, with counties that voted for Trump in 2020 falling well behind those that voted for Biden. COVID death rates show the same pattern, with red counties showing higher rates than blue.
                                                                                         (ACAsignups.net)

“It was mutually reinforcing,” he told me. “The anti-vaccine groups were getting attention and PAC money that they never had before, and the far right got a new set of adherents and a new faux outrage to rally the base. It just became part of the canon.”

The anti-vaccine and anti-science movements exploit and amplify the lay public’s ignorance about the scientific method and the technical aspects of how vaccines work.

“Vaccines were compelling because vaccine-preventable diseases were compelling,” Offit explains in the documentary. Smallpox, polio and measles were recognized nemeses when they ranged the world untreated. Smallpox alone took the lives of an estimated 500 million people over the centuries, but thanks to vaccination it was judged eradicated from the world by the late 1970s.

The introduction of the polio vaccine in 1955 and the measles vaccine in 1963, accompanied by public mass vaccination campaigns, dropped the number of U.S. deaths from those diseases to zero by the early 1980s. Since then, those diseases have recurred only in discrete communities where vaccine resistance reigns, and among the unvaccinated.

Yet “vaccines are a victim of their own success,” Offit observes. “When vaccines work, nothing happens. I think that’s what makes them a little less compelling. People don’t really see what they’re doing.”

When once-common photographs of children hobbling on crutches, confined in an iron lung, or consumed with the bright red measles rash, much less perishing from the diseases, disappear from news reports, people forget how devastating the diseases once were.

“I understand how easy it was to appeal to the notion that vaccines are doing more harm than good” — a common feature of anti-vaccine hysteria — “because we weren’t seeing the vaccine-preventable diseases and their harm,” Offit says.

When the affiliated anti-vaccine and far-right movements turned their firepower on the COVID-19 vaccines introduced in 2021, the consequences were dire. Hotez estimates the unnecessary toll at 200,000 American lives lost because of vaccine refusal and anti-vaccine propaganda.

The partisan character of this outcome is manifested in a distinct divide in COVID vaccination rates between blue and red counties, with the latter having notably lower vaccination rates and higher per-capital COVID death rates. The partisanship is curious, given that Donald Trump has boasted that the development of the COVID vaccines was spurred by his own Operation Warp Speed. But COVID vaccine resistance has also been spurred by his persistent efforts to minimize the severity of the pandemic.

Despite his own efforts and those of other science advocates, Hotez sees only minor glimmers of hope that the trend toward science skepticism can be beaten back. Medical boards have fallen woefully short in enforcing their own regulations against physicians spreading misinformation and disinformation.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed a repeal of one of the very few state-level regulatory initiatives — a law passed only a year ago that empowered the state medical board to treat COVID misinformation as an element of professional misconduct. The original law’s critics argued that the board already had the power to discipline doctors for spreading misinformation about COVID — and the law had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge on grounds that it infringed on doctors’ free-speech rights.

On the federal level, debate over science policy has been ceded to the Republican right wing, which has held hearings to try to humiliate scientists who have done unrefuted studies identifying the origin of COVID as a natural outbreak from wildlife to humans, debunking the factually unsupported partisan myth that it was produced in a Chinese government lab.

“They’re not even pretending at anything other than political theater,” Hotez says. Even moderate Republicans shy away from questioning the GOP right’s position.

“I don’t see mainstream Republicans coming to the defense of science,” he says. “But we’re not really hearing from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Health and Human Services agencies are pretty quiet.” He says he’s had conversations with like-minded scientists “about how we get organized better to respond to this. But it’s slow going.”

The real danger, as Hotez sees it, is that anti-science politics will become globalized. “It’s not going to stay in the U.S. We export movies, we export music, we’re going to export this stuff.”

In the past, he says, a sort of social auto-correction counteracted anti-vaccine activism. In the past, if vaccine resistance led to an outbreak of measles or pertussis, word would spread across the community, creating pressure on resistant parents to vaccinate their children.

“I don’t see that, even after 200,000 lives lost. These were victims of a predatory disinformation campaign,” Hotez says. Instead, the vaccine opponents “are doubling down, just telling a bigger lie, blaming the vaccine and the scientists. I don’t see that getting any better, at least until the 2024 election. And what happens after the election is anybody’s guess.” [SOURCE]

THE FAUCI DIARIES: Two Doctors Discuss_The hesitant doctor can't refute the convinced doctor

 


THE FAUCI DIARIES: How Bad Was It Really?_The 'Science' explains it in his diary

REALITY CHECK: The Tide Has Turned_Sitting US Senator explains it best

THE FAUCI DIARIES: RFK Remarks_Fauci's most damning entry

DR FAUCI: What We Know Now

Sunday, May 31, 2026

"We were the useful idiots"_Ex-Wife Of Google Co-Founder Says Progressive American Elite Women Were Duped By Powerful Husbands

Sunday, September 21, 2025

AOC uses House floor speech to smear Charlie Kirk: 'His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated'

Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

By Alexandra Koch Fox News

House resolution condemned Kirk's murder and called for rejection of political violence

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Friday opposed a resolution honoring the life and legacy of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Sept. 10 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.

In a speech on the House floor, Ocasio-Cortez claimed the resolution was introduced on a "purely partisan basis, instead of uniting Congress."

After condemning Kirk's murder, she noted the resolution "brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow and the legacy of bigotry today" and tore into the late 31-year-old's ideology.

"We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was, a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a mistake, who, after the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, claimed that ‘some amazing patriot' should bail out his brutal assailant and accused Jews of controlling ‘not just the colleges – it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it,'" Ocasio-Cortez said. 

58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING 'LIFE AND LEGACY' OF CHARLIE KIRK

"His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans — far from the ‘working tirelessly to promote unity’ as asserted by the majority in this resolution." 

The resolution described Kirk as a "devoted Christian," "dedicated husband" and a "loving father" of two, explaining his founding of Turning Point USA and commending his personification of the First Amendment.

It resolved the House of Representatives to condemn Kirk's assassination and all forms of political violence; commended law enforcement for catching Kirk's alleged killer; extended condolences to Kirk's family; honored Kirk's life, leadership and legacy; and called upon all Americans — regardless of race, party affiliation or creed — to "reject political violence, recommit to respectful debate, uphold American values, and respect one another as fellow Americans."

‘FEARLESS’ TOUR TAKES CHARLIE KIRK’S FREE SPEECH MISSION TO COLLEGES NATIONWIDE

In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, 57 other Democrats voted against the resolution, including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Maxine Waters of California. 

However, 95 Democrats voted to adopt the resolution, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

Here is a breakdown of public comments Kirk made regarding the topics Ocasio-Cortez mentioned in her dissent.

AOC CLAIM: Charlie Kirk was "a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a 'mistake'"

During a Feb. 2, 2024, podcast episode with "Fearless" host Jason Whitlock, Kirk acknowledged his ideas about the Civil Rights Act and its role in American society were "provocative," thanking Whitlock for the opportunity to further explain.

"It's an awful provocative conversation I started. I stand by it, and I appreciate the opportunity. I mean this sincerely, Jason — to explain it. There's even some people on the right that have been just throwing insults, and they would never have me on the show to explain it."

Kirk went on to say he extensively researched what the Civil Rights Act was, what it tried to accomplish, how it was sold to the American people at the time and how it is perceived now by the modern academic consensus.

"At the time, of course, there were legislative priorities that needed to be done by the federal government to stop bitter segregation — I've always held that," Kirk said. "The American people thought they were getting minor legislative adjustments to say that segregation based on race is evil and wrong. In reality, what they got was the birthing of a permanent deep state of bureaucrats that were looking for racism where it didn't exist, eventually with affirmative action, quotas and hiring practices expanded beyond race into LGBTQ-type issues. 

"What the Civil Rights era really birthed was this idea that it's the federal government's job not just to say that discrimination is wrong, but to actively go against any sort of disparate outcome and try to even the score under the guise of equity."

ANTI-TRUMP VOICES PRAISE CHARLIE KIRK'S LEGACY AFTER ASSASSINATION, SAY HE WAS DOING POLITICS 'THE RIGHT WAY'

Kirk went on to discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, saying he "100% bought into" the need for equality, but adding he believed the Civil Rights Act was expanded further than the initial intention.

"At the time, a majority of Americans wanted to see an end to desegregation," he said. "They didn't want to see new segregation put forward in eventually anti-White hiring practices, affirmative action or the entire federal bureaucracy having racial hiring quotas.

"Eventually, you look around and you have the left defending Black-only dormitories at hundreds of universities across the country, Black-only graduation ceremonies. … You look back to the Civil Rights Act and you say maybe we overreached and built something we didn't intend, a federal Leviathan in the form of anti-racism."

WATCH: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE

AOC CLAIM: After Paul Pelosi's violent assault, Charlie Kirk claimed ‘some amazing patriot' should bail out his brutal assailant

In an Oct. 31, 2022, episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show," titled "A Naked Smear of MAGA," Kirk discussed the Oct. 28, 2022, attack against Nancy Pelosi's husband, saying directly, "I'm not qualifying it, I think it's awful."

David DePape, a Canadian citizen living in the U.S., was sentenced to life in prison in 2024 after attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, causing two head wounds and injuries to his right arm and hand.

DePape, who Kirk described in the episode as someone who was "not sane," admitted to devising a plot to hold then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and "break her kneecaps" if she did not admit to allegedly telling "lies" about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. She was not home at the time of the attack.

Kirk's comments about "bailing out" DePape were in relation to the concept of disparity within cashless bail policies.

Under cashless bail policies, a suspect who is arrested for a crime is released before a trial without having to pay bail or bond. The fees were put in place to ensure suspects do not flee and incentivize them to make scheduled court appearances.

While many liberal jurisdictions have enacted the policies, critics claim cashless bail puts the public at risk and enables repeat offenders.

"I’m not qualifying [the attack], I think it’s awful," Kirk said. "It’s not right. But why is it that, in Chicago, you’re able to commit murder and be out the next day? Why is it that you’re able to trespass, second-degree murder, arson, threaten a public official, [and receive] cashless bail? This happens all over San Francisco, but if you go after the Pelosis … you’re [not] let out immediately. Got it."

CHARLIE KIRK PAINTED AS 'CONTROVERSIAL,' 'PROVOCATIVE' IN MEDIA’S ASSASSINATION COVERAGE

Kirk went on to question why DePape was still incarcerated in San Francisco, a Democratic stronghold that had cashless bail policies in place at the time of Paul Pelosi's attack.

Just a few months prior to the assault, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced her office established a policy that would seek cash bail in certain misdemeanor cases, claiming bail "unfairly penalizes those with less financial means and disproportionately affects defendants of color."

"Why is the conservative movement to blame for gay, schizophrenic nudists that are hemp jewelry makers, breaking into somebody's home?" Kirk said while discussing DePape's ideology. "Why are we to blame for that exactly, and why is he still in jail. Why has he not been bailed out? By the way, if some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out. I bet his bail is like 30[,000] or 40,000 bucks. Bail him out and then go ask him some questions."

WATCH: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL EPISODE

Kirk went on to wish Paul Pelosi a quick recovery and condemned the attack a second time.

"So, look, I wish him the best. I wish him a speedy recovery," Kirk said. "No one should have to encounter that sort of violence."

AOC CLAIM: Charlie Kirk "accused Jews of controlling ‘not just the colleges – it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it.'"

In an Oct. 26, 2024, episode of the "The Charlie Kirk Show" podcast, Kirk claimed Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical, open-border neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits.

"This is a beast created by secular Jews," Kirk said. "Now it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What on Earth happened?’ It’s not just the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it."

Kirk, a longtime supporter of Israel, later argued in a Nov. 16, 2023, episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show," titled "Elon Musk Smashes the Digital Narratives," that some Jewish organizations and donors, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), helped fund "anti-White" or "cultural Marxist" ideas aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement or Diversity and Equity Inclusion (DEI).

He noted he does not believe all Jewish people are anti-White, specifying that he did "not like generalizations."

"I don't like generalizations," Kirk said in the episode. "Not every Jewish person believes that. But it is true the Anti-Defamation League was part and parcel with Black Lives Matter. It is true that some of the largest financiers of left-wing anti-White causes have been Jewish Americans. They went all in on woke, and it wasn't just ADL. It was some of the top Jewish organizations in the country that have done that. In fact, we have seen this with the recent retreat of Jewish donations that are no longer going to be administered to colleges."

Kirk added that, after the October episode, critics labeled him antisemitic, clarifying he was "glad that Jewish Americans are reconsidering their financing of cultural Marxism, and people misunderstood it intentionally and slandered us as being antisemites."

While "Cultural Marxism" has been used as an antisemitic phrase, commentators have been known to use it without antisemitic intent.[SOURCE]

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Jesuits: You Know Them By Their Students: How Georgetown affected the truthfulness of Bill Clinton, back when he campaigned as a MAGA guy

 

Bill Clinton addresses a crowd in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1992 © AP

Sam Leith

Published: Nov 8 2017


“Believe it or not,” Bill Clinton said in a speech at Georgetown University on Monday, “we thought it was pretty polarised” back in 1992: “we had income inequality, we had alienation, we had unequal opportunities, and we had a lot of social division”. But, as he reflected, America now looks even more polarised. 

It’s 25 years ago this month that the boy from Hope, Arkansas, was elected president of the US — an event that he celebrated from the steps of the Old State House in Little Rock with the resonant pay-off (made possible by his birth town): “I still believe in a place called Hope.” 

He has an enduring reputation as one of the most effective speakers in the modern history of the presidency. But there are two Bill Clintons that we tend to remember, oratorically. There’s the great empathiser who said, “I feel your pain”; and there’s the Jesuitical lawyer who could argue straight-facedly about “what the meaning of ‘is’ is” or redefine “sexual relations” in a hitherto unique way. 

At his most effective, he combined those two things: argument and passion; or logos and pathos, in Aristotelian terms. It’s seldom remembered, for instance, that “I feel your pain” was delivered not in gooey Oprah Winfrey mode but in great anger. On the 1992 campaign trail, the then governor Mr Clinton was heckled by an Aids activist called Bob Rafsky. The sound bite was delivered as part of an angry response to Mr Rafsky’s off-beam jibe that Mr Clinton was “dying of ambition”. 

“Let me tell you something. If I were dying of ambition, I wouldn’t have stood up here and put up with all this crap I’ve put up with for the last six months. I’m fighting to change this country. 

Mr Clinton has always been at his best as a speaker when combining intellectual sinew with well-pitched displays of emotion. 

“And let me tell you something else. Let me tell you something else. You do not have the right to treat any human being, including me, with no respect because of what you’re worried about. I did not cause it. I’m trying to do something about it. I have treated you and all the people who’ve interrupted my rally with a hell of a lot more respect than you’ve treated me, and it’s time you started thinking about that. 

“I feel your pain, I feel your pain, but if you want to attack me personally you’re no better than Jerry Brown and all the rest of these people who say whatever sounds good at the moment. If you want something to be done, you ask me a question and you listen. If you don’t agree with me, go support somebody else for President but quit talking to me like that. This is not a matter of personal attack; it’s a matter of human wrong.” 

Here, rather than a passive surrender to empathy, was a venomously articulate call for courtesy, and for active pragmatism over yah-boo displays of feeling. 

And — though in softer and more sinuous mode — he combined a display of feeling with a lawyer’s precision when seeking to turn things around during the investigation into the Lewinsky affair. He chose the occasion of a White House prayer breakfast to mount a shamelessly political fightback, by turning a legal and political issue into a spiritual one. While noting that “I will instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defence”, he said: “But legal language must not obscure the fact I have done wrong.” 

In a speech at Georgetown university this week, Bill Clinton says America is even more polarised than it was when he became president in 1992 © Reuters

Casting himself as a humble repentant, he quoted scripture, apologised to those he had hurt, and (in a foxy shift of translative stasis) put his spiritual renewal into the hands of God — thus, by implication, raising it above and beyond the petty realm of impeachment proceedings. He even — as a notoriously fluent improviser — made the slightly hammy gesture of reading his remarks from a piece of paper and craving his audience’s indulgence in his wearing his glasses to do so. Here was an object show of human vulnerability, and a token of his seriousness. 

“I was up rather late last night thinking about and praying about what I ought to say today. And rather unusually for me, I actually tried to write it down. So if you will forgive me, I will do my best to say what it is I want to say to you. And I may have to take my glasses out to read my own writing.” 

To his opponents, that speech will have been enragingly brilliant. Mr Clinton, then, has always been at his best as a speaker when combining intellectual sinew with well-pitched displays of emotion. He’s an iron fist in a velvet glove; sentimental as a fox. 

And what of his comparison, in Georgetown, of then with now? Well. It’s curious, and salutary, to look back at the rhetoric of 25 years ago. Did you remember, for instance, that when he accepted the presidential nomination Mr Clinton gave a speech in which he railed against “Washington”, warned that we’re “losing the American dream”, approvingly described “citizens banding together to take their streets and neighbourhoods back” from “crime and drugs”, vowed to “rebuild America”, reform healthcare, “demand fair trade policies”, stick up for the “forgotten middle class” — and ended by promising to “make America great again”? Me neither. But he did. That shows, perhaps, how ideologically flexible the clichés of the political speech can be. [SOURCE]

Jesuits_How The Society Of Jesus Carries Out Its Goals: Declared list of Jesuits accused of sexual relations with children

Jesuit priest and former USF professor Donald McGuire with one of his alleged sexual victims in Walnut Creek, 1982.  Image, SF Weekly staff.
 
Feb. 8, 2023

The Jesuits USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province in December 2018 released a list of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. For the purposes of this list, a finding of credibility of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is based on a belief, with moral certitude, after careful investigation and review by professionals, that an incident of sexual abuse of a minor occurred, or probably occurred, with the possibility that it did not occur being highly unlikely. “Moral certitude” in this context means a high degree of probability, but short of absolute certainty. Inclusion on this list does not imply that the accused individual has been found guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims.


Since this list was first released, the province has periodically updated the list and is doing so today by adding the names of two persons: the late Daniel Campbell, SJ and David V. Meconi, a former member of the UCS Province who has now departed the Society of Jesus and the priesthood.

Reporting Abuse

The province urges anyone who experienced sexual abuse as a minor to report the offense to the law enforcement or child protective services in the locale where the abuse happened. Survivors are also encouraged to advise the Jesuits by calling Carol Zarinelli Brescia, Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She can be reached confidentially by phone at 314-915-7168 or email at ucsoutreach@jesuits.org.

Original Announcement

Dec. 7, 2018 – The Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province today released a list of names of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. This list contains the names of the Jesuits who are or were members of the U.S. Central and Southern (UCS) Province and its predecessor entities: the New Orleans Province, the Missouri Province, or the Independent Region of Puerto Rico of the Society of Jesus. These men fall into one of three categories:Jesuits of this province against whom one or more credible claims of sexual abuse of a minor or a vulnerable adult have been made;
Jesuits from other provinces against whom there are credible claims resulting from their work while assigned to this province;
Jesuits of this province whose names have been published on diocesan websites or the websites of other Jesuit provinces.

This list is based on investigations that have been completed. Jesuits with allegations that are currently being investigated have not been included on this list. Inclusion on this list does not imply that the allegations are true and correct or that the accused individual has been found guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. Additional information about each man follows the initial list. While a list of each man’s assignments is included, it is important to note that the allegations do not necessarily stem from any of the listed assignments.

List of Jesuits with Credible Allegations
Michael O. Barry, SJ
Charles Bartles, SJ
Jody Blanchard, SJ
Br. Everard J. Booth, SJ
José Angel Borges, SJ
Claude P. Boudreaux, SJ
Daniel V. Campbell, SJ
John Campbell, SJ
Cornelius J. Carr, SJ (New York Province which is now part of USA East Province)
Mark A. Clark, SJ
Francis X. Cleary SJ
James A. Condon, SJ (Chicago Province which is now part of USA Midwest Province)
Charles G. Coyle, SJ
Edward D. DeRussy, SJ
Donald Dickerson, SJ
Burton J. Fraser, SJ (Wisconsin Province which is now part of USA Midwest Province)
Chester E. Gaiter, SJ
Thomas J. Hatrel, SJ
Thomas J. Hidding, SJ
John W. Hough, SJ
Francis J. Kegel, SJ
Dennis P. Kirchoff, SJ
Bernard P. Knoth, SJ (Chicago Province which is now part of USA Midwest Province)
Patrick H. Koch, SJ
Philip D. Kraus, SJ
Francis M. Landwermeyer, SJ
Gerhardt B. Lehmkuhl, SJ
James D. Loeffler, SJ
Alfonso Madrid, SJ (Province of Mexico)
Eugene A. Maio, SJ
Vincent R. Malatesta, SJ
James L. McShane, SJ
David V. Meconi, SJ
Edward P. Murphy, SJ
Thomas J. Naughton, SJ (Priest of the New Orleans Province, NOT Brother Thomas Naughton of the Missouri Province)
Patrick H. O’Liddy, SJ
Vincent A. Orlando, SJ
Claude L. Ory, SJ (Brother, formerly in New Orleans Province, now USA East Province)
Austin N. Park SJ
J. Donald Pearce, SJ
George M. Pieper, SJ
Paul C. Pilgram, SJ
Samuel H. Ray, SJ
Elmo J. Rogero, SJ
Norman J. Rogge, SJ
Anthony J. Short, SJ
Benjamin Smylie, SJ
Arthur O. Verdieck, SJ
J. Patrick Walsh, SJ
Richard H. Witzofsky, SJ (Brother)
Benjamin Wren, SJ

See Fr. Ronald Mercier’s 2018 Statement

Frequently Asked Questions

Jesuits of the U.S. Central and Southern Province (and its predecessor entities) with Credible Allegations of Abuse of a Minor


This list contains the names of the Jesuits who are or were members of the U.S. Central and Southern (UCS) Province and its predecessor entities: the New Orleans Province, the Missouri Province, or the Independent Region of Puerto Rico of the Society of Jesus, and against whom a credible claim of sexual abuse of a minor has been made.

A Single Allegation


Michael O. Barry, SJ
Birth: 1948
Ordination: 1979
Status of Individual: Deceased 1987
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1983-85
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments: Regis High School, Denver * (see explanation at end) Cardinal Ritter High School, St. Louis
Saint Louis University Hospitals, St. Louis
White House Retreat, St. Louis


Jody Blanchard, SJ
Birth: 1953
Ordination: 1983
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1994 Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: Left Society of Jesus 1994
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Charles Borromeo Church, Grand Coteau, La.
Tulane Catholic Center, New Orleans
Immaculate Conception Parish, Baton Rouge, La.
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston


José Angel Borges, SJ
Birth: 1932
Ordination: 1969
Status of Individual: Deceased 2007
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Colegio San Ignacio, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Instituto Ignacio, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Parroquia San Ignacio, San Juan, Puerto Rico



Daniel V. Campbell, SJ
Birth: 1909
Ordination: 1940
Status of Individual: Deceased
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1955-59
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Saint Louis University, St. Louis
Jesuit Retreat House, Cushing, Okla.
Sacred Heart Retreat House, Sedalia, Colo.
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, St. Louis
United States Army Chaplain
Missouri Province Mission Band (based at St. Joseph Hall, Decatur, Ill.
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisc.
Holy Rosary Mission, Pine Ridge, S.D.
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis


Mark A. Clark, SJ
Birth: 1954
Ordination: N/A
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1989
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s Removed from Ministry: N/A – had already left when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Regis Jesuit High School, Denver* (see explanation at end)


Francis X. Cleary, SJ
Birth: 1929
Ordination: 1963
Status of Individual: Deceased 2010
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: Restricted 1988; Removed from ministry 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Fusz Memorial, St. Louis
Saint Louis University, St. Louis
Fusz Pavilion, St. Lou


Thomas J. Hidding, SJ
Birth: 1950
Ordination: 1986
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 2003; Deceased 2005
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Holy Name of Jesus Parish, New Orleans
Loyola University, New Orleans
Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, Fla.
Immaculate Conception Parish, New Orleans
Gesù Parish, Miami


John W. Hough, SJ
Birth: 1939
Ordination: 1973
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus and priesthood 1977
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – had already left the Society of Jesus when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Kapaun High School, Wichita, Kansas
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis


Francis J. Kegel, SJ
Birth: 1919
Ordination: N/A
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1953; Deceased 2009
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1940s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – already left Society of Jesus when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.


Dennis P. Kirchoff, SJ
Birth: 1955
Ordination: 1987
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1995
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1990s
Removed from Ministry: 1991
Pastoral Assignments:
Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis




Philip D. Kraus, SJ
Birth: 1941
Ordination: 1975
Status of Individual: Removed from ministry and lives under supervision
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: Restricted from ministry with minors 1996; Removed from ministry 2003
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Regis Jesuit High School, Denver, Colo. * (see explanation at end)
St. Francis Xavier Parish, Kansas City, Mo.
Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Mo.
White House Jesuit Retreat Office, St. Louis
Catholic Social Services, Peoria, Ill.
Sacred Heart Retreat House, Alhambra, Calif.
Jesuit Hall Community, St. Louis


Gerhardt B. Lehmkuhl, SJ
Birth: 1942
Ordination: 1974
Status of Individual: Deceased 2012
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1990s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Regis Jesuit High School, Denver * (see explanation at end)
De Smet High Jesuit Community, St. Louis
Jesuit Hall Community, St. Louis


Eugene A. Maio, SJ
Birth: 1929
Ordination: 1960
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1970; Left Priesthood 1971
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – had already left when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Regis High School, Denver * (see explanation at end)
Loyola University, Los Angeles
Saint Louis University, St. Louis


James L. McShane, SJ
Birth: 1907
Ordination: 1941
Status of Individual: Deceased 1993
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1950s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Missouri Province Mission Band
Sacred Heart Parish, Denver
St. Malachy Parish, St. Louis
Yoro, Honduras
Firmin Desloge Hospital, St. Louis
Fusz Memorial, St. Louis
Mt. Carmel, Pueblo, Colo.
De Smet Jesuit High School, St. Louis
Fusz Pavilion, St. Louis


David V. Meconi, SJ
Birth: 1965
Ordination: 2003
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus and Priesthood 2023
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 2015-16
Removed from Ministry: 2021
Pastoral Assignments:
Saint Louis University, St. Louis
Xavier University, Cincinnati


Edward P. Murphy, SJ
Birth: 1908
Ordination: 1942
Status of Individual: Deceased 1975
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1940s – 1950s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Denver


Thomas J. Naughton, SJ
NOTE: This is Fr. Thomas Naughton of the former New Orleans Province, not Bro. Thomas Naughton of the former Missouri Province
Birth: 1933
Ordination: 1965
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 2009; Deceased 2012
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Shreveport, La.
Manresa House of Retreats, Convent, La.
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Jesuit Seminary and Mission Bureau, New Orleans
Montserrat Retreat House, Lake Dallas, Texas
St. Killian Parish, Mission Viejo, Calif.


Patrick H. O’Liddy, SJ
Birth: 1956
Ordination: 1990
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 2000; Left priesthood 2001
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1990s
Removed from Ministry: 1999
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Regis University, Denver * (see explanation at end)


Vincent A. Orlando, SJ
Birth: 1941
Ordination: 1974
Status of Individual: Removed from ministry and lives under supervision
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.


Elmo J. Rogero, SJ
Birth: 1908
Ordination: 1944
Status of Individual: Deceased 1959
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1950s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Loyola University, New Orleans
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Immaculate Conception Church, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, New Orleans


Anthony J. Short, SJ
Birth: 1939
Ordination: 1971
Status of Individual: Deceased 2020
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s, 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2008
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, St. Louis
St. Stephen’s Mission, St. Stephen’s, Wyo.
Regis Jesuit High School, Denver * (see explanation at end)
Fusz Pavilion Jesuit Community, St. Louis
Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House Community, Sedalia, Colo.
Xavier Jesuit Center, Denver


Arthur O. Verdieck, SJ
Birth: 1918
Ordination: 1950
Status of Individual: Deceased 1980
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1950s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – Deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Campion High School, Prairie du Chien, Wisc.
Marquette High School, Milwaukee, Wisc.
Regis High School, Denver * (see explanation at end)
Regis College, Denver
Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City


Patrick Walsh, SJ
Birth: 1923
Ordination: 1952
Status of Individual: dismissed 1979; deceased 1993
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1959-60
Removed from Ministry: N/A-dismissed from Society and deceased when allegation established.
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Jesuit High School, Dallas
Corpus Christi Minor Seminary, Corpus Christi, Texas
St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, La.
St. Louis High School, Lake Charles, La.


More Than One Allegation


Everard J. Booth, SJ
Birth: 1917
Ordination: N/A – Jesuit brother
Status of Individual: Deceased 1986
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegations received
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, La.
New Orleans Province Provincial Office, New Orleans
St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
St. Joseph’s College, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Jesuit Seminary and Mission Bureau, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, New Orleans


Claude P. Boudreaux, SJ
Birth: 1924
Ordination: 1955
Status of Individual: Deceased 2016
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: 2004
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
St. Mary’s Church, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Sacred Heart Parish, El Paso, Texas
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Curia of the Society of Jesus, Rome, Italy
Jesuit House of Studies,
New Orleans Jesuit High School, New Orleans


John Campbell, SJ
Birth: 1920
Ordination: 1950
Status of Individual: Deceased 2009
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s – 1980s
Removed from Ministry: Restricted from minors 1985; Removed from ministry 1987
Pastoral Assignments:
Marquette University High School, Milwaukee, Wisc.
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Queen’s Work, St. Louis
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, St. Louis
White House Jesuit Retreat Office, St. Louis
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Fusz Memorial – Saint Louis University, St. Louis
Regis College Jesuit Community, Denver * (see explanation at end)
Xavier Jesuit Center, Denver


Charles G. Coyle, SJ
Birth: 1932
Ordination: 1965
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 2004, deceased 2015
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s – 70s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Woodstock College, Woodstock, Md.
Newton High, Newton, Mass.
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Holy Cross High, New Orleans
Tulane University, New Orleans
Ignatius House Retreat Center, Atlanta, Ga.
Montserrat Retreat House, Lake Dallas, Texas
Pastoral Ministry, New Orleans


Edward D. DeRussy, SJ
Birth: 1926
Ordination: 1957
Status of Individual: Deceased 2001
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: Restricted from ministry with minors 1991
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, Fla.
St. Joseph Church, Zephyrhills, Fla.
St. Benedict Church, Crystal River, Fla.
Ignatius Residence, New Orleans
St. John’s Hospital, Nassau Bay, Texas


Donald Dickerson, SJ
Birth: 1936
Ordination: 1980
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1986; Deceased 2018
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s, 1980s
Removed from Ministry: 1986
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit College Preparatory, Dallas
St. John Berchmans Parish, Shreveport, La.
Loyola University, New Orleans


Chester E. Gaiter, SJ
Birth: 1939
Ordination: 1976
Status of Individual: Deceased 2010
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s – 1980s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – infirm at time of allegations
Pastoral Assignments:
Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.
St. Matthew’s Parish, St. Louis
Cardinal Ritter High School, St. Louis
St. Joseph’s Parish, East St. Louis, Ill.
Jesuit Hall Community, St. Louis
Fusz Pavilion Jesuit Community, St. Louis


Patrick H. Koch, SJ
Birth: 1927
Ordination: 1957
Status of Individual: Deceased 2006
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970’s, 1980’s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation established.
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Jesuit College Preparatory, Dallas
Corpus Christi Minor Seminary, Corpus Christi, Texas
Montserrat Retreat House, Lake Dallas, Texas
Holy Trinity Seminary, Irving, Texas
St. Rita Parish, Dallas
Sacred Heart Academy, Tampa, Fla.
Treemont Retirement Community


Francis M. Landwermeyer, SJ
Birth: 1934
Ordination: 1966
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus and Priesthood, 2011; Deceased 2018
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s, 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2010
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisc.
Loyola University, New Orleans
Mercy Cross High School, Biloxi, Miss.
St. Thomas the Apostle, Charleston Heights, S.C.
Nouvel Central Catholic High, Saginaw, Mich.
Cardinal Newman High School, Columbia, S.C.
Central Catholic High, San Antonio Antonian High School, San Antonio
St. Cecilia, San Antonio


Vincent R. Malatesta, SJ
Birth: 1936
Ordination: 1961 (for the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey; entered Society of Jesus 1979)
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 2004
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments as a Jesuit Priest:
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Ignatius House Retreat Center, Atlanta


Austin N. Park, SJ
Birth: 1918
Ordination: 1955
Status of Individual: Deceased 2013
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – already out of ministry due to dementia when allegations received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and Shrine, San Antonio
Colegio San Ignacio, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Gesù Parish, Miami, Fla.
Christ the King Church, Grand Coteau, La.
Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, Fla.
Immaculate Conception Parish, New Orleans
St. Joseph Church, Houston
St. Mary’s Church, Greenville, S.C.
Our Lady of the Rosary, Greenville, S.C.
Sacred Heart Parish, El Paso, Texas
Oakdale Facility, Oakdale, La.
St. Philip Neri, Kinder, La.
St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, La.


J. Donald Pearce, SJ
Birth: 1925
Ordination: 1959
Status of Individual: Deceased 2016
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: Retired from Ministry in 2003 due to poor health
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
Loyola University, New Orleans
Corpus Christi Minor Seminary, Corpus Christi, Texas
Gesù Parish, Miami
Holy Name of Jesus Parish, New Orleans


George M. Pieper, SJ
Birth: 1917
Ordination: 1948
Status of Individual: Deceased 1998
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegations received
Pastoral Assignments:
Campion High School, Prairie du Chien, Wisc.
St. Francis Mission, St. Francis, S.D.
Kapaun High School, Wichita, Kansas
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Fusz Pavilion, St. Louis
Hallahan House Jesuit Community, St. Louis


Paul C. Pilgram, SJ
Birth: 1939
Ordination: 1970
Status of Individual: Deceased 2021
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s – 1990s
Removed from Ministry: Restricted from ministry with minors 1991; Removed from ministry 2003
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Stephen’s Mission, St. Stephen’s, Wyo.
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Regis Jesuit High School, Denver * (see explanation at end)
Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.
Fusz Pavilion Jesuit Community, St. Louis
White House Jesuit Retreat Office, St. Louis


Samuel H. Ray, SJ
Birth: 1894
Ordination: 1925
Status of Individual: Deceased 1983
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1940s, 1950s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation established.
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Loyola University, New Orleans
St. Joseph Church, Mobile, Ala.
St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, La.
Our Lady of the Oaks Retreat House, Grand Coteau, La.
St. Ann Parish, West Palm Beach, Fla.
U.S. Navy, Chaplain – Pacific Theater (World War II)
Manresa House of Retreats, Convent, La.
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
St. John’s Parish, Shreveport, La.
Sacred Heart Parish, El Paso, Texas
Ignatius Residence, New Orleans


Norman J. Rogge, SJ
Birth: 1925
Ordination: 1956
Status of Individual: Deceased 2009
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s, 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, Fla.
St. Charles Parish, Grand Coteau, La.
St. Ignatius Church, Mobile, Ala.
St. Patrick Church, Montgomery, La.
Immaculate Conception Parish, New Orleans
St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, La.


Benjamin Smylie, SJ
Birth: 1934
Ordination: 1985
Status of Individual: Deceased 2004
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegations received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit College Preparatory, Dallas, Texas
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
St. Rita Church, Dallas

Incardinated into the Diocese of Tyler, Texas in 1994


Richard H. Witzofsky, SJ (Brother)
Birth: 1929
Ordination: N/A (Jesuit brother)
Status of Individual: Deceased 2003
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2002
Pastoral Assignments:
St. Stanislaus Seminary, Florissant, Mo.
St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
Hallahan House Jesuit Community, St. Louis

Jesuits of Other Provinces/Regions
The following names are those of Jesuits who worked in what is now the Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province at the time of reported offense or were removed from ministry while working there. Also included here are Jesuits who are no longer members of this province, but the allegations address their actions while members of this province.

A Single Allegation


James A. Condon, SJ
(Former Chicago Province, now part of the Midwest Jesuits)
Birth: 1906
Ordination: 1939
Status of Individual: Deceased 1993
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments in this province:
The Queen’s Work, St. Louis — only assignment in Missouri Province


Burton J. Fraser, SJ
(Originally a member of the Missouri Province, became a member of the Wisconsin Province when it was created in 1955)
Birth: 1899
Ordination: 1935
Status of Individual: Deceased 1971
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1950s (while still a member of the Missouri Province)
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.
St. Mary’s College, St. Marys, Kansas
St. Francis Mission, St. Francis, S.D.
Sacred Heart Parish, Denver
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisc.
Chaplain, U.S. Military
Mt. Carmel, Pueblo, Colo.
Creighton University, Omaha, Neb.


Bernard P. Knoth, SJ
(Former Chicago Province, now Midwest Province)
Birth: 1948
Ordination: 1977
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus and Priesthood 2009
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s
Removed from Ministry: 2003 by the Chicago Province
Pastoral Assignments in this province:
Loyola University, New Orleans


More Than One Allegation


Cornelius J. Carr, SJ
(Former New York Province now USA East Province)
Birth: 1920
Ordination: 1951
Status of Individual: Deceased 2013
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s, 1990s
Removed from Ministry: 2005 (by the New York Province due to allegations they received)

Pastoral Assignment under this province:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans

Cornelius Carr also worked at the following locations. Although they are in the area covered by the New Orleans Province, he was under the jurisdiction of the province of which he was a member, now known as the USA East Province, Society of Jesus:
St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica, St. Augustine, Fla.
Christ the King Church, Jacksonville, Fla.


James D. Loeffler, SJ
(New England Province)
Birth: 1901
Ordination: 1953
Status of Individual: Deceased 1984
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1950s, 1960s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – allegations discovered during file review after his death
Pastoral Assignments in this province:
Gesù Parish, Miami
St. Ann Parish, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Sacred Heart Parish, El Paso, Texas
Immaculate Conception Parish, Albuquerque, N.M.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Antonio, Texas
Sacred Heart Parish, Augusta, Ga.
Christ the King Parish, Grand Coteau, La.
St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Key West, Fla.


Alfonso Madrid, SJ
(Province of Mexico)
Birth: 1915
Ordination: 1950
Status of Individual: Deceased 1982
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1960s, 1970s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegations received
Pastoral Assignments in this province:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
San Felipe Church, Albuquerque, N.M.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Antonio
Sacred Heart Parish, El Paso, Texas
Note: The Province of Mexico staffed St. Ignatius Parish in El Paso, Texas; Madrid worked there under the Province of Mexico.


Claude L. Ory, SJ (Brother)
(Former New Orleans Province, now USA East Province)
Birth: 1938
Ordination: N/A (Jesuit Brother)
Status of Individual: Member of USA East Province; removed from ministry and lives under supervision
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s
Removed from Ministry: 2007
Pastoral Assignments:
Spring Hill College / Jesuit House of Studies, Mobile, Ala.
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
St. John’s Parish, Shreveport, La.
Loyola University, New Orleans
Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston
Ignatius House Retreat Center, Atlanta
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Ignatius House Retreat Center, Atlanta
Loyola College, Baltimore

Jesuits of the Province who have been named in listings by other Provinces, Regions, Archdioceses or Dioceses

A Single Allegation


Thomas J. Hatrel, SJ
Birth: 1922
Ordination: 1952
Status of Individual: Deceased 1988
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1980s while applied to the Oregon Province
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, New Orleans
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Immaculate Conception Grade School, Fairbanks, Alaska
St. Ignatius Church, Alakanuck, Alaska


Benjamin Wren, SJ
Birth: 1931
Ordination: 1961
Status of Individual: Left Society of Jesus 1996; Deceased 2006
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s-1980s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – no longer a Jesuit, deceased when allegation received
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Dallas
Jesuit High School, El Paso, Texas
Loyola University, New Orleans
Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
Loyola University, New Orleans
Community of John the Evangelist, New Orleans

More Than One Allegation


Charles Bartles, SJ
Birth: 1936
Ordination: 1965
Status of Individual: Deceased 1993
Estimated Timeframe of Abuse: 1970s or 1980s
Removed from Ministry: N/A – deceased when listed
Pastoral Assignments:
Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.
Jesuit High School, Tampa, Fla.
Campion College, Kingston, Jamaica
Marist High School, Atlanta
Alaska Mission (Oregon Province)
Immaculate Conception Church, Bethel, Alaska
St. Ann Church, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Instituto Souza, Campinas, Brazil


* Until the fall of 1990, Regis University and Regis High shared the same campus and Jesuits assigned to either work lived in the same community. However, Jesuits who were assigned to the high school did not normally work in the university and those assigned to the university did not normally work in the high school.

[SOURCE]

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Trans Activism_The Case Of The WDBJ Murderer: Vester Lee Flanagan II


FROM WIKIPEDIA:
ABC News received a 23 page fax at 8:26 a.m. allegedly sent by Flanagan[53] titled, "Suicide Note for Friend & Family". In the document, Flanagan described his grievances over what he alleged to be racial discrimination and sexual harassment committed by black men and white women in his workplace, believing that he was targeted because he was a homosexual black man.[8][17][54] He claimed to have been provoked by the Charleston church shooting, two months before, and made threatening comments about Dylann Roof, the perpetrator of that crime.[51] Flanagan described the church shooting as a "tipping point", saying that his anger had been "building steadily" and describing himself as "a human powder keg ... just waiting to go BOOM".[8] A spokesman for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said that Flanagan "very closely identified" with "individuals who have committed domestic acts of violence and mass murder, as well as the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S."[55] Flanagan said that Jehovah had told him to act and expressed an admiration for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who perpetrated the 1999 Columbine High School massacre; and Seung-Hui Cho, the perpetrator of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.[17][56] Flanagan said in the note, "Yeah I'm all fucked up in the head."[57]
[SOURCE]

ByABC News
August 26, 2015, 2:03 PM

A man claiming to be Bryce Williams called ABC News over the last few weeks, saying he wanted to pitch a story and wanted to fax information. He never told ABC News what the story was.

This morning, a fax was in the machine (time stamped 8:26 a.m.) almost two hours after the shooting. A little after 10 a.m., he called again, and introduced himself as Bryce, but also said his legal name was Vester Lee Flanagan, and that he shot two people this morning. While on the phone, he said authorities are “after me,” and “all over the place.” He hung up. ABC News contacted the authorities immediately and provided them with the fax.

In the 23-page document faxed to ABC News, the writer says “MY NAME IS BRYCE WILLIAMS” and his legal name is Vester Lee Flanagan II. He writes what triggered today’s carnage was his reaction to the racism of the Charleston church shooting:


Vester Lee Flanagan II, the suspect in the Virginia shootings of a news reporter and cameraman, faxed a 23-page document to ABC News.

“Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15…”

Sources say Flanagan's firearm was legally purchased from a Virginia gun store.

“What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them."

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It is unclear whose initials he is referring to. He continues, “As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE …(deleted)!!!” He said Jehovah spoke to him, telling him to act.


Vester Lee Flanagan II, the suspect in the Virginia shootings of a news reporter and cameraman, faxed a 23-page document to ABC News.

Later in the manifesto, the writer quotes the Virginia Tech mass killer, Seung Hui Cho, calls him “his boy,” and expresses admiration for the Columbine High School killers. “Also, I was influenced by Seung–Hui Cho. That’s my boy right there. He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold got…just sayin.'"

Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News that in his attack, Flanagan used a Glock 19 -- a firearm similar to one that Cho used in his mass attack.

In Flanagan's often rambling letter to authorities, family and friends, he writes of a long list of grievances. In one part of the document, Flanagan calls it a “Suicide Note for Friends and Family."
He says he has been attacked by black men and white females
He talks about how he was attacked for being a gay, black man
He says has suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work

A source with direct knowledge of his complaints against the station said a pair of tweets sent today and attributed to him accurately reflect previous complaints he lodged against the two people he killed today. These are the two Tweets: “Alison made racist comments,” and, “Adam went to hr on me after working with me one time!!!”



Nowhere in the document does he make specific threats against anyone from WDBJ.

In his manifesto, he says he encountered "nasty racist things" while working at WDBJ-7 in Roanoke, and that drove him to sue the station. "I marched down to the courthouse and sued WDBJ7 by myself and they settled! HA!"

He continues: "I can remember one day in particular... leaving the courthouse... feeling overwhelmed... confused... even some fear. But by golly I knew I HAD to fight. ... They truly f----d with my life and caused an awful chain of events." He says he even killed his cats in a forest "because of them."


Flanagan says that, "Hell yeah, I made mistakes," noting that he "should not have been so curt" with photographers in Roanoke. "[B]ut you know why I was? The damn news director was a micromanaging tyrant!!"

And, he writes, "the photogs were out to get me at WDBJ7... one went to HR after only working with me one time... the chief photog told his troops to [record video of] me if they saw be doing something wrong."

Flanagan then suggests that, after leaving WDBJ-7, he was offered a job at a station in Pennsylvania, but WDBJ-7 persuaded the Pennsylvania station to rescind the offer.

"I got to the point, this time around, where I wasn't even looking for a job. I don't need to deal with workplace bullies anymore. THAT is what lawmakers need to focus on," he adds.


Vester Lee Flanagan II, the suspect in the Virginia shootings of a news reporter and cameraman, faxed a 23-page document to ABC News.

“Yes, it will sound like I am angry," he writes in his manifesto. "I am. And I have every right to be. But when I leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace....”


“The church shooting was the tipping point…but my anger has been building steadily...I’ve been a human powder keg for a while…just waiting to go BOOM!!!!”

He chronicles the "tough times" he's faced, including some "financial crashes." He says he used to work as a male escort but, "I am proud of it" because he "made thousands."

"[I] tried to pull myself up by the bootstraps," but, "The damage was already done and when someone gets to this point, there is nothing that can be said or done to change their sadness to happiness. It does not work that way. Meds? Nah. It's too much."

"And then, after the unthinkable happened in Charleston, THAT WAS IT!!!"

"Yeah I'm all f----- up in the head," he concedes. [SOURCE]