The Iron Fist in Francis' Velvet Glove: Former Prelate Under House Arrest in Vatican

Behind Francis I's meek demeanor lies a firebrand when his clergy sin gravely. It just takes time before the firebrand comes out:

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis had ordered the arrest of a former Polish archbishop accused of child sex abuse in the Dominican Republic because the case was “so serious,” the Vatican said Tuesday (Sept. 23).

Jozef Wesolowski, who was defrocked by a Vatican tribunal earlier this year, is under house arrest inside Vatican City due to the “express desire” of Pope Francis, the Vatican said in a statement.

Over thirteen months ago, Wesolowski resigned as the papal nuncio for the Dominican Republic amidst charges that he had sexual abused children.

New York Times:

He was a familiar figure to the skinny shoeshine boys who work along the oceanfront promenade here. Wearing black track pants and a baseball cap pulled low over his balding head, they say, he would stroll along in the late afternoon and bring one of them down to the rocky shoreline or to a deserted monument for a local Catholic hero.

He was then called back to Rome and a battle of extradition ensued: the Vatican stated that since he was a diplomat, he could not be extradited to the Dominican Republic and that he would be, instead, tried by the papal court. The Dominican Republic was not appeased:

“From the pure standpoint of justice, he should be tried in the country where the acts took place because the conditions for trying him will not be the same elsewhere,” said Antonio Medina Calcaño, dean of the faculty of law and political science of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. “But all we can do is hope that the courts in the Vatican will treat this with the severity that it really deserves.”

Timing Is Everything?

July 7:

“I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not.” 

That was said in the wake of an historic meeting with victims of sexual abuse by clergy. Some didn't think the meeting was sincere enough:

“Over the past 2,000 years, two popes have met with about two dozen clergy sex abuse victims. Very little has changed,” Mary Caplan, a leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said.

Many also stated that the foot-dragging of the papal judicial system was discouraging, with one Dominican Republic bishop shocked to see Wesolowski walking freely around the streets of Rome.

But Francis has been working with a bureaucratic, antiquated system, a system of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (scion of the old Inquisition) headed at one time by Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict the XVII). It took a while before Wesolowski was laicized (defrocked), then he appealed the laicization, and a longer time ensued before any trial proceedings could begin (sound familiar?) Also: Wesolowski was the highest-ranking Catholic clergyman ever to be accused of child abuse.

Wesolowski may now be waiting several trials: in the Vatican, in the Dominican Republic and in his native Poland (he was ordained and made bishop by Pope John-Paul II). It is up to Francis, as head of the Vatican state, to determine if he can be extradited to the other countries.

Little Francis Meek And Mild. Not.

America's Christian Right now has another reason to fear Francis: his simplicity and preference for the poor have caused shock waves throughout "prosperity gospel" and capitalist churches and now his determination in bringing errant clerics to justice is sending shivers up the spines of some youth pastors and their leading "bishops.*" They can poo-poo his economics as naive, but not his backbone in the face of corruption.


*Like Eddie Long.

When "Slipping Through The Cracks" Is No Excuse: The Negligence Of Some Child Welfare Workers

'It was just like every inch of this child had been abused,'

"Before 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez was allegedly beaten to death by his mother and her boyfriend, they doused him with pepper spray, forced him to eat his own vomit and locked him in a cabinet with a sock stuffed in his mouth to muffle his screams, according to court records made public Monday."

But that was not the entire extent of his abuse. You may not want to read the entire L.A. Times article if you are sensitive to the issue because it contains some graphic descriptions of unbelievable abuse, but know that the case has sparked an outcry for reform of a child welfare system that was clearly inept.

When paramedics arrived, they found Gabriel naked in a bedroom, not breathing, with a cracked skull, three broken ribs and BB pellets embedded in his lung and groin. He died two days later.
"It was just like every inch of this child had been abused," testified James Cermak, a Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic.

Gabriel's mother, Pearl, said that Gabriel had hit his head on a dresser. 

Pearl Fernandez and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, are in jail awaiting trial for capital murder and special circumstances of torture. 

The torture consisted of heinous acts, the least of which was making Gabriel wear humiliating girl's dresses to school because he liked playing with dolls. His murder has gone viral, because, like another publicized abuse/death - the case of Zachary Dutro Boggess - one of the "reasons" for his abuse was that he acted too "gay". Another reason: a system where "slipping through the cracks" means death. Months before his death, Gabriel wrote a suicide note, but it was dismissed as nothing consequential by child welfare workers (it contained no mode of suicide - kids have to be more specific than that!).  Reports of abuse from teachers were poorly followed up. "Huge caseloads" and "inexperience" were cited. 

"Inexperience". How experienced do you have to be to read a suicide note of any sort and not take action? How inexperienced do you have to be to visit a house more than several times, see bruises and not put the dots together? How inexperienced do you have to be to take the initial testimony of siblings as the truth - kids who are obviously scared the same thing will happen to them? 

The Good, The Bad And The Totally Inept

To be fair, some social workers can only be as effective as the law allows: Child Protective Services vary from region to region according to what authority they actually have. Some parents are very crafty and intimidating (e.g. Fred Phelps - the "Man Addicted To Hate" - repeatedly fended off CPS in Topeka, KS despite warnings from teachers and neighbors). Some truly are over-burdened with caseloads and become duly depressed about their work.  

The workers in Gabriel's and Zachary's cases, however, were absolutely negligent:

Four county Department of Child and Family Services employees will be fired over their involvement in the case of Gabriel Fernandez, the 8-year-old Palmdale boy who died in May, after allegedly being tortured by his mother's live-in boyfriend.

According to a statement from County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, the four include two social workers and two supervisors. Three others involved in evaluating multiple reports of abuse of Fernandez were issued warning or reprimand letters.
DCFS records showed that there had been five previous reports of abuse of the little boy, but that social workers had deemed them "unfounded." A sixth case was being investigated at the time of his death.

Five reports. FIVE. Five reports and a suicide note. 

Zachary Dutro-Brugess was murdered in, of all places, a homeless shelter. His abuse was reported by his older sister who had been abused as well, but not by the shelter.

Jezebel:

While [Jack] Schwab [Director of the Good Neighbor Shelter in Tigard, Oregon] says that the staff never saw anything that could be reported, it's hard to believe that such abuse could have gone on without the staff having even an inkling. And even those inklings can be reported.

Negligent Abuse

What happened to both children might have been prevented, had people paid attention. Unfortunately, we can't make lack of attention a crime, nor can we make negligence or ineptitude a felony. To some, the firing of two social workers and two supervisors was enough in Gabriel's case. To some, the consciences of the Good Neighbor Shelter will deliver justice. 

To Gabriel and Zachary, however, justice may not have been served.

Just a thought.

Remembering That Gabriel Had Two Mommies: A Mother's Day Tribute In The Wake Of Tragedy

Gabriel did not die because his moms were lesbian. His death was not the byproduct of homophobia. His fate was not because of a violation of any legal custody issues. His story is bigger than any of that. - Rob Watson, LGBTQNation

Mother's Day evokes memories of dedicated love: a love so deep and pure that it transcends even physical attachment. I was born in an institution called St. Vincent's Infant Asylum and Maternity Hospital (Chicago) and put up for adoption from birth. My (adoptive) mother first saw me when I was 15 months old. I've never had a wish to know anything about my birth mother. I've never had reason to. Evelyn S. Vojir was my real mother, after all. A womb is not necessarily a mother.

Adoptive parents have always been held to a different standard: their desire to nurture a child seems somehow stronger, more definite than natural parents, especially if they will take ANY child that is given to them. But gay adoptive parents' desire to nurture has been called to question by the Christian Right, the meme "every child deserves both a mother and a father" being thrust forward at every moment of the gay adoption debate.

The Tragedy of Gabriel

The 17-year-old father of a baby boy who died just weeks after his birth mother took him back from his lesbian adoptive parents has been charged with first-degree murder.
Four-month-old Gabriel King McFarland was found unresponsive on April 22 by his mother after she left the baby in the care of his father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, at their Des Moines, Iowa home.
The boy later passed away and an autopsy revealed that Gabriel died of an abusive head trauma, which authorities say he suffered at the hands of his teen dad.

The motive for the murder is not yet known, but one obvious cause of Gabriel's death is immaturity: immaturity and instability. A 16 year-old girl's fecklessness and inability to carry out commitment has caused more grief than joy. Her inability to ascertain the father's character was also a factor.

The video below goes at length about the causes of death and the circumstances, but the last two minutes may be the most telling of all: "why was this baby ripped away" from his loving adoptive parents?

Attorneys Everywhere - Protection Nowhere

One thing has come to light since the case was first reported: Heidi and Rachel McFarland hold their own attorney responsible for not filing the paperwork terminating parental rights.

“It’s a two-step process. The first step is to file a termination of parental rights. That process is normally started by obtaining a release of custody from at least one of the two parents,” [Ryan] Genest says. [Genest is a lawyer specializing in adoptions not related to the case]
From there the birth parents have a limited amount of time to change their minds.
“Any parent that signed the release, there’s 96 hours to change their mind. For any reason. If they fail to change their mind in those 96 hours they can ask the court to revoke their release, but at that point they have to show what’s called good cause,” Genest added.

96 hours is a far cry from two months - the entire time that the McFarland's had baby Gabriel.

The McFarlands also paid for lawyers for Gabriel's birth mother and Gabriel himself. They now have no money ... and no baby Gabriel.

Motive vs Cause

The father, 17-year-old Drew Wheeler-Smith, has yet to enter a plea - let alone a motive - for the murder of Gabriel, but the motive may determine the physical cause: if he believed that mother Markeya Atkins had changed her mind again and decided to give Gabriel back to her adoptive lesbian parents, then the issue becomes one of homophobia, but as Rob Watson has said, the tragedy of Gabriel transcends many issues. 

Homophobia. Immaturity. Attorney malfeasance. They may all have played a part in Gabriel's death ... and the McFarland's misery.

“We had been scrutinized, our life style has been scrutinized, the people in our lives have been scrutinized, we had to have letters of reference for this home study, to make sure we were…adequate as parents..” said Rachel, “ And, they never had to have anything when they took him back.”

Remembering Gabriel's Moms

In Rob Watson's letter to the McFarlands, he stated what the rest of us should feel for Gabriel's two moms:

In a few weeks, it will be Mothers Day. On that day, I will buy two roses to honor you. I will look on them and think of you, as you are: Gabriel’s Moms, now and forever.

Hey, Kids: On Thanksgiving, Be Thankful That Your Parents Don't Follow These Pearls Of Wisdom.

They might land your parents in jail - and you in the morgue.

Last week's sentencing of Larri and Carrie Williams for the death of their daughter Hanna Williams refocused on the books and teachings of Michael and Debbi Pearl:

Two parents in Washington state have been found guilty of murder after following the abusive parenting techniques advocated in the parenting book "To Train Up a Child" by Michael and Debi Pearl.

It all started with James Dobson

In the 50s parental child abuse seemed to terminate with Dr. Benjamin Spock. In fact, it was Spock who was blamed for the permissive parenting (hence the rebellious, anti-war youth) in the 50s and 60s. He was widely criticized for encouraging parents to treat each child as an individual - an individual who needed self-expression and affection.

The Christian Right started to find a niche in the pro-war movement, denouncing the "hippies" who were pro-"love" and anti-war (it was Norman Vincent Peale who spearheaded a denunciation of Spock and his guidelines). And while they weren't as successful as they wished in bringing youth (via discipline) back to the fold, they proclaimed their voice and stance through preachers and televangelists like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.Nevertheless, the hawk disaster that was Viet Nam made things difficult for preachers of stern parenting, so it was with a sigh of relief that Dr. James Dobson came on the scene with "Dare to Discipline" (1977). Dobson became founder of the "Vatican of the West" - Focus on The Family with its headquarters in Colorado Springs - as well as a prominent leader in the Christian Right.*

Dobson's influence increased with by his stance against homosexuality and his opinion that it was a "choice" brought about by environmental factors. The Christian Right, of course, ate it up, including his views on parenting: "spanking" became OK - to a limited degree - and stern, disciplinary parents felt vindicated and relieved.

The Words Of A Knife-throwing Sadist** And A Jesus Freak***.

When the Pearls came on the scene with To Train Up A Child in 1994, few people bought into the idea that rebellious children, like livestock, could be trained into docile, obedient kids willing to do their parent's bidding at the drop of a hat. But the champion "hatchet man"* and his Jesus Freak mate* persevered, producing subsequent books, becoming a grass roots effort to tame children according to the Bible.

"625,000 copies in print!"

The most disturbing thing about the Pearls' cover: not the smiling child unaware that he's about to be "disciplined" if he quits smiling, but the "625,000 copies in print." It may be true that the Pearls now have a following, but it is the following of parents who are willing to "break their spirits" at any cost. In this aspect, the Pearls treat children more like horses. Rubber hoses are used more like riding crops - crops that will leave no mark should the child welfare agency come around.

The title, of course, should be indicative: the Pearls are not about rearing or parenting, but TRAINING and subduing any child's willfulness. Children are "disciplined" with switches as young as 6 months old. Boundaries are set (indeed, there are admonitions for children who crawl off a blanket). And while it is true that they guard against abuse, they delight in submissive, obedient children to the point of obsession:

In a lengthy diatribe on his Facebook fan page, he wrote that he and his family are all laughing at the "caustic critics" who have come out against him after the death of Lydia Schatz. He writes that children who are disciplined according to his methods "...become the models of self-control and discipline... that pay the taxes your children will receive in entitlements."

"My granddaughters laugh with joy after giving their baby dolls a spanking for “being naughty” because they know their dolls will grow up to be the best mamas and daddies in the world—just like them."

Perhaps they "laugh with joy" because they are transferring the pain down to another object. The possibility that these children will make good parents is slim indeed.

"Truly An Evil Book"

Although the Pearls actually make conciliatory statements against child abuse, most people agree with the definition of child abuse as causing undue pain. The abhorrent technique of causing pain to infants has caused people to speak out against the Pearls and focus on when their techniques are put to overuse. Review on Amazon:

2 people wrote this book. 900 people gave this book 5-star reviews. That's 902 people that the police should be keeping an eye on.

Too bad the police didn't keep an eye on Carrie and Larry Williams: 

On the night of May 11, 2011, sometime around midnight, 13-year-old Hana Williams fell face-forward in her parents’ backyard. Adopted from Ethiopia three years before, Hana was naked and severely underweight. Her head had recently been shaved, and her body bore the scars of repeated beatings with a plastic plumbing hose. Inside the house, her adoptive mother, 42-year-old Carri Williams, and a number of Hana’s eight siblings had been peering out the window for the past few hours, watching as Hana staggered and thrashed around, removed her clothing in what is known as hypothermic paradoxical undressing and fell repeatedly, hitting her head. According to Hana’s brother Immanuel, a deaf 10-year-old also adopted from Ethiopia, the family appeared to be laughing at her.

Hana was pronounced dead at the hospital, the cause hypothermia compounded by malnutrition and gastritis. The following day, when Child Protective Services tried to check on the other children, Larry Williams refused to let them in. When police followed up, a deputy noted that the family acted as though Hana’s death was “an everyday occurrence.” Twelve days later, detectives and CPS conducted interviews with the children, but their answers seemed rote and rehearsed, all repeating that Hana was rebellious and refused to mind Carri; one child said he thought Hana was possessed by demons. According to investigators, Immanuel said that “people like [Hana] got spankings for lying and go into the fires of hell,” just before Larry abruptly ended the interview.

As investigators searched the house—so orderly it didn’t look like eight children lived there, wrote Detective Theresa Luvera in her warrant affidavit—they found a fundamentalist Christian child-rearing book called To Train Up A Child, written by Michael and Debi Pearl, which advises raising children to obey without question by starting to spank them when they're just a few months old. The book has been implicated in the beating deaths of two other adoptees—an American boy in North Carolina and a Liberian girl in California; the prosecuting attorney in the latter case, Michael Ramsey, called it “truly an evil book.”

Giving Thanks

While the abusive "training techniques" were carried to the exceptional extremes, the Williamses are not alone in their zealous behavior: millions of children are "trained" routinely, using the spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child dictum of the Old Testament. Some of those children will overcome the beatings (as some of their parents had), while others will not: they will suffer emotional as well as physical scars and a few, like Hana, will die. 

Children across the country may not know it, but they should be giving thanks that their parents are not following the Pearls' teachings or their "truly evil book."

*While not an ordained minister, Dobson has his 18 honorary doctorates from Christian colleges and universities prominently displayed behind glass at Focus On The Family.

** From the book:

On another note, Michael is an inductee into the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame and holds several world titles, including Gold Cup winner of 2008-9, long distance thrower of the year with a record all time high of hitting a four inch target at 63 feet, and he is the undisputed best tomahawk thrower of 2009, holding the world title.

***Debi Pearl grew up during the 1960s at the height of the hippie revolution and the Jesus Movement. The forced draft due to the Vietnam War brought a sense of eternity to the youth, provoking them to seriously consider their souls. It was a time of a great move of the Spirit of God. As a teenager, dressed in tie-dye tee shirt and long drooping peasant skirt, she stood on the highways and byways sharing the gospel and seeing miracle after miracle of God’s amazing grace. She married her life mate, Michael Pearl, in 1971.

Well, It IS Texas: Horrible Story of Homophobic Child Abuse Hits The Net

This just in from Dallas-Fort Worth:

“My cousin at the time he was 18. My son he was 15 and I had walked in the room on [my cousin] giving oral sex to my son and I started whooping my son, and I’m the one who got in trouble as a result of me whooping him,” she said. “When I walked in I saw my son, it was just disgusting to me, the way he was looking and my cousin was looking, and my cousin immediately ran out the door. And I’m just like what the?!? You know, is you serious? So that was my reaction because it disgusted me.”

Listen to the audio: the woman sounds stereotypically illiterate, but you have to wonder just how many of her are still out there.

And wonder about the first policeman who said "I would have shot them both."