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If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not alone. We are here to help you. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Hawaii Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case. Help is available nationwide. There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation. Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing. Church Sexual Assault Lawyer Hawaii
Reasons to call
- Hold the church and priests accountable
- Prevent this from happening to someone else
- Help with the road to recovery – settlement money can provide financial security for you. It can also help pay for therapy, rehabilitation, and medical treatment
Please call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or fill out our confidential contact form and a lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your case. Hawaii Church Sexual Assault Lawyer
Hawaii Church Sexual Assault Lawyer
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Church Sexual Assault Lawyer Hawaii
Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Honolulu Hawaii
Child sexual abuse allegations have been in the news thanks to recent revelations like the 1500-page Pennsylvania grand jury report, released in fall 2018, that detailed predatory behavior by over 300 priests. However, scattered pieces of information have been trickling out for decades. Even before the scale of the abuse and cover-ups were clear, predators in the clergy have occasionally been exposed.
Hawaii Church Sexual Assault Lawyer
This is the case with Anthony Ferrario, the first US bishop to be publicly accused of sexual misconduct. Ferrario was ordained in 1950 and, living on Oahu, was made a bishop in the 1980s. Ferrario was accused of sexually abusing boys in five cases between 1969 and 1981, most of them at Saint Anthony Church in Kailua, Hawaii.
Church Sexual Assault Lawyer Hawaii
One case was well-publicized because the victim, Anthony Figueroa, went public. He told his story on Geraldo Rivera’s TV show in 1990, saying that he and Ferrario had sexual contact throughout his teens and that the priest paid him money for odd jobs in return.
Ferrario was eventually appointed head of the church in Hawaii, a position he would hold from 1982 to 1993. And most shockingly, a recent court report by father Thomas Doyle reveals that other church higher-ups knew about the abuse before deciding to appoint him to this position of power. Due to statutes of limitations, Ferrario was never prosecuted. He died in 2003.
Hawaii Church Sexual Assault Lawyer
Although he is perhaps the highest profile example of the problems in the Hawaiian church, there have been numerous others, including Arthur O’Brien, a priest incardinated by Ferrario who was eventually convicted of sexual assault, and James Gonsalves, a priest who pleaded guilty in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy. Local church officials have responded to these and other accusations. In 2018 the Bishop of Honolulu addressed parishioners in a letter, writing that while sexual abuse scandals in Pennsylvania have been well publicized, “we have to shamefully admit that abuse of minors by clergy and Church workers took place here in Hawaii as well.” He adds that the church has a full-time Director of Safe Environment and has policies and procedures in place to prevent such atrocities from happening again.
Church Sexual Assault Lawyer Hawaii
In 1990, a bishop could be exposed as a predator on a TV talk show and still retain a position of power for years afterward. Today, the steps taken by the church, lawmakers and others provide hope that accusations of child abuse will be taken more seriously and victims will not have to wait as long for justice.
Hawaii Church Sexual Assault Lawyer