Saturday, November 21, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: MORNING STAR INVESTIGATION

Group wants boys' ranch priest out

SNAP calls for resignation 'because of the allegations'

Rita Flynn, the mother of 11 children, spoke during a press conference at the entrance of Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Friday. (Jed Conklin/The Spokesman-Review)

Virginia de Leon
Staff writer
July 2, 2005

Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters stood outside Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Friday to demand the resignation of the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, the longtime director of the residential group home.

A priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Weitensteiner has been accused of physically assaulting boys at Morning Star during the 1970s. Former residents and counselors also have alleged that the Catholic priest's strict disciplinary methods were far more severe than the corporal punishment that was legal at the time.

Despite assurances from Morning Star staff that child safety is the ranch's "highest priority," members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests insisted that the boys who live there still could be in danger.

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"The environment here is not safe and secure," said Molly Harding, co-founder of the local organization. In recent weeks, she and others have heard from several men who said they were physically abused as boys by Weitensteiner and other staff members.

"Father Joe should resign as director because of the allegations against him," she said. "Given his history, he should no longer be the director of a ranch for troubled boys."

Harding was among eight people who allege they have been abused and that the diocese did nothing to protect children despite the concerns they raised over the years.

The ranch's 18 residents were not on the premises during the conference, according to PJ Watters, Morning Star's director of communications and development. The boys were temporarily removed from the ranch because staff members were unsure about the nature of Friday's protest and wanted to protect their privacy.

Watters emphasized that Morning Star is overseen by the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services and that the ranch continues to be in good standing. She also noted that there are no current allegations of abuse or pending lawsuits against Weitensteiner or anyone else at Morning Star.

The priest and members of Morning Star's board are expected to respond to the allegations late next week, said Watters. The ranch has received an "onslaught" of mail and telephone calls in recent weeks – mostly supportive, she said – but it has taken time for Morning Star's staff to dig through records, talk to people and investigate alleged incidents that happened three decades ago, she said. That's why Weitensteiner hasn't been able to speak publicly in his defense, she said.

It's been a very difficult time for everyone at the ranch, particularly for the priest, she said. "He's trying to figure out what to make of all this," said Watters. "He has dedicated his whole life to these boys."

The 20 members of the board – which is down by one person since Mayor Jim West resigned in May – met last week to discuss how to conduct an investigation into the accusations against Weitensteiner, Watters said. To conduct a truly objective examination of the facts, the board may seek help from an independent third party such as DSHS or perhaps an organization like the Child Welfare League of America.

Members of Morning Star's board also determined that they will hire a public relations firm to address people's concerns, she said.

Earlier this week, Weitensteiner and Morning Star Board President Bob Durgan sent a letter to a mailing list of about 9,000 people. "Our mission is to serve boys in need," they wrote. "Despite recent stories in the media, we assure you that your trust and confidence in the staff here at Morning Star has never been more deserved."

The letter noted a recent community award the ranch received for the way it has conducted business as a nonprofit and also quoted an alumnus who recently brought his daughter to meet the priest, who has been known for years simply as "Father Joe."

Weitensteiner and Durgan also directed people to the ranch's Web site for news about Morning Star instead of getting information from the media.

"We have heard from some of you that recent press coverage has been misleading or confusing," they wrote. "We will use this page to correct and clarify the issues presented in media stories about Morning Star."

Because Weitensteiner is a priest of the Diocese of Spokane, the accusations of physical abuse against him will be looked into this month by the diocesan review board, a group of people who share their expertise with Bishop William Skylstad to assess allegations against priests.

The eight-member board, which includes the Rev. Steve Dublinski, the diocese's vicar general, was created to address claims of sexual abuse against priests and employees of the diocese. However, in cases of physical or emotional abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult, the diocese's code of conduct requires the diocese to "react in a similar mode as in the case of sexual abuse."

Clergy accused of sexual abuse are immediately removed from ministry during the investigation. "Father Joe has not been removed from ministry," said Dublinski, emphasizing that the code of conduct states that allegations of physical abuse will be treated in a "similar" mode. "Similar does not mean exactly the same," he said.

Retired Judge Philip Thompson, head of the diocesan review board, declined to talk about Weitensteiner's case Friday afternoon. Thompson's only comment was that he plans to resign from the board next week.

Weitensteiner, who is 73 and retired as a priest, doesn't work at any of the parishes. His only position is the one at Morning Star. But since the ranch is separately incorporated from the diocese, only the board can decide what to do with Weitensteiner's position during an investigation, said the vicar general.

Although there are no current allegations of abuse against Weitensteiner or Morning Star, it doesn't mean that these incidents didn't happen given the ranch's history and Weitensteiner's own past, asserted members of the Survivors' Network and their supporters. "There's such a plague of silence surrounding sex abuse," Harding said. "It's hard to talk about the physical abuse alone. … We are really saddened because we're hearing from a lot of (victims)."