Miriam From Jerusalem
".....I am at war with ignorance and intolerance. I am at war with decisions by rabbinic leaders which I believe are harmful to Klal Yisroel. I am at war with any individual or group that causes a Chilul HaShem. And I will continue speaking out on those issues. NOT because I am at war with people, but because I am at war with what they do. Even if they do so in the name of God! Those who act in ways which create a Chilul HaShem while claiming to be doing a Kiddush HaShem will succeed only in the former and fail in the latter.
Am I always right on every issue? That is my hope, but I freely admit that I may be wrong on some issues. Since I am only a human being with only finite wisdom, all I can do is follow my conscience. A conscience that was formed by my upbringing, my education, and my experience. I see an injustice and I use my own God given intelligence to analyze and comment on it. That is the least anyone can ask of a human being.
But to sit silently by while our world, the Torah world, goes to hell in a hand-basket, even though the road to it is paved with the best of intentions... is to violate at least the spirit if not the letter of the Torah's admonition Lo Samod Al Dam Reiacha. Do not stand idly by, while your friend's blood is being spilled. And my friend is Klal Yisroel, all of it... or an individual part of it.
To look the other way when an individual or a group of people who identify... and are identified by others... as religious Jews, while they commit grievous Chilulei HaShem...to ignore decisions that affect the well being of tens of thousands of religious Jews by rabbinic leaders who refuse to make necessary changes in their communities... to sweep under the rug violations of a sexual nature by others because it reflects badly on 'us' at the expense of the victims... well, I'm not going to do that.
Just to be clear. I do not say that I have an exclusive monopoly on the truth in those instances in which I speak out.[ And I am not in any way accusing any of the rabbinic leadership of our people of nefarious motives or evil, God forbid. They are all certainly great people who are far more knowledgeable than I am in Torah. People with great wisdom indeed. And I am absolutely convinced that their decisions are based on their best interpretation of justice and right as seen through the eyes of the Torah as they understand it.(For the historical record-I absolutely do not agree with this statement that is parenthisized, Miriam does not know the facts or the evidence - UOJ- *** more below)] But even though I am not as great as these people, I will still speak out if I feel their decisions are wrong in spite of their great wisdom. People can disagree with me and that is their right. But I am not going to stop.
And anyone else who sees injustice should speak out as well. Often! Until they are heard. When there is injustice in the world, especially in our world, the Torah world, we must do everything in our power to try and stop it, without creating other injustices in the process. That is why I speak out. That is why we all should."
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****The terrible honest mistake Miriam makes (in parenthesis) is based on an error in our thinking. Yes, there are rabbis with Torah knowledge that may have more Torah knowledge than the average Jew. Does that necessarily mean they have more knowledge or any knowledge on sexual abuse?
Does that mean that any rabbi whether on the East Coast Or West Coast, that was aware that a teacher was a child molester, and permitted that teacher to be among kids, is not a criminal, rasha, and an evil despicable vicious ignoramus?
Do these people have any wisdom? Does common sense mean anything? We must learn that the answer is a resounding NO!!! The rabbis can not be trusted blindly. There must be accountability from every person, every institution, everyone that is in public life.
Look at Kashruth! Half of the foods certified as kosher are clearly NOT! The plants supposedly under kosher supervision, have NO supervision. Who are they afraid of? Belsky? Heinemann? The biggest money-grubbing pigs in Kashruth. Who is watching anyone at the various plants around the world? NOBODY! Nobody is watching in America...do you think the Chinese give a hoot about some putz with a beard that shows up at their plant twice a year to pick up their check?
No Miriam, the rabbis of this generation are imitators of real rabbis. There may be some with Torah knowledge, so what, too many of them are horrible humans (not all). We must trust nobody because of their clothing. We must trust nobody blindly! Nobody! Look at the situation of Orthodox Judaism and cry!
UOJ
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BREAKING NEWS
Hit the bastards in their pockets...the only language they understand!
LA church to pay $600M for clergy abuse By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle its clergy abuse cases for at least $600 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, The Associated Press learned Saturday.
Attorneys for the archdiocese and the plaintiffs are expected to announce the deal Monday, the day the first of more than 500 clergy abuse cases was scheduled for jury selection, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been made public.
The archdiocese and its insurers will pay between $600 million and $650 million to about 500 plaintiffs — an average of $1.2 million to $1.3 million per person. The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, the sources said.
The settlements would push the total amount paid out by the U.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese.
It wasn't immediately clear how the payout would be split among the insurers, the archdiocese and several Roman Catholic religious orders. A judge must sign off on the agreement, and final details were being ironed out.
Lead plaintiffs' attorney Ray Boucher confirmed the sides were working on a deal but would not discuss specifics. He said that negotiations would continue through the weekend and that there were still many unresolved aspects.
Tod Tamberg, archdiocese spokesman, declined to comment on any settlement details.
"The archdiocese will be in court Monday morning," he said.
Steven Sanchez, 47, was one of the plaintiffs set to go to trial Monday. He was expected to testify in the trial involving the late Rev. Clinton Hagenbach.
Sanchez, a financial adviser, said the past few months have been especially difficult because he had to repeat his story of abuse for depositions with his attorneys and archdiocese attorneys in preparation for trial.
"We're 48 hours away from starting the trial, and I've been spending a lot of time getting emotionally prepared to take them on, but I'm glad," he said. "It's been a long five years."
The settlement would be the largest ever by a Roman Catholic archdiocese since the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002. The largest payout so far has been by the Diocese of Orange, Calif., in 2004, for $100 million.
Facing a flood of abuse claims, five dioceses — Tucson, Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego — sought bankruptcy protection.
The Los Angeles archdiocese, its insurers and various Roman Catholic orders have paid more than $114 million to settle 86 claims so far.
The largest of those came in December, when the archdiocese reached a $60 million settlement with 45 people whose claims dated from before the mid-1950s and after 1987 — periods when it had little or no sexual abuse insurance. Several religious orders in California have also reached multimillion-dollar settlements in recent months, including the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Jesuits.
However, more than 500 other lawsuits against the archdiocese had remained unresolved despite years of legal wrangling. Most of the outstanding lawsuits were generated by a 2002 state law that revoked for one year the statute of limitations for reporting sexual abuse.
Cardinal Roger Mahony recently told parishioners in an open letter that the archdiocese was selling its high-rise administrative building and considering the sale of about 50 other nonessential church properties to raise funds for a settlement.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge overseeing the cases recently ruled that Mahony could be called to testify in the second trial on schedule, and attorneys for plaintiffs wanted to call him in many more.
The same judge also cleared the way for four people to seek punitive damages — something that could have opened the church to tens of millions of dollars in payouts if the ruling had been expanded to other cases.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese.
It wasn't immediately clear how the payout would be split among the insurers, the archdiocese and several Roman Catholic religious orders. A judge must sign off on the agreement, and final details were being ironed out.
Lead plaintiffs' attorney Ray Boucher confirmed the sides were working on a deal but would not discuss specifics. He said that negotiations would continue through the weekend and that there were still many unresolved aspects.
Tod Tamberg, archdiocese spokesman, declined to comment on any settlement details.
"The archdiocese will be in court Monday morning," he said.
Steven Sanchez, 47, was one of the plaintiffs set to go to trial Monday. He was expected to testify in the trial involving the late Rev. Clinton Hagenbach.
Sanchez, a financial adviser, said the past few months have been especially difficult because he had to repeat his story of abuse for depositions with his attorneys and archdiocese attorneys in preparation for trial.
"We're 48 hours away from starting the trial, and I've been spending a lot of time getting emotionally prepared to take them on, but I'm glad," he said. "It's been a long five years."
The settlement would be the largest ever by a Roman Catholic archdiocese since the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002. The largest payout so far has been by the Diocese of Orange, Calif., in 2004, for $100 million.
Facing a flood of abuse claims, five dioceses — Tucson, Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego — sought bankruptcy protection.
The Los Angeles archdiocese, its insurers and various Roman Catholic orders have paid more than $114 million to settle 86 claims so far.
The largest of those came in December, when the archdiocese reached a $60 million settlement with 45 people whose claims dated from before the mid-1950s and after 1987 — periods when it had little or no sexual abuse insurance. Several religious orders in California have also reached multimillion-dollar settlements in recent months, including the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Jesuits.
However, more than 500 other lawsuits against the archdiocese had remained unresolved despite years of legal wrangling. Most of the outstanding lawsuits were generated by a 2002 state law that revoked for one year the statute of limitations for reporting sexual abuse.
Cardinal Roger Mahony recently told parishioners in an open letter that the archdiocese was selling its high-rise administrative building and considering the sale of about 50 other nonessential church properties to raise funds for a settlement.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge overseeing the cases recently ruled that Mahony could be called to testify in the second trial on schedule, and attorneys for plaintiffs wanted to call him in many more.
The same judge also cleared the way for four people to seek punitive damages — something that could have opened the church to tens of millions of dollars in payouts if the ruling had been expanded to other cases.
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