The charges against Father Piotr Sanczenko were withdrawn and stayed yesterday:
06 March 2013: Sex charges dropped against retired priest
I had just had my say about the “sweet deal” Andrew Brady brokered for Father William Hodgson Marshall, and then this! Sanczenko’s lawyer? Absolutely right: Andrew Brady.
I know nothing of the charges against Father Sanczenko. There has been little media coverage since the charges were laid back in 2010. And, now this.
The fact that the charges were stayed does not mean that he has been acquitted. As I say, I know nothing of either the charges or what has been going on in court over past nearly three years – yes, THREE years – but what I can say is that a stay is usually tied into a technicality and it is not an acquittal. There may have been issues with the health of a complainant or the ability of a complainant to testify. I just don’t know. But, it was Andrew Bradie who managed to swing this so, …..? How did he do it?
My heart goes out to the complainants. I don’t know if this move came as a shock or not, but I do know that there is not a soul who manages to summon the courage to finally go to police who is thrilled to see their charges thrown in the dumpster.
There is a year before the books on this are closed completely. I only hope and pray that if there is anyone else with allegations against Sanczenko and/or pertinent information they will go to police.
If I hear nothing from other sources I may just order the transcripts from yesterday to see if I can sort out what exactly happened here. It bothers me.
Enough for now.
Sylvia
There was an article in The Windsor Star March 9, 2010 http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/03_04/2010_03_09_Chen_CaringPriest.htm
Thank you Marc. If you scroll down the Father Piotr Sanczenko page you will see that article along with several others that are on the page as text. It seems there were many who rallied to Father Sanczenko’s defence – it must have been a tough few years for the complainants.
I appreciate what you’re doing, but why automatically assume that the complaints were true? Do you think it’s possible that these claims were falsified? From what I understand they came out soon after his retirement and he has maintained his innocence throughout the trial. The Catholic church and its priests are very vulnerable right now with all the sex scandals, and there’s not much to lose by falsifying claims (especially 40 year old ones) and SO much to gain if you win (which is not so hard now a days, especially with all the backlash against the church). I in no way want to discourage victims from coming forward, but I think it’s something important to be wary of, especially since the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ attitude has been completely stripped from these cases. I would like your thoughts on this (not just in light of this case, but in general too)! Thanks
curious: It’s obvious you are not a victim of these pervert collars. If you were you would know how hard it is to actually step forward and face the types of criticism you are making. The fight that we face from that church trying to prove we are not lying is disgusting. It takes a toll on each of us as the defense lawyers try to twist our words to “prove” our testimony is innacurate and should be discounted. And the most pathetic angle is with the pervert collars and their benefactors…they KNOW what they did but wait for their high priced lawyer to help them evade the truth. Shame on them all and on anyone who really thinks we are making this stuff up. Time to go barf.
Unfortunately there has been no trial curious. For whatever reason, and according to the media, the charges have been stayed. A stay is not an acquittal – it usually involves some sort of legal technicality and does not relate to the veracity of the allegations.
Yes, I understand that Father has maintained his innocence. Do you realize that most if not all sex abuse charges against priest drag through the courts for one, two or three years and at the 11th hour there is a guilty plea? That means that for all that time the victims are treated and seen as liars, the reasoning being that if Father really did it he would admit that he did and not spend months on end fighting the charges. I agree with the rationale, but that’s not how it works. Do you know of a case where a priest admitted the abuse as soon as he was charged and was instantly sentenced? I don’t. It invariably drags along – usually about two years in Ontario. For all of that time the victims are deemed – unjustly I’d say – to be liars by Father’s friends and former parishioners.
And then the 11th hour “guilty” and, the inevitable kudos from judges and a lighter sentence for presumably sparing the victims the agony of testifying at trial.
All I’m saying is that the fact that Father Sanczenko denies the allegations does not mean that he is telling the truth and the complainants are lying. Take time to look through the site.
As for “so much to win” by going through the criminal process, can you tell me please what all a victim “wins”? Justice, for sure, and with that the ability to let it be known that a priest is a convicted sexual predator, and for many victims, a chance to explain to family why his life was upside down from the time he was teenager and assure his parents that it was not their doing.
If you’re inferring financial gain – there is no financial reward for a victim who goes to police. A lawsuit can be filed without ever going through the criminal system, and the threshold of proof is lower. Tell me please why you think a liar would opt to go to police with false allegations rather than just file a lawsuit? I assure you curious that the one and only reason for anyone to go to police with sex allegations against a priest is with the hope of seeing justice done.
Finally, I always pray for the complainants. There are many who pray for the accused priest: there are very few who pray for the complainants.
“And then the 11th hour “guilty” and, the inevitable kudos from judges and a lighter sentence for presumably sparing the victims the agony of testifying at trial.” – Exactly what happened in our pervert collar’s trials. We had plane tickets and accomodations booked to fly to Ontario for each trial and days before leaving, he would plead out…COWARD.
I don’t want you all to misunderstand me, I’m not in any way trying to take blame away from accused priests or any other abuse cases, and I definitely don’t want to clump each case into one universal truth. I’m more or less trying to see if there’s any room for error, and maybe it’s a bit of a devil’s advocate question, but I appreciate the voices in this community to chime in. Like you, I’m “curious” to the legal technicalities of these cases, especially when things are just dropped. I know the possibility of someone “crying wolf” is damaging – for victims, the community, everyone really – but it’s not unheard of in our society/ criminal courts, and I feel like this “area” (for lack of a better word) needs to be treaded carefully. I admit, saying there’s much to gain may be a stretch, but I was more interested in the feelings of “power” than financial. Please don’t feel personally attacked, I’m trying to be objective, in a general sense, and start a conversation about things that may be taboo. And I definitely DO NOT think all these claims are falsified, not in the least. I don’t have a stake in “the church” or “priestly innocence,” but mostly curious about humanity (the darkness of it included) and true justice. I’m 100% for convicting those that are guilty, and I understand how taxing abuse and the court system is, but I won’t let that stop me from asking the weird or difficult questions.
Thanks for all your replies, though, I appreciate the time you all took to answering my post, and I apologize if it sounded like I was being insensitive. I think Mike’s post about there not being any true “winners” is a good way to look at it.
I guess I latch on to this case because not only is it near to where I live, but there was also a big contrast with the priest that was convicted and this one that was “dropped” all within a few hours of each other in the same city.
Thanks again!
Curious:
The victims of sexual abuse by priests have a much tougher race anytime they come forward, much tougher than the priest or the church will have. You may look at this as “the poor church” under attack, the priest was not convicted therefore he is innocent….
A very simple explanation could be that the victim(s) is just fed up , discouraged with the whole process and the crown doesn’t feel he/she is strong enough to go on the stand and because of that the likelihood of a conviction is very doubtful…Just one example.
The appearance in Court is also very difficult for monetary reasons…which is not a problem for the church, the eternal church with deep faithful pockets…
I am also trying to visualize when was the last time I heard of a homeless man with what the “better off” consider mental issues or “weak character”, would have been invited to have diner or just a coffee with a politician or even a Judge, or a lawyer… Oh!…quite possible or probable during election times…one of them may have even removed his tie to serve a few bowls of soup…for the camera!
The fact is that the Bishop is invited to attend “important” diners, the “priest” blesses the new fishing boat, the new building and has baptized everyone’s children….the Cardinal is invited to the state dinners and is a guest for a series of interviews on the national, in both languages!!!
When did you hear of such treatment for victims of abuse. Briefly in the news and the 45 minute interview is cut down to a 30 second segment. Why?…
Well…the abused “kid” didn’t get the education, doesn’t have the “good manners” of the bishop, the cardinal or the judge…because they all went to the seminary together, had their education “paid” by the church….they are of the same “brotherhood”….and they are/have power in different circles with mutual “respect” and “interests”…
The abused “kid” was a “prey” and may have tumbled all his life, was certainly not in the same “circles” as the clergy who abused of their power…What secrets do the “powerful” hold over one another’s head…what loyalties were formed that you and I will never hear about. I could give you examples after you consider the 40-50 year head start the church has on the victim…Just look at the delays in most cases, brought on by the church, waiting for people to die to solve their “problem”…
The backlash against the church was brought on by the church.
Change your focus to the lives they have destroyed and you may understand what they were supposed to accomplish with that “Power”…They were to “SERVE”…
You may want to know how many of their victims have committed suicide as a result of those attacks! That is in the church favor again because next to Court proceeding and seeking Justice for themselves, speaking about suicide is a subject everyone fears…and you could probably find an abuser priest “blessing” that poor, poor man!
The victims have “been stripped” of their self-respect, their dignity and often their direction in life.
Any false accusations could result in the accuser being charged in Court…Lets not look for more reasons to defend the indefensible.
The church is not vulnerable. The church was just plain “stupid” with power and tried to buy their way out.
The church is GUILTY !
The children are “innocent until abused”.
“Curious”…continue your quest for understanding by reading on this site about too many “stories”…If this priest is truly innocent, let him accept his suffering as an offering for the harm the church has ignored for the sake of its “image”…
jg
Curious;
There are never any “winners’ in these cases. How can one say that a financial settlement is “so much to gain”? People (victims) who have lived lives of torment and anguish have already paid through the nose for their settlements! It appears to me that you really don’t understand the scope of damage done to a boy or young man who has been the victim of criminal sexual assaults by a catholic priest.
If you are new to the site, I would suggest you listen in awhile, before inferring that we are out for financial gain.
There can be no financial gain, you see. We victims have paid a very heavy price over the last 30 or 40 years (lost homes, relationships, lost employment, mental and physical deterioration, suicides, etc.) for the abuse we suffered at the hands of catholic priests. The need for professionsal help will go on for the rest of our lives.
So why do you think this is just for financial gain? Why don’t you instead show a little support and sympathy to those who need it most?
As for your comment about the “innocent until proven guilty” being stripped from these cases, are you really surprised? Don’t you think that there’s a bit too much of this going on right now? Don’t you think that the “church’ could do something about it?
I would remind you, the victims are not at fault here! We didn’t commit the criminal acts, got it yet? Mike.
The case of Father Sanczenko is criminal, ie, criminal charges. I have no aversion at all to lawsuits but think that in this instance it is very important to point out to curios that there is nothing but nothing to gain personally by going to police to have criminal charges laid. curious is complaining about the complainants in this case having something to gain – barring seeing justice done there is nothing to gain.
My apologies to all regarding my last post. I did not intend to infer that all sexual abuse victims by catholic priests were just boys and young men. There have been atrocious assaults committed against young women as well.
I should have just referred to assault victims in general. Sorry all. Mike.
I did the same thing Mike, but only because curious was referring to the the Father Sanczenko complainants and inferring they are liars. Those complainants are male.
I want to say that if the charges were dropped against Fr Peter Sanczenko, his name should be taken off this website so he can live his last years peacefully. He is 87 y old and it is not fair to keep bringing his name up anymore if the judicial system has dropper the charges. I believe there should be justice for everyone. I know that over these past years he has prayed for his accusers. He said he was innocent and the court dropped the charges, so let him have peace.
I feel sad about the abuse and feel sad that I never hear prayer intentions at mass for the victims of the abuse. I asked our parish priest and he got defensive about it. He said I was trying to tell him how to do his work. I feel disappointed that prayers are not said for the victims of clergy sexual abuse. I feel sad that if a person is accused their picture is posted on the front page of the paper but if the charges are dropped it is in a tiny article on the 3rd page of the paper. I feel sad that I ask for prayers or a mass to be said for the people effected by the sexual abuse and no one seems to think it is important. I am told that I am being demanding and telling people how to be a priest. I thought it was all about repentance and forgiveness and humility. No one wants to talk about it, but where does this get anyone??? It is just a big circle of anger and denial and pretending everything should be okay when it is clearly not. I read the paper and see more clerical sexual abuse. It really upsets me and reopens old wounds. All I ask the Catholic church is for prayer intentions for the victims at Lent but no one listens. I am glad this new pope is a humble man because maybe he will. I will write him a letter just as I did Pope Benedict and all the Bishops and priests who acknowledged the letters but did nothing. I still never hear the victims of clerical sexual abuse mentioned in the prayers of the faithful. This hurts so much but I will never give up in asking for the victims to be remembered as what happened will always hurt no matter how much time goes by or despite the lawsuit settlements. I just want to see peace. You can’t take back the damage done but we can move forward. I think it is all about praying for those who are hurting, forgiveness, mercy, and repentance. I want the church to pray for the victims at mass. Is it too much to ask????????????????
No Deborah, it sure is not.
You have several messages going on there, Ms Kloos. I will respond to one “thread”. When a RC cleric is publically accused/charged/tried/ and the results thereof, the information regarding these development may be posted on this site. As additional information emerges, this will be added. I have preliminary first-hand knowledge of the manner in which Sylvia handles this process. It is, in my assessment, unfailingly thorough and done in an even-handed, balanced manner. Sylvia’s site is highly credible and has an international audience because of this restraint and credibility. I suggest you refer anyone who has questions about the priest you care about — directly to this site. It will tell the entire story and will not omit the ending you are referring to. This site is public dialogue at its best. Welcome it; do not try to modify it or fear it!! All the best to you.
Well said, 1yellowknife.
thank you for expressing the the emotional costs. there are no silver coins to begin to the experience tears secrets physical spritual sexual abuse and then of course the confusion of trying to explain to myself why over and then again how is it that I am so dirty I am so I was sent repeatly back to confess having such a dirty mouthful funny ok no more. for now taking moment thank you all the last time I posted I blinked into through realisation those old photos um not quite internet era it is moments like those I grieve for those lost years of grieving ok enough from me again