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Subscribe to RSSPHILADELPHIA -- A Franciscan friar accused of sexually abusing students at Catholic high schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania killed himself at a western Pennsylvania monastery, police said Saturday.
Brother Stephen Baker, 62, was found dead of self-inflicted wounds at the St. Bernardine Monastery in Hollidaysburg on Saturday morning, Blair Township Police Chief Roger White told The Associated Press. He declined to specify the type of wounds or say whether a note was found.
Baker was named in legal settlements last week involving 11 men who alleged that he sexually abused them at a Catholic high school in northeast Ohio three decades ago. The undisclosed financial settlements announced Jan. 16 involved his contact with students at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio from 1986 to 1990.
The Youngstown diocese previously said it was unaware of the allegations until nearly 20 years after the alleged abuse.
"Let us continue to pray for all victims of abuse, for Brother Baker's family and the repose of his soul," Youngstown Bishop George Murray said in a statement Saturday.
After the settlements were announced, the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese in central Pennsylvania said it received complaints in 2011 of possible abuse by Baker at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Bishop McCort High School hired an attorney to investigate after several former students alleged they were molested by Baker in the 1990s. Attorney Susan Williams said three former students had talked to her in detail about the alleged abuse.
Baker taught and coached at John F. Kennedy High School in the late 1980's and early 1990's and was at Bishop McCort from 1992-2000.
Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese said in a statement that he was saddened by the news of Baker's death, but declined further comment citing pending legal action involving the diocese.
A message left for Father Patrick Quinn, the head of Baker's order, the Third Order Regular Franciscans, was not immediately returned.
Judy Jones, assistant Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the organization still hopes people who know about other abuse allegations against Baker will continue to come forward.
"We feel sad for Br. Baker's family but even sadder for the dozens of boys who Baker assaulted," she said in a statement.
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Good. If there were any justice all child molesters would end up the same. He ruined many lives while the church protected him and enabled him. Those involved in protecting him are as guilty as he and those who support this pedophile encouraging sect deserve a share of the guilt. I will never understand how people can hear them preach of the way "God" wants us all to live, as they hide creatures such as this, and continue to support the hypocritical Catholic Church. They are so obviously evil one would have to be in a coma not to see it.
http://cny.org/stories/Archdiocese-Again-in-Full-Compliance-on-Child-Protection,8764?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=john+woods&search_headline=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id=
The Catholic church has zero tolerance for child abuse. Read the article and see the measures taken by the Church to protect children.
Sure they do...............
I guess that's why they never called the cops but instead moved the pedophile priests to new unsuspecting communities where they'd rape even more kids, because they have "zero tolerance for child abuse."
And too bad we have the church records to prove it, eh?
Even the current Pope is complicit.
Jeanniemac
The US Bishops Council for Protection of Children do have auditing and background checks done amongst the clergy and all hired to be involved in jobs involving interaction with children, providing more education on the subject of abuse, education as to what sexual abuse is and teaching children how to keep their space safe. However this was started only in 2003, way after may of the abuses took place and were covered up. I do believe that there are honest good clerymen who want to bring God to the people, and then are the slime that you find in every avenue of life. Let's hope for the sake of the children who still are growing up in the church, that they will be safer, people more aware and less tolerant, and these men are subject to the same criminal proceedings that anyone would be.
Yeah Jeanniemac -- that's why these perverts were hastily transferred from parish to parish, giving them a new set of victims. Under the auspices of the Vatican. The current pontiff used to be the head of the office in charge of shuffling their rapists.
lol
Tony
Go spread your spam on another site..
Sometimes the universe gets it right.
Won't get any sympathy from me! I had a dirtbag Brother at a private high school try this on me when I was 13. Thsy should all burn in hell.
I have no idea why people continue to attend this church or accept the teachings of their priests. To say that priests are just men and all men sin is dumb. All men are not put in authority as are priests nor do they stand on the pulpit telling others how to manage their lives. People though are sheep and are quite willing to become slaves.
Yeah.. well.... Catholicism is either "all in" or "all out". A religion for the ages...
You decide.... Otherwise... a quickly dying religion fading into a minority and losing their followers...
LG...there are over a billion catholics in the world.... Their numbers are up.... they are growing...not fading..
"...saddened by the news": that's how the Catholic Church feels about the death a of horrifyingly awful sinner these days? They should be ringing the bells in the bell tower, celebrating the death of a demon. Today should be declared a Catholic holiday, like when St. Patrick drove the snakes out of the Ireland.
His soul is probably burning in hell, where it belongs.
That is made up too.
True words, dave.... There is no mention of Hell in the Torah... and the Jews do not blame a devil or demon for all their woes... Those ideas were invented by Christians so they could rule the medieval peasantry thru fear... and it worked
Jesus wept.
Pass the scotch.
We will never evolve as a species unless and until we can free ourselves from the shackles of ancient pagan based religions, in the name of which more human suffering and death has taken place than for any other reason ever invented by mankind. I pity those of you who still suffer and are servile under the relentless boot of organized religion. But unfortunately those of you in it's grasp are too blind to see that you crave being slaves to anyone or anything higher than yourselves.
Well done, Friar. Hopefully, other molesters will follow your lead.
"Let us continue to pray for all victims of abuse, for Brother Baker's family and the repose of his soul," Youngstown Bishop George Murray said in a statement Saturday"
And we should pray for the repose of his soul.....why, please tell me? Rather if I were a praying person, I would pray him straight to hell where he belongs!
I thought suicide was a "bad thing" to Catholics? How are we even allowed to pray for his soul?
Sounds fishy.
'Stoopid' ain't no woid neither & with Christ, the intellect is either in the heart or rejected. The Catholics keep Christ on the cross, the Atheists reject God entirely and the rest are jest as lost. True Christians know the difference between acceptance & rejection of God's Graces. The gender challenged will always be abominations & the Wrath can be seen as the world economy spirals, the wars & murders escalate, the disease & hunger goes pandemic & evangelism continuously is rejected. Try 'kissmybooboo.net'!
Blah Blah Blah?
Mike...please, learn to spell and put a few words together in an intelligent fashion....
He committed suicide, and and can't be buried in consecrated ground, making his trip to hell shorter I suppose.
The Catholic religion is a made up story anyway, that is why this problem has hauted the church since it's conception, nearly 2000 years. Constatine fabricated Catholicism from the Nazerines and Essenes, which was the true early church, they were later hunted down and murdered by Constatines forces. Jesus is not God as which Catholics believe, or a son of God like the mirror reflection of Roman, Greek gods. The Papalcy has denied them married, so none of their efforts would have an heir, no family and hense the church took what wealth he possessed. Rape of children has been such a past time, for centuries it was fashionable for a priest to sodomise children. Martin Luther took great disgust to this and persuated thousands to leave the Catholic Church behind. Every pope since the Catholic Church conception has looked the other way, hid it, condoned it. Just a few facts, it would be better to face the and become a Muslim as I have.
The same thing happens on occasion in the Muslim community as well, I've heard.
Constantine became emperor in 306 A.D.... and you have a lot of your factoids wrong on top of that... the Muslim religion is an offshoot of the Hebrew faith...just as the Christian faith is an offshoot... And it really pisses me off that you're trying to recruit people to one lying religion by slamming another religion. You're just as bad as they are.
islam is based in BOTH christianity AND judaeism (true, leaning more to judaeism because of the location and time) Remember - jesus is a prophet in islam (just not THE prophet)
Of course, some of us say that ALL RELIGION IS BUNK AIMED AT THE WEAK MINDED.
These crimes have been going on for decades and mostly covered up and swept under the rug by the church. The people involved in the coverup are just as guilty and should be punished as well so this will never happen again.
They are almost as bad as the 535 Crooks and thieves in the US Congress
You guys sound as nasty as the comment you are making about the Catholic Church. If an American committs abuse, which happens so many times a day, does that make the US bad? If a priest does it he recieves 50 plus more attention, solely because people just hate the Catholic Church. I'm not defending the abuser here, but the Church has done far more good than harm for over 2000 years. There are still good people in the Church and everyone fails to believe that.
Now I'm not a Catholic or even a Christian but all your guys churches did originate from the Catholic Church, except for the Jews and Muslims. I find that kind of funny.
And yes abuse does happen in those churches as well, plus schools, hospitals, jails, etc. More often than in those places than in the Catholic Church: FACT!
In the mean time you guys can start freaking out about Paterno, YFZ Ranch, or something else please.
No surprise at all that Joe Paterno was a Catholic.....his church is where he learned to look the other way while children were being raped, and learned to cover up horrible crimes rather than calling the cops.
Oh right! They do teach that Mr. Skrekk! Just like you were taught to get head from your mom!
Yeah my last comment was just as equally dumb as yours because we know both our comments aren't true...unless your mom really did give it to you.
Another reason to keep the 2nd Amendment along with a rope hanging from the nearest steeple?
It's these few idiots and sociopaths who study to become PRETEND priests that turn so many young men under their watch AWAY from God and church. By now, because of so much sexual abuse by priests in the news, most churches require thorough background checks of adults working with children and teens. Hopefully ALL churches are requiring background checks of new applicants, then once hired keep every single person accountable, no matter what their position. It's the CHURCH, for cripes sake, where right and wrong, good/evil is TAUGHT; see how those sleazy PRETEND PRIESTS taught those young men to hate anything to do with religion. Why weren't those sociopaths better screened???
Is this what my son is missing out on because I don't take him to church or let him join the Scouts? Yeah, I don't think he needs any quality time with strange men...
By far the majority of people who attend and are pastors/ministers of churches are decent, and that kind of perverse behavior wouldn't enter their minds. My son's cub scout troop was led by moms and dads, together, and any parent was welcome to attend every single meeting, event, and camp out. The older boy scout troops in our city are run the same way.
What do you call a dead priest accused of more than one child molestation in more than one place?
A good start.
More of them should follow in his foot steps and save the tax payers money with a trial.