David Jarboe, Likely Victim of "sex abuse" (child rape) had same last name as one time First Pastor of Blessed Mother where David killed himself

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"Blessed Mother" church in Owensboro Kentucky is where David Jarboe shot himself in the head, killing himself. This after suffering for years after having been abused by Catholic priests as a youth. When he first reported this to his parents he was committed into a hospital. I reported this three years ago and I wondered how could his parent do that to their own son? Well, it turns out that their family has quite a history in that area and connection to that exact church where David shot himself. Just found out that one of their [probable] relatives was the very first Pastor of that very same church.

Here is my other blog on this issue which explains more about the sad and tragic case of David Jarboe.

Priest Guilty of Child Rape, Faces Life in Prison

Watch Video

Conor Berry, Berkshire Eagle

Posted: 02/13/2011 10:53:34 AM EST

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Thursday was judgment day for Gary Mercure, the former New York Catholic priest who could spend the rest of his life in prison for raping two altar boys in the Berkshires.

It took less than two hours for a Berkshire Superior Court jury to convict the 62-year-old priest on three counts of forcible child rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14.

The charges stem from separate crimes committed by Mercure in 1986 and 1989, when he raped altar boys from his former Catholic church in Queensbury, N.Y., during day trips to the Berkshires.

Mercure didn't flinch as Superior Court Clerk Deborah S. Capeless read aloud each of the four guilty verdicts, one after the next. Court Officer Paul Duma placed handcuffs on the fallen priest and took him into custody.

Judge John A. Agostini ordered the Troy, N.Y., clergyman to be held without bail at the Berkshire County Jail & House of Correction until he is sentenced Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Mercure, a small, dapper man with graying hair, smiled at his crying sister as he was led away in handcuffs.

Defense Attorney Michael O. Jennings, of Springfield, had little to say about his client or the case while exiting the courtroom with co-counsel Robert DeLong, of Monson.

Mercure, who was permanently removed from ministry in New York in 2008 but technically remains a priest, plans to challenge the conviction. "There will be an appeal," Jennings said.

The trial began smoothly on Jan. 31, but was delayed by winter weather and the dismissal of a juror for posting a comment on Twitter that the judge said violated juror silence in the case.

Several of the priest's victims were present when Thursday's guilty verdicts were handed down. Afterward, one victim wiped tears from his eyes while making a call on his cell phone, while others embraced Berkshire First Assistant District Attorney Paul J. Caccaviello and Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey, the prosecutors who tried the case.

The victims were escorted from the Pittsfield courthouse by plainclothes Massachusetts State Police troopers and court officers, who prevented members of the media from approaching them. Caccaviello said the victims didn't wish to speak with the reporters who crowded the courthouse hallway with television cameras and microphones. "They're still processing this," he said.

Caccaviello said Mercure's conviction should bring some closure to the victims, who remained mum about the abuse for more than 20 years. "We're very gratified for that verdict," he said, calling the victims "heroes" for coming forward.

Asked how the victims were faring, Caccaviello replied, "Right now, there's a whole range of emotions."

The Berkshire District Attorney's Office hasn't yet formulated its sentencing recommendation, but Mercure could spend the rest of his life behind bars. "He's been convicted of life felonies," Caccaviello said.

So much of the trial's testimony focused on individuals and events from New York, with only a fraction of the testimony pertaining to the Berkshire County assaults. "It presented difficult challenges," Caccaviello admitted.

"Father Satan"

However, the jury ultimately believed the testimony of the five altar boys who accused Mercure of long-term sexual abuse in New York during the 1980s.

Two of those men also testified that Mercure raped them during car trips to the Berkshires, including a 1986 outing to a hiking area bordering Great Barrington and Monterey and a 1989 trip to the former Brodie Mountain Ski Area in New Ashford. "I think that the jury could tell that our two victims were credible," Caccaviello said.

All of the former altar boys hail from New York and are now in their 30s, including one who's the father of an infant child. State police investigators who handled the probe said one altar boy, now 35, was forcibly raped twice by Mercure during that single 1986 trip to South County. The other victim, now 34, was raped once by Mercure during the 1989 trip to New Ashford, police said.

The 1986 incident occurred between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 of that year, while the 1989 incident happened between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28 of that year, according to police and prosecutors. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany referred to Mercure's crimes as "sinful, criminal and reprehensible." "Our hearts today are with the children who were abused, all now adults. We admire the strength and courage they demonstrated by coming forward. As devastating as their experiences must have been, they have shown by example that they are survivors -- strong, resilient and powerful," the diocese said in a statement issued after the verdicts came down.

After receiving an abuse allegation against Mercure in early 2008, the diocese contacted the Warren County (N.Y.) District Attorney's Office, which was unable to prosecute Mercure due to the vintage of the claims. Massachusetts has a statute of limitations that's more favorable to these sorts of prosecutions, however, and was able to hold Mercure criminally responsible for his decades-old crimes.

In Massachusetts, the countdown for the statute of limitations didn't begin running until 2008, when Berkshire County authorities first learned of the abuse.

The Albany Diocese permanently banned Mercure from ministry in August 2008, which meant that Mercure could no longer function as or present himself as a priest, according to diocesan spokesman Ken Goldfarb.

Church officials in Albany said they're hopeful the Mercure case might encourage other clergy abuse victims "to report the abuse immediately and seek assistance."

After the verdict, a member of the jury that convicted Mercure spoke briefly to reporters outside the courthouse. "I'm glad I served," said the woman, who declined to give her name or address, but plans to attend next week's sentencing. "Whatever the sentencing is, 100 times that wouldn't even scratch the surface for what he deserves," she said.

Video: Grand Jury Shows Audacity of Philadelphia Archdiocese

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEPvvyio1Rk


http://spirituallysmart.blogspot.com/2011/02/grand-jury-shows-audacity-of.html

The Vatican Wages tremendous Immoral Attack on humanity

That should be the name of my blog. Just look at these few stories and look at the picture that is being painted in my mind. Let me see if I can describe to you what I see. These are all recent stories which have broke within the last month.

1. Vatican has defrocked three Boston-based priests for abuse

2. Local priest accused of sexual misconduct will return to church

3. Minnesota church won't investigate priest

4. Grand jury shows audacity of archdiocese - Probe of how the church investigates allegations against priests found it focuses mostly on its reputation and assets.

Now let's sort these stories out a bit. In article "2." we read, "A team of five investigators -- including a psychologist, social worker, attorney, and members of several law enforcement agencies -- interviewed both the accuser and the priest and found no wrongdoing, Muench said."

But in Article "4" we read, "Victims who muster the courage to report their torment then must endure an investigatory process biased against them." and, "On July 24, 2008," the grand jury wrote, an archdiocesan staffer told 36-year-old victim "Ben" that the Review Board "could not substantiate his allegation. Less than a year later, Ben committed suicide."

So was the "team of five investigators" mentioned in article "2." similar or even the same as "the review board" mentioned in article "4."? The same review board which lead to someone's suicide?

Speaking of suicide, this leads me to another suicide that just occurred in Kentucky which ties into article "3." The case of David Jarboe who had just written a note on his facebook account saying he was molested by priests. Right after he wrote the note he then went and killed himself in the parking lot of the catholic church where his family attended and where his funeral was held. And even though he was a well liked young man, had a good job, pretty girlfriend, was a former college football player and sports enthusiast. Sounds normal right? But what did the archdiocese say about him to the newspaper? Answer: "The "poor bedeviled young man, for him to mention (Father Baer) in the same context with whatever may have happened to him is so unfortunate and so unfair,"

So this leads me finally to article "1." And it wasn't so much the fact that of what the article says, but what is said in the comment area. "The Vatican should remove Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archpriest of the Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, from his prestigious position. This man facilitated the shuffling of pedophiles from parish to parish and then committed perjury by staing that he knew knothing of the problem.He should have been indicted, prosecuted, and if convicted, put in jail. Cardinal Law became the first individual shown to have actively participated in the cover-up of child molestation; for this distinction, he was rewarded with his present day position." (sic)

I myself am a former Catholic who was proud to have "RC" stamped on my dog tags when I was in the military during the Persian Gulf War. Not knowing that solidified my part of the papal crusade I was part of. This I did in ignorance not yet knowing what I was part of. That was from 1990-94. In 1997 I left the church for good when I read the bible for the first time in my life and I saw that the bible and the Catholic Church were worlds apart. And that was even before I knew of any child molestation cases.

What we see above in the articles I have referenced is a struggle of  those abused against the immoral attack waged upon us by powerful Roman Catholic entities who make sure they mingle with all the heads of many government agencies. Holding award ceremonies, dinners where government and state officials are awarded all kinds of plaques, knighthoods and other honors for standing by the Catholic Church. This mix of Roman Catholicism and politics has to stop now. This is why it was illegal for Roman Catholics to hold government office in America in the earlier years. It wasn't religious persecution against Catholics. But righteous prosecution against corruption. Again, I was raised going to Catholic Church. I went myself to the church at age 8 out of a desire to be closer to God and I was baptized for the first time at 8 years old. I was then confirmed after I attended catechism classes with all my catholic buddies. I clutched rosary beads while praying to God while in the military asking Him to reveal His Son to me in a dream. Which dream I had on the third night of praying that prayer. Although it had nothing to do with rosary beads or the Catholic Church. We need to understand that God is attainable to us directly and freely and not through any rites or ceremonies in the catholic Church. This I have experienced first hand. If we could understand this as human beings we will see that the Catholic Church is actually useless in our relationship with God. Not only is it absolutely useless but as we see by just the four articles I listed above, the "Church" can cripple us spiritually, psychologically and do harm even to physical death of some.

Please, break away from the lie that we need to be in "good grace" with the "church" to be in good grace with God. All we need to be in good grace with God is His Son Christ Jesus who is free to us and isn't confined to any building. Jesus set me free in 1997, since then my eyes have been opened to what the Roman Catholic Church really is. The assault on family and children is the tip of the iceberg. Wars have been waged in her name, genocides and much much more. They have their people on every side of  every position to steer all things to their favor in society. I am saying this after years of careful study.

 But please know, Jesus is there, waiting for you to come to Him. His hands are outstretched. He promises to give us power and peace and comfort. This is real and the offer is to you now, today. No matter who you are and what you have done, the blood of Jesus can cleanse away the sin that is weighing you down. And He can give you real power to go and sin no more. Guilt on your soul may be the thing that stops you from reporting pedophile priests. This is a false guilt. The true guilt you may feel isn't from the priest but from other sins you may have committed in your life. Your separation from God and your guilt is real if you haven't truly come to Christ directly and repenting of your sins.

When I went to the Catholic Priest after I was seeing all these things in the bible and I was questioning him he lied and told me, "well, the Romans wrote the bible". But It wasn't the Romans who wrote the bible. It was the Jews. The priest then began to try and get me to confess to him. His face became red and inflamed with lust as he asked me if I committed the sin of "masturbation". I could tell he was totally corrupt. And I'm sure a huge part of it is the fact that these single men who have no wives are listening to all kinds of secret sins. From pedophilia to homosexuality to whatever they are exposed to in confessionals. This is just another sign that the catholic church is all wrong. Mankind wasn't meant to be confessed to. Especially confession to Roman Catholic "priests". Confession is meant to be to God only.

"If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

The Bible does say to "Confess your FAULTS one to another..." (James 5:16 KJV) "Another" in that verse is plural and so it's not supposed to be one person who receives all the confessions. And of course James is talking to people who are saved, born again, who have been cleansed of sin and given the real power of God that comes directly from God and not through any church hierarchy. And those types of people aren't going to be committing any of the filthy types of sins unregenerated sinners commit and confess to the Priests in Roman Catholicism.

Even the Geneva Bible which predates the King James Version also rightly states, "Acknowledge your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. For the prayer of a righteous man availeth much, if it be fervent."

Before I went to see that priest I was sharing what I was learning in the Bible with the secretary and the conflictions it has to the catholic church and in our conversation she confided in me that it is better not to know too much sometimes. As I left the priest that final time there was a man coming in who looked foreign and he was dressed in a purple and black robe, he looked like a real life Dracula. I have never even seen any figure like that in regards to the Catholic church since that time or before. I have no idea who that was. Maybe the priest secretly called for him while I was in the Priests office. Back then I didn't think much of it although it seemed odd I don't know but I don't think it was a coincidence. This was maybe the third time I had come visiting this Priest in Long Beach NY and trying to discuss the doctrinal discrepancies I saw in the church when reading the Bible.

Many people may just cast my story aside for whatever reason. Perhaps calling me a traitor to Roman Catholicism. But I truly and sincerely care for Roman catholics. You are the people I grew up with my whole life. All I know is that God has used people's stories here and there to help me. Maybe he can somehow use mine to help you.

But please, whoever you are, don't give up. If you've been abused or sexually assaulted by priests or anyone, Contact your local Police Dept. If they don't help you contact the DA's office in your area. Or you can contact groups like SNAP  You can also contact me here if you wish to share any concerns with me directly.

Thomas Richards (spirituallysmart.com)

Grand jury shows audacity of archdiocese

Probe of how the church investigates allegations against priests found it focuses mostly on its reputation and assets

By Monica Yant Kinney

If Catholic churches across the region took up a collection this Sunday and used it to hire lawyers to mislead victims of clergy sex abuse, would anyone give?

If a parish priest confessed that your tithing paid rapists to retire and funded interrogations that push innocents to suicide, would you demand a refund?

And knowing that dozens of area priests accused of abuse remain on the job in good standing with access to children, should you think twice about signing up your son for altar service?

The latest 124-page grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse makes abundantly clear that when it comes to predator priests, the Philadelphia Archdiocese blew its last chance to be believed.

Six years after another grand jury report forced contrition and so-called reforms, the archdiocese remains focused on protecting its assets and reputation above all else.

Victims who muster the courage to report their torment then must endure an investigatory process biased against them.

One young man was hounded into giving an in-person statement with a church staffer who immediately relayed the details to lawyers fearing litigation. Another victim was guilted into reliving his trauma while hospitalized after a suicide attempt, only to learn later that the archdiocese had used his confidences against him in the defense of his priestly abuser.

District Attorney Seth Williams, a proud Catholic, admitted that he had lost faith in his church's ability to do right by those it wronged. He now urges abuse victims to call or e-mail his office (215-686-8783, da.victimservices@phila.gov) rather than risk being wounded all over again.

"You do not need to go to the archdiocese first," Williams said.

Even the grand jurors - regular citizens honorably answering the call to seek justice - noted the audacity of the archdiocese's overseeing sex-abuse investigations:

"There is no other class of crimes where we expect the victims to rely on their assailants for a resolution."

Mistakes and intentions

Five years and five months ago, a different panel of grand jurors released the first report on sex abuse in the archdiocese. They found that church leaders had allowed dozens of priests to abuse hundreds of children for decades and harbored at least 63 known criminals.

Cardinal Justin Rigali condemned that report, especially the assertion that church officials knew exactly what they were doing when they protected pedophile priests over children.

"Mistakes are one thing," Rigali insisted. "Intentions are another."

That was 2005, and though the report did not lead to arrests, it forced the archdiocese to hire a respected victim advocate, establish a Review Board, and - significantly - begin reporting new allegations to law enforcement.

The church touted the "reforms," but made sure the new process was as sick and twisted as the old.

Turns out the archdiocese refused to adopt any of the victim advocate's recommendations. And that much-hyped Review Board - chosen by the cardinal himself - regularly deems accusations "unsubstantiated" even when priests flunk polygraph tests and the evidence against them is overwhelming.

In one fondling case reported by two victims, the Review Board sided with the priest even after hearing convincing corroborating testimony by several other former altar boys with clear memory of the cleric's obsession with sex.

"On July 24, 2008," the grand jury wrote, an archdiocesan staffer told 36-year-old victim "Ben" that the Review Board "could not substantiate his allegation. Less than a year later, Ben committed suicide."

Second time's a charm?

Last week, another group of truth-seeking strangers released a second sordid grand jury report on clergy sex abuse. This one led to the arrest of a Catholic schoolteacher and three archdiocesan priests on rape charges and a once-omnipotent monsignor charged with endangering the welfare of children.

Within hours, Rigali fired off another denial, this time of the stunning revelation that the archdiocese still refuses to pull priests from parishes after they are accused of sexually assaulting minors.

"I assure all the faithful," Rigali wrote, "that there are no archdiocesan priests in ministry today who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them."

Parse that sentence with me, will you? It's a work of lawyerly art designed to lull Catholics into thinking their children are safe.

No active priest could have an admitted allegation, we now know, because as part of those "reforms," the archdiocese no longer bothers to question priests accused of sexual misconduct.

"The policy is not to even ask the abuser to speak," wrote the astonished jurors. "The explanation we were given for this policy is that it might 'put the priest in a position of admitting' his guilt."

The second part of Rigali's wiggle concerns established allegations. See above, then weep.

If two grand jury reports, failed lie-detector tests, repeat accusations, earnest witnesses, and victim suicides aren't enough to convince the archdiocese of priestly culpability in 2011, what is?

Minnesota church won't investigate priest

More on this Story: Funeral held for Owensboro man who took own life
*New Interesting Info about David Jarboe case*

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — The Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is not planning to investigate a priest from the state who was named in a Facebook posting by a man before he shot himself to death in a Kentucky church parking lot. But a Kentucky diocese plans to continue with its investigation of the man's allegations.

Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath told The Messenger-Inquirer newspaper there was no justification for an investigation into the Rev. William Baer, former rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where David M. Jarboe had once been a student.

The 23-year-old Jarboe shot himself in the parking lot of Blessed Mother Catholic Church in Owensboro, Ky. on Feb. 3.

His Facebook posting mentioned Baer and two other priests, one of whom he praises, as well as pain as a result of sexual abuse in the church. The Kentucky man didn't accuse a specific priest or other individual of abuse in the note.

David Jarboe

"I mean, because he was critical of Father Baer in his Facebook post does not make the giant leap that he was responsible for whatever happened to him," McGrath told the newspaper. "... Father Baer is one of our finest, most popular priests."

McGrath said Baer was well-respected and was instrumental in St. John Vianney College Seminary's growth when he was there.

The "poor bedeviled young man, for him to mention (Father Baer) in the same context with whatever may have happened to him is so unfortunate and so unfair," the archdiocese spokesman said of Jarboe.

Jarboe mentioned three priests in the note. To the first one, whom he identified as Father Fedewa, Jarboe wrote: "Thanks for proving to me what dedicating your life to Christ can be like. Thanks for your service to the Church."

To Baer, "you get no thanks. You are an evil man. Period."

To the third, the Rev. Freddie Byrd, "I forgive you."

Baer, now at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Oakdale, Minn., did not immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.

Byrd was pastor of Blessed Mother from 1998-2008. According to the diocese's website, he is pastor of St. Peter of Antioch and Sacred Heart parishes in Waverly, Ky.

He declined to comment when reached by the newspaper at the St. Peter of Antioch church rectory Wednesday.

The Diocese of Owensboro announced Monday it is utilizing an independent investigator to examine the allegations made by Jarboe. The Daviess County Commonwealth Attorney's Office has asked the Owensboro Police Department to investigate as well.

The Diocese of Owensboro has been in contact with the Rev. Peter A. Laird, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, McGrath said.