New St. Rose pastor declines appointment for 'personal reasons'
Diocese: Local priest had ‘inappropriate’ contact with woman
Bishop knew of priest's sexual sin
And intersting link - Fr. Nuss' own comments on celibacy dated April 13, 2006:
Heaven Help Us
Statement of the Diocese of Toledo on the Father Nuss Affair
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Will Fr.Nuss speak up?
Well, it's been about a week since Fr. David Nuss of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio declined to accept the pastorate of St. Rose of Perrysburg, Ohio for 'personal reasons'. Many people know exactly what the personal reasons are, but I imagine, fearing being accused of slander or libel, many have declined to say a thing about it. Others, like Dave Yonke of the Blade, are waiting to see what happens. Well, I don't fear those things; I don't want to wait to see what happens. I intend to speak up.
I've written to Fr. Nuss via email asking him to be a real man, a real priest and step out into the clear light of day; admit what his wrong is and accept the consequences for his actions. There has been no response to date and my email was sent on Sunday, July 8, 2007. Did I really expect a response? I had a tiny spark of hope, but it has all but faded.
There's a victim here - his victim - out there needing healing and justice. There's the people of St. Rose who have been left in confusion and anger. There's the people of the whole Diocese who want a five year nightmare to finally come to an end.
And what does Fr. Nuss do? Remains silent. I guess he thought he could just go to ground for a while and hope the whole thing just blows over. Then Bishop Blair can quietly appoint him to some tiny parish way out in the country where no one knows what happened at the other St. Rose. Thus would begin the subtle rehabilitation of Fr. Nuss's public character. The hope is ultimately he can be restored and given greater authority in the Diocese again.
Both of them need to get real - this is the information age - one can run but cannot hide anymore. Eyes and ears, in reality and virtual-reality, are everywhere. He will be watched wherever he goes and people will be informed.
I told Fr. Nuss in my email: you need to be stop contributing to the culture of secrecy that resulted in thousands of children being sexually abused (that's not his 'crime' by the way) and the Bishops being reactionary, worried about their 'bella figura' (their 'nice image'; - that's a well-known Italian phrase - the Bishops will know exactly what I mean), covered things up and continue to cover things up. The "Father Nuss Affair" is just another example of that.
Yeah, it's hard to break a habit that goes back centuries. Yet, one step in the right direction can break that habit. I hope they don't need to broken to break it though.
I do wish myself that Fr. Nuss' abuse victim here would be brave and speak up. Her voice needs to be heard. I only hope the 'Shoo-Loop' lawyers have not gotten to her by now with the hush money. She should know there are many people in the Diocese who are willing to stand by her side if she's willing to tell her story. Her testimony would be like a hot knife going through butter - the wall Bishop Blair and the majority of the Clergy have set up to protect themselves from the truth being laid out in the open. Her words would lend courage to the many, many abuse victims who have been shamed into silence to finally demand what they need: healing, justice, mercy and accountability from the Bishops.
Well, this is enough for now. Maybe if others see this blog and it gets out perhaps it might be enough to pry the situation open and put Fr. Nuss in a position where he has to say what cries out to Heaven to be said. I certainly hope and pray that be so.
And yes, I am praying for Fr. Nuss and his victim.
Mike Drabik, member of St. Aldalbert/St. Hedwig Parish, Toledo, Ohio
I've written to Fr. Nuss via email asking him to be a real man, a real priest and step out into the clear light of day; admit what his wrong is and accept the consequences for his actions. There has been no response to date and my email was sent on Sunday, July 8, 2007. Did I really expect a response? I had a tiny spark of hope, but it has all but faded.
There's a victim here - his victim - out there needing healing and justice. There's the people of St. Rose who have been left in confusion and anger. There's the people of the whole Diocese who want a five year nightmare to finally come to an end.
And what does Fr. Nuss do? Remains silent. I guess he thought he could just go to ground for a while and hope the whole thing just blows over. Then Bishop Blair can quietly appoint him to some tiny parish way out in the country where no one knows what happened at the other St. Rose. Thus would begin the subtle rehabilitation of Fr. Nuss's public character. The hope is ultimately he can be restored and given greater authority in the Diocese again.
Both of them need to get real - this is the information age - one can run but cannot hide anymore. Eyes and ears, in reality and virtual-reality, are everywhere. He will be watched wherever he goes and people will be informed.
I told Fr. Nuss in my email: you need to be stop contributing to the culture of secrecy that resulted in thousands of children being sexually abused (that's not his 'crime' by the way) and the Bishops being reactionary, worried about their 'bella figura' (their 'nice image'; - that's a well-known Italian phrase - the Bishops will know exactly what I mean), covered things up and continue to cover things up. The "Father Nuss Affair" is just another example of that.
Yeah, it's hard to break a habit that goes back centuries. Yet, one step in the right direction can break that habit. I hope they don't need to broken to break it though.
I do wish myself that Fr. Nuss' abuse victim here would be brave and speak up. Her voice needs to be heard. I only hope the 'Shoo-Loop' lawyers have not gotten to her by now with the hush money. She should know there are many people in the Diocese who are willing to stand by her side if she's willing to tell her story. Her testimony would be like a hot knife going through butter - the wall Bishop Blair and the majority of the Clergy have set up to protect themselves from the truth being laid out in the open. Her words would lend courage to the many, many abuse victims who have been shamed into silence to finally demand what they need: healing, justice, mercy and accountability from the Bishops.
Well, this is enough for now. Maybe if others see this blog and it gets out perhaps it might be enough to pry the situation open and put Fr. Nuss in a position where he has to say what cries out to Heaven to be said. I certainly hope and pray that be so.
And yes, I am praying for Fr. Nuss and his victim.
Mike Drabik, member of St. Aldalbert/St. Hedwig Parish, Toledo, Ohio
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