The accusers of a Roman Catholic priest convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year old boy are suing him. Attorneys for the victim and his older brother — both teenagers now — are also suing the Diocese of San Bernardino.

Attorneys say church leaders knew Father Alex Castillo was a serial child molester even before he worked at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario. That’s where attorney John Manley and members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, announced the lawsuits.

"It appears to us and we think that we’ll be able to prove that the Diocese was well aware that Father Castillo has serious problems with acting out sexually," Manley said.

Earlier this year, a jury convicted Castillo of multiple counts of lewd acts with a child under the age 14. In a plea agreement, the 58-year-old priest admitted to repeatedly molesting one of the plaintiffs. Authorities believe Castillo also molested the victim’s older brother. He avoided prosecution in that case because the 1-year statute of limitations had expired. Manley says his clients seek unspecified damages.

“We are familiar with cases from the 70s, 80s and even the 90s. These are boys who are still teenagers today, which tells us that despite all their promises dioceses’ still have not gotten rid of the bad apples that continue to prey on young children. And if they knew he was dangerous why did they put him here? My clients should never have met Father Castillo," he said.

San Bernardino Diocese spokesman John Andrews, reading from a written statement, said the Catholic hierarchy stripped Castillo of his ministerial duties shortly after the latest allegations surfaced at Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“Given our well documented commitment to protect children from abuse in both policy and action its disappointing to be named in these lawsuits," Andrews said. “We continue to offer our prayers to all victims of sexual abuse that they will receive God’s healing presence and his grace in their lives, and we continue to commit ourselves to preventing this sin of abuse in our families, communities and society as a whole.”

This month, a judge sentenced Castillo to a year in prison; he must also register as a sex offender. Under his plea deal with prosecutors, he avoided a much longer sentence. Despite his conviction, Castillo still appears — wearing his clerical collar — on the diocese’s online directory of clergy. That suggests to some observers that he’s still a priest in good standing.

“You can call it a passive-aggressive way to make it perfectly clear that they still support and defend him," said Joelle Casteix, SNAP’s western region director, who added that the church should make clear that Castillo is a lay person and no longer a priest. “I haven’t heard anything about him being laicized. So, until the Diocese of San Bernardino shows us any differently, they are in implicit support of him," Casteix said.

Diocese spokesman Andrews says that while still Castillo is technically still a priest, proceedings are underway at the Vatican to formally expel him from the priesthood.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/09/22/29018/suits-filed-over-abusive-calif-priest/

Pir prognosis: Using rape as a ‘cure’ for migraines
FAISALABAD: 
A pir allegedly raped a teenage girl to cure her of repeated migraines.

According to police officials, Khurarianwala resident Allah Wasaya said that his 14-year-old daughter Khatoon was repeatedly raped by a local pir on the pretext of curing her head aches. Khatoon got pregnant and Allah Wasaya has asked police officials to file a case.

“She was suffering from terrible headaches and I took her to several doctors and hakeem’s but no one was able to help her,” Wasaya said. “I heard about this pir who gave very effective taveez and was a powerful magician,” he told police officials.

Wasaya then contacted Mehmood Qasim, who offered taveez for different ailments.

“Qasim told us that she was possessed by a jinn and said that he had a taveez that could help her,” Wasaya told police. “He told us that the jinn was very powerful and it would take several sessions for him to cure her,” he added.

“I recommended Qasim’s services and I still maintain that he is a great man,” said Wasaya’s neighbour Akram. “The girl was probably having an affair and is trying to blame him,” he said.

Wasaya said that during Khatoon’s treatment, Qasim developed illicit relations with his daughter.

“He raped her repeatedly and told her that if she told anyone then he would release the jinn’s in his power on her,” Wasaya said. “My daughter is now pregnant and everyone in the neighbourhood knows of my shame,” he said.

Khatoon told police officials that Qasim had threatened to cast a spell on her if she told anyone what happened. “He used to send everyone away demanding that the ritual required us to be alone.

He said that if anyone else stayed the jinn would possess them as well,” she told police.

Khatoon said that a couple of weeks ago she experienced abdominal pain and went to the doctor. “She told me that I was four months pregnant and now Qasim has run away,” she said. “I want this man arrested because he raped my daughter and now he has ruined her life,” Wasaya said.  Khurarianwala police has registered a case on the complaint of Allah Wasaya under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code and started a search for the arrest of the accused.

“These claims are all false. Qasim has cured hundreds of people of their illnesses and he has many loyal followers. Wasaya and his daughter are ungrateful and rather than thanking him for curing the girl of her disease they are blaming him,” said Qasim’s apprentice Kashif Boota. “The girl probably had an affair and got her self pregnant. Now she is trying to blame an honest man who helps cure dozens of people,” he added.

(Read: Pir processing – Toddler castrated to ‘free him from temptation’)

Name of the victim has been changed to protect her identity

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2011.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Oct 18^th, 2011 at 1:08pm:



but did it cure them?

Annie Anthrax wrote on Oct 18^th, 2011 at 1:23pm:



Pfft.  Everyone knows it only works when it's the feet of a demi god.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Oct 18^th, 2011 at 1:26pm:


Muhammad was a self proclaimed prophet,they all are.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Oct 18^th, 2011 at 4:34pm:


I was just reminding you that Muhammad was a self proclaimed prophet

Muhammad was a white man who owned black slaves along with having a child bride what makes you think he was not a pretender?

It appears 9 is far to old nowadays

FAISALABAD: 
Kot Shakir police have arrested three men for solemising marriage of a one-year-old child who had earlier been declared wani by a panchayat in a Jhang village.

Those arrested include the groom, 24-year-old Amjad*, groom’s father, Ata Muhammad, and nikahkhwah Allah Ditta*.

Police say they are conducting raids to arrest the child’s father, Fiaz*, and the man who headed the panchayat, Aslam Gujjar*. They have registered a case against the accused under Section 310-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR registered by the infant’s mother, Tasawur Bibi, the panchayat had been convened in Kot Shakir village of Athara Hazari tehsil 10 days ago to punish Fiaz.

He had been caught by several villagers with Sakina*, a neighbour, at her house.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ajmal, Farhan and Rai Ajmal said that they had suspected Fiaz of having an illicit relationship with the woman and had been following him for sometime. They said they had arranged the panchayat together with Sakina’s family members so that Fiaz could be punished.

The panchayat chief, Gujjar, a traffic warden in Jhang, ruled that Fiaz could be pardoned if he agreed to give a woman from his family in marriage to a man from Sakina’s family. Fiaz agreed to hand over his infant daughter to Amjad.

Tasawur Bibi told The Tribune that she could not allow anyone to do this injustice to her daughter. She said approached the police after her husband and in-laws refused to listen to her.

She said after the nikah the groom’s family had taken a promissory note worth Rs300,000 from them when she had refused to hand over her one-year-old daughter. “They insisted that we send the child with them. How can give them my one-year-old daughter? She is too young to be kept away from her mother,” she said.

Station house officer Ismatullah Chaudhary said police were conducting raids for the infant’s father and the panchayat chief. He said if they found evidence they would register a case against Fiaz and Sakina on charges of adultery.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2011.