By Kay Ebeling.
Fr. Antonio Cortes was was at his desk at the Church when Salinas, California, police arrested him April 16, 2009. As Officer Villegas moved to get his handcuffs, Cortes reached for a cell phone on his desk. Villegas grabbed the cell phone before Cortes could take it. Cortes affirmed the cell phone and laptop belonged to him. Villegas took Cortes outside to an unmarked police vehicle. (From news reports Jan. 8, 2010.)
The defense says police served a search warrant for Cortes' home and then took evidence from Cortes' office. Actually the search warrant was written for "rectory at 1747 Second Ave." at St. Mary of the Nativity Church, the Herald reported.
Again the Church uses its own internal structure as a way to obstruct justice. It is not clear if a rectory is an office or a home, the Defense argues, so the Court has to throw out all evidence seized that night at the Church.
On January 7, 2010, Cortes' attorney, "began an effort to suppress child-pornography evidence in the case," is the way the Monterey Herald put it January 8th, and the hearing on Motion to Suppress by the Defense will continue Thursday Feb. 4 in Monterey Superior Court in Salinas, Courtroom 3, 1:30 PM.
Is it a Rectory, or a Home, or an Office?
Does it Matter?
When this is the "alleged" crime:
The pastor of St. Mary of the Nativity Church in Salinas is accused of sodomy with a 16-year-old boy in the rectory of the church April 14, then providing him alcohol. The boy told police that Cortes was giving him "spiritual massages" and alcohol for a few years, beginning at Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield, where Cortes was previously assigned
Lawyer Eugene Martinez maintains Salinas police illegally seized an external hard drive from the Rev. Antonio Cortes' church office when their search warrant was written for his home.
Further Testimony on the Defense Motion to Suppress Evidence tomorrow, Thursday February 4th:
Read more here:
Salinas priest asks court to suppress evidence
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Another Ruckus Down Under
John Brown takes hidden camera to interview with Government Official, (Brown is a survivor of the pedophile priest epidemic in the Catholic Church from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.)
GO: The first thing I need to address is the tshirt.
JB: Why is that?
GO: You can’t wear it when you do community service.
JB: How’s that?
GO: You offended the ladies.
JB: Oh beg your pardon you think I am not offended right here? How can you raise that matter now? That's a breach of the church state separation issue.
GO: It’s just the ladies sodality-
JB: Wait a minute, that's a religious matter, not a police or a government-
GO: You're saying-
JB: You are out of your jurisdiction
GO: But the ladies, you're not-
JB: You are out of your jurisdiction. Let me speak to your superiors.
GO: This has nothing to do with the church ...
JB: I wear this shirt when I sit with politicians. And the commissioner of police, when I have meetings with ***** I wear this shirt
The Video is on YouTube Here
The audio is awful, but that's sort of what is said in the video he posted at YouTube. John Brown of Australia wore the infamous purple t-shirt, produced by Ken the Welder, another survivor in San Diego. It says, “I was molested by Dirty Filthy Catholics. Would you let a Catholic priest babysit your children?” The t-shirt says some other things as well, and, well, it can be … offensive.(A decent City of Angels Lady would never wear one in public.)
But as we've said many times before at City of Angels Network:
You're offended?
Imagine what it was like on the receiving end of the crimes of pedophile priests, and still is ...
Now you want the victims to have better manners?
If survivors' rage is offensive to you, it's like telling a family in a home demolished by an earthquake, "Stop crying so loud, don't you know I need eight hours of sleep a night."
So John Brown wore his t-shirt to do his community service at a food distribution center. (We won't even get into why he’s doing community service in the first place.) At his work site they tell him he can’t wear his "offensive" t-shirt, and John Brown makes a civil issue out of it, including wearing a hidden camera when he goes to meet with an “Australian government official.”
We are linkingn the video here at City of Angels for … posterity, because so many of us as individuals are trying to do different things in different cities and-
Wouldn't it be great?
If there really was a network of support through ACTION for survivors of the pedophile epidemic in the Catholic Church, all over the country, and all over the world?
Why not have a blog like City of Angels in every city in America?
It's so easy.
I have a fantasy that Mel Gibson will read City of Angels and send a travel budget, I mean if anyone could help us get the truth out, it's Mel Gibson, as he doesn't like the Church the way it's run by the Vatican, which truly includes six thousand pedophiles hidden by order of the Vatican (see Crimen Solicitationes, 1962). Predator priests preyed on children in USA parishes and God knows how many more in Germany, Ireland, Australia...
With a travel budget, we could go to Fresno, and Vermont, and Salinas, and Takoma to cover trials when they come up. We'd travel from one city to the next documenting the crimes, and all of the stories, as there are dozens of true crime stories about pedophile priests in the Catholic Church in every town in the United States.
But For Now
Imagine what it would be like if there was a blog like City of Angels in every city.
A blogger in Dallas, New Jersey, Detroit, Philadelphia, Montana, Indiana, Boston, Des Moines, even San Francsicso.
Then in each city someone would go pay fifty cents a page and get copies of documents to scan and post for the world to see, copies of Church Attorney endless motions, questionable rulings by judges.
Document
Document
Document
We need a blogger in every city, exposing the crimes of every archdiocese. So if you need help starting a blog in your town, City of Angels will walk you through it.
If you need help.
You probably won't.
IT'S SO EASY
And it's the best way I know of to get around ALL the obstacles that have been stuck in front of us and kept the true story of the pedophile epidemic in the Catholic Church from being public.
If interested, email Kay at cityofangelslady@yahoo.com
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ONE MORE NOTE:
Survivor One-Act Play "For Pete's Sake" to continue performances around New York
Joe Capozzi wrote:
"The reading in December went really well, had a great turnout and the play has opened the doors for a few more readings this year. There is also some interest in turning it into a film but like everything else in this business, who knows.
"I'm continuing to work on the play and I was asked to present it at a NY arts festival in September and a possible reading at Union Theological College in NYC as well. I'm just hoping to keep it alive and keep presenting the story wherever I can."
We wrote previously about "For Pete's Sake" by Joe Capozzi here:
Friday, October 09, 2009
New one act play shows passion of going public about crimes of pedophile priest
It's yet another case of a Catholic priest insinuating himself on a parish family then raping the children. Survivor Joe Capozzi of New York City is also an artist, so as he went public with his charges against Monsignor Peter Cheplic of New Jersey, Capozzi also burst out his story in a one-act play. The result
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John Brown emails: "The t-shirt is the most effective way I have along with my emails to bring attention to these things - the video (will get better quality next time) shows how blatant and obvious it is - these people think what they are doing is and should be normal when it is abhorrent and disgusting - this will receive no response even though I have had a state member forward a copy to the Minister. I have taken these matters to the highest possible - Attorney general - wont interfere as a matter of 'protocol' - asked to provide copy of protocol and you get no answer - it challenges their religion therefore you are wrong. Been to the Prime Minister 'a matter for the church' state premiers 'look at all the good work we do', the Queen - a matter of protocol, local police. They are simply afraid of what will happen to them if they simply ask some questions - such is the fear and control here - at all levels."
ReplyDeleteI was talking with a friend this morning and I related this story to him. He suggested I should make this as a comment.
ReplyDeleteJohnB
The most rewarding moment I have had whilst wearing my shirt came at the local markets one Sunday morning. I was looking at some fruit and veg when a woman with young children acknowledged me. She stopped and spoke to her children. She pointed out that I was wearing my shirt so that mothers like her would know to warn their children of a potential danger.
We never spoke a word to each other even when I turned around and smiled and said thank you. She just nodded and walked on with her children.
That to me has been the most special moment and I will treasure that moment as being one of those positive moments coming from the community work I do through wearing this shirt. My thanks to all those who who have offered support. Please feel free to make your own shirt or email me. This shirt is now found on 3 Continents and has a growing number of people who are proud to wear it despite the unfortunate circumstances which give them cause to do so.
JohnB