Archdiocese to Dismiss Priest Over Admission of Molesting Girl

March 4th, 2011

The New York Times

By: Jennifer Medina

A priest accused of having a long-term sexual relationship with a teenage girl, writing her decades later to ask for forgiveness and declare that he was a sex addict, is being removed from ministry in a parish, and the diocese’s vicar of clergy has also resigned, officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said Friday.

The priest, the Rev. Martin P. O’Loghlen, was once a leader in his religious order and was appointed to an archdiocesan sexual abuse advisory board, although officials at both the order and the archdiocese knew at the time about his admission of sexual abuse and addiction. He served on the board, which was meant to review accusations of abuse by priests, for at least two years in the late 1990s, according to church and legal documents.

Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said church officials planned to announce the removal of Father O’Loghlen from his current parish in San Dimas on Sunday. Church officials decided to act after being contacted by a reporter about the priest’s history of sexual abuse.

Mr. Tamberg said in a statement that officials of the priest’s religious order assured the archdiocese in 2009 that Father O’Loghlen was fit for the ministry. He said that the archdiocese’s vicar for clergy, Msgr. Michael Meyers, resigned on Friday. Monsignor Meyers had been in the position since July 2009 and it was his job to grant clergymen what are known as faculties to serve as priests.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese, led by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, has been rocked by sexual abuse accusations for years. In 2007, it agreed to a $660 million settlement with 508 people who said that priests had sexually abused them as children.

“The failure to fully check records before granting priestly faculties is a violation of archdiocesan policy,” Cardinal Mahony said in a statement. “We owe it to victims and to all our faithful to make absolutely certain that all of our child protection policies and procedures are scrupulously followed.”

Father O’Loghlen had sex on several occasions with Julie Malcolm in the 1960s while she was a student at Bishop Amat High School in nearby La Puente, Ms. Malcolm said. Nearly three decades after the abuse ended, Father O’Loghlen tried to reach Ms. Malcolm, who was then living in Phoenix.

After receiving several phone messages from Father O’Loghlen, Ms. Malcolm filed a complaint with the Diocese of Phoenix and later filed a lawsuit against the priest and his religious order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In 1999, she settled the lawsuit for $100,000, Ms. Malcolm said.

“I am deeply sorry for our becoming involved and readily accept the fact that I was the responsible one in our relationship,” Father O’Loghlen said in a five-page handwritten letter dated June 23, 1996. “Clearly, I was the one in power position. If I had not made a move nothing would have happened between us. I sincerely hope that there were some moments of joy for you in our relationship, but ultimately it caused you much significant pain.”

Father O’Loghlen goes on to say that since Ms. Malcolm filed her complaint, he has undergone psychological evaluations, which determined that he is “not a pedophile” or a “sexual predator.” But, he adds, “I do have a sexual addiction.”

Copies of the letter and other documents were provided to The New York Times by Joelle Casteix, the southwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who had received them from Ms. Malcolm.

Father O’Loghlen, 74, was ordained in Ireland in 1961. He began teaching at Bishop Amat later that year and remained there for six years. In 1967, around the same time of his involvement with Ms. Malcolm, he moved to Damien High School, a boys’ school nearby, where he was vice principal and principal for more than 10 years.

In 1995, Father O’Loghlen became the provincial leader in the western region for the religious order of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. After he contacted Ms. Malcolm in 1996, leaders in the Los Angeles Archdiocese and officials with the religious order based in Rome exchanged several letters.

According to copies of those letters, Father O’Loghlen admitted to molesting Ms. Malcolm and told his superiors that he was undergoing counseling. Msgr. Richard Loomis, then the vicar for clergy in Los Angeles, told officials in Rome that he would not remove Father O’Loghlen from the archdiocese but that his service should be limited.

Click here for the full report from the New York Times

Many on Antidepressants Haven’t Been Diagnosed With Depression

February 8th, 2011

AOL Health

By: Deborah Huso

Many doctors are prescribing antidepressants for patients who have not been formally diagnosed with clinical depression, researchers at the University of Manitoba said in a new study.

Jina Pagura and her colleagues at the University of Manitoba found 89 percent of people taking antidepressants weren’t diagnosed with depression but had an “indicator of need,” which would be a pre-existing emotional hurdle such as past physical or sexual abuse, loss of a parent through divorce or death, bullying, or other issues.

“It is important to underscore that our study does not imply that there is excessive prescribing of antidepressants,” Pagura, author of the study, told AOL Health “It actually shows that people using antidepressants without a diagnosis [by a mental health professional] had other indicators of need.”

The use of antidepressants to treat cases of mild depression or anxiety is often considered easier than multiple trips to the therapist’s office, said Dr. Jitender Sareen, study researcher, psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba.

But Sareen doesn’t personally recommend seeking medication as a first line of defense against the blues. “I would want to do anything possible without taking meds,” Sareen told AOL Health. “You should try to work on behavioral strategies, and getting to the root of the problem may be helpful.”

Sareen says patients should try to address the underlying cause of their depression before turning to medication. In some cases, however, taking antidepressants helps individuals in therapy get to the root of their problems.

“These individuals are likely approaching their physicians with concerns that may be related to depression and could include symptoms like trouble sleeping, poor mood, difficulties in relationships,” Pagura explained. “Although an antidepressant might help with these issues, the problems may also go away on their own with time or might be more amenable to counseling or psychotherapy.”

While Pagura says antidepressants tend to be well-tolerated overall, short-term side effects can include headaches and stomach upset, and long-term side effects may include sexual problems.

According statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for people ages 15 to 44, and affects approximately 14.8 million American adults each year. Depression is most common in women.

Click here for the full report from AOL Health