5 months ago
More than 600 alleged survivors of clergy maltreatment person claims against nan Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans successful its agelong bankruptcy. Attorneys Frank Lamothe III and Kristi Schubert person 75 clients. Twenty-three of them are prisoners, and astir of them allege maltreatment astatine 2 long-shuttered orphanages, Hope Haven and Madonna Manor.
Two of these men had a different way to prison.
Bernard Joseph, 57, and Marcus Hamilton, 65, half-brothers, are serving life position successful Angola, nan Louisiana authorities penitentiary, for murdering a priest.
Their stories, revealed present successful afloat for nan first time, mention their lawsuits against nan New Orleans archdiocese, voluminous documents successful a decease punishment appeal, and nan National Catholic Reporter’s Zoom interviews pinch each man astatine an agency pinch lawyer Schubert present. Prison officials refused support for in-person interviews.
This communicative besides involves 2 Josephite priests. One was murdered. The different has testified that he was trying to thief nan brothers, who opportunity some belief men abused them sexually.
The St Joseph’s Society of nan Sacred Heart’s website describes it arsenic a antheral belief bid “serving nan African American organization done nan proclamation of nan Gospel and our individual witness”. Josephites person a agelong history successful New Orleans, notably astatine St Augustine, a distinguished boys’ precocious schoolhouse whose alumni see euphony superstar Jon Batiste and erstwhile New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, on pinch awesome athletes and politicians.
Josephite leader Patrick McCarthy, caput of nan belief department, was besides pastor astatine Blessed Sacrament Catholic religion successful a working-class neighborhood. McCarthy had a 1976 grade successful psychiatric societal activity from nan Rochester Institute of Technology and a 1982 master’s from nan Washington Theological Union.
The rectory was dressed up for Christmas connected 18 December 1988, erstwhile nan religion caretaker recovered McCarthy’s naked assemblage successful an upstairs chamber connected a blood-soaked floor, hands and feet tied, stabbed successful nan neck, strangled by a cord. Police began a manhunt for Hamilton. Police reports said McCarthy “befriended” Hamilton, “allowing him to enactment astatine nan rectory arsenic a navigator while he looked for work”.
“A foolish enactment of horrible violence,” said Philip Hannan, who had retired arsenic archbishop of New Orleans earlier that December. “Father McCarthy is now successful nan beingness of nan Lord that he served truthful well.”
Hannan told United Press International nan slaying stemmed from “an enactment of charity”.
On New Year’s Eve, nan FBI arrested Hamilton successful Baytown, Texas, “without incident”.
“I ne'er denied sidesplitting nan homosexual leader from time 1 erstwhile FBI arrested me. I told nan FBI precisely what took place,” Hamilton told nan National Catholic Reporter via Zoom. The words poured retired successful a stream from nan man pinch a graying beard, glasses and paralytic near limb adjacent by his chest.
“He kept aft maine and I was aggravated and this man lying subordinate naked connected his belly for illustration he was a existent female and I picked up a Black & Decker hammer. Some group doing renewal of nan rectory near devices … and I killed him, but it wasn’t equipped robbery! The homicide detectives recovered complete 20,000 cash. Now if I was a robber, wouldn’t I person taken it?”
Hamilton, who successful truth drove disconnected successful McCarthy’s car pinch a TV and different items, was telegraphing a larger constituent astir nan wellsprings of his rage.
Joseph said his relative was hallucinating astatine nan time.
Hamilton spent 30 years connected decease statement pinch a agelong ineligible situation by Nick Trenticosta, erstwhile head of nan Death Penalty Resource Center astatine Loyola University New Orleans.
Trenticosta had a associated 1977 bachelor’s successful sociology from nan University of New Orleans and successful societal activity from Southern University astatine New Orleans, which is simply a historically Black school. As a organization organizer, he had seen nan practice astatine proceedings of Black men successful a authorities pinch 1 of nan world’s highest incarceration rates, and he went to Louisiana State University Law School, he told nan National Catholic Reporter, “for nan definitive intent of representing group connected decease row”.
In 1998, Trenticosta took Hamilton’s post-conviction case, challenging past territory lawyer Harry Connick’s agency complete grounds not admitted astatine trial. Trenticosta secured affidavits pinch family members for 1 purpose: to spare his customer decease by lethal injection.
Family dynamics
Hamilton and his half-sibling were among nan youngest of Genevieve Hamilton Joseph’s 12 children. She came from a plantation colony successful St Bernard parish (what counties are called successful New Orleans) southbound of town.
Hamilton’s maternal grandmother, Ethel Woods Augustine, said of her daughter’s intelligence wellness issues successful 1 of nan affidavits taken by Trenticosta.
“Genevieve was not correct from birth,” said Augustine, who noted she herself had been hospitalized “a fewer times” for intelligence wellness problems. “The doctors told maine that what was incorrect pinch [Genevieve] could not beryllium cured. She would not talk to different children aliases play pinch anyone … She wouldn’t play pinch store-bought toys. She had figures made from moss and sticks and she talked to them. They each had names.”
Augustine said Genevieve was 13 erstwhile she was “taken advantage of sexually because she was not capable to protect herself”.
Genevieve joined Godchaux Joseph. They were not together long. Genevieve Hamilton Joseph had a succession of breakdowns and hospitalizations arsenic she gave commencement to 1 kid aft another, a twelve successful all, by respective men she ne'er married. The children were successful and retired of relatives’ homes aliases foster care.
Savior aliases predator?
In nan precocious 1970s, Marcus Hamilton had gone from a foster location backmost to an flat pinch his mother and young siblings. In 1984, a lawyer was appealing a decease punishment ruling against 1 of Hamilton’s older brothers, convicted of murdering a liquor shop clerk.
Paul Oberg, a part-time situation chaplain and a personnel of nan Josephite organization moving to go a priest, testified successful an affidavit successful that lawsuit that he met Hamilton done nan younker programme astatine St Peter Claver, a predominantly Black parish successful nan downtown sixth ward. Oberg, who was school astatine St Augustine high, had a grade successful theology and certification successful criminology, objective counseling, supplier maltreatment and alcoholism. He said Genevieve Hamilton Joseph was “very depressed … incapable to header pinch family surviving [or] supply guidance to her children”.
“I was capable to found a narration of spot pinch Marcus. I was capable to guideline him successful directions that would lead to early employment. Marcus had lived successful foster homes and had ne'er had a bully family life. I was capable to make Marcus spot nan anticipation of a amended life.”
In his Zoom interview, Joseph told nan National Catholic Reporter: “When Marcus introduced Paul Oberg into our family, [my mother] felt he was a godsend.
“She’d telephone him to bring her to make [buy] groceries. She was all-out dependent.”
Oberg “was going to immoderate kinda seminary aliases monk schoolhouse to beryllium a full-fledged priest”, Hamilton said by Zoom, echoing his lawsuit. “I couldn’t beryllium much than 12 aliases 13. Asking maine stupid questions astir my family members’ background, he recovered retired my biologic mother could not raise a kid because she was paranoid schizophrenic.”
“Paul Oberg performed oral activity connected me. I conscionable sewage promoted to eighth grade,” he added. “He introduced maine to Patrick McCarthy.”
Grooming
“We each knew astir Marcus’s narration pinch nan priest, Paul Oberg,” said Augustine, nan grandmother. “When Marcus was surviving pinch his mother, [Oberg] would bargain them thing they wanted … caller televisions and different things, and Marcus knew he could get money from nan leader astatine immoderate time.”
“Our mother sewage angry pinch Brother Paul because he wasn’t spending immoderate clip aliases attraction connected nan girls,” Pam Douglas, an older sister, stated successful her affidavit.
“After that, Brother Paul took Odessa shopping 1 clip and bought her something, but it didn’t past … This made our mother much angry, and she would forbid Brother Paul from driving up to nan house,” Douglas said. “Marcus and Bernard would meet Brother Paul astir nan area – for illustration they had appointments. Brother Paul bought nan boys costly clothes, shoes, radios and gave them cash.”
“I ever believed that immoderate Marcus did was nan consequence of each nan agony coming retired of him,” she said.
Hamilton’s suit alleges that aft he stopped being a subordinate successful nan parish younker program, “Father Oberg continued sexually abusing maine astir 2-3 times per week” until Hamilton near for subject service.
Rescuing his mother
Federal backing successful nan 1990s for Loyola’s superior appeals allowed Trenticosta to prosecute a top-flight forensic psychiatrist to measure Hamilton connected decease row.
He hired Dr Frederick Berlin, laminitis of nan Sexual Disorders Clinic astatine Johns Hopkins School of Medicine successful Baltimore, who was renowned for treating activity offenders. The Baltimore session treated criminals excessively vulnerable for astir intelligence hospitals.
After citing nan history of intelligence illness, maltreatment and trauma successful nan family, Berlin wrote that astatine property 12, Hamilton “tried to make a location pinch his existent mother, Genevieve, and her younger children. He told his sister Sylvia he wanted to ‘be a family.’ But his mother reportedly told him she couldn’t support him unless she could get use for him. Around nan clip he met Paul Oberg, Genevieve’s 3 youngest children had been removed to authorities care; she had been taken to nan Salvation Army. She could not salary rent. It’s powerfully imaginable that nan money Paul Oberg offered Marcus afforded him an opportunity, successful a sense, to ‘rescue’ his mother.
“Paul Oberg’s maltreatment of Marcus Hamilton took nan shape of ‘seduction’ arsenic opposed to convulsive bodily rape. He enticed nan kid pinch possibly much money than he had ever seen successful his life … and champion of all, individual power. For perchance nan first time, Marcus Hamilton possessed thing personification other wanted and valued.”
Berlin wrote that Hamilton had a breakdown astatine 15; he was committed to a intelligence hospital. Three months later he “joined nan Job Corps, wherever he learned to navigator and to weld, and later nan Army, wherever he was arrested connected supplier charges and received a bad behaviour discharge”.
Trenticosta told nan National Catholic Reporter that Hamilton “was thrown successful jailhouse for dealing narcotics successful Germany and sent to Leavenworth”. Hamilton told nan lawyer that backmost successful New Orleans, he would spell complete to Josephite-run St Augustine, “that it was easy arsenic getting a car fixed to person activity pinch a leader aliases relative and get money. He was down and retired erstwhile he went to unrecorded pinch McCarthy astatine Blessed Sacrament.”
“After Marcus came backmost from nan Army, he would travel by and inquire if he could ‘borrow’ my location for an hr aliases two,” stated Douglas, his sister.
“He would show maine Brother Paul was coming complete and they were going to talk.” When she returned, Oberg was gone “but Marcus was ever coming retired of nan shower. I knew thing was going on.”
“When he started having seizures owed to nan congenital encephalon defect that had not yet been diagnosed, his intoxicant and supplier usage reportedly increased,” wrote Berlin. “His intelligence information astatine nan clip he moved successful pinch nan victim, Father Patrick McCarthy, had deteriorated owed to nan nonaccomplishment of his job, his interest complete what was incorrect pinch his brain, his accrued usage of narcotics and intoxicant … and nan unresolved affectional effects of a life of trauma.”
Berlin opined that Hamilton had a“‘flashback’ … to nan intersexual maltreatment of his childhood” and “intense rage that contributed importantly to nan tragedy”.
Trenticosta secured nan archive from Berlin 7 years aft Hamilton’s proceedings successful 1991.
Back then, Loyola Death Penalty Resource Center was representing each decease statement inmates successful Louisiana pinch thief from rule firms doing pro bono work. In 1989, arsenic Hamilton awaited proceedings successful jail, nan judge appointed attorneys Edward Kohnke IV and Michael Simpson from a blue-chip patient arsenic his counsel.
“In those days nan nationalist defender’s agency was underfunded. We took nan lawsuit pro bono,” Kohnke, a seasoned firm defense attorney, told nan National Catholic Reporter.
Simpson, now a US attorney, did not respond to an question and reply request.
Kohnke had played hoops astatine De La Salle High. He says he fended disconnected a intersexual walk by 1 of nan Christian Brothers who taught him and he had friends pinch nan aforesaid problem. By nan extremity of rule school, he had near nan church. About Hamilton, Kohnke thought, “This was a crime of reverse passion, personification achromatic basking pinch anger, a classical lawsuit of abuse.” Demonstrating that inheritance could sway a assemblage to a manslaughter verdict and nary decease penalty.
Kohnke and Simpson sent find subpoenas for documents to nan New Orleans archdiocese, nan Josephites, St Augustine precocious and 2 parishes, seeking to show lax oversight of predators successful belief life. Kohnke said it would beryllium reliable getting nan DA’s agency to work together connected documents, because Connick did not want to embarrass nan church.
“The thought of pedophile priests was going to beryllium a difficult sell,” said Kohnke.
Hamilton was doing push-ups successful his compartment erstwhile a cerebral hemorrhage sent him to nan hospital, his near broadside paralyzed aft a agelong recuperation. With nan proceedings postponed, Kohnke and Simpson moved connected to progressive cases. Three years later, a psychiatrist wished Hamilton tin of opinionated trial. He had a caller attorney.
Wishing for a clip machine
Joseph’s Zoom question and reply echoed nan history of abuse. In 1979, Oberg allegedly took nan 11-year-old connected “an overnight travel to spell sportfishing successful Mississippi. He told my mother different boys would beryllium going, but location were nary different boys that went pinch us.” Joseph told nan National Catholic Reporter that erstwhile they sewage to nan location successful Mississippi, “Oberg stated that God wanted ‘to bless my assemblage pinch a typical treat’” – which led to a frenetic jumble of oral and anal activity that near nan boy pinch rectal bleeding.
Taking a insignificant unfortunate crossed a authorities statement for activity is simply a national crime.
The brothers’ affidavits and lawsuits represent Oberg arsenic a semipermanent root of sex-for-money. “When I was astir 15 aliases 16 years old, Father Paul Oberg introduced maine to Father Patrick McCarthy, who besides began abusing me,” Joseph said successful nan lawsuit.
When Hamilton returned from nan service successful 1987, Joseph was 19, taking nighttime classes for a precocious schoolhouse equivalency degree. Joseph had had a fewer scrapes pinch nan rule and gotten arrested erstwhile his half-brother sent him to pawn a stolen handgun “so he could get immoderate stone cocaine”.
“Father Paul Oberg bonded maine out,” Joseph told nan National Catholic Reporter.
“If location was specified a point arsenic a clip instrumentality and to unrecorded my life successful a normal way, wishing Marcus had ne'er met Paul Oberg – that would person meant I wouldn’t person met him and what we had to spell done nan symptom successful my family, nary 1 would person gone done this.”
Hallucinations and reality
By 1988, Joseph was successful emotion pinch a woman, which he describes arsenic nan astir rewarding narration of his life. Joseph said that erstwhile Hamilton, stoned-out and homeless, arrived astatine nan rectory, Joseph was not amazed that McCarthy took him in.
According to a authorities ultimate tribunal summary of events upholding Joseph’s life sentence, he went to nan rectory astatine nan priest’s invitation for meal and to decorate nan Christmas tree. Afterward, McCarthy went upstairs to bed. The brothers “stayed downstairs and talked”, nan precocious tribunal states. Hamilton told Joseph “he was getting fed up pinch [Father] McCarthy because Fr McCarthy had been making intersexual advances toward him. Hamilton feared that Fr McCarthy was going to make him move retired of nan rectory since he refused nan advances.”
The tribunal stated: “Fr McCarthy consulted pinch Fr Oberg, who knew nan full Hamilton family. Fr Oberg advised Fr McCarthy that location was nary room astatine Fr Oberg’s rectory and that Fr McCarthy should not springiness suspect immoderate money. Following this conversation, Fr McCarthy made arrangements for suspect to move retired connected Friday, [18 December].”
Joseph said he was astir to time off nan rectory erstwhile Hamilton “started hallucinating” and flew into a rage against McCarthy. Joseph told nan National Catholic Reporter that Hamilton struck his relative many times and told him to get an hold cord. Joseph said Hamilton “was saying to himself, he’s sewage horns! And I’m reasoning connected nan spot, it’s nan drugs. I didn’t spot nary horns – he’s successful different world.”
Hamilton poured brackish successful McCarthy’s chemoreceptor and rima to extremity him from yelling. After nan leader died, Hamilton took nan rectory car and a fewer items and dropped Joseph astatine their mother’s house, saying, “Don’t show anybody.”
Several nights later, erstwhile a New Orleans constabulary section homicide detective knocked connected nan door, Joseph made nary guidance and went to nan constabulary position and gave a confession.
Convictions
When a homicide detective did a 2nd pretrial question and reply pinch Hamilton, he admitted to murdering a section supplier dealer, for which he was ne'er charged; nan prosecution utilized nan accusation arsenic strengthened impervious he needed nan decease penalty.
The New Orleans crime segment grounds was overwhelming. Joseph, who was tried first, offered nary grounds connected Oberg, fearing that nan female he loved sitting successful tribunal would deliberation him abnormal. Oberg testified arsenic to nan family’s dysfunction, arsenic 1 who had been helping them, and arsenic an force of nan decease penalty.
“He must person felt bad successful immoderate benignant of measurement to cognize really this transpired pinch Marcus and nan narration he and I had pinch activity involved,” Joseph told nan National Catholic Reporter. “It was messed up … nan assemblage seeing him arsenic personification wholly innocent.”
When Joseph was convicted of murder, nan assemblage deadlocked connected nan decease penalty. He received life without parole.
When Hamilton was yet tried successful 1991, he, too, did not testify. “My lawyer said, ‘Man, look here, we judge you but Harry Connick do not want nan publicity coming retired astir homosexual priests and estimation of nan Catholic church.’ I said, ‘My life is connected nan line, I want this to travel retired truthful nan jurors know!’”
Given Hamilton’s intelligence history and propensity for verbal explosions, his proceedings attorney, Franz Zibilich, a erstwhile prosecutor, persuaded his customer to invoke his law correct against self-incrimination. The tribunal approved a reference of his confession to nan FBI arsenic evidence. The authorities ultimate tribunal noted, “The homosexual taxable arose successful defendant’s confession, which was publication successful its entirety to nan jury. [Hamilton] stated that nan leader ‘put his hands connected maine each clip I sewage adjacent him’ and kept asking suspect to ‘sleep successful his room.’”
Oberg’s history pinch nan family and alleged bequest of intersexual abuses of nan brothers ne'er made it into testimony.
Citing nan equipped robbery of McCarthy arsenic exacerbating a severely sadistic crime, nan assemblage successful 1991 sentenced Hamilton to death.
A past that would not die
Capital reward appeals often past for years arsenic attorneys activity mitigating facts aliases caller grounds to seduce judges for a rehearing to activity a revised condemnation aliases enactment of execution. Court calendars tin beryllium tediously slow. Hamilton was connected decease statement astatine Angola, successful solitary confinement, pinch an hr extracurricular nan compartment for speech pinch different inmates and exercise. Summer temperatures could beryllium scorching; TV sets droned connected nan cellblock hall.
When Trenticosta took connected Hamilton’s appeal, nan 2 men struck a rapport. Trenticosta’s first extremity – a petition for post-conviction alleviation to nan territory lawyer – was to get nan execution halted, allowing nan customer to enactment alive, moreover if connected decease row. Reducing a decease condemnation meant analyzable hurdles.
As Trenticosta sought retired Hamilton’s relatives and others who gave sworn statements against Oberg, he included grounds ne'er presented astatine either brother’s trial, specified arsenic Berlin’s psychiatric floor plan of Hamilton, referencing nan priests’ predatory effect connected nan brothers from early adolescence and nan fractured family’s survival.
Ironically, Trenticosta became a personnel of nan St Peter Claver church, wherever a fewer group remembered Oberg, agelong gone. If nan brothers’ allegations were publicized, Trenticosta sensed, it would beryllium a immense embarrassment for nan archdiocese, and possibly costly, fixed nan gait of maltreatment lawsuits successful 1998 erstwhile New Orleans, for illustration galore Catholic cities, had been rocked by scandals.
In nan recently charged environment, Trenticosta sent nan voluminous petition pinch nan family’s affidavits to Connick’s agency and to nan Josephite superior successful Baltimore, Joseph Verrett.
On 5 June 1998, Verrett wrote Trenticosta: “The Society’s argumentation and procedures telephone for an investigation of each allegations of intersexual misconduct by priests and brothers of nan society, sloppy of nan root of allegation … I inquire that you let maine to question and reply Mr Hamilton and nan different witnesses.” He projected a gathering pinch himself, Trenticosta and “our attorney, Tom Dame”.
Trenticosta told them to do their ain investigation.
As nan day neared for Trenticosta’s 1998 hearing, he called a friend, Sr Helen Prejean, noted for her activism against nan decease penalty. Prejean lived successful New Orleans, wherever her belief order, nan Congregation of St Joseph, had a community.
Trenticosta said: “I explained nan situation, suggesting she telephone [retired] Archbishop Hannon, who mightiness past telephone Harry Connick. I don’t cognize who said what to whom, but erstwhile I arrived for nan hearing, nan DA’s agency requested a continuance, and nan judge concurred.”
The continuance meant a proceedings whenever nan prosecutors decided. Instead, nan lawsuit hung successful limbo for decades. And Trenticosta kept his customer alive.
Hamilton spent much than 30 years successful solitary confinement. “Boring arsenic hell,” he said successful nan Zoom interview. “At nan aforesaid time, you’re wondering – really you gonna fight, you know, to prevention your life … These group was going to effort to execute me.”
In 2021, Trenticosta sewage Hamilton retired of solitary confinement and into a wide organization dorm aft nan legislature passed a law, sponsored by nan authorities territory attorneys, seeking authority to modify immoderate condemnation aliases sentence. Prosecutors and legislators realized that excessively galore Louisiana inmates had overly harsh sentences.
In his Zoom interview, Hamilton said he ne'er stopped believing successful God. “Matter of fact, erstwhile I came disconnected of that [death] statement backmost successful October 14, 2021, and they put maine astatine Camp C, well, they baptized maine successful nan chapel backmost location … I sewage baptized erstwhile I was retired location successful nan free world measurement backmost successful 1969, I was 9 years old.”
For a while, Hamilton and Joseph were successful nan aforesaid dormitory, but Hamilton said authorities put them successful abstracted dorms because they were convicted of nan aforesaid crime. He said they person written to each other.
Joseph has spent 38 years down bars, astir of that clip astatine Angola. In early 2005, pinch nan thief of a jailhouse lawyer, he worked connected a handwritten artifact missive suit to a national court, pro se aliases self-represented, against past archbishop Alfred Hughes and erstwhile archbishop Hannan. The pleading was swiftly rejected pinch prejudice, meaning he could not resubmit. He named nary national officials aliases institutions arsenic defendants. On 24 March 2005, he resubmitted nan petition to nan Orleans parish criminal territory court, which besides dismissed it for deficiency of jurisdiction – a civilian case.
Joseph yet sewage to writer nan religion erstwhile he learned of nan alteration successful authorities rule opening nan “look-back window” for plaintiffs; astir 660 alleged survivors person claims against nan New Orleans archdiocese successful its agelong bankruptcy. Joseph’s archive formed nan backbone for nan impervious of claims that lawyer Schubert revenge connected his behalf. Joseph’s handwritten pleading is autobiographical.
For years, he thought Oberg was dead. He asks for an lawyer to get “very confidential records of nan precocious Fr Oberg” from nan archdiocese. A 15-page handwritten individual history gives schematic item of really and erstwhile Oberg abused him from boyhood forward. Then, switching to 3rd personification astir himself, Joseph writes that connected 13 May 2004, “the plaintiff really past made an effort to bent himself”, and “now must proceed his regular depletion of antidepressant medication”.
Joseph’s impervious of declare is rather clear that Oberg introduced him to McCarthy erstwhile he was “15 aliases 16” and McCarthy “performed oral activity connected maine astir erstwhile aliases doubly a period … until his death”.
Oberg is not connected nan New Orleans archdiocese’s nationalist listing of “credibly accused”. The Josephite belief bid has nary listing of proven predators connected its website. Oberg’s sanction does not look connected BishopAccountability website’s capsule biographies of 18 Josephites trailed by allegations.
Whatever investigation nan Josephites whitethorn person done connected nan allegations Trenticosta gave them successful his 1998 dossier, Oberg’s assignments aft Joseph’s proceedings sailed on astatine Josephite parishes for African Americans.
From 1988 to 1991, he served astatine Sacred Heart religion successful Port Arthur, Texas; 1991 to 1992, astatine Our Mother of Mercy successful Beaumont, Texas. He subsequently moved to Birmingham, Alabama, arsenic pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, wherever he served until 2005, earning praise from parishioners for his stewardship and pastoral guidance.
For nan past respective years, he has been rector of nan organization for aged Josephites, now successful Washington DC. His 2 telephone numbers listed connected nan Josephite website did not person voicemail to return messages astir an interview.
In a telephone interview, Bishop John Ricard, superior of nan Josephites, said that Oberg was sick and unavailable to talk.
After Ricard requested clip to reappraisal nan Josephites’ files, he sent this connection 3 weeks later:
“I americium assured successful our ongoing determination that we person each nan facts regarding Fr Paul Oberg, regarding nan arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Marcus Hamilton and his half-brother Bernard Joseph. With nan thief of backstage investigators and done broad interviews pinch each involved, nan Josephites conducted a afloat exhaustive review. We proceed to clasp Marcus Hamilton and his half-brother Bernard Joseph successful our prayers for healing.”
But Trenticosta has a different position of Oberg. He told nan National Catholic Reporter: “If it were not for Oberg, and nan intersexual trauma of those boys being abused by priests, Father McCarthy would person died of aged age. Oberg is nan logic McCarthy’s dead. That’s what I believe.”
Editor’s note: This is nan 2nd of a miniseries exploring nan lives of immoderate of nan survivors of clergy intersexual maltreatment successful nan New Orleans archdiocese’s bankruptcy saga spanning much than 5 years. The miniseries was supported by nan Fund for Investigative Journalism and was published by nan Guardian successful business pinch nan National Catholic Reporter.
