The Deacon Project - Deacon Peter Barbernitz

 

As we continue with our review of Deacons in the Archdiocese of Washington, with TWITTER accounts, we come to Deacon Peter Barbernitz.  

He is currently assigned to St. Camillus in Silver Spring but has restricted his TWITTER feed.  

Not certain what he may be hiding, but that it his right to block anyone from viewing without granting access.

 

 

 

Former CEO of St. Luke's Institute Found Guilty of Fraud and heading to Jail...but not from St. Luke's

The one-time top-ranking priest in the Diocese of Manchester, the Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault III, was sentenced to four years in New Hampshire State Prison Wednesday by a judge who urged him to do good in prison.
In 2009, Arsenault took a $170,000-a-year position as CEO of St. Luke’s, a rehab center in Silver Spring, Md., that became known for treating priests who had sexually abused children. The center deals primarily with priests, nuns and brothers who have a range of other issues, such as depression, anxiety and addictive behaviors. St. Luke’s conducted an internal investigation and found no evidence of fraud while Arsenault was there.

For more information, please go to Feb 2014 story by the Religious News Service  and the April 24, 2014 story by the New Hampshire Union Leader. 

Holy Cross Hospital Supporting Gay Marriage?

Well, yes.

Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring) is part of Trinity Health, a large conglomeration of Catholic hospitals (over 20) across the US.  Trinity Health is based out of Livonia, Michigan.

On January 15th, Trinity Health announced a new benefit.  According to the document distributed to all staff:

To fullfill our Mission to be a transforming healing presence within our communities, CHE Trinity Health continually reviews its benefit programs to ensure that we are meeting changing needs in the workplace.

With Plus One, benefits-eligible colleagues may cover their spouse or a non-blood-relative eligible adult living in their household with whom the colleague has a financial interdependence, as well as, eligible dependents.

In other words, Holy Cross Hospital, as part of Trinity Health, will now recognize gay marriage via their benefits package.  

 

Three Local Catholic Schools Named Blue Ribbon Schools!

Congratulations to St. John the Evangelist School (Silver Spring, MD), Holy Cross School (Garrett Park, MD) and St. Peter School (Washington DC).

Congratulations to the Principals, the Teachers, Support Staff, Parents and all those who support Catholic Education.
 

UPDATE: Teacher Aide Arrested from St. John the Evangelist School (Silver Spring, MD)

February 29, 2014 Update

This information was updated on the Maryland Court records database, sometime yesterday afternoon/this morning.  The case is now considered closed.

On Feb. 10, 2014

COURT SENTENCES THE DEFENDANT TO COUNT #2, (ASSAULT-SECOND DEGREE ) A GENERALLY SUSPENDED SENTENCE;

AS TO COUNT #3 (SEX OFF 4TH- PERS POS AUTH), A GENERALLY SUSPENDED SENTENCE;

5 YEARS SUPERVISED PROBATION, WITH CONDITIONS. COURT COSTS ASSESSED. STATE ENTERS NOLLE PROS AS TO REMAINING COUNTS.

COURT ORDERS THE DEFENDANT TO REGISTER WITH THE SEX OFFENDERS REGISTRY.

*Please note that the defendant pleaded not guilty to Sex Abuse of a Minor.

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January 23, 2014 Update:

There have been a number of updates to the Maryland Court Records in relation to this case.  Please note the following regarding the January 6, 2014 Plea Hearing:

·         A Plea Hearing was held in front of Judge Boynton.  The State’s Attorney was Ms. Bridgford.

·         The Defendant (Ms. Gulley) appeared with her counsel, Mr. Delpino

·         The State’s motion to amend Count #2 and the body of Count #3 of the indictment were granted and amended.

·         The Defendant enters am oral plea of GUILTY to Count #2 and 3 (Second Degree Assault) and Count #3 (Sex Offense Fourth Degree – Person in Position of Authority).   My note:  It seems, but I can be incorrect as there are sometimes entry errors, that Count #1 (Sex Abuse of a Minor) was dropped.  However, I will check back at a later date to see if the record will be updated.

·         The Defendant continues to be out on Bond.

·         Sentencing will be set on Feb. 10, 2014 at 1:30pm by Judge Boynton.

(As before, please keep the child and his/her family in your prayers.)



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January 8, 2014 Update

On Feb. 20, 2014, at 1:30pm, sentencing will take place in Courtroom 8 by Hon. David Boynton.

(As before, please keep the child and his/her family in your prayers.)

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January 1, 2014 Update

On Dec. 20th it was decided that the plea hearing would be postponed from Thursday, January 2, 2014 to Monday, January 6, 2014.

A Plea has been submitted.

On January 6, 2014, it is expected that a jury trial (four days) will begin but it should be noted that a plea has been submitted.  IMHO, no trial will take place if the Montgomery Attorney's Office accepts the plea, which it probably will.

(As before, please keep the child and his/her family in your prayers.)



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December 12th Update

If I have read the court records correct, a plea agreement has been filed with the court.

On December 10, 2013, a plea agreement was filed with the court before Judge Boynton.  

CONSENT ORDER OF COURT (DEBELIUS, J.) TO SCHEDULE A PLEA HEARING ON JANUARY 2, 2014 AT 10:00 A.M., A DATE CLEARED WITH CHAMBERS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF TENDERING TO THE COURT A DISPOSITION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PLEA AGREEMENT, ENTERED. 




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Nov. 16th Update

On Nov. 13th, there was an agreement between the defendant and the county to postpone the pre-trial hearing until Dec. 6th.  This will be held in Court Room #15 at 9:30am with Judge Cheryl Mccally.

The trial is scheduled for January 6th.



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Updated Tuesday Evening....

A meeting was held on Monday night (July 1st) at St. John the Evangelist School regarding the arrest and charging of a Teacher's Aide with sexual abuse.

According to my sources, the following were in attendance: the Pastor (Msgr. Pennington), the principal (Sr. Lanark), Thomas W. Burnford (Sec. of Education), Ken Gaughan (head of School Counseling Services), and Deacon Matthew Houle? (Youth Protection). Also, sitting joining but not saying anyting until the end was someone from the Communication Office. (Probably watching what they were or were not saying.)

No one from the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) was invited to this meeting. And my source tells me that this was a bit of a sore point with some of those in attendance, as they wanted to know exactly what were the charges and the next steps.

The meeting started off with Msgr. Pennington speaking about the matter, as much as he could but that was really not much. He indicated that this inappropriate behavior was done outside of school hours, therefore, out of his bounds to comment on. He also stated that this was a closed meeting and not open to the press.

The Principal got up to speak and she was at times in tears over this matter.

Ken Gaughan spoke about how to approach the issue with your child and the resources available from the Archdiocese. Deacon Houle reiterated the point about the training received and the background check.

Questions were taken but had to be written on index cards. The most common questions asked were:

• How old was the child and what grade?
• Did it take place on school property?
• Why weren't they notified as soon as the police were contacted?
• Why was the entire parish notified about this?
• What are you going to do to ensure that it does not happen again?
• What type of communication will we receive in the future?

A couple of parents were upset that a letter was annouced from the pulpit regarding the abuse. Many had confused children and wanted to be forwarned.



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Allyson R. Gulley (Kensington, MD) was arrested and charged with the following:


Charge 1:
Sex Abuse of a Minor -Statute: CR.3.602.(B)
The incident took place between April 1 and May 21, 2013
Complaint made by Police Officer K. Carvajal

Charge 2:
Sex Offense in the Third Degree - Statue CR.3.307
The incident took place between April 1 and May 21, 2013
Complaint mae by Victor Delpino Esq.  (Private Attorney)

Ms. Gulley is currently out on bail.   The hearing will take place on July 26, 2013 at 10am.

***Please note that this information is available to the public from the Maryland Court system and does not violate any privacy laws. 

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Sunday, June 30th
According to my sources, a female teacher aide* from St. John the Evangelist School (Georgia Ave. Silver Spring), was arrested by Montgomery County Police for inappropriate contact with a student.

This sad news was announced by the pastor, who read a letter, at all Masses today.  In it, I was told, the Archdiocese had done all due diligence in background checks and reported it to Montgomery County Police, as soon as the allegation was made.

Please keep the student, the student's family and the larger St. John's Community in your prayers.

*This was a teacher's aide, not a teacher.  Correction from earlier posting. 

Saturday Evening at Chick-fil-A

So, Saturday night I decide to go to see 2016 at the theaters in downtown Silver Spring.

I parked in the public parking lot and as I am walking by Chick-fil-A, there are a group of about ten protestors.  Most looked like they were either high school seniors or freshmen in college, holding up some undecipherable signs but you know they were pro-gay.  There was a guy in a Guy Fawkes mask and Grim Reaper cloak and hood, and an older woman (probably in her 60's with an Obama sticker on her sign. They were quiet but lined the sidewalk.

When I saw them, I decided that something was to be done.  I walked by them and went in to Chick-fil-A and purchased six cookies.  To be honest, I wasn't hungry but I wasn't going to let them intimidate anyone.

I purchased the cookies and walked out of the store, only to be told by the Guy Fawkes character "Thank you for supporting hate."   

So, being the smart ass that I sometimes can be, I offered each of the protesters a cookie as I passed them.  "Would you like a cookie?," I asked.

I then realized that they wouldn't let me in the movies with them, so, I took one out and took a bite.  It was actually pretty good.

So, as I walked by them, I once again offered them a cookie, letting them know that they were pretty good and they are missing out.

I will not be intimidated!

St. Michael the Archangel School - Operations Suspended at End of the Year

At the end of the year, St. Michael's School will suspend operations. This action has been in the making since November, when a consultation took place at the Church/School.

Here is a link to the Archdiocese of Washington: http://www.adw.org/query2011/newsite_news.asp?ID=970&Year=2012

As you remember, this was one of the schools on the chopping block in 2009.

As terrible as the closing of a Catholic school is, let's hope that this is the only one.

Any update on St. Michael's in Silver Spring?

It seems that a "consultation" took place on Dec. 9th regarding St. Michael's in Silver Spring. This school was one of those under consideration for merging or closing (see my post last Nov. 19, 2009 and January 17, 2010) last school year.

I have not had a chance to see my "contact" over there for a while, but if anyone has any info, please feel free to share: awashingtondccatholic@gmail.com.

Anti-Catholic Bigotry Alive and Well in MoCo

I just picked up my copy of the Montgomery County Gazette to find that anti-Catholic bigotry is alive and well in Montgomery County, Maryland. (Actually, that is not really true, it has been alive and well for a long time esp. in the County Council and the Maryland State legislature, but that is another story.)

According to the Gazette:

As the battle for which private hospital can call upcounty its home picks up speed, some critics say Holy Cross Hospital, governed by Catholic religious doctrine, provides less health care coverage than any other hospital in the area and should not be allowed to expand.

But Holy Cross counters that many of the services it is morally prohibited from providing are not usually performed in a hospital anyway and that its charity work more than makes up for the few services it cannot offer.

The discussion about what Holy Cross can and can not do for its patients has heated up this month as the state's commission reviews a proposal for Holy Cross, which announced in August 2008 a plan to build a 93-bed hospital on Montgomery College's campus in Germantown, and another proposal for Adventist HealthCare, which announced in April a plan to build a 100-bed hospital on part of a health care campus in Clarksburg. It is unlikely the commission will approve both hospitals, and it has not yet set a date for when it will make a decision.

So who are the bigots that oppose this? Well, it is the usual suspects:*

• NOW - Montgomery County Chapter (aka NAGS)
• Planned Parenthood of Metro Washington (largest abortion provider)
• National Women's Law Center
• American United for the Separation of Church and State
• Pro-Choice Maryland
• MergerWatch Project

In fact, the paper goes on to say (and I think that it is a pretty balanced article) that Holy Cross treated about 9,000 uninsured patients in the Silver Spring area. Wow!

I would love to see the bigots step up to the plate and do even 50% of that amount.

So, PP, NAGs, Pro-Abortion Maryland, instead of trying to stop Holy Cross, why don't you start your own hospital/clinic and offer the level of free service that they do.

Bigots. Plain and simple.

*Note, the paper edition (A-7) names the bigots. The on-line version does not.

UPDATE (7:40am): The Washington Examiner has this story, including the bigoted opposition on the Montgomery County Council.

The St. Joseph House - Pro-Life in Action

This week's paper copy of the Catholic Standard (Nov. 20, 2008 page 17) has a nice story about the walkathon at St. John the Evangelist School (Silver Spring) for the St. Joseph House. (Kudos to the Catholic Standard on this one.)

The St. Joseph House is run by Cubby and Dan LaHood, since 1983. Both are lay Missionaries of Charity and have run the St. Joseph House as a non-profit daycare respite home for youth with multiple disabilities. They not only care for this youth but it also provides their parents with a chance to be able work a full day and also gives them some time to run errands or some respite time.

The principal, St. Kathleen Lannark, stated that this sort of fundraiser teaches the students to "respect all life" and to become sensitive to the fact that children with disabilities are "God's children too."

The students raised over $7,000.

Talk about the pro-life movement in action. (This is the type of story that should be put in the faces of the Planned Parenthoods and NARALs of this world.)

So, if you did not give the CCHD and are looking for a good Catholic charity, this is one. Note that they They do not receive any funding from the Archdiocese of Washington DC or any government funding.

St. Joseph House
1505 Cody Drive
Silver Spring, Maryland 20902

PS: They are on my annual list of Catholic Charities.