Keywords by David Yonke

When you write a book as controversial as "Sin, Shame & Secrets," you know you're going to rattle a few cages. I expect that, but am glad to report, the vast majority of responses have been favorable thus far. I've also been surprised by how many Catholics have thanked me and said that this book "needed to be written." I've even heard from some of Father Robinson's friends and relatives who thought the book was fair. I've had to naysayers at book signings, but they were polite. A few anonymous people sent nasty emails but any time someone writes without including their name, their comments are essentially worthless.
Searching around the internet, I've run into a few blogs where people have proclaimed their criticisms of my book -- even though it's clear they have not read it. That's the nature of blogs (web logs), I guess. The blog world attracts strong-minded (and often narrow-minded) people who are quick to judge, usually have a distinct bias, and feel a compulsion to bless the world with the profundity of their thoughts.
I welcome legitimate, informed criticism. Only a few papers have reviewed the book so far -- more are on the way -- and they were a mix of praises and informed criticisms. But newspapers are different than blogs. Newspapers have a time-tested system of checks and balances between writers and editors. Bloggers can just throw their thoughts into cyberspace with nobody checking the facts or challenging them to actually think about what they are saying.
Blogging is a new and evolving medium and overall a positive development in modern communication. But you have to consider the source and decide how trustworthy a particular writer may be.
Here are a few comments I found on blogs that I consider irresponsible:

1. I'm "kicking the church while it's down" by writing this book. This kind of comment is almost not worth the dignity of a response. When a Catholic priest is convicted of murdering a nun and the diocese is implicated in a cover-up that let the cleric go scot-free for 24 years, are we supposed to ignore it for a few decades? Should we wait until the church "recovers" from the scandal it created by covering up for priests who raped and sodomized minor boys and girls? What kind of lame reasoning is that? Who holds the church accountable, if not for the media? How many more children would now be at risk if not for journalists who forced the Catholic bishops to deal with the issue instead of sweeping it under the rug? Applying the blogger's logic, would the media please leave President Bush alone for a few months because his ratings are down?
2. Robinson was wrongfully convicted. Some people will never believe that a priest could kill anyone, let alone a 71-year-old nun. They will never be convinced he's guilty and will automatically reject the verdict rendered by a jury of his peers. But those who talk down their noses about the "circumstantial evidence" that led to his conviction are usually ignorant of the fact that according to Ohio law, circumstantial evidence is equal in weight to direct evidence. Those who actually paid attention to the details and reviewed all the evidence know that the jurors reached the only possible conclusion when presented with all the facts. The priest is appealing the verdict and I wish him luck -- he's going to need it to find anything in the case that could possibly win an appeal. And that's not just my opinion but the opinion of many legal experts I've talked to. We'll find out in due time.
3. The state put an exorcist on the stand and offered satanism as a motive. The first part of that statement is only partially correct, and the second part is completely wrong. The priest who testified was not an exorcist, but an assistant to the exorcist for the Chicago archdiocese, and his actual title is "associate vicar for canonical services." He was called to the witness stand to review the many religous symbols found at the murder scene. Prosecutors wanted his expertise to show jurors that the killer must have been familiar with religious ritual, liturgy, and symbolism, and that the killer was not some burglar or street person who just happened to wander in off the street, as some people had suggested. Prosecutors never did say the nun was killed in a satanic ritual and when they did offer a possible motive, they said it was simply this: "a man got angry at a woman and a woman died."
I have tried to interview Father Robinson to get his side of the story but he's not talking. I don't blame him because of the pending appeal. But one attorney told me that even if he had been acquitted, he would not have talked to the press.

I've got a book-signing today at Barnes & Noble. It should be interesting to see what kind of turnout there is. This is one of the three biggest bookstores in the Toledo area and my signing at Borders was quite an event -- a HUGE turnout and I signed for two hours. But Beth Karas of Court TV, who wrote the foreword, was there (bless her heart) and that was a big draw for people. Today I'm on my own. (The third big one is Books-a-Million, which I have just booked for a signing on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m.)
My friend and jack-of-all-trades Jon Stainbrook will be taking photos. I plan to report back to you after the signing and hopefully post some of Jon's photos.

Update: A very successful book-signing! Thanks to everyone who turned up. I would guess I signed 60 to 70 books and people were lined up down the aisle waiting for the first hour or so. Thanks to the great staff at B&N for making it all work so smoothly.
Sylvania, Ohio, Nov. 4, 2006

Here's a picture of me with Fred Lefebvre, morning talk show host at WSPD-AM (1370) in Toledo, taken this morning 11/9/06.

Gerald Robinson's attorney John Donahue is now asking the Sixth District Court of Appeals to let his client out on property bond pending his appeal. Judge Thomas Osowik rejected the request so now it's on to the appeals court. No surprise about the filing except that that it contains some sealed documents. I can't help but wonder what he would include in the request that would have to be sealed. Sheer speculation: could it have to do with his alcohol rehabilitation? Or perhaps something with the allegations by Jane Doe?
No matter, it will be a major shock if any court in the nation would let a convicted murderer out on bond until an appeal is heard.
Speaking of Jane Doe, last week when I went to vote I bumped into the woman who has filed a civil suit against Robinson. We spoke briefly and she said she'll call me soon. She is extremely cautious about concealing her identity for fear of retaliation from the priest's supporters. She also said she has spoken with 3 other women who said they were victims of satanic ritual abuse by Gerald Robinson. I believe that makes 7 women who have spoken up about it.
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I was on "Mornings with Fred Lefebve" on WSPD-AM radio last Thursday. I've known Fred for a long time and he can be obnoxious when he wants to, but he's always been good to me and I respect him as a talk show host. He is a good interviewer and asked some great questions while I was on the air. While he and The Blade have had a longstanding feud, he didn't let that get in the way of the interview.
Art Marx, the lead investigator in the 1980 police inquiry, called in and praised my book, saying he's read it a couple of times and that I'm a "terrific journalist." That endorsement means a lot to me... and being on live radio, it was a relief because you never know what someone is going to say!
I'm scheduled to be on "The Editors" TV program this Friday, the taping will be on Wednesday morning with Marilou Johanek hosting. This is a pretty straightforward interview show in which the guest and the host sit across a desk and discuss the issues, kind of like Charlie Rose.
Speaking of Charlie, I'm still waiting for a break to get on his show or one of the other national talk shows. My book is doing well in this area but needs a boost to break out on a national level. One show could do it. Oprah, where are you?
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I reviewed a movie for The Blade that ran Friday, Deliver Us From Evil, a documentary by Amy Berg. What a chilling film and one that is must-viewing for people who want to understand the factors behind the Catholic Church's clerical sexual abuse crisis. For one thing, Berg interviewed Father Oliver O'Grady at length for the movie and he spoke candidly about raping and molesting children.
He obviously is a sick person with a number of demons, but he speaks like a kindly old man with an Irish accent. What makes it worse is the bishops' inaction once they were aware that he was an abuser. Rather than report "Father Ollie" to authorities, they shuffled him around to different parishes and kept his sex crimes secret. That just enabled the Catholic priest to abuse again. He reportedly had dozens of victims.
It's heartbreaking to hear the Jyonos, parents of one of the priest's victims, literally cry out in anguish that their beloved priest whom they trusted and supported for 23 years was actually raping their daughter in their home starting when she was 5 and continuing until she was 12 and he was moved to another parish. They didn't find out until years later and when they did, the agony and sense of betrayal is harrowing.
Their support of Father Ollie reminds me of the support so many Catholics have for their priests, refusing to believe they could do any wrong until the facts become so clear that it cannot be denied. I've seen too many Toledo priests who were accused of molesting children but their parishioners refused to accept the possibility.
It's understandable to a point, and they're innocent until proven guilty. But even after they're removed from ministry, their supporters cannot accept the fact that they are guilty. They blame it on "trumped up charges" or some whacko who made it up for financial gain. But the victims never really want money, they want to keep the priest from abusing others. The money is the last thing on their minds. And in Toledo, the settlements have been outrageously small compared to most dioceses.
I've learned that priests who molest children often put on a good front to the public and although they seem harmless to those who trust them, they have a sinister side that nobody sees except their victims. Like the Jyono family in Deliver Us From Evil, they don't believe it until it is too late.
Toledo, Ohio, November 13, 2006

I just got back from the studio for a taping of The Editors, to be broadcast on the local PBS affiliates this weekend. The host was Marilou Johanek, a former television newscaster who switched to print journalism and The Blade years ago. She was very smooth and asked some good questions. I think it went well. I'm getting more comfortable on camera and am trying to be a little more animated than I was when I first started doing television shows. Not that I'm a Robin Williams or anything, but just want to be myself and not fall into a stationary pose and a monotone voice when the camera's rolling.
WGTE's facility is the nicest I've seen, of all the Toledo TV channels. The studio is as good as any and the production rooms are world-class. They even have a portable studio like the one Court TV had when covering the Robinson trial -- the only Toledo station with such gear. Odd, isn't it, that the finest facility in the area belongs not to a commercial station but to the local public broadcasting channel. Those fund-raising drives must do pretty well!
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I passed Sgt. Steve Forrester today on the street and we spoke briefly. I need to sit down and talk to him at length. He said he read the book and thought it was good but that it was difficult for him because he was so involved in the case and knows every nuance. I'm thinking he was being polite...I look forward to finding out more.
I also spoke today with Father Stephen Stanbery, one of the courageous diocesan priests who refuses to let the church slide on its mishandling of abuse cases. He met with Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair and pressed him about whether the diocese abided by the cooperation agreement it signed in 2002 with the Lucas County prosecutor's office. The first meeting went too long and the bishop ended it without directly answering the question. Father Stanbery asked for a new meeting and the bishop is refusing, saying that he doesn't want their conversation to get back to me. He cited in a letter a quote in my book that Father Stanbery had given me about the bishop saying "with a smug smile" that he gave the prosecutors what they asked for. Bishop Blair's Nov. 6, 2006 letter to Fr. Stanbery states: "I have no intention of subjecting myself to further communications of this nature. Our conversation about these matters is over."
Bishops have so much control over priests' lives, it's extremely rare for a priest to publicly criticize his bishop. Father Tom Leyland (Tigers' manager Jim Leyland's brother) is being punished for speaking to the press about his displeasure that the diocese cut his parish in half without consulting him. A different priest I will not name here told me he is being forced to retire against his will. Father Stanbery is already serving in a remote area of the diocese, in the small towns of New Bavaria and Holgate, so what more could they do to punish the priest, who is already out in the boondocks and is about as welcome in headquarters as a leper? Thinking this over, I realized the Toledo diocese has a "sister diocese" in Africa. Will Father Stanbery's next pastoral assignment be in Dodoma, Tanzania? Stay tuned.

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It's official, Continuum has ordered a second printing of Sin, Shame & Secrets. The first printing is sold out, which is good, I suppose. But it's also bad, because people who want to buy it cannot get a copy. I warned Continuum early on that they were underestimating the market for this book. But I understand why they would be cautious, with a first-time author. Still, I knew what I was talking about even though I didn't have the clout to persuade them.

Toledo, Ohio, Nov. 15, 2006

We have much to be thankful for this year, don't we? I personally am grateful for the countless blessings in my life -- family, friends, health, an opportunity to write this book and add the word "author" to my resume, and the fact that I am still working at The Blade despite the severe labor strife.
We can all be thankful that our judicial systen did not allow a convicted nun slayer to walk free.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals this week rejected Father Gerald Robinson's request to be released on $250,000 property bond pending the appeal of his murder conviction. The motion with the appeals court was filed by Robinson's attorney, John Donahue, after a previous rejection by Judge Thomas Osowik of Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Appeals Court Judges Peter Handwork, Mark Pietrykowski, and Arlene Singer ruled that Robinson, 68, will have to stay in Hocking Correctional Institution in southern Ohio until his appeal is heard. He's serving a 15-years-to-life sentence and won't be eligible for parole until 2016 at the earliest.
I'm thankful that the world is a safer place this Thanksgiving.
Sylvania, Ohio, Nov. 23, 2006