Keywords by David Yonke

The Associated Press reported another wave of Pat Robertson's annual goofball predictions. The guy just doesn't know when to quit...

NORFOLK, Va. - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Wednesday that 2008 will be a year of violence worldwide and a recession in the United States, followed by a major stock-market crash by 2010.

Praying about events in the coming year and sharing what he believes God has told him is an annual tradition for Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network.

"The Lord was saying that there's going to be violence and chaos in the world," Robertson said on his "700 Club" news-and-talk show.

"We've just begun to see what's going to happen, and the nations are going to be convulsed with violence," he said, citing as an example unrest in Pakistan after the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Evangelism will increase because more people are going to be seeking God as the chaos develops, he said.

"We will see the presence of angels and we will see an intensification of miracles around the world, which I think is going to be a wonderful thing," he said.

He also predicted that there will be a recession, oil will reach $150 a barrel and the U.S. dollar will continue to fall. He added that there will be a major stock-market crash in 2009 or 2010.

Robertson's past predictions have included presidential politics; in 2004 he said God told him President Bush would be re-elected in a blowout. He declined Wednesday to say who will win the 2008 race.

"I'll just keep that to myself and look with horror at what may be happening," he said with a laugh.

Robertson also noted that one especially horrible prediction he made last year --that a terrorist act, possibly involving a nuclear weapon, would result in a mass killing in the United States --did not come to pass.

"All I can think is that somehow the people of God prayed and God in his mercy spared us," Robertson said.

* * *
Meanwhile, The Wittenberg Door, a very witty no-holds-barred Christian parody magazine, has published a satirical article about televangelists' new year's resolutions, including this one regarding dear Uncle Pat:

Pat Robertson: I will not make delusional predictions for the coming year unless at least one of my previous predictions at least partially came true. I will repeat this resolution three times a day so I don't forget it.
You can read more resolution spoofs here.
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 4, 2008

I did not write a year-end roundup story in time for publication, since I was on vacation over the holidays. But I have been reviewing my articles for 2007 and came up with these as the most-interesting and/or significant articles of the year, from my point of view covering the Toledo religion scene.
We'll go in ascending order starting with No. 10:
10. The Channel 48 Fight: This was a series of articles, including the longest article I've ever written aside from my book, about the battle for Channel 48, a low-power Toledo TV station, between longtime owners Marty and Linda Miller and Cornerstone Church. It is an incredibly confusing and torturous process and I tried my best to explain it in laymen's terms.
9. Irish Tensions: Religious divide still runs deep in Belfast. On my trip to Ireland in March, I saw how the Catholics and Protestants remain far apart despite the recent peace accords.
8. Matthew Drake: Young soldier Matthew Drake, from Sylvania, was wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq and suffered severe injuries, including brain damage. Moments after being hit, he said he saw God. His courage and his determination to overcome his injuries and live a normal life are awe-inspiring.
7. Barefoot Jesus: Carl James Joseph left Toledo 19 years ago on foot and has traveled around the world wearing a Jesus-like robe and walking barefoot, sharing the Gospel with those he meets. He is the subject of an upcoming documentary, The Jesus Guy.
6. Sister Sujita: I interviewed the leader of the Sisters of Notre Dame worldwide, an India-born nun who after earning a master's degree in social work moved into the slums of Bombay. Not having any material possessions is liberating, Sister Sujita said, adding that her motto is: "Be more and have less." A truly inspiring woman.
5. Priest's dismissal: Bishop Leonard Blair went to Van Wert, Ohio, to talk to parishioners about the forced removal from ministry of their priest, Father Joseph Schmelzer, over credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Many parishioners don't want to hear it and tell the bishop they want Father Joe back, but Bishop Blair tries to get them to accept reality.
4. St. Rose Parish: This was a series of stories about St. Rose pastor Father Thomas Leyland claiming that Bishop Blair was forcing him into retirement because he criticized the bishop, and a group of parishioners rallying to try to keep Father Leyland as their pastor. Father Leyland's appointed successor, Father David Nuss, withdraws a day after his appointment at St. Rose over an inappropriate relationship with a woman.
3. Not in Kansas Anymore: Parishioners at the closed St. James Parish in Kansas, Ohio, provide documentation to The Blade showing that the Toledo diocese used funds from the ex-parish's account to pay legal fees to a Toledo lawfirm to fight St. James' lawsuit challenging the diocese over ownership of the parish property.
2. Bishop Spong Interview: I had a face-to-face interview with Bishop John Shelby Spong, an Episcopal bishop (retired) in good standing with controversial views of Jesus and the Bible. He is a deep thinking theologian, articulate and thorough in his research, who believes Jesus was not born of a virgin, performed no miracles, and did not physically rise from the dead. The bishop made me think, and when the article about the interview ran in the Behind the News section of The Blade, I got responses pro and con from people around the world.
1. Creation Museum Opens: The $27 million Creation Museum opened in suburban Cincinnati (debt free) in what founders see as a front line in the culture wars. If people don't believe the biblical story of creation, then they don't have to believe anything in the Bible, and from there the morals and ethics and spiritual health of the world goes downhill. Fascinating topic and the museum features world-class exhibits and animatronics could compare to a Disney display.

There were many other noteworthy stories but these stood out... Some others I would give "honorable mention" to are the AIDS village exhibit at CedarCreek, a visit to the Zen Buddhist Center, interviews with comedian Mark Lowry, singer Steven Curtis Chapman, Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton, atheist Nica Lalli, abuse victim Paul Cultrera, and Hillary Clinton faith and values coordinator Burns Strider; a visit to the Carey shrine for Mary's feast day; the release of the Simpsons Movie, the new steeple at St. Pat's Historic, the deaths of Jerry Falwell and Ruth Graham, Rabbi Barry Leff and family's move from Toledo to Jerusalem and Dr. Yong-Jin Kim's move to Malawi to head up a prison program there, and the Temple-Congregation Shomer Emunim hiring a Torah scribe to hand-write a new Torah scroll.
Religion and politics seems to be the dominant theme in 2008 in many ways. Thanks for a good year in 2007.
Sylvania, Ohio
Jan. 6, 2008

I really blundered in yesterday's blog by not mentioning that the Gerald Robinson coverage is in a class by itself, therefore I did not include it in my "top 10" list of religion stories in 2007.
Here is a look back at the notable developments in 2007 in the strange case of Father Gerald Robinson:
January
* I reported a bit belatedly that Father Robinson had been hospitalized for two weeks in December for unspecified kidney problems, but was back at Hocking Correctional Institution in Nelsonville, Ohio.
* Judge Ruth Ann Franks of Lucas County Common Pleas Court threw out a civil lawsuit of a Toledo woman, filing anonymously with her husband as Survivor Doe and Spouse Doe, alleging Robinson and another man tortured and raped her in satanic rituals when she was a child. Judge Franks said the suit was filed after the expiration of the statute of limitations.
March
* Attorney Mark Davis appeals to the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Frank's decision to dismiss Survivor Doe's lawsuit. Davis (who, incidentally, has taken out billboards advertising himself "the bald eagle") argued that his client could not have filed earlier because she was unable to identify her alleged abusers at the time of the assaults, but only after recognizing Father Gerald Robinson when she saw news coverage of his arrest. Therefore, Davis argued, the statute of limitations in her case did not start ticking until April, 2004.
April
* The team of prosecutors that led to Gerald Robinson's conviction was honored by the National District Attorney's Association.
May
* Members of the Toledo chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests stage a protest outside Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo asking the city and the Mud Hens to remove street signs honoring the late Monsigner Jerome Schmit, who was reported to have interfered with the 1980 police investigation of Gerald Robinson.
August
* A new defense team for Gerald Robinson files a 105-page appeal with the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the priest's murder conviction. Among the claims made in the appeal are that "the jury only heard one side of the story" and the evidence presented by prosecutors was "inherently unreliable, of minimal probative value, lacked foundation, and impermissibly stereotyped [Robinson] as the anti-Christ."
October
* The Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals reinstates Survivor Doe and Spouse Doe's civil lawsuit against Gerald Robinson, agreeing with the plaintiffs' claim that the statute of limitations did not start ticking "until she saw their faces/names from the television and newspaper reports about them."
* Gerald Robinson's attorneys, meanwhile, filed a motion asking the court to release the priest on $250,000 property bond and electronic monitoring, pending the outcome of his appeal, because "appellant has now languished in prison for 19 months awaiting this court's merit review of his conviction."
The motion was denied.
December
* Lucas County Prosecutors filed an 80-page brief (can something 80 pages long actually be called a "brief"?) detailing why Gerald Robinson's murder conviction should not be overturned. The response states that the priest's defense attorneys' appeal contained numerousu errors that were "factually untrue," "misleading," "totally unsupported by the record," "fantastical," or "fiction."
* Gerald Robinson spends his second New Year's Eve in prison.
* * *
Catholic columnist Matt C. Abbott has again highlighted the Robinson case, focusing on the prosecutors' response to the priest's appeal, in his globally read column.
Here is a link.

* * *
Anyone who doubts the veracity of the reports of global warming should take a look at Toledo's weather today. Here we are in the depth of a Midwestern winter, and the thermometer is hitting the mid-60s today. This, after a brutal cold snap last week. The weather is just freakish these days. If it were not so soggy from all the rapidly melting ice and snow, I'd head to the golf course...

Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 7, 2008.

Dr. Jordan Rubin has shaken up a lot of people in Toledo. I've been swamped with comments regarding my article on Rubin's new diet program, kicking off in Toledo this week. The good doc basically advises people not to eat highly processed foods and foods laden with chemicals such as dyes and hormones, but instead try to eat whole, organic foods.
Rubin looked to the Bible for advice on food and health. I know a couple of people who tested this diet program last year. Jim Mahaney lost 78 pounds and Judy lost 33.
Whether people are going to follow this diet, it sure has made them think -- myself included -- about our diets. I'm reading labels in the grocery store more closely and trying to avoid all the chemicals.
You can read my article about Dr. Rubin here.
* * *
Every once in a while I get an email from someone who insists that Fr. Gerald Robinson is innocent, that his trial was a "miscarriage of justice," and that news coverage of the case was biased and slanted (I posted one such comment on my previous blog, 2007 Review -- Addendum).
Their attacks are always nebulous and nasty, but the reality is that the people who make such claims are totally ignorant of the evidence in this case, and don't want to know the evidence.
They made up their minds long ago that this little old priest -- whom they invariably know -- was innocent, and that the big bad cold case investigators and the prosecutors office were out to get him and of course the media distorted the coverage and slanted their reports -- to sell papers, books, whatever.
Reason and fact and logic have nothing to do with these people's viewpoints. It's all blind emotion and unfettered loyalty. Nevermind that a jury of Robinson's peers sat through a three week trial with dozens of witnesses and scores of evidence before reaching a unanimous decision that the priest was guilty of the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
I don't mind a reasonable debate -- in fact, I encourage it. But vague vitriol and empty assertions tainted by hatred do not merit the dignity of a response.
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 10, 2008

Looking back at 2007, one of the stories that should have been big but fizzled somewhat was the arrival in northwest Ohio of Impact World Tour.
This multi-event outreach featured 38 events over five weeks in Toledo and surrounding areas, with skateboarders, rappers, breakdancers, heavy metal music, muscle men, and tropical dancers.
Up to 300 churches were involved and more than 40,000 people attended the events. All told, 5,900 people made first-time commitments to Jesus Christ, organizers said.
Those are all big numbers until you realize that the game plan was to have 150,000 people attend the shows and at least 15,000 people accept Christ.
There were plenty of theories why the numbers were down but nobody really knows for sure. Maybe these staged events are passe for today's young generations to whom they were geared; kids today seem more wary and cynical than previous generations.
My family put up two of the performers at our home for several weeks, a skateboarder from New Zealand and a breakdancer from Norway. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and hanging out with them, although they were often gone from dawn to midnight, traveling and setting up the skate ramps and stages and all that stuff.
One lasting, positive result of the tour is that the many churches and invidivuals who took part in IWT built relationships, and were so encouraged by the spirit of cooperation that they plan to continue meeting.
* * *
I interviewed Father Richard Wurzel this morning, the pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Sylvania, who will retire at the end of June. He is a terrific person and I really enjoyed sitting down with him for the interview.
The story is scheduled to be published Jan. 21.
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 11, 2008

I went to see evangelist Mark Cahill this morning, he was speaking at Calvary Assembly of God in Toledo. I had interviewed Mark by phone and wrote an article about him that was published yesterday (you can read it here).
Mark is a pretty amazing individual in many ways, most notably for his determination to "witness" or preach the Gospel to as many people as possible, and the way he encourages and inspires other Christians to do the same.
He has written two books on the subject and virtually gives them away, asking people to make donations if they can afford to.
Well today I was waiting around after church just to say hello to him, when a woman started telling him she lives in the projects and tries to help her neighbors as much as she can. She routinely packs her car with people from the projects to bring them to church with her.
Mark, who was still in the sanctuary patiently -- make that, gladly -- talking to people who came up to him while a throng gathered in the atrium to buy copies of his books and CDs -- says to this woman: "Go up to my book table and take $200 from the cash box and use it to buy groceries for your neighbors or to minister to them however you choose."
The woman looks at him and laughs. "No, I can't do that," she says.
He looks at her and says gently, "Yes, you can. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. And I'm bigger than you, so you'd better listen."
He smiles.
She says OK then, and walks away to the book table.

How many evangelists would do something like that?
Cahill was not doing it for publicity or for show; he had no idea who I was at the time or that a member of the media was present when he did this.
If there's any doubt that this evangelist is sincere in his mission to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I think his graciousness and generosity to this woman, a perfect stranger, is proof enough that he's the real deal.
You can find out more about Mark Cahill on his website.

* * *
Interestingly, along with the article on Mark Cahill yesterday I had a story about a New Testament scholar, prolific author, and college professor Dr. Scot McKnight (here's the story).
This man is brilliant, and I like the way he keeps in touch with the things that his students are interested in, including the "emerging movement" or the emergent church, and authors like Rob Bell and Donald MIller. He's also very down to earth. I had the pleasure to join Dr. McKnight for lunch with a group from Winebrenner Theological Seminary and found him to be very charming and humble.
McKnight's approach to evangelism is polar opposite to Cahill's. McKnight is much more reserved, studied, and intellectual.
Yet both are sincere and successful in their different approaches. I think it just shows how big God is, and how he uses different people with different talents and training to minister to different people in different ways.
If you're interested in the emerging movement and scholarly debates about the Bible, check out Dr. McKnight's website here.
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 13, 2008

My story in today's editions of the paper give another twist to the Gerald Robinson saga. His appeals attorneys' efforts to implicate the late Father Jerome Swiatecki are not new, but getting a nun to say that Swiatecki kept hard-core porn in his apartment, had a large knife collection, and had a very bad temper really ramped things up.
You can read the story online here, or keep reading this blog entry with the story below.

Here's a copy of the article... -- David

Attorneys file to free priest charged with nun's murder
Petition hints deceased cleric had role in her killing

By DAVID YONKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Attorneys for Gerald Robinson have filed a court petition seeking to overturn the Toledo priest's 2006 murder conviction and raising suspicions about another Catholic cleric, now deceased, who worked with Robinson as a chaplain at the hospital where the crime occurred in 1980.

The petition, filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, quotes Sister Dorothy Marie Balabuch, a Sylvania Franciscan nun, as saying she worked as a housekeeper for the Rev. Jerome Swiatecki and described the priest as an "immoral man" with "a very bad temper" and a fondness for knives and "hard-core pornography."

The court document also quotes a security guard, hired two days after the murder at the former Mercy Hospital, saying that "in my youthful zeal and my desire to catch the perpetrator, I accused Father Swiatecki" of murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.

David Cone said the priest replied, "So what if I did? Who do you think you are? Look around you. You are a nobody. Nobody is going to believe you."

Father Swiatecki, a Toledo native whose hobby was wood carving, was ordained a priest in 1941 and died in 1996 at age 83.

Sally Oberski, a spokesman for the diocese, said yesterday all other priests ordained in Toledo in 1941 are deceased, and she did not know any clerics who were friends with Father Swiatecki. Therefore, she said no one could comment about him.

Retired Deputy Chief Ray
Vetter said he recalls Father Swiatecki as having had "an airtight alibi." Police reports from 1980 said Father Swiatecki was eating breakfast with several nuns in the hospital's dining room at the time of the murder.

Robinson, now 69, was found guilty May 11, 2006, and is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence at Hocking Correctional Facility in southern Ohio.

Sister Margaret Ann, 71, had been strangled to the verge of death, then stabbed 31 times in the sacristy of the Catholic hospital on Holy Saturday, 1980.

Her body was found with her undergarments pulled down around an ankle and her habit pulled up to her chest.

John Donahue, who with attorney Richard Kerger is handling Robinson's appeal, said yesterday the documents attached to the 60-page petition are "very new."

Filed this month and assigned to Judge Gene Zmuda, the document claims Robinson's four-person defense team failed to do its job properly during the three-week murder trial in April and May, 2006, and Robinson's attorneys overlooked, ignored, or were denied key evidence that would have exonerated him.

They said Sister Dorothy Marie had twice called the office of John Thebes, one of Robinson's attorneys, before the 2006 trial began saying she had important information related to case, but Mr. Thebes never returned her call.

Mr. Cone said in the filing he met with Mr. Thebes and Robinson's three other attorneys - Alan Konop, Nicole Khoury, and John Callahan - before the trial but was never called to testify.

Mr. Konop and Mr. Thebes both said they had no comment because the appeal and petition are pending in the case.

Dean Mandros, chief of the criminal division of the Lucas County prosecutor's office, said his office will file "a timely response," and "much of what they've raised is identical to issues raised on their direct appeal."

He added, "We still remain confident in the jury's verdict."

Mr. Donahue and Mr. Kerger in August appealed the case to Ohio's 6th District Court of Appeals.

The state filed its response in December and Mr. Donahue said he hopes the appellate court will issue a ruling by late spring.

In addition to suggesting that Father Swiatecki may have killed Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, the latest filing asserts that the state withheld key evidence from Robinson's defense team.

It includes, for example, copies of police reports from 1980 in which several witnesses said they saw a "mysterious black male" in the hospital's hallways on the morning of the murder.

The documents were not among the 410 pieces of paper given to Robinson's defense team by the state, Mr. Donahue said, and he questioned why they were a part of the initial 1980 investigation but not available for the defense in 2004.

"These reports had to be in the possession of the State of Ohio," he said. "They had to have had them, the question is whether they had them in 2004. … Why they weren't disclosed, I don't know."

The petition also claims many important witnesses who could have testified on Robinson's behalf died in the 24 years between the murder and the priest's indictment, thus denying Robinson a fair trial.

One such deceased witness was Dr. Renate Fazekas, former Lucas County forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Sister Margaret Ann on April 5, 1980, and said the nun likely had been strangled by a man with "large hands."

During the trial, Father Swiatecki was described as having been about 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, while Robinson was described as 5 feet, 7 inches and 160 pounds in 1980.

Mr. Donahue twice has requested and been denied motions for Robinson to be released from prison on bond, pending the outcome of his appeal.

Though he had not seen his client in a couple of months, Mr. Donahue said Robinson was "apparently" doing well. He said the priest, who was hospitalized for two weeks in December, 2006, for unspecified kidney ailments, had undergone surgery and is recovered from the illness.

"All things considered, my information is that he is in good health and he's also in good spirits," Mr. Donahue said. "He's a very religious man. He doesn't question God's will."

Blade staff writer Erica Blake contributed to this report.

* * *
Toledo, Ohio
January 16, 2008

This question came via email today from a loyal reader:

Wow, I found these new developments in the Robinson case interesting [see yesterday's blog]. I was wondering what you thought of these new key points and people. Especially what the witness David Cone said about the other priest. I look forward to hearing your reply. -- D.W.

My Response: While I don't feel it would be appropriate to comment on the merits of Robinson's appeals, something only the courts can decide, I can make two observations:

1. The Franciscan nun whose affidavit said Father Swiatecki was immoral, kept pornography, had a large knife collection and a bad temper said she had called Robinson's defense attorney John Thebes twice before the murder trial.
I remember how chaotic things were at the time, and I can only imagine that Thebes was inundated with callers, many offering leads and tips that would only lead to dead ends.
While he should have returned the woman's calls, it's understandable that he did not do so. And Thebes provided his legal services to Robinson pro bono, so there were limits to how much time he could give to the case while trying to earn a living handling other cases.
There have been other efforts to blame Fr. Swiatecki for Sister Margaret Ann's murder, but this is the first time anybody attacked Swiatecki's character to that degree.
Robinson's new "petition for post-conviction relief" raises a zillion questions, and my layman's impression is that the appeals attorneys are throwing out everything they can possibly find, hoping that one point or another will catch a judge's eye.

2. Another witness quoted in the new petition is David Cone, who did meet with John Thebes and the rest of Robinson's defense team, and told them that he had confronted Fr. Swiatecki, and told them of the priest's oddly worded response (not exactly a confession, but not a denial either.)
Why then didn't the defense team call Cone to the stand as a witness if he had such a bombshell to drop? His statements would likely have bolstered the defense's efforts to raise reasonable doubt.
It seems to me -- just my own supposition here -- that they didn't call Cone to testify because they had doubts about his credibility.
Just think about the scenario he described: Here's this hospital security guard, on the job two days, who sees this big priest walk out of an elevator so he boldly confronts the father and accuses him of murder.
Somehow, "it just don't sound right."
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 17, 2008

Bobby Fischer in 1972

Playing chess is a strange adventure. I used to play a lot. Back when I was in high school and college, I entered a few chess tournaments.
At one point I thought I would get more serious about the game, but took the advice of a friend who was ranked second in the state who advised me to get a real life.
He said it is torture to play chess at higher levels. He often would lay awake at night looking at the ceiling, picturing the chess board and chess moves.
I've gotten away from the game at that level but still enjoy playing a friendly game, or challenging the computer.
I say all this to get to the death of Bobby Fischer, the most exciting chess player I've ever known. Unfortunately, the rest of his life was a disaster -- as the Atlantic Monthly said in a headline from its in-depth story in 2000, "Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame" (click here to read it.)
There are many terrific chess players but none that could match Fischer for creativity, action, excitement, drama and genius, at least not to my knowledge. I used to go over the games in his book, "My 60 Most Memorable Games," move for move and marvel at the way he would set things up and then create magic on the board. Most great chess players are like tanks, plodding ahead against their opponent, slowly putting the squeeze on, methodically winning a point here or a point there, until they eke out a win or safely settle for a draw.
Not Fischer. He played chess like the Brazilians play soccer. Draws were the last thing on his mind, he wanted to win.
It was thrilling to analyze his games, especially with his own commentary explaining his strategy.
But Bobby Fischer also was a man who, very sadly, had psychological problems.
He disappeared for 20 years after winning the world championship. When last seen, he was a thin, brown-haired young man always wearing a suit and tie.
Then he reappeared in 1992, with a beard and thinning hair, but other than the march of time looking OK, and beat Boris Spassky again in a rematch.
Things got really weird after that.

Fischer in 2004

He let his beard grow wild, had all his fillings removed from his teeth, saying he feared that someone might have tried to implant electronic devices in them in an effort to control his thoughts. And launched into his infamous tirades against the United States and Jews.
This genius had gone certifiably mad.
Still, his contributions to the world chess scene were extraordinary, and the good that he did for the game will outlast his own personal downfalls.
I plan to take some time and review a few of Bobby's famous chess games, as a tribute to this legendary player.

* * *
I think it's better to see an example of Fischer's madness firsthand, rather than only hear about it from others, so here's a letter he wrote to a U.S. Embassy official in Japan after Japanese immigration officials detained him at Narita Airpor. (The actual letter was hand-written on legal pad). This is pretty tame compared to some of his tirades:

August 6, 2004 From: Robert James Fischer at the Narita Airport Immigration lockup. To: “Peter” at the Tokyo U.S. Embassy.

Dear “Peter” (you won’t tell me what your last name is) I called you yesterday at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo at about 10:00 am and we discussed some of the various vicious crimes the U.S. and the Japanese governments have committed against me working in collusion and in conspiracy since at least July 13, 2004. I say “at least” because obviously the conspiracy to commit those crimes had to begin some time before July 13, 2004. I also told you that I wished to renounce my U.S. citizenship on that very day August 5, 2004. I asked that either you or someone else from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo come over to the Narita International Airport Detention center lockup immediately so I could officially renounce my U.S. citizenship on that very day, yesterday August 5, 2004. You made one excuse after another as to why neither you nor anyone else from the Embassy could come over to do it. Such as: you had no time that day, and no one else at the Embassy had time that day, you didn’t know the law and you’d have to study it first, also you would have to check with Washington D.C. first. I said could you or someone else from the Embassy come over tomorrow (i.e. today) to do it. You said you didn’t know and you couldn’t say. Judging by your jittery, jumpy nervous answers to my demand to officially renounce my U.S. citizenship I realized I’d hit a nerve. Apparently my renouncing my U.S. citizenship does not fit in too conveniently with the U.S.-Japanese plot to illegally deport me to my “home” country the U.S.A. and illegally try, convict, imprison, torture and murder me there. At about 9:30 am this morning I will request my kidnappers here to place a call with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo for about 10:00 am. I will again demand that either you or someone else from the Embassy come over here so that I can officially renounce my U.S. citizenship today. I’m quite sure that in violation of my rights you will not. (If I’m wrong so much the better.) But assuming that you won’t I will now do the job myself. Since you are refusing to cooperate as the U.S. law commands you to I believe this renunciation has full validity under the law. That is if one can even speak seriously about “law” in a lawless country like the U.S.A. Here goes: I am Robert James Fischer. I am a U.S. citizen. I was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, Ill. U.S.A. My U.S. passport no. is or was Z7792702. It was issued at the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland. The issue date is January 24, 1997 and the expiry date is January 23, 2007. I Robert James Fischer do hereby irrevocably and permanently renounce my U.S. citizenship and all the supposed rights and privileges of United States citizenship. I will do my very best to get this letter hand delivered to you at the Tokyo U.S. Embassy today. Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I am free at last.

Sincerely,
Robert James Fischer
* * *
I think that's enough to illustrate the severity of Mr. Fischer's mental problems.

Toledo, Ohio
January 20, 2008

I've been running around like crazy this week, trying to fit too much into my schedule, and so I haven't had time to write a blog. My apologies.

But here's a few quick thoughts about my week thus far.
1. On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, our newspaper gives its employees a half-hour off to reflect on Dr. King's legacy. Unfortunately, I was too busy to take any time off. But I did think about him in small increments. I went to the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis a couple of times, the place where he was assassinated -- on the balcony outside room 306 -- to pay my respects. What a tragedy that he was slain. He was a great leader who played a key role in helping America overcome its horrible history of civil rights abuses. Two side notes: One, Bishop Jack Spong told me that he thinks Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" should be added to the Bible. I'm sorry to say I haven't read the entire letter, but plan to do so. Here is a link to make it easy for you. Two, my favorite band, U2, sang a tribute to Dr. King in their song "In the Name of Love." But Bono, the honesty addict that he is, admitted that he rewrote history to make the song's lyrics sound better. Dr. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. but the lyric say, "Early morning, April 4, A shot rings out in the Memphis Sky. Free at last, they took your life. But they could not take your pride."
Bono said early morning sounded better than 6 p.m. or early evening. Literary license I guess.
2. I met with Fr. Robinson's attorney, John Donahue, this week. He is convinced the priest is innocent -- the only innocent client he says he's ever had in 27 years of practicing law. I can't say much more because the discussion was off the record.
3. A Detroit man who has read my book 3 times and knows the case inside out came down to Toledo to talk to me. He is also a chaplain and met with Fr. Robinson in December in prison. He also is convinced that Fr. Swiatecki was the murderer. But he also said that my book is "extremely fair to Father Robinson, don't let anybody tell you otherwise."
4. I was speaking to J. Christopher Anderson, one of the prosecutors in the Robinson case who specializes in forensic science, and asked again about an illustration for how small a picogram is -- it's one trillionth of a gram. The DNA found on Sr. Margaret Ann Pahl's girdle was below the minimum reporting standard of 30 picograms, but the minuscule amount found was from a male other than Fr. Robinson. As said many times before, this could have come from a cough, a sneeze, or incidental contact with medical personnel. But to illustrate the size of a picogram, you can look at this way: a picogram to a gram is the equivalent of one drop of detergent in a train of tanker cars 10 miles long, OR, one bathroom tile to the state of Indiana.

That's about all for now... Sorry to have been silent for several days.

Toledo, Ohio
January 23, 2008

I have been getting so many comments about my upcoming talk at the Authors! Authors! series that I am astounded. I was worried that there might not be a decent turnout, but the level of response so far has been reassuring.
I'm planning to break the talk into three sections: the Gerald Robinson case itself including recent developments; the process of writing a book, and a bit of my own story.
I've put together a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate the talk. I just hope library has a good AV system.
If you're reading this and live in the area, I hope to see you at my talk, 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Stranahan Theater Great Hall, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd., Toledo.
* * *
A week or so ago, I had a group of people over to watch the conclusion of The Amazing Race, the reality TV show in which competitors try to circle the globe and arrive first at the final destination.
I love the show and never miss an episode, although I often have to "Tivo" it and watch it when I have time. I have applied three times to be on the show, including a recent application with my pastor as the Holy Toledo team. But I've never gotten a call from the producers. I'm still waiting for the phone to ring this time, but I have a sinking feeling the deadline has passed.
When the group was over, I gave them a little sample of what my home theater can do -- I cranked up the surround sound and played a few minutes of an action scene from the Casino Royale James Bond film.
The funny thing is, one of the couples has a 12-year-old daughter who is deaf and SHE asked me to turn it down! The bass notes were so loud she felt the soundwaves pummeling her body and was scared.
Now that's proof enough that I play my stereo a little too loud!
* * *
I usually go to Florida for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Race, which took place last weekend. It's a time when I can hang out with my brother and many friends, who go every year, plus see some incredible endurance racing.
I didn't go this year for a number of reasons but did watch much of it on Fox TV and Speed TV. In fact, I probably saw more of the race this year than when I'm in Daytona, because the guys I go with are always going out somewhere to get a meal or go the clubs.
Meanwhile, these drivers (in teams of 3 to 5, taking turns at the wheel) are going around the track continuously for 24 hours, racking up 2,700 miles and beating their cars to pieces. So many end up breaking down, and no wonder. They not only go around the outside oval on the superspeedway, but slow down to 30 mph to zip through the tight turns in the infield.
It really is an incredible test of man and machine, and I marvel at the teamwork and mechanical knowledge and ability of the crews as well as the drivers' racing skills.
Funny thing is, I've run into a string of bad breaks with my cars and have spent a fortune on repairs in the last couple of months. So while I love auto racing, fast cars, and technology, I'm not very good with a wrench in my hands. At least nothing beyond rudimentary auto mechanics.
The latest setback: a broken transaxle and CV joint in my little Civic del sol. I looked up what it would take to fix it and knew immediately that this was a job for a professional. If I tried it, it would take me a week and there's no guarantee I'd get it right.
At least I know my limits.
* * *
It's contest time for journalists. I went back through all the articles I wrote in 2007 to pick the best ones to enter into various contests. It's not easy sorting through 250 articles and picking the best 5.
For one contest, I had to select only one religion article. That's a bit ridiculous, but I gave it a shot.
Last year I was a finalist for religion reporter of the year for midsized newspapers for the Religion Newswriters Association but did not win. I'm hoping to take home the trophy this time. I think I have some pretty strong entries written from a broad variety of perspectives -- profiles, breaking news, analyses, trends, etc.
The favorite among my editors seems to be my profile of Carl James Joseph, the Barefoot Jesus guy. (A documentary about him is now being shown at festivals. Here's a link to the movie.)
The story is very long, but I'll include a copy below if you're interested and have some time.
Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 28, 2008
=======================
Published on May 6, 2007 Blade, The (Toledo, OH)

'I'm just a traveling preacher'

When Carl James Joseph left Toledo in 1991, he left on foot - barefoot, in fact - wearing a robe and carrying only a Bible, a rosary, and a toothbrush.
The long-haired, soft-spoken evangelist - who calls himself "What's Your Name?" but is usually referred to as "The Jesus Guy" - has since walked his way through 47 states and 13 foreign countries.

"I'm just a traveling preacher," Mr. Joseph told The Blade in a recent interview.

In 2000, the Bowsher High School graduate was quietly making his way across western Pennsylvania when the world's media suddenly discovered this countercultural evangelist who seemed to have stepped out of the pages of the Bible.

Mr. Joseph soon found himself featured in Time magazine and on Good Morning America, 20/20, British television, the Washington Post, and a three-part series in The Blade.

"It got very intense. It was a pretty major story all over the country and internationally as well," he said. "I somewhat ran away from it."

He headed south, he said, where the media were not so intrusive and people seemed more accepting of his unorthodox appearance and his Gospel message.

"The South is a whole different world," he said.

Mr. Joseph, now 46, still wears a robe, never wears shoes or sandals, wears his long brown hair parted in the middle, has a beard because it's easier than shaving every day, and carries only a Bible, rosary, and toothbrush.

"What happens with the rosary and even with the Bible, I'll give it away any chance I can if it'll be used," he said.

In the winter, he wears a warmer robe but still goes barefoot.

"A lot of people ask me about the shoes," he said. "I found that taking even that extra step of faith, not going with shoes, gets people's attention."

He does not have a job or money, relying entirely on the graciousness of others.

He has never been married. "I have never felt that call for family and so forth," he explained. "I believe it's a way that God has prepared me for this life."

But walking many thousands of miles - he cannot estimate the number - has taken a toll on his body, and Mr. Joseph underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees last year.

"It's extremely diminished my ability to walk," he said. "Over the winter, I couldn't walk at all. I could hardly stand. Now I have been able to go a few miles at the most. I have to do things in a stable manner instead of going from area to area, constantly on foot."

The knee surgery, like dental work he had done last week, was donated, he said.

'They know it's pure'

People, whether it's someone he knows or a courageous stranger, give him food and shelter, although he will not accept cash. Many nights when no one offered him a place to sleep, he slept in churches, parks, woods, and on the beach.

"For the most part, what I've been doing since leaving the Pennsylvania area was literally living the way Jesus talked about: The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head," Mr. Joseph said. "I think that living without money, I've seen God's hand in this because I can go into an area and talk to people and they know it's not about money. People feel secure. They know it's pure."

He said he began walking because he felt he should not contribute to pollution or to the petroleum and automobile industries.

"I take advantage of [cars] now, for good reason, but back then I said that unless I'm sure it's God's will, I'll walk."

He has never owned a cell phone and regrets agreeing to carry one briefly at the request of a television news producer in Philadelphia who wanted to be able to contact him at a moment's notice.

"So I agreed to carry someone's cell phone around, and I went downtown and met this homeless person, who was overjoyed at meeting me because he saw me on TV," Mr. Joseph said. "He used his spare change to buy me a water at McDonald's and then the cell phone went off and his whole demeanor changed. I think it hurt my credibility."

He laughed when asked about e-mail. "I may have sent one e-mail in my life. I certainly never received one."

Settling in the South

Mr. Joseph has settled for a while in Cullman, Ala., a town of 14,000 in north-central Alabama, midway between Birmingham and Huntsville. The town is 10 miles northwest of Hanceville, home of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the Catholic television network broadcast in 144 countries and 140 million households and the location of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The stationary life has its blessings, Mr. Joseph said.

"I was able to, in a sense, get a fresh start," he said. "That's one reason I go by James Joseph now instead of What's Your Name? It's different here. I noticed the deep segregation that's a problem here, especially in religion. So I was able to come into areas and help bring together blacks and whites."

Roots in this region

Mr. Joseph was born in Detroit and grew up in Toledo, attending Gesu Elementary School. He was 12 years old when he and his older brother, Vincent, were invited to join the Catholic Church. The brothers accepted, were baptized, and made their first communion a week later.

James attended St. John's Jesuit High School for 3 1/2 years before transferring to Bowsher as a senior, graduating in 1978.

A year later, he was confirmed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance.

Moved by 'the Holy Spirit'

He never attended seminary but has devoted much of his life to reading the Bible and the writings of major religious figures. He said it would be inaccurate to describe him as "self-taught."

"I like to emphasize that it's the Holy Spirit," he said. "Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. The Apostles were, for example, taught directly by Jesus, but it really wasn't until the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost that they were able to share and to write.

"Yes, I've done an awful lot of reading on my own - the Bible, church fathers, some of the Scripture scholars of the last 2,000 years. But I would say it's especially through the gift of God, through prayer, that I've been able to share," Mr. Joseph said. "And also, like Jesus, it's through experience. It's one thing to learn by reading; it's another to learn by experience."

Mr. Joseph said he preaches a Christian message, not specifically Catholicism.

"I've always been open to whatever God may want. I never really set out with the intention of living this particular lifestyle," he said. "But once I recognized it was what God was calling me to do, I went along with it."

His father, Louis Joseph, 71, lives in a condemned rental house in West Toledo and is hoping to move near his son soon. He wants to join forces with a man who owns property near EWTN's shrine, on which he plans to build cabins for pilgrims to rent at low cost.

Louis Joseph, who is separated from his wife, Bette, said he regrets that he was not an "active Catholic" when James was young.

"I did try to instill basic Catholic values - honesty, integrity, and morality. But I didn't have much emphasis on it like I do now," he said. "He made me more that way. He does that to everybody he comes in contact with. He's quite an unusual person."

'A very holy man'

Marie Arsenault, 65, a French-Canadian living in Cullman, met James Joseph shortly after moving to Alabama three years ago. She and her husband have occasionally provided the evangelist with a room, and he has been staying with the Arsenaults since December.

"He's very normal, very easy to get along with," Mrs. Arsenault said. "Very intelligent. Very soft-spoken. The Spirit just leads him. He's definitely a very holy man. To me, it was like Jesus coming to visit you."

A monsignor in Pennsylvania called Mr. Joseph "a modern-day St. Francis of Assisi," and some people have reported miraculous healings after coming into contact with the itinerant preacher.

Mr. Joseph said he tries to avoid such labels as "healer" or "prophet."

"I think that's one of the reasons I used that particular moniker of 'What's Your Name?' We have a way of putting people in categories by way of position. And I was very conscious of that. In one sense, I would identify with an apostle, as one living an apostolic life for 16 years. . . . I do identify more with the term of 'evangelist,' " he said.

'The Jesus Guy'

Sean Tracey, of Portsmouth, N.H., is in the process of finishing a documentary film about Mr. Joseph titled The Jesus Guy, which he plans to debut at several festivals this summer.

"I think a lot of people are fascinated by who he is, what he is doing, and his commitment to this. There's a lot of interest just in the way he's leading his life," Mr. Tracey said.

He has edited more than 70 hours of film into the 65-minute documentary and decided to call it The Jesus Guy because that's how "people on the street" usually refer to Mr. Joseph.

A bumpy road

The barefoot evangelist has faced a number of obstacles in his 16 years of traveling.

He said he was kicked out of Mexico in 1999 when government officials became concerned over the large crowds that were following him.

In Texas, he said, a group of youths once threatened to crucify him. He was arrested in Greenfield in southwest Ohio on a disorderly conduct charge when he refused to stop preaching to a crowd. The charge was later dismissed.

In Pennsylvania, a man accused Mr. Joseph of blasphemy and then tried to stab him.

A few months ago, Mr. Joseph said he was insulted by a minister at an African-American church in Alabama.

"I was invited up to the front and the next thing you know, the pastor was talking about a 'white devil' and then talking about how it's common sense to wear shoes. I knew he was talking about me personally. I just had to shake the dust off my feet and move on," he said.

"It can be very difficult for me, emotionally. But rejection is something I shouldn't be surprised about," Mr. Joseph said. "In Jesus' life, it wasn't his success in preaching or his miracles that brought about salvation; it was his suffering and death on the cross."

'That simple lifestyle'

Lately, he said, he's been going into public schools on literacy days, reading from the Gospels and answering students' questions.

"I was invited as a guest reader and my choice of books was the Bible. All day long, they brought people in who asked questions. I was not proselytizing, but answering questions," he said.

He said he has never tried to start a religious community, preferring to carry out his evangelism on his own.

"I have a sense that God is calling me to something unique. Maybe there are people who want to follow a similar lifestyle. But I don't know about formalizing it as a religious order or something like that. I think one reason I've avoided that is to avoid the idea of a cult or something like that."

He hopes to continue his journey in the same manner for as long as possible.

"The core of my being is wanting to follow Jesus in a more literal way," Mr. Joseph said. "It may change, by not being as mobile, for example, but I have a deep conviction about living that simple lifestyle."

I spent some time yesterday with a local woman who donated a kidney to a man who was basically a stranger.
She said she knows it sounds weird, but she felt that God was telling her to do it.
I'm writing an article for Saturday's religion page about this act of charity, and I found Margie, the woman who gave up a kidney, to be a fascinating and inspiring person.
No one except Margie knows whether God was actually telling her to do it, and even she can't say for certain. But she felt like it's what God wanted her to do, and she did it, and she said she was on a "euphoric high" for six weeks afterward.
God calls people to do different things, and he speaks in different ways. And we listen in different ways. And sometimes we don't listen, or don't have confidence that we know God's voice -- whether it's the "still, small voice" in our heart, or a booming voice thundering down from heaven.
But look at "the fruits," as Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to Corinth. Margie's decision to give up one of her kidneys has helped a man in California with two young children live a normal life.
And she has had no negative after-effects. After much research, she said she found that each of the 2 healthy kidneys in a person works at 50 percent capacity. Her doctor told her that "God has given you more than you need."
I learned yesterday that an organ donated from a living person has a much greater chance of success in a transplant. A kidney from a living person could last 25 years, compared to 10 years from a cadaver.
I know a lot of people who wonder what God's will is for their lives. Other people can give advice and encouragement, but only the individual who is searching can know for certain when God is speaking to them.
Visit www.toledoblade.com/religion this Saturday to read up on Margie and her kidney donation.
* * *
How much do you love your dog? I mean, dollar-wise?
My brother-in-law Ed in California has a 7-year-old boxer named Dempsey that he obviously loves a lot. Dempsey was hit by a car a few years ago and Ed spent thousands on surgery.
Now Dempsey has developed problems with his hips and legs, possibly related to the pervious accident and surgery. Ed took him in for an MRI and it cost him $1,100. The vet wants to do surgery that will cost $3,000.
Ed is not a Hollywood millionaire. This is serious money to him. But he's going to go ahead with the surgery.
Would you?
I love my dog but I don't know how much money I would be willing to spend on surgery for a pet. I'm glad I don't have to make that decision.
* * *
I watched a History Channel program last night on the Asian tsunami of December 2004. The destruction -- 200,000 lives lost, billions in physical damages -- from those waves and floods is almost beyond belief.
The way it struck was astonishing. A bright sunny morning. No sign of a storm or danger. The only clue was that the water receded swiftly and drastically from the beach. Had I been in Thailand or Sri Lanka at the time, I would not have realized what that could mean. Today, however, I know better. Another thing that I learned is that tsunamis often come in a series of waves. In some areas, the people survived the first wave and went back to the beaches to inspect the damage. Thirty minutes later, a second and more severe wave hit.
The amateur videos of the flooding shown on TV was chilling.
This type of natural disaster may never happen again in our lifetimes. Or it could happen tomorrow.
* * *
I'm still working on my speech for Feb. 7. I've got my powerpoint slide show all set to go. My speech is outlined. I am very much looking forward to the evening.

Toledo, Ohio
Jan. 30, 2008