Interview with Tahira Khan Merritt

Orthodox Reform interviews Tahira Khan Merritt. She represents clients who claim Fr. Nicholas Katinas, a Greek Orthodox priest, sexually abused them over a period of years while the clients were altar boys at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

Orthodox Reform: In a nutshell, tell us about this lawsuit.

Tahira Khan Merritt: The lawsuit involves the sexual abuse by Fr. Katinas of two former altar boys at Holy Trinity between 1983 and 1986.

Speaking The Truth In Love: Writing Constructive Comments

We need your help in order to have healthy, constructive dialog when commenting on our news articles. As Fr. Hopko cited in his article entitled “What Can We Do?“:

We can make our views known, and offer our suggestions about proper action, forcefully and firmly, without demonizing or ridiculing those who disagree with us, while cooperating courageously with those who do.

We can always remember that those who disagree with us are as strongly committed to their understanding of things as we are. source

We try to moderate the comments as best we can to prevent harsh language, graphic descriptions, and venomous content from tainting what we hope to be a helpful dialog. It is difficult, as this is a very emotional topic.

In general, a comment that demonizes another person who is also commenting (“You are..”, “You should…”, etc.) should be avoided. Also, please note the following guidelines:

Fr. Katinas Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Hits

Two alleged victims of Fr. Katinas have today filed a lawsuit seeking reparations including punitive damages to deter future such abuses in the Greek Orthodox Church. A third alleged victim, not part of the suit but referred to as ‘DZ’, gives testimony to their nightmare of abuse.

The abuses described by one of the plaintiffs occurred numerous times on church property:

The abominations described herein involved hundreds of acts of sexual perversion over approximately three years, usually every Sunday before or after mass.

Plaintiffs are named as John Doe I and John Doe II. The defendants are Fr. Nick Katinas, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, The Denver Greek Orthodox Metropolis ‘through Bishop Isaiah of Denver in his official capacity, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ‘by and through Archbishop Demetrious in his official capacity.’

The details of this document are truly disturbing. The lawsuit charges that the GOAA acted in a ‘conspiracy’ to cover the abuses up, and knew Fr. Katinas was a pedophile but allowed him to continue in a position of power.

Click here to download a copy of the lawsuit to learn more about this case. Due to the highly sensitive and explicit nature of some of the content, we have redacted the document to edit out disturbing descriptions of sexual abuse.

Note: This content is graphic, disturbing, and reader discretion is advised. Are you a victim? You may not want to read this document. Contact a victim’s advocate to learn more about getting help.

Call for Articles

We want to hear from you! We are looking for original, thoughtful, and balanced articles on the following topics:

The Orthodox Reform Manifesto (1st Draft)

[Editor’s note: While we have not finished the articles of our manifesto, we feel it is in the best interest of community involvement that we publish an early outline of its contents. This is only a summary; the future manifesto will be comprehensive. Please let us know your comments!]

Summary
The Orthodox Reform Manifesto consists of policies and procedures, accountability, and ecclesiastical reform to overcome sexual misconduct, establish healing, and restore trust in the Church.

Recording Reveals Details Behind Fr. Katinas Suspension

New details have surfaced on the Fr. Nicholas Katinas sexual misconduct allegations. Orthodox Reform has received a sound recording of the sermon where the GOA assistant chancellor Fr. Michael Kontogiorgis revealed to a stunned Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church that their long time priest was suspended due to confirmed allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

This 29 minute presentation was delivered after a Presanctified Liturgy on February 21st, 2007 at Holy Trinity in Dallas. News reporters from the local press as well as an estimated 400 parishioners filled the church at this meeting.

Three points jump out as troubling:

Letter to Editor: GOA Cannot Ignore Responsibility to Defrock Fr. Katinas

Editor’s note: Catherine Metropoulos has served on the GOA’s Clergy Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board for the last four years (click on image at right to view the Board’s announcement). Her report that “most of our Board’s work has been tabled or stifled” due to factors including “…a total lack of interest on part of our hierarchy” is very troubling — why do the Bishops not take this matter seriously?

Letter to the Editor of Orthodox Reform:

“THE GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE CANNOT IGNORE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEFROCK FATHER NICHOLAS KATINAS!”

April 20, 2007

Even though a thorough investigation by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has proven that there was in fact, very serious sexual misconduct committed by Father Nicholas Katinas against children, it is my understanding that the Archdiocese is now refusing to defrock him. It is a disgrace and an embarrassment to our Church, as well as an insult to his victims, if Father Katinas is allowed to remain on an indefinite suspension and is not subsequently defrocked.

Channel 8 News: Church Leader Sacked After Speaking Out Over Suspended Priest

On April 21st, WFAA featured the following news story on the Friday Ten O’Clock news broadcast in Dallas (view the video broadcast online):

“Church leader sacked after speaking out over suspended priest”

A high-ranking Dallas church leader has been dismissed from his duties. He says it’s for leading the charge for a harsher penalty against a suspended priest accused of molestation. Channel 8’s Craig Civale reports.

Parish Council Member Expelled After Calling for Fr. Katinas To Be Deposed

Dean Siotos, who less than a week ago mailed a letter to the Greek Hierarchs critical of their handling of a local priest accused of sexual misconduct with minors, has been expelled from the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church parish council, pending formal dismissal by Metropolitan Isaiah.

Why did the organization of this Dallas church seek to have Siotos removed from the council? Apparently his letter (reported in an earlier article) caused uproar among Fr. Katinas’s supporters both on and off of the parish council.

This letter was co-signed by 11 other parishioners. In it Siotos argued from canon law that known pedophiles such as Fr. Katinas should be deposed. The letter stated: “We request that Nicholas Katinas be defrocked immediately.”

The report we received gave this summary of the meeting:

Metropolitan Isaiah’s Letter Questioned

By Paul Cromidas

(Writer’s Note: Like my fellow parishioners, I was saddened and in disbelief when I learned that our long-time pastor was suspended on charges of sexual misconduct. Nevertheless, after reading Metropolitan Isaiah’s letter to the parish, I felt that a response was called for. Ironically, I have been writing about the church misconduct issue for some time and that has included criticism of the Metropolitan. He has never responded to any of my articles or correspondence and neither has Archbishop Demetrios. A shorter version of this article appeared as a Letter to the Editor in The National Herald, the Greek-American newspaper, on April 13, 2007.)

_____________________

After eight months of silence, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan (Bishop) Isaiah finally communicated with the faithful of one of his largest parishes about a matter of paramount importance — the suspension of their long-time priest, Fr. Nicholas Katinas. He expressed his “deepest sadness” and praised Fr. Katinas’ accomplishments over the years.

Surprisingly, and without explanation, he also said that there were “serious situations” in his parishes and in others around the country. Was he referring to other misconduct charges?