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VATICAN SACKS SIX PERVY N.Y. PRIESTS
Yahoo News ^ | July 9, 2005 | Jennifer Fermino

Posted on 07/09/2005 1:41:26 PM PDT by NYer

The Vatican has defrocked six priests from the Archdiocese of New York — including one who paid for sex with an underage boy and another who was convicted of sodomizing a drunken teen, officials said yesterday.

All the men lost their pensions and will not be allowed to perform priestly duties and were stripped of their collars by the Roman Catholic Church following allegations of sexual abuse.

A seventh priest, who was also accused of sexual abuse, Rev. Alfred Gallant, of Orange County, was allowed to retain his title of priest and keep his pension, but not allowed to perform sacraments.

One of the defrocked priests, Daniel Calabrese, 44, who once served at a Staten Island parish — pleaded guilty in 1993 to performing oral sex on a teenager in upstate Poughkeepsie.

He admitted to plying the youngster with vodka before abusing him in his church rectory.

Patrick Quigley, who served as a clergyman in Manhattan and Staten Island, pleaded guilty to soliciting adolescent boys for sex in Rockland County.

In addition, Francis Stinner, Ralph LaBelle, Kenneth Jesselli and David Carson were all "reduced to a lay state."

According to an announcement in Catholic New York, the men were punished under the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

The provision was created in 2002 after a string of high-profile molestation cases rocked the church's hierarchy and faithful.

In it, the church promised to report abuse to the police and forbids dioceses to sign confidentiality

agreements with victims.

The provision allows older or sick priests to keep their pension and title but not work in the church any longer.

The release of the men's identities fulfills a promise Edward Cardinal Egan made in 2002 after he turned over a list of 30 New York-area priests who'd been accused of sex offenses to the Vatican.

A Vatican committee determined whether the priests should be defrocked.

He'd said then that he would publicly name those who were expelled from the priesthood.

"This is part of what the cardinal pledged to do throughout this process," said archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling.

Zwilling said he will release more names "when and if we hear from the Vatican" about more expunged priests.

Mike Cullen, a former altar boy who was abused by his parish priest and now heads a clergy abuse activist group, said the archdiocese moved too slowly.

"That's not going to help the people that they've already damaged," said Cullen, who is part of the Survivor Network of those Accused by Priests. "It's beyond too little too late."

CLERICS CANNNED

The Vatican has stripped six New York-area priests of the priesthood:

Ralph LaBelle
Served in parishes in The Bronx, Staten Island and Putnam County

Daniel Calabrese
Served in parishes in Staten Island, Poughkeepsie and Congers

Patrick Quigley
Served in parishes in Manhattan, Staten Island and Rockland County

Francis Stinner
Served in parishes in Orange, Sullivan and Westchester counties

Kenneth Jesselli
Served in parishes in The Bronx and Westchester County

David Carson
Served in parishes in Staten Island and Congers and as a chaplain with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: New York
KEYWORDS: abusivepriests; catholic; defrocked; dismissal; homosexualpriests; priest; vatican
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1 posted on 07/09/2005 1:41:28 PM PDT by NYer
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To: american colleen; Lady In Blue; Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; ...
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list


2 posted on 07/09/2005 1:42:56 PM PDT by NYer ("Each person is meant to exist. Each person is God's own idea." - Pope Benedict XVI)
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To: NYer

Any of these facing the joint?


3 posted on 07/09/2005 1:44:09 PM PDT by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
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To: NYer

Let's see...this brings the total of priests punished by the Vatican for homosexual behavior to...what, six?


4 posted on 07/09/2005 1:44:23 PM PDT by 50sDad ( ST3d - Star Trek Tri-D Chess! http://my.oh.voyager.net/~abartmes)
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To: NYer

Good. Looks like Benedict is cleaning house.


5 posted on 07/09/2005 1:44:40 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: ncountylee

That was my thought too.


6 posted on 07/09/2005 1:44:45 PM PDT by lilylangtree
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To: NYer

Great news, I'm glad to see Benedict stepping up the housecleaning.


7 posted on 07/09/2005 1:44:48 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: NYer

this is great and I'm glad that the Church is doing this but why aren't these guys in jail/facing criminal charges?


8 posted on 07/09/2005 1:45:04 PM PDT by socialismisinsidious
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To: 50sDad

Without the new Pope, don't think you would even have six. Looks like he is cleaning house.


9 posted on 07/09/2005 1:48:39 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (AOII Mom -- J.C. for OK Governor in '06; Allen/Watts in 2008)
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To: NYer

Good. About time.


10 posted on 07/09/2005 1:53:19 PM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: NYer
All the men lost their pensions

Somehow, one could rearrange some of the letters of that last word, and it would be a much more appropriate punishment for them....

11 posted on 07/09/2005 1:59:14 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: NYer

Excellent! Pope Benedict has come out swinging a new broom :-)


12 posted on 07/09/2005 2:01:51 PM PDT by TheSpottedOwl (UR 0wN3D: USSC-2005)
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To: 50sDad; sinkspur
.. Let's see...this brings the total of priests punished by the Vatican for homosexual behavior to...what, six? ..

Fair enough question. But suppose this is just the beginning; i.e., "new Pope, new policy"? If the Vatican is lowering the boom on this stuff, every Diocese in the country can expect losses. Why would they single out New Jersey?

It looks to me like Benedict is taking this issue a lot more seriously than his predecessor.

13 posted on 07/09/2005 2:04:10 PM PDT by MrNatural ("...You want the truth!?...")
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To: NYer
He admitted to plying the youngster with vodka before abusing him in his church rectory.

Defrocking these perverts doesn't seem to go far enough.

Caning (ala Singapore) would seem more appropriate for what these, and others, have not only done to youngsters but for the damage they've done to Christ's Church on earth.

About 100 strokes of the rattan cane that has been dipped in salt brine would seem appropriate prior to giving them castration and 50 years at hard labor.

These weasels wouldn't survive the caning.

14 posted on 07/09/2005 2:05:37 PM PDT by ElCapusto
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To: MrNatural
Benedict is taking this issue a lot more seriously than his predecessor.

My thoughts exactly.

15 posted on 07/09/2005 2:06:33 PM PDT by ElCapusto
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To: NYer

Good for Pope Benedict!

Prune the dead wood. It dosn't matter how much it takes. Prune it back to healthy green wood again. The dead wood will burn. The green wood will yield healthy growth.

God bless our new Pope!


16 posted on 07/09/2005 2:08:42 PM PDT by sneakers
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To: NYer

This is disgusting! What's worse is I went to college with one of these guys. I stood as godfather to another friend's son while this guy performed the Baptism.


17 posted on 07/09/2005 2:09:06 PM PDT by xkaydet65 (Peace, Love, Brotherhood, and Firepower. And the greatest of these is Firepower!)
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later pingout.


18 posted on 07/09/2005 2:09:43 PM PDT by little jeremiah (A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. P. Henry)
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To: NYer

Sure, justice takes a long time, and probably some of these crimes were covered up in earlier years when they should have been dealt with.

But now they need to take the time to investigate these cases and do it right. There has sometimes been a problem with false accusations and greedy lawyers.


19 posted on 07/09/2005 2:13:19 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: AmericanInTokyo
All the men lost their pensions
Somehow, one could rearrange some of the letters of that last word, and it would be a much more appropriate punishment for them....
Ponnises? :-)
20 posted on 07/09/2005 2:34:34 PM PDT by mcg1969
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