Papers in Pedophile Case Show Church Effort to Avert Scandal

              Papers in Pedophile Case
              Show Church Effort to Avert
              Scandal

                   OSTON, Jan. 24 — The Roman Catholic
                   archdiocese here seemed more preoccupied
              with avoiding a scandal involving a pedophile priest
              than making sure the priest had no further contact
              with children, documents released today suggest.

              The documents — depositions, letters and
              memorandums from 84 civil lawsuits against the
              priest and the archdiocese — reveal in detail that
              the church knew of the priest's pedophilia, but
              moved him from one parish to another for 30
              years.

              The revelations prompted Boston's cardinal, Bernard F. Law, to apologize for the second time this month for
              the archdiocese's handling of the priest, John J. Geoghan, 66, who was convicted last week of molesting a
              boy in a youth club pool and faces two more criminal trials on similar charges.

              More than 130 people in half a dozen parishes here said Mr. Geoghan, who was defrocked in 1998,
              molested them as children in incidents that occurred from 1962 to 1995. The church has settled about 50
              lawsuits for a total of more than $10 million.

"I made a mistake in assigning John Geoghan," Cardinal Law said. "I regret that assignment, and I have
attempted to learn from that mistake."

In a departure from longstanding church policy, the cardinal also announced that he would require clergymen
and officials of the archdiocese to report to the authorities past accusations of sexual abuse by priests.

"We will be going to public authorities with the names of all priests that we
are aware of that have abused minors," Cardinal Law said.

He also said he was convening a panel of medical experts to study ways to
prevent child abuse and deal with victims.

              The 10,000 pages of new documents include depositions by bishops who
              were aware of Mr. Geoghan's problem, notes from psychiatrists who
              evaluated him, letters from parishioners complaining of church inaction and
              letters from the two cardinals during Mr. Geoghan's tenure, the late Cardinal
              Humberto Medeiros and Cardinal Law.

              The Boston archdiocese has long tried to keep the documents sealed, and
              they became public only after The Boston Globe filed a request to see them
              and a judge ordered the records opened last year. The Globe published
              excerpts and an analysis of the records today.

              In one deposition, Bishop Thomas V. Daily, now leader of the Brooklyn
              diocese, was asked if it were archdiocesan policy "to avoid scandal where
              possible."

"And were these events types of events that would cause scandal for the church?" Bishop Daily was asked.

              In a 1982 letter, Margaret Gallant, a relative of seven boys molested by Mr. Geoghan, wrote to Cardinal
              Medeiros complaining that Bishop Daily had "suggested that we keep silent." Her relatives, Mrs. Gallant
              wrote, "never as much as received an apology from the church, much less any offer for counseling for the
              boys."

              In reply, Cardinal Medeiros wrote, "While I am and must be very sensitive to a very delicate situation and one
              that has caused great scandal, I must at the same time invoke the mercy of God and share in that mercy in the
              knowledge that God forgives sins and that sinners indeed can be forgiven."

In the documents, church officials, including Cardinal Law, often treated Mr. Geoghan as a sinner who had
repented and recovered.

              "It is most heartening to know that things have gone well for you and that you are ready to resume your efforts
              with a renewed zeal," Cardinal Law wrote to Mr. Geoghan in 1989, when the cardinal allowed the priest to
              return to St. Julia Parish in suburban Weston after treatment.

The documents released today deepened the anger that Boston Catholics already felt over the church's
handling of the case.

              "Even the ones who raised the red flag, they raised it as scandal, they said they didn't want scandal to come to
              the church," said Thomas H. Groome, a professor of religious education at Boston College. "That the crime
              had caused extraordinary damage to the parishioners and their children was not in their consciousness."

              Some parishioners and a few priests have called on Cardinal Law to resign. But today the cardinal, who is
              considered close to the pope and is one of the country's most influential Roman Catholic leaders, dismissed
              that possibility.

"The solution to this problem as I see it does not include my resignation as archbishop," Cardinal Law said.
"You don't walk away when the problem is difficult."

              Two weeks ago, in his first apology, the cardinal announced a policy of zero tolerance of future sexual abuse
              of children by priests and required clergymen to report evidence of such abuse to the state authorities. This
              followed a Vatican order requiring all archdioceses to report accusations of pedophilia to the Vatican.

But this week, the Senate in this heavily Roman Catholic state voted to go beyond Cardinal Law's actions,
passing an amendment that would require reporting of evidence of past sexual abuse.

              "In a state like Massachusetts, in a city like Boston, I think that's a considerable turnaround," said Thomas H.
              O'Connor, the university historian at Boston College. "The general perception was that the Legislature would
              do pretty much what the cardinal said, but they can't afford to take that position any longer."

In response to the Legislature, the cardinal revised archdiocese policy to require reporting of past abuse as
well.

              In his first apology, Cardinal Law said he relied on psychiatric evaluations that suggested Mr. Geoghan could
              be safely reassigned to parishes. The newly disclosed documents contain a number of positive evaluations of
              Mr. Geoghan. But they also include negative ones, including notes that Bishop Robert J. Banks took from a
              conversation he had with one of Mr. Geoghan's psychiatrists in 1989, saying "you can't afford to have him in a
              parish," and "you better clip his wings before there is an explosion."

              Later that year, Mr. Geoghan was removed for treatment and then allowed to return to St. Julia Parish. Soon
              after Mr. Geoghan's reinstatement, the documents show, Bishop Banks wrote to doctors at the treatment
              center, who had written that Mr. Geoghan had "atypical pedophilia, in remission" and "mixed personality
              disorder with obsessive-compulsive, histrionic and narcissistic features."

              In his note, Bishop Banks said that he was disappointed by the evaluation and that he had been given oral
              assurances by the center that "it would be all right to reassign Father Geoghan to pastoral ministry." The
              bishop asked for a letter confirming that, and he received a note from the doctor saying it was "quite safe" to
              reinstate Mr. Geoghan in the parish and "the probability that he would sexually act out again is quite low."

The documents make little mention of Mr. Geoghan's victims and give little indication that the church offered
the victims counseling or comfort.

Today, several people who say they were molested by Mr. Geoghan as boys said the documents destroyed
their trust and respect for the church.

"I believe in the Catholic religion, but I can't go to church," said Anthony Muzzi Jr., 47, who said he was
molested over two years, sometimes while Mr. Geoghan was "blessing us in the bedroom."

"I've lost my faith in the church," Mr. Muzzi said. "I have to say my prayers in my vehicle going to and from
work."

Well when I went to Bristol Eastern(maybe you've heard of it?)there was a teacher who got a student pregnant. The girl had an abortion. The girls parents found out about it. Everyone was aware at the school of what happened but the parents of the girl never filed charges because the father is a prominent lawyer and the daughter was a well known athlete and the parents didn't want to be dragged through the mud. The teacher was still teaching when I graduated. There was a different case when I was in high school too but in that case the teacher was busted and gone.

I believe I have outlined your concerns already on the thread. I want the pedophiles out of my church, moreso than the people who despise Catholicism.

Detractors salivate over our faults. I am not above criticism. I'll take the heat of any subject presented, but it's funny how none of the hate-filled agenda posters ever examine the faults of their own churchs. For example, the presbyterian and the Anglican churches have almost accepted homosexuality. The presbyterians are at least discussing it in the open. And what about birth control? All prostestant churchs are pro--BC. That is a foundational sin. Anyone who thinks birth-control and abortion aren't linked are uninformed. And then there is divorce. I could keep going as to who holds to truths and who doesn't--my point is that some people continually post about one thing. I'm sick of them, and I'm glad to expose them to the forum when they give me the opportunity.

Is it possible for a church to declare bankruptcy? If this were any private business faced with this kind of legal prospect they'd simply throw in the towel. There are already something like 100 victims of Geoghan lined up to collect their winnings in the pedophile lottery. Juries are not going to be very sympathetic to the good cardinal on this. Awards (or negotiated settlements) are going to be very large. We probably haven't seen the end of the Geoghan victims yet. Every jury award will convince more former victims to come forward with a civil suit. There will be no shortage of lawyers ready to assist them. (Probably more lawyers than devout Catholics in Boston these days.) And remember, Geoghan is only one of how many known pedophiles who have been sheltered by the church? It must be difficult for church-going Catholics to put that envelope in the collection plate every Sunday, knowing that most of it is being used to pay legal damages.

We dont talk about protestant heretics????

OH YES WE DO!!!!! Maybe it is just that you dont visit those threads?? Us Fundamentalists are all over those liberal Protestant sects for their apostasy, homosexuality, liberalism, it is just that they dont get enough press compared tot he RCC.

one thing i mentioned about the WHORE OF BABYLON, I said it includes ALL religions, but that it would probably be headed by the RCC because the RCC has the organization the others dont, think about that. There is NO central authority for any religion except the RCC, they alone can run a large organization, and it only seems natural that religions turn to Rome for that. When you hear of an ecumenical meeeting, you NEVER hear of a Muslim leading it, you never hear of a Buddhist leading it, it is always a Christian leader, and that is almost always the Pope leading soething like that. This fact that this difference is gone is a BAD thing! When we recognize differences, we ty to hold to what we believe is true, to truth as we understand it, and that also brings reasons to have sources to defend our beliefs. BUT, when we abandon truth for the sake of cooperation, ignoring the differences that are not compatible with our religion for the sake of some form of unity, you end up send a really mixed message about what you actually believe!

Imagine what happeneed at the recent prayer meetings in Italy. VOODOO people met with the Pope and Muslims, and then they went off to pray somewhere!! Talk about confusion! Protestants, Buddhists, RCC, Muslims and VOODOO priests all praying for peace at the same conference. It doesnt matter if it was in the same room, they were there together, praying for the same things. Well, Both Baptists and Roman Catholics believe Jesus died on the cross and that He is the saviour. That means all other religions are false, right? So, What in the world is going on????

Maybe we will disagree, but I think the WHORE has been here since religion began. It includes all religions that have been against Scripture, against Christ. The RCC sure had it's inquisitions, but Islam killed Millions, too, so have Babylonian pagan religions, Assyrian religions, Baal worship, Ashtorath religions, American Indian relions killing missionaries, Communism killing missionaries...the WHORe sits on many waters, remember, and I believe that means all over the world. The connection of the RCC to the WHORE was made during the reformation, and those men didnt see their own spiritual demise, so they never saw their own 'religions' involvement in the WHORE. While everyone knows I do not think the RCC is Biblical, I think it is innacurate to say that the RC is THE WHORE, all by itself.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.