Posted on 07/21/2003 8:18:33 PM PDT by Brian S
Affidavits Filed for Civil Trial of Rev. Paul Shanley Say He Paid to Rape and Molest Boys
The Associated Press
BOSTON July 21 — Attorneys submitting an outline for an upcoming civil trial in one of the nation's most notorious clergy sex abuse cases said Monday that the Rev. Paul Shanley paid to rape and molest boys, sometimes passing them on to other men including at least one fellow priest.
The documents include 21 affidavits from alleged Shanley victims and a roughly 220-page brief previewing the civil case that attorneys for Gregory Ford and his family plan to present at trial in their lawsuit against the Boston archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, New Hampshire Bishop John McCormack and other key figures in the scandal.
Ford is suing over abuse he allegedly suffered when he was a young parishioner. Shanley is also facing criminal charges for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting four men.
No dates have been set for either the civil trial or the criminal trial. Shanley has pleaded innocent.
The archdiocese on Monday asked that the Fords' attorneys not be allowed to expand the scope of the trial beyond Ford's allegations, and challenged the admissibility of "recovered memory" of abuse, said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese.
Coyne declined to comment on the allegations contained in the Fords' filing.
"We're just seeking to follow the normal course and the normal expected practice in law in coming to a just and equitable conclusion to the cases," he said.
Church attorney Wilson Rogers III did not return a telephone call Monday.
One alleged victim said in an affidavit that a man he met as a teen through his church would send him to Shanley, who would molest him and send him back with an envelope of money, some of which the boy would keep.
The "deliveries" continued over many years, according to the affidavit. When the alleged victim was 17, he said, the priest began taking him to bars, and would bring the teenager for games of spin-the-bottle with groups of older men.
"I did not want to have anything to do with them, but if I didn't show up for the meetings which he arranged for me, he would become totally enraged and threatened me with physical harm," wrote the alleged victim, who was not named.
In another affidavit, a 46-year old man now in prison claims that Shanley and another priest molested him at the same time. The man also alleged that when he was a teen, Shanley brought him to a monastery, where Shanley would share the boy and his cousin with other men.
Frank Mondano, an attorney representing Shanley in the criminal case, said he could not address specific allegations contained in the civil proceedings, but denied that the claims were true.
"I'm reasonably confident that if we broke them all down, we would be able to deny them all," he said. "We simply can't go out and defend against every allegation that comes down the pike."
In a related matter, Attorney General Tom Reilly's office announced that a report on clergy abuse will be released to the public on Wednesday. The report concludes that criminal charges against the archdiocese are not warranted, but also includes extensive evaluation of how church officials handled the scandal.
Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for more than 100 alleged abuse victims, said he was disappointed that charges had been ruled out.
"Given the number of tragedies that have occurred by these sexual molestations and the allowance of these sexual molestations, many of my clients were hoping that there would be indictments so church leaders and individuals would be held responsible," he said.
A grand jury investigated whether Law and many of his top aides, some of whom are now bishops in other dioceses, could be held criminally responsible for moving priests from parish to parish even when they knew of abuse allegations. Law was among those who testified before the grand jury, which concluded that no criminal charges were warranted.
Law resigned as archbishop in December, after nearly a year of criticism over his role in allowing abusive priests to remain in parish work. Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley was named July 1 as his successor, and will be installed as archbishop at the end of the month. Bishop Richard Lennon has served as interim head of the archdiocese since Law's resignation.
The archdiocese is facing about 500 civil suits from alleged victims of clergy sex abuse. Church officials have repeatedly said they remain committed to working toward an out-of-court settlement.
No accountability in Massachusetts for rape and pay-for-rape.
He's a disgrace. Evidently he's not afraid for his mortal soul, or he would admit to every crime he's committed and plead guilty.
I can see Alec Baldwin playing him in the movie.
yes , I agree...
and its not that I believe all of these people coming out of the woodwork...I think there is a good number that are in for some quick money...,
but I believe most of them....
why they allowed Shanley to stay as a priest is beyond me......but then again, maybe his superiors were just like him.....
Ever heard of Judas? The "wheat and the tares"?
Speaking for myself, I'd say you needn't have begun.
The Catholic Church is indefectible and perfect because it was founded and is protected by God himself. The human leaders and followers in the church are not perfect, but they are unable to besmirch the dignity of the church itself.
The priests, bishops, and popes responsible for introducing heresy (in the wake of Vatican II) and degrading the chruch's human institutions will be judged as the disciple Judas was judged.
Catholic faithful must cling to the True Faith as found in traditions promulgated for 2000 years.
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