Five Boston priests accused of abuse defrocked by Vatican

WRGB ^ | June 9, 2005

[NYer]

(Boston - AP) — The Vatican has defrocked six priests from the Boston archdiocese who were accused of sexually abusing children.

They include John Connell, Denis Conte, Peter Frost, John Hanlon, Richard Matte and Paul David White.

The men may no longer act as priests, except to offer absolution to the dying.

They are also no longer part of the archdiocese and are cut off from any financial support.

Connell was accused in a civil suit of molesting a twelve-year-old boy while spending a week with him in a Florida hotel during the mid 1970's.

In 1994, the archdiocese removed him as chaplain at St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers after a complaint alleged sexual misconduct.

[NYer]

Interestingly, the source for this story is a CBS affiliate in Albany NY.

[fml]

The men may no longer act as priests, except to offer absolution to the dying.

In that case there should be a de-frocked preist register.

[Romish_Papist]

Our Papa is cleaning house!

[Sam the Sham]

The one blot on the career of Pope John Paul II was how he dismissed the sexual abuse crisis in the American Catholic Church as smears.

[sharkhawk]

Can't any Catholic do last rites or absolution for the dying?

[maryz]

No -- maybe you're thinking of baptism when there's danger of death.

[maryz]

Boston church news is pretty much caught up today in the closing of a Catholic school in Brighton. It was scheduled to close anyway, but two days before the end of the school year, the archdiocese called the homes of the children and told them not to come in; school was over. (If the parents weren't home, they just left the message with the kids.)

The parents (including a city councillor) had tried to buy the school building at market value, but the archdiocese wouldn't sell. They plan to use it for hearings or whatever on accused priests. (Or, in Howie Carr's opinion, they expect the city councillor whose kids went there to block their request for a zoning change of use. Then they'll "have" to sell it to a condo developer.)

This has been most of local talk radio all day.

Bishop Lennon seems to be the one in charge of the process. One parent who dealt with him was, well, extremely unflattering.

[connectthedots]

When is Law going to get dumped?

[NYer]

the archdiocese called the homes of the children and told them not to come in; school was over.

If it was closing in 2 more days, why now? Payroll?

The situation here in Albany is not much better. In April, Hubbard announced the closing of 6 of the 7 parishes in Watervliet. They will be merged into the remaining one with a new name. Word on the street now has it that he plans to close 5 more parishes just across the river in the city of Troy.

That might not be news except that one of the parishes he is closing is the ONLY one the offers the Indult TLM ... AND ... has 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration. Sadly, it is located in one of the worst neighborhoods of Troy.

St. Peter's

Last night, I learned that several years ago, when our Maronite pastor was looking for a larger church for the parish, Hubbard offered to "unite" our parish with St. Peter's in Troy. Our Parish Council took a tour of the old church and fell in love with it, despite some nagging parishioners who are more than content to remain in the old shrine they call a church. The two Parish Councils came together to discuss the possibility. The ultra trads who attend the TLM at St. Peter's and serve on the Parish Council, viewed the Maronites as "just off the boat" and would have nothing to do with the merger. Father, who is bi-ritual and fluent in 8 languages, offered to say the Maronite Divine Liturgy, a very reverent NO and Spanish Mass. The trads voted it down.

So here we are today. The Maronites acquired a 150 year old Methodist/Episcopal church boarded up in the 70's, that requrires major renovations. (It has just been declared an historic landmark and qualifies for matching state grants), while the angry trads will be losing their parish entirely.

Here's the link to St. Peter & St. Paul. Enjoy the visit!

ST. PETER ST. PAUL .

[maryz]

If it was closing in 2 more days, why now? Payroll?

According to the archdiocese, they heard rumors that the parents were planning a sit-in. (A couple of parents called in on the radio and said they were planning a small protest march Friday night, but no sit-in. They've known for a while the school would be closed and are resigned if not happy.) The archdiocese wanted to avoid the bad public relations the sit-in would cause. No comment on the bad public relations of the Globe's front-page pictures of crying children.

If they were afraid of the mythical sit-in, couldn't they have done something like have the archbishop show up (surprise!) on the last day of school, with ice cream and cake for everyone, and maybe give out blessed medals or something to all the kids and at least talk directly to the kids about how sorry he was to have to close the school, but how proud he was of the kids? Would it have killed them? Lots of complaints on the radio about how they don't have kids. But didn't they at least used to be kids?

I gather the graduation ceremony (8th grade?) is also cancelled.

Nice going. (I still think it's Lennon's planning!)

[GipperGal]

If they were afraid of the mythical sit-in, couldn't they have done something like have the archbishop show up (surprise!) on the last day of school, with ice cream and cake for everyone, and maybe give out blessed medals or something to all the kids and at least talk directly to the kids about how sorry he was to have to close the school, but how proud he was of the kids?

Right on. That's exactly how he should have handled it. I've been listening to a "book of tape/CD" of JP11's book "Rise Let Us Be On Our Way". I didn't realize before I bought it that it was primarily intended as a memoir of his life and lessons about his ministry geared specifically for fellow clergy. But it's been interesting to hear the Great JP give practical lessons about how a priest or bishop should tend his flock. I think he would have concluded that the Bishops in Boston totally flunked. In fact, from a distance (though I travel to Boston & Cambridge, Mass. regularly for my job) I get the impression that the Bishops there don't relate to the people they are suppose to serve as a shepherd should his flock. Instead it's as if they're afraid of their own flock. They treat them in the same way the CEOs and top brass of a somewhat shady large corporation would treat their working stiff underlings. The CEOs are afraid to make press statements, always afraid of provoking some sort of "workers strike" -- everything is kept very hidden and quiet and told on a need to know basis. It's not a church, it's a corporation.

[maryz]

It's not a church, it's a corporation.

That's too true. One ugly part of what came out in the scandal is the archdiocese lawyers (presumably acting with the acquiescence of their client) acting as if they were in a particularly nasty commercial litigation. Hint: the relationship between a bishop and his flock isn't supposed to be adversarial. Start out by treating a relationship as adversarial, and you'll get more than you bargained for!

[NYer]

If they were afraid of the mythical sit-in, couldn't they have done something like have the archbishop show up (surprise!) on the last day of school, with ice cream and cake for everyone, and maybe give out blessed medals or something to all the kids and at least talk directly to the kids about how sorry he was to have to close the school, but how proud he was of the kids?

What a wonderful idea! This would have set a more positive tone and counterracted all the negativity. I am most surprised at Archbishop Burke. In him, I had placed such geat hope. Granted not all of us are cut out for administrative positions, especially when the job assigned is to clean up the scandal from one's predecessor. No doubt these actions are taking a toll on him. He joined the OFM out of a sense of humility and servitude. Odds are "this" was never even a thought on the day of his ordination.

[GipperGal]

Hint: the relationship between a bishop and his flock isn't supposed to be adversarial. Start out by treating a relationship as adversarial, and you'll get more than you bargained for!

Precisely! That's exactly what I noticed. And how sick is that? They're supposed to be serving these people and instead they act like Enron.

After reading the way that JPII handled his bishoprics and the responsibility he felt for the people under his care, you realize just how wanting these American bishops are. Did you know that as bishop, archbishop, and Cardinal JPII set aside one or two Sundays each month to attend Mass at one of his parishes in Karkow. He almost made it to all of them before he was called to Rome to be our Pope. And even in Rome, he maintained this tradition and tried to visit all of the local parishes in his Roman diocese. He really felt the need to be a father to his people.

Would a father cut kids off the way these Boston bishops did?

[Salvation]

Cardinal Law is already in Rome. He was taken out of the Archdiocese a long time ago.

[maryz]

That's O'Malley. ;-) Otherwise, spot on. (I had read that when he was in New Bedford -- cleaning up that mess -- he did go to one Mass in his diocese every Sunday, covering each one by one; I was really hoping he would be doing it here, but I never heard anything about it.)

[Cheverus]

I am a new poster to Freerepublic, but have been reading for years.

I used to work for the Archdiocese and can tell you without a doubt that Lennon is the guy running the place....O'Malley is a very stand offish arrogant man.

I used to think it was just incompetence, but now I realize it is something far more sinister.

[steve8714]

The hierarchy of the AmChurch has abandoned evangelism. When Bosnians move into an area they close churches and celebrate the "diversity" that comes with the new Muslim "neighbors".
When a neighborhood goes black, they close churches and abandon the neighborhood to COGIC, or to nothing at all.
I believe many bishops believe black people have a genetic predisposition to the churches wherein people dance, and speak in tongues. Can there be any more of a racist idea?

[maryz]

I gather you no longer work for them? Were you there long after O'Malley started? Moe Lauzier of WRKO just loves O'Malley -- he in Fall River, O'Malley's last assignment.

Are you sure it's "arrogance" on O'Malley's part. I ask because he strikes me as very reserved, and since I'm like that myself, I tend to sympathize (though even I can pretend to be outgoing and social for a few hours at a stretch if I have to!)

This is getting worse -- still a talk radio subject, now that Menino has jumped into the fray, offering Faneuil Hall for the graduation ceremonies (I was guessing wrong above -- apparently the graduating class is the 6th grade; just what we need, piling on 11-year-olds!). Couldn't O'Malley have offered the Cathedral and given out diplomas himself?

Howie Carr admitted that even he couldn't make fun of Menino on this -- a first!

Even from what little I know of Lennon, I was sorely disappointed that O'Malley kept him on in a position of authority. Though that Coyne as spokesman (thank God!) seems no longer to be in evidence.

They really have to fire the lawyers and PR flaks and hire some human beings with no axe to grind, no agenda.