Maximilian, for the links, ago gratias tibi!
Bernadette.
Posted on 12/04/2002 7:07:41 PM PST by Maximilian
Whistle-Blower Priest in Trouble With Diocese
Arlington, Va. (AP) - A priest who exposed sexual misconduct of fellow clergy members at three northern Virginia parishes is facing unspecified charges within the Catholic church that supporters fear could lead to his defrocking.
Meanwhile, a national conservative Catholic group is rallying to support the priest, James R. Haley. They say Haley, who has been on leave for a year, should be rewarded rather than punished for his actions and blame Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde for his treatment of Haley.
"Father Haley is being punished for exposing corruption," said Stephen Brady, president of Roman Catholic Faithful. "It's clear that the church hierarchy in this country is in meltdown. A bishop can do practically anything and remain in good standing. Meanwhile a priest blows the whistle, and he's persecuted."
Three different priests have been punished by the church for misconduct exposed in large part by Haley. William J. Erbacher resigned as pastor of St. Lawrence's in Franconia after an investigation revealed he stole from church collection plates and maintained a stash of gay pornography. Haley also exposed an affair between a married woman and the Rev. Daniel Verrecchia, who at the time was pastor of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas. Verrecchia has since left the priesthood to marry the woman.
In September, the pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Fredericksburg, Daniel E. Hamilton, resigned following accusations that he kept a collection of gay pornography in his rectory bedroom.
Many of these allegations were made public in a 200-page deposition given by Haley in a civil lawsuit by Jim Lambert, the ex-husband of the woman who subsequently married Verrecchia. Lambert claimed the church covered up knowledge of the affair between Verrecchia and Nancy Lambert. A judge dismissed that lawsuit earlier this year.
Church officials sought unsuccessfully to have the deposition sealed. Roman Catholic Faithful has since posted the deposition on its Web site.
Loverde had been scheduled to meet with Haley on Monday and discuss the charges that have been levied against Haley. But that meeting was canceled because of a scheduling conflict, said diocese spokeswoman Linda Shovlain.
She said she could not discuss the charges against Haley, but said canon law provides Haley due process protections and that any serious disciplinary measures would have to be taken by Rome, not by Loverde. She would not comment on whether the allegations are serious enough to force Haley out of the priesthood.
Documents that the diocese has already provided to Haley indicate they are seeking to punish him for testifying in the deposition. They say he violated a previous order that "was issued in order to avoid scandal, to maintain ecclesiastical discipline and to protect the reputation and privacy of both the faithful and priests of this diocese."
Haley is receiving a stipend of about $2,000 a month and full health-care benefits while on a voluntary "period of discernment," Shovlain said. Haley said in his deposition that the discernment leave was forced upon him.
"There are a lot of suggestions that (the) Bishop is retaliating against Father Haley for bringing this information forward, but that's just not true," she said.
She did say, though, that Loverde told Haley that he should not make any allegations against priests publicly because those priests have due process and privacy rights when an accusation is levied and then investigated.
Haley and the diocese differ over whether he was required to give the 200-page deposition. In the deposition, Haley "brings up a lot of issues that are unsubstantiated," Shovlain said.
Haley says in the deposition that he was so overwhelmed by the amount of homosexual activity in the priesthood that he sought counseling. He accuses specific priests, and says Loverde stonewalled him when he provided evidence of impropriety.
Haley's lawyer, Gregory Murphy, said the charges against Haley revolve exclusively around the fact that Haley gave the deposition in the Lambert case. And he said there's no doubt that Haley was under subpoena, because Murphy himself, who was also Lambert's lawyer, issued the subpoena.
"This is a total betrayal," Murphy said. "You have a priest who did the moral thing, the right thing, and what they want to do is kill the messenger."
Murphy also said the diocese is being disingenuous by saying Haley is on voluntary leave.
"He has made it very clear he wants to be practicing," Murphy said.
Loverde disputed the notion that he has been unwilling to discipline priests who engage in homosexual activity.
"I expect every priest to live a virtuous life in keeping with his sacred calling, including his commitment to celibacy and chastity," Loverde said.
About 50 Haley supporters rallied Monday outside the diocese headquarters. They did not believe church officials who said Haley is not being punished for blowing the whistle on corruption and homosexual activity.
"When other priests find out what's happened to Father Haley, they are not going to come forward because they don't want to lose their parish. They don't want to live out of a trailer," said Gloria Kukler of Fairfax.
Haley's supporters said he is living in a trailer home because he has no parish rectory as a home; Shovlain said she did not know if that was true.
Parishioners who know Haley described him as intense and dedicated.
"When he consecrated the Sacrament, his voice would just tremble with emotion," said Nina Burke of Fredericksburg, a worshipper at St. Mary's where Haley was last assigned. "We were bitterly sorry to have lost him."
Haley has been prohibited by the diocese from speaking about the case, Murphy said.
Maximilian, for the links, ago gratias tibi!
Bernadette.
Our sister Mary Rose will be arriving on Friday to spend a week with Siobhan and the family here, and I will be returning home on Monday.
God bless,
Bernadette.
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