SEATTLE (WA)
The Seattle Times
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter
A seventh member of a 10-person board charged with reviewing cases of Roman Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse has signed on to a letter critical of some of Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett's actions.
Bill Lennon, a state-certified provider of sex-offender treatment and director of a counseling practice in Bellevue, said yesterday that he had been out of the country when six of the board members met earlier this month. That meeting was to discuss how they would respond after receiving a Dec. 3 letter from the archbishop saying the board essentially would be disbanded.
In a letter of response sent Monday, the six criticized Brunett for, among other things, suggesting future abuses by local priests were unlikely to happen; not releasing the names of offending priests until after the Vatican has decided their fates; and trying to soften a board report critical of church policies, and releasing it in October only after board members threatened to resign.
Lennon said yesterday he faxed a copy of his signed letter to board chairman Terrence Carroll, a retired King County Superior Court judge, to send on to the archbishop. "I believed in the statements that we were making," Lennon said of his decision.