ARIZONA
East Valley Tribune
By Gary Grado, Tribune
July 24, 2005
Arizona doesn’t meet Ireland’s standards of justice, say lawyers fighting the extradition of a former Scottsdale priest who stands accused of molesting an altar boy.
They contend that if Patrick Colleary is returned to Maricopa County, then he would be subject to no bail, defending himself in an antiquated case and harsh jail conditions, all of which are unfair in Ireland, states an April 16 written submission to Ireland’s High Court.
Ireland cannot force its citizens to stand trial in a country whose laws wouldn’t be tolerated under the Irish Constitution, the document states.
A judge is scheduled to issue a ruling Wednesday, said Robert Eagar, one of Colleary’s Dublin lawyers.
Colleary, former associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, moved to his native country in 2003 before a grand jury returned an indictment alleging he sexually abused a boy in 1978 at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe.
Colleary is one of three priests living abroad who were indicted after a yearlong investigation into sexual misconduct at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.