NEW YORK
New York Post
By STEVE DUNLEAVY
January 7, 2006 -- After four years of trying to clear his name, a Bronx priest accused of sexual abuse will get his day in court — or at least a Vatican-ordered tribunal, the Archdiocese of New York said yesterday.
Msgr. Charles M. Kavanagh, once a leading figure in the Catholic Church's hierarchy, was suspended in May 2002 amid allegations he had molested an ex-seminarian — which he vehemently denies.
"This is what I have constantly asked for from the outset, a full and fair judicial process within the church," said the priest of 42 years, a veritable fixture at St. Raymond's parish in The Bronx.
Meanwhile, his lawyer, John Dearie, an ex-Bronx assemblyman who was baptized, took communion and was confirmed at St. Raymond's, took issue with the archdiocese's spin on the latest news.