NEW YORK
The Tablet
ONE OF the most prominent priests to fall victim to the American sex abuse scandal, Mgr Charles Kavanagh, has won his battle for a canonical hearing.
“I am absolutely delighted that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has granted my request for a full and fair trial,” said Mgr Kavanagh.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, said: “This is the first case of its kind that we’ve had. Because this is something new, we really don’t know what it means.”
Judicial investigation of clerical abuse remains a rarity. It used to be common for American bishops simply to transfer a priest accused of sexual misbehaviour with a minor, sometimes lying to the new parish about his record.