Pedophile Priest Still Welcome, His Pastor Says By Ed Penhale and Mary Rothschild Seattle Post-Intelligencer May 27, 1988 Federal Way – A retired priest identified by the Seattle Archdiocese as a pedophile may be welcome to return to St. Theresa's Parish here, some officials and members of the parish said last night. But other parishioners at a forum on the controversy said the archdiocese went too far in protecting the priest and did not place enough emphasis on victims' rights. Seattle Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen earlier in the day named the Rev. James McGreal as the priest whose residency at the parish became a focus of recent media attention when his history of child molestation was revealed. But as members of the parish met last night, with St. Theresa pastor Joe Kramis, archdiocese officials and the counselor treating McGreal, Kramis said he hopes McGreal could return to St. Theresa's rectory, if there is no other place where he would be better off. Norm Minarsich, a member of the parish council at the South King County church, said he thinks the parish could accept McGreal's presence, but added that he should not be allowed at the altar. Minarsich said he was upset that McGreal's background was kept a secret from the parish when Kramis first took McGreal into the parish last year. Hunthausen identified McGreal in a pastoral letter to all parishes, saying he wants to "break the silence that perpetuates abuse." The archdiocese had been aware of McGreal's pedophilia for 10 years. Kramis said he kept McGreal's background secret for reason of confidentiality, but apologized for that last night. "If! had to do it over again, I would have taken it to the parish council," Kramis said,. He said he believed McGreal's pedophilia "was contained. Otherwise, I would not have let him into our parish." "In the future my hope would be that he (McGreal) could come home," Kramis said. McGreal, who has never been legally charged with sex abuse, began living at St. Theresa's Parish in Federal Way last July under a program of supervision recommended by Northwest Treatment Associates, a private therapy firm retained by the archdiocese. His history of child molestation was not disclosed to parishioners until last Saturday, after McGreal's past became public on a local television program. Before Hunthausen's announcement, the priest's name was not used in news reports. Hunthausen asked that the letter identifying the priest be read at all Masses celebrated in Western Washington this weekend. He also asked priests to encourage victims of abuse to contact the archdiocesan Office of the Chancellor, or to do so on their behalf. "We wish to create a new atmosphere based on education and dialogue, so that the problem of abuse and exploitation will become a distant chapter in our past," wrote the archbishop. Hunthausen promised to "act quickly and responsibly" whenever situations of child abuse come to the archdiocese's attention. "In every case, we will attempt to provide prompt pastoral care for the victim, cooperate fully with civil authorities, and provide due process for the accused," he wrote. Meanwhile, the Seattle Archdiocese has formed a task force to review its current policies of dealing with sexual misconduct by church employees. Two priests, along with Lucy Berliner ofHarborview's sexual assault clinic and Tim Smith, therapist with Northwest Treatment Associates, will recommend whether the policies should be changed. The archdiocese has said that besides McGreal and the Rev. Paul Conn, a 36-year-old priest recently charged in Port Angeles with five counts of indecent liberties with young boys, it is aware of only one other diocesan priest who is a pedophile. The archdiocese has not named that priest, who is said to be undergoing treatment and not serving in a parish. But sources said the unidentified priest works as a counselor for adult alcoholics. The Rev. Jack Walmsley, personnel director for the archdiocese, said the counselor has not been identified for reasons of confidentiality. The difference between that case and McGreal's is that McGreal was identified publicly on television. After publicity about the McGreal case, archdiocesan officials decided to remove him from the rectory at St. Theresa's, where he had been living under the supervision of pastor Kramis. Officials did not say where he would be assigned. Retired from the active priesthood, McGreal, 65 (age) , had been limited to celebrating Mass for senior citizens until about two months ago when his pastoral duties were suspended. Archdiocesan officials said McGreal has had no sexual contact with children in the 11 months he has been assigned to St. Theresa's. McGreal served in the archdiocese for 40 years and worked at 10 parishes and two hospitals. The parishes were: St. Patrick in Tacoma, 1948-50 St. James in Vancouver, 1950-54 Holy Rosary in West Seattle, 1954-56 St. Mary in Monroe, 1956-66 St. Michael in Olympia, 1966-71 St. Catherine in Seattle, 1971-77 St. Anthony in Renton, 1977-81 St. John Bosco in Tacoma, 1981 Queen of Angels in Port Angeles in 1986 St. Theresa in Federal Way since July 1987. Since 1981 he has also worked in two Catholic hospitals, St. Joseph in Tacoma and Providence Hospital in Everett. According to the archdiocese, McGreal was removed from two parishes and from Providence Hospital for problems related to pedophilia. The Rev. Jack Walmsley, clergy personnel director, has said the King County prosecutor's office investigated at least one of the incidents and no charges were filed. In two of the instances, the archdiocese claims there were no actual incidents of abuse but supervisors working with McGreal reported they believed there was potential for abuse. The present policy of the Seattle Archdiocese in cases of child molestation by church employees is to contact and cooperate with law enforcement agencies, relieve the accused of pastoral duties and to provide treatment for the offender if an investigation confirms the accusation. Priests who have been identified as pedophiles enter a lifelong program of treatment that includes supervised living arrangements, vocational rehabilitation, therapy and periodic evaluations by experts. If the individual asks to relocate to another diocese, the Seattle officials notify the appropriate authorities immediately.

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