Bishop Michael R. Cote (2003-present)
Bishop Daniel A. Hart (1995-2003)
Bishop Daniel P. Reilly (1975-1994)
Norwich CT

Michael R. Cote became bishop of Norwich in May 2003, following an eight-year stint as auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Portland, Maine. So far, his public handling of priests accused of molesting minors suggests a great concern with protecting the dignity of the accused. Accordingly, victim advocates say, Cote may be creating an environment in which victims do not feel safe coming forward.

In Maine, Cote lived at a rectory with a priest who participated in a gay Web site that contained sexual references to children. When lay activists exposed the priest’s involvement in the Web site, Cote and Bishop Gerry of Portland refused to say what they had done to discipline the priest, who remained in active parish ministry. See Norwich Bishop Called Lenient in Maine Case, by Tom Breen (March 3, 2005).

More recently, when alleged victims came forward in March 2005 claiming abuse in the 1970s by Rev. Thomas McConaghy of Sacred Heart church in Norwich, Cote removed McConaghy but praised him warmly in a public statement. See Norwich Priest Resigns after Being Accused of Assaulting Child 30 Years Ago: The Rev. McConaghy Denies the Accusation, by Ethan Rouen (March 8, 2005). A victims’ group issued a statement observing that Bishop Cote’s stance could discourage the surfacing of any possible victims of McConaghy in the Norwich diocese.

In 2003, near the end of his tenure as bishop of Norwich, Daniel A. Hart was named in eight lawsuits in Boston as a “negligent supervisor of sexually abusive priests.” See Bishop Hart Named in New Lawsuits: Norwich Prelate Seen As Negligent Supervisor in Sex Abuse Legal Claims, by Kenton Robinson (January 30, 2003) In his nine years in Norwich, Hart purportedly continued the diocese’s 1991 “zero tolerance” policy, but he refused to open diocesan files, name the accused priests, or even to name the number of allegations the diocese had reported to civil authorities. See Norwich Bishop Questioned, by Katie Melone (May 9, 2002).

Daniel P. Reilly, bishop of Norwich from 1975 to 1994, also failed to prevent molestation of children by priests under his supervision. As chancellor of the diocese of Providence and as bishop in Norwich and then Worcester, Reilly was named in more than 30 lawsuits charging him with negligent supervision of sexually abusive priests. See Reilly Being Sued in Three Dioceses, by Richard Nangle and Kathleen A. Shaw (March 17, 2002) and their detailed follow-up What Did the Bishop Know, and When? (September 1, 2002).

Below we list accused priests who have worked in the diocese of Norwich, with information about the accusations and links to sources.

In 1991, a mother told the Department of Children and Families that Buongirno had sexually abused her nine-year-old son in 1990 at St. Matthias Church in East Lyme. The charges were dropped when the boy denied the abuse. In 1994, a man came forward to the diocese claiming that Buongirno had molested him in his teen years during the 1970s, at St. Thomas More High School in Colchester, where Buongirno taught before he entered the seminary. When Buongirno admitted that the charges were true, Bishop Reilly sent him to the Institute of Living for five months. In June 1999, following stints in two more Norwich parishes, the priest was arrested after the claimant from East Lyme, now a young man, re-filed the1990 charges.
- Priest Faces Felony Charges of Misconduct with Child, by Eric Rich (June 11, 1999)
* Bill Would Stop Time as Shield for Accused Priests, by Brian Scheid (March 10, 2002)
- Bishop, Diocese Seek Exclusion from Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, by Associated Press (March 12, 2002)
- Norwich Diocese Seeks Dismissal from Sex-Abuse Lawsuit: Priest Accused of Abuse Was Not within 'Scope of His Employment,' Says Lawyer for Church Officials, in The Day [New London CT] (March 12, 2002)
- Priest Served after Abuse Alleged, by Brian Sheid (March 13, 2002)
* Bishop Named in More than 30 Lawsuits, by Associated Press (March 17, 2002)
* Reilly Being Sued in Three Dioceses, by Richard Nangle and Kathleen A. Shaw (March 17, 2002)
- Diocese Accused of Perpetuating Sex Abuse: Bishop, Norwich Diocese Should Have Done More to Curb Priest, Victim Says, in The Day [New London CT] (April 3, 2002)
- Church Defending Itself against Complaints, While Decrying Sex Abuse by Priests, by Associated Press (April 7, 2002)
- Bishop Hart Is Cleared in Abuse Lawsuit | Judge: No Evidence to Show He Knew of Priest's Sexual Assaults, in The Day [New London CT] (August 1, 2002)
- Plaintiff's Attorney in Sex-Abuse Case 'Pleased' with Judge's Ruling: Norwich Diocese Will Remain a Defendant in Lawsuit, Court Says, in The Day [New London CT] (August 2, 2002)
* Jury to Hear Case of Priest Abuse in Conn. Diocese, by Richard Nangle (August 2, 2002)
* What Did the Bishop Know, And When? by Kathleen A. Shaw and Richard Nangle (September 1, 2002)
- Norwich Diocese, Former Priest Agree to Settle Sex-Abuse Lawsuit: Plaintiffs Complaint Resolved for $700,000, by Kenton Robinson (March 4, 2003)

Casimano, Santino A.

Casimano denies charges in a 2004 lawsuit that he sexually abused two brothers in a parish in the diocese of Orange CA in the late 1970s.
- Priest, Educator, Retired Navy Chaplain to Lead SBHS, from the St. Bernard High School Alumni Page (June 4, 2003)
- Religious Studies Chairman Named St. Bernard Principal: Montville, in The Day [New London CT] (June 7, 2003)
- St. Bernard High Principal Accused of Sexual Abuse: Casimano Resigns After Two Brothers Make Allegations, by Allison Frank and Bethe Dufresne (January 21, 2004)
- Ex-St. Bernard Principal Denies Charges: Brothers' Sex-Abuse Accusations Date to 70s, by Megan Bard (January 22, 2004)
- Ex-Area Priest Named in Suit, by Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola (January 24, 2004)
- Priest Personnel Files Hold Special Meaning to Alleged Victims, by Gillian Flaccus (April 16, 2005)

Member of the Marianist Society

- St. Bernard's in Rockville (10/76- 8/78)
- St. Joseph's in New London (9/78-9/79)
- St. Mary's in Clinton (9/79-9/81)
- Sacred Heart in Vernon (9/81-9/92)

McConaghy, R. Thomas

McManus, Francis J., S.J.

In 2002, a man filed a lawsuit charging that beginning in 1977, when he was a 14-year-old parishioner at St. Mark the Evangelist in Westbrook, Primavera had repeatedly abused him “by ‘kissing him on the lips’ and ‘touching and fondling’ his genitalia, among other sexual actions. The assaults often occurred at the church, the suit claims.” In 1979, Primavera was transferred to St. Mary Star of the Sea in New London, where he allegedly molested another 14-year-old altar boy. Primavera was returned to his Toronto diocese and eventually sent to New Mexico, where he taught at a military high school. In the early 90s, he was arrested and convicted of felony sexual offenses involving his students there.
- Former Priest Accused of Abuse, by Eric Rich (August 10, 2002)
* Former Altar Boy Comes Forward with Allegations against Priest, by Associated Press (August 21, 2002)
* What Did the Bishop Know, And When? by Kathleen A. Shaw and Richard Nangle (September 1, 2002)

Shea, Thomas W.