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	SNAP Raps Fall River Diocese on Abuse Allegations By Gloria Labounty Sun Chronicle February 22, 2008 http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2008/02/22/news/news5.txt FALL RIVER - A national support group for sexual abuse victims is alleging the Fall River Diocese has not done enough to inform the public about allegations against a Maine priest who once served in the Fall River and Attleboro areas, but diocesan officials say they already have done everything the group is now demanding. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said this week in a letter to Bishop George Coleman that more should be done to find other possible victims of the Rev. Maurice Lebel, who has been accused by one person of abuse in Massachusetts in the early 1980s. That was when Lebel was a counselor with the Fall River and Attleboro offices of Catholic Social Services. Fall River diocesan spokesman John Kearns said Thursday that when the diocese was notified of the allegation in December, all steps were taken that are required by national and diocesan church policies. "Everything the group is asking us to do now, we already did," Kearns said of the SNAP letter. "As soon as we were informed, we took steps to alert the public," and to urge anyone with information to come forward. Kearns said the diocese in December issued a news release about the allegations, which is still posted on its Web site, and which was picked up by various news outlets. The bishop also sent letters to the parishes where Lebel resided, including St. Mary's in Mansfield, where he lived while he worked for Catholic Social Services in Attleboro. Both the release and the letter described the dates and places where Lebel lived and worked, and encouraged anyone with information about Lebel to contact officials in the Portland, Maine, or Fall River dioceses, and at the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Since the December statements were issued, Kearns said no one has contacted the diocese with allegations against Lebel. David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of SNAP, said in a telephone interview Thursday he takes issue with the diocesan claim that everything SNAP is now requesting had already been done. Clohessy said Coleman could have been more aggressive in the news release and letters, and could have actually gone to the parishes to urge people to come forward with information. According to Clohessy, Lebel's alleged victim has not been in contact with SNAP and no other alleged victims have been in touch with the organization. Kearns said Thursday he sent an e-mail to SNAP this week, acknowledging its letter and briefly outlining the steps taken by the diocese. He also forwarded SNAP's letter to Coleman, who will decide on a reply. Lebel, who has been in Maine for the past 22 years and is now retired, was previously a Jesuit priest serving in the Fall River Diocese. From 1973 to 1976, he was rector of the Jesuit community at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, and from 1976 to 1986, he was a counselor for the diocese's Catholic Social Services, first at its Fall River headquarters, and then at its Attleboro office. The allegation was first reported to church officials in Boston in March 2007 by a Massachusetts resident who claims to have been abused in the early 1980s at the ages of 15 to 17. Investigations were launched by the Portland diocese, where Lebel was assigned at the time, and by law enforcement in Massachusetts, where Lebel had lived and worked during the time the alleged abuse took place. Based on preliminary evidence, Lebel was later restricted from ministry. According to the Portland diocese, civil authorities had completed enough of their investigation to allow the public release of information in December, and the Fall River Diocese was then notified. No information has been released on the exact dates or locations of the alleged abuse, other than it occurred in the early 1980s in Massachusetts. After serving in the Fall River Diocese until 1986, Lebel was transferred to Maine by his religious order, the Society of Jesus. In 1991, he left his religious order and became a diocesan priest in Portland, then served at various parishes until he was temporarily removed from ministry last year because of the allegation. GLORIA LaBOUNTY can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at glabounty@thesunchronicle.com.
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