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	Another Chapter in Priest Scandal Hartford Courant January 30, 2009 http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-priestabuse.art.artjan30,0,3771677.story Settlement of the latest sexual molestation lawsuit against the Rev. Stephen Foley — and there have been at least 13 — is a mixed blessing. The $750,000 award to be paid by the Archdiocese of Hartford puts an official end to the ordeal of the victim, William Noll, who has waited many years for justice. It also makes public, at Mr. Noll's request, the deposition of the accused priest, but the taped interview may infuriate rather than ease the pain of other victims. In the video deposition, Mr. Foley did not admit guilt in the repeated molestation of Mr. Noll starting in 1978 when he was 14. He did not admit luring young boys into his pseudo police cruiser loaded with lights and sirens as described by his accusers. Mr. Foley also denied taking any boys to a cottage on Cape Cod and said he did not remember the names of any of a long list of youths with whom he is alleged to have spent the night with there. At least the settlement is acknowledgment that Mr. Noll had a case. It also adds to the $22 million the diocese spent in 2002 on victims of Mr. Foley and others. Along with the latest Foley settlement, the diocese agreed to pay $785,000 in November to end a suit involving Daniel McSheffrey, accused of raping a teenage boy over several years beginning in 1986 when he was at St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in North Branford. But no amount of money can erase the suffering of the priests' victims or the faithful's feelings of betrayal. The tragedy of settling such cases is that Mr. Foley and other accused abusers do not have to face their victims in court. The church leadership never has to explain why they continued to ignore such pathology long after many victims had come forward. The priest will not have to face criminal prosecution due to the statute of limitations. The settlement gets him off the hook for a civil trial. He won't be listed on the state's sex offender registry. He has been stripped of his priestly duties, but not of the priesthood, his stipend or health insurance. What ordinary citizen would get away with such despicable behavior?
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