BishopAccountability.org
	Critics Not Mollified by Egan's Retirement By Elizabeth Hamilton Hartford Courant February 24, 2009 http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-archbishopside0224.artfeb24,0,661391.story As Cardinal Edward Egan prepares to exit the New York Archdiocese, his critics are stepping forward to remind the public of what they believe is his poor record on the clergy sex abuse crisis that has roiled the Catholic Church. "His record has just been awful and we hope that despite his retirement, victims and whistle blowers and prosecutors and journalists will continue to try and unearth his clergy sex abuse secrets in both Connecticut and New York," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP. Clohessy and others say they will be closely watching the outcome of the Connecticut court case in which The Courant and several other daily newspapers have sought the release of 12,000 pages of documents from sealed abuse lawsuits against the Bridgeport Diocese. Egan, bishop of the Bridgeport diocese from 1988 to 2000, was a defendant in some of the lawsuits and fought them from 1993 until they were settled in March 2001. The case to unseal the documents stalled in 2006, when the Diocese of Bridgeport appealed a Superior Court judge's ruling to unseal the secret files. The files contain documents pertaining to allegations of abuse against as many as 23 priests. The case was then transferred to the state Supreme Court. Egan faced intense criticism for his handling of some of those cases in 2002 after The Courant published sealed court depositions in which he was both defensive about the way abuse claims were handled and dismissive of victims' complaints. The Courant's investigation also found that Egan, while Bridgeport's bishop, allowed several priests facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse to continue working, that he failed to aggressively investigate some allegations, and that he did not refer complaints to criminal authorities. Egan apologized in 2002, saying he relied on experts to guide his decisions about how to handle priests accused of abuse. "If in hindsight we also discover that mistakes may have been made as regards prompt removal of priests and assistance to victims, I am deeply sorry," he said at the time. The New York Archdiocese was asked for a comment, but did not immediately respond Monday night. Contact: ehamilton@courant.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.