By Ken Dixon
Connecticut Post
December 1, 2009
http://www.connpost.com/ci_13902786
 |
| Helen McGonigle, left of Brookfield, and Jim... Photo by Brian A. Pounds |
What's most striking in the long-suppressed files on pedophile Roman Catholic priests is the arrogance of the Diocese of Bridgeport hierarchy, including the late Bishop Walter W. Curtis and retired Cardinal Edward M. Egan, according to survivors of sexual abuse and critics within the church.
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and the Voice of the Faithful, a group of Bridgeport diocese parishioners who have called for greater church transparency, said that thousands of pages of documents released Tuesday uncover a culture of secrecy, cover-up and denial.
They said that church leaders protected priests at the expense of abused children, many of whom remain angry decades after they were sexually abused.
 |
| David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP Photo by Brian A. Pounds/ |
Now, the church should publicly admit its troubled past, make a public apology and promise to protect parishioners from sexual predators who were routinely shuttled from one church to another, they said.
David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of SNAP, said the documents show "partial truth about devastating cover-ups" and are a step toward healing those still trying to recover from the horror of sex crimes suffered in their youth by trusted, respected, but abusive priests.
He said that even though Egan was elevated to cardinal and transferred to New York in 2001, he left numerous "accomplices" who remain in the diocese. Egan retired from his New York post in April.
"We also feel it will help make the church a safer and healthier place," Clohessy said of the documents' release, adding that exposure of predatory priests and church employees who concealed felonious behavior will emerge from the documents unsealed after an eight-year court battle that could have cost the diocese $1 million.
 |
| In May of this year, protesters walk into the... Photo by Brian A. Pounds |
The diocese, in a statement issued with Tuesday's release of the records, said that major changes have been made both in taking steps to prevent abuse in the future and in how complaints about sex abuse will be handled.
"Over the past decade, the Diocese of Bridgeport -- and, indeed, the Catholic Church throughout the United States -- has brought about a significant culture change regarding the knowledge of and ability to deal with sexual abuse," the diocese states. "The diocese has worked and will continue to work diligently and transparently to address the issue of sexual abuse in order to prevent this tragedy from happening again.
"The diocese remains committed to reaching out to support those who have been harmed. Under the direction of a dedicated Office of Safe Environments, and together with the active participation of all clergy, lay employees, volunteers, and contractors, the diocese is doing everything in its power to provide safe environments for all children and young people," the diocesan statement adds.
But Jim Hackett, a 45-year-old IT manager who says he was abused in 1976 at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Hamden, said Tuesday that the documents depict church leaders as out of touch and uncaring.
 |
| File photo Joe O'Callaghan, of the St. Jerome chapter of Voice of the Faithful... Photo by STEVEN DANIEL |
"I think, for a long time, they saw this as a pesky little problem and why did they have to deal with this?" Hackett said in a phone interview. "It was a little kid here, a little kid there. I don't know if that comes from not having children, or the old-boys network, but they went to great lengths and expense to keep this from public view."
Jamie Dance of Darien, co-chairwoman of the Voice of the Faithful chapter in the Diocese of Bridgeport, said that Curtis' testimony from deposition transcripts seems incredulous, from what she read Tuesday afternoon.
"This is unbelievable," said Dance, a mother and grandmother. "He has no memory of anything. He's manipulating the judicial system and any ways that might incriminate priests or the diocese. I just hope everyone in the diocese reads this."
Curtis was bishop from 1961 until 1988 and died in 1997. Egan was bishop from 1988 until 2001, when he became cardinal of the Archdiocese of New York. After Egan left Bridgeport, William E. Lori assumed leadership of the diocese.
Daniel B. Sullivan of New Canaan, the other co-chairman of the area chapter of Voice of the Faithful, said Tuesday that his first reaction was that he was glad the diocese finally complied with the court order to release the records.
 |
| Portrait of John Marshall Lee, new chairman of Voice... Photo by Tracy Deer |
"Neither Egan nor Curtis showed compassion for the victims," Sullivan said in a phone interview. "And while Bishop Lori talks about how the diocese has entered a new era, there are still many people in the diocese who are injured and are looking for solace."
Sullivan, a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran who attended Catholic high school in Norwalk, said the multi-year attempt to keep the records secret must have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, at the very least.
"They've never given any sort of accounting for the money that was spent," Sullivan said, noting that the diocese has told parishioners that legal funding was raised separately from normal parish donations. "I think it's disingenuous to suggest that money couldn't have been raised from the same donors for more worthwhile causes."
Clohessy, the national SNAP director, said Catholics shouldn't expect overnight contrition and a new age of transparency.
He called for state prosecutors to thoroughly review the documents to see whether any remaining church officials can be charged with crimes.
"We also hope that every single person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover-ups, in Connecticut and elsewhere, will be inspired to speak up, call police, expose predators, protect kids, get help and start healing," Clohessy said.
Hackett, the abuse victim, said that going through the lawsuit process against the Hartford Archdiocese was a "cleansing" experience for him to finally get over his childhood trauma. He called for as many Connecticut residents as possible to familiarize themselves with the documents.
"It should definitely go out to the public to learn about what happened in the past to prevent it from occurring in the future," Hackett said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.