By Paul Payne
Press Democrat
August 20 2010
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100820/ARTICLES/100829977/1350?Title=Attorney-for-diocese-rebuts-allegations-leveled-at-Bishop-Walsh
 |
| Daniel Walsh |
A lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa would not comment directly Friday about a lawsuit filed the day before by a Humboldt County man who claims he was molested by a known pedophile priest about 25 years ago.
But attorney Adrienne Moran rebutted charges that Bishop Daniel Walsh, in a letter to parishioners, tried to discourage people who may have had experiences with the accused priest from contacting police and denied accusations that the bishop has a pattern of covering for troublesome priests.
“It's ridiculous,” Moran said Friday morning. “Anyone who knows the facts realizes this is not an accurate rendition of history. (The bishop) wants people to come forward and certainly, law enforcement will be alerted.”
Moran said the diocese led by Walsh had not been served with a copy of the lawsuit, which claims the church assigned Father Patrick J. McCabe to St. Bernard Church in Eureka from 1983-1985 despite his history of child sexual abuse.
The comments followed the filing of a lawsuit Thursday by a 35-year-old former alter boy who claimed the Irish-born McCabe molested him when he was in third grade. A lawyer for the man, identified only as John Doe, said his client had been silent about the abuse until reading a news article last month about McCabe's arrest on charges he molested six boys in his home country between 1973 and 1981.
The lawyer, Joseph George, said his client became outraged to learn the church knew of McCabe's interest in small boys before assigning him to Eureka. The suit alleges fraud and negligence, circumventing the statute of limitations.
Moran on Friday called the lawsuit's approach “novel” and said she would be assessing its merits. A more formal response could come in about a week, she said.
She declined to discuss McCabe's past.
Moran referred to an Aug. 17 letter Walsh wrote to parishioners that has been criticized by the plaintiff as trivializing the crimes and an attempt to quash publicity.
On the contrary, Moran said the letter was a clear sign that the bishop seeks information from anyone who might have been harmed by McCabe. She said it encourages people to come forward, but “this gentleman didn't choose to do that,” she said.
“Nothing in the bishop's letter said come to us, don't go to anyone else,” Moran said.
Walsh declined to comment on the lawsuit or answer questions on the allegations Thursday. Attempts Friday morning to reach Walsh were rebuffed by his administrative assistant, Pam Hawkins, who said Friday is his day off and he would not comment.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.