First US Lawsuit Filed against Irish Ex-priest, by Toni Earls, Irish Emigrant, August 24 2010

First US Lawsuit Filed against Irish Ex-priest

By Toni Earls
Irish Emigrant
August 24 2010

http://www.irishemigrant.com/ie/go.asp?p=story&storyID=7248

Joey Piscitelli (right) of SNAP, seen here at a March demonstration at the Archdiocese headquarters in San Francisco

The first American lawsuit against Irish former Catholic priest Patrick McCabe (74) was filed in California within the past few days. When news broke last week about the ex-clergyman, currently facing extradition to Ireland for nine counts of sexual abuse on six boys in the Archdiocese of Dublin in the early ‘70s and ‘80s, there had been no mention of questionable behavior at any of the California parishes at which he had served in the mid ‘80s. In the following days, however, at least four men came forward alleging abuse at the hands of McCabe while he served in a Eureka, CA parish. Now both McCabe and the diocese of Santa Rosa are set to become the subjects of legal action.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who were contacted by the alleged victims, mentioned the suit briefly in a statement Thursday, stating that “Fr. Patrick Joseph McCabe repeatedly molested a then nine year old boy at St. Bernard’s Parish in Eureka in 1984-85.”

Speaking with the Irish Emigrant, Joey Piscitelli, Northwest Regional Director at SNAP, said Eureka was a quiet, “out of the way parish” where McCabe’s behavior could easily have gone unnoticed.

Piscitelli said SNAP had been receiving calls since the story broke, some alleging abuse at the hands of McCabe whilst he served in Eureka. He went on to say that the ex-priest was twice previously in treatment for his sexual desires but was sent back to California churches both times, with certain church authorities disavowing knowledge of his alleged tendencies.

The civil suit, filed in Sonoma County District Court, is the first to be filed by a Californian victim of McCabe and includes an indictment of the Church. Whilst Piscitelli is legally barred from discussing the particulars of the claims brought against McCabe, he described St. Bernard’s Parish, which includes the community of Eureka, as a “dumping ground” for Irish priests who had been sent from the country under suspicion.

The Bishop of Santa Rosa has sent a letter expressing sympathy to the victims and their families but Piscitelli dismisses it as a “hollow statement”, and SNAP has urged the reprimand of the Bishop “for urging victims to call church officials instead of law enforcement officials.” Piscitelli described the situation as typical in California and said that the policy of “protecting and shuffling McCabe from parish to parish” was indicative of the Santa Rosa Diocese’s attitude towards the problem in general.