Delaware Priest Abuse Documents Released Online

By Mark Eichmann
The Newsworks
February 15, 2012

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/delaware/item/34086-delaware-priest-abuse-documents-released-online

One example of the documents is this bulletin sent by Rev. Francis DeLuca to a fellow priest. DeLuca highlights the altar boys participating in services that weekend and writes, "no 'gals' here!!"

[with audio]

Matthias Conaty describes the release of documents as "a sad day".

The victims advocate group BishopAccountability.org is posting thousands of documents, hand-written notes and other evidence of abuse by priests within the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.

The release of documents is part of the non-monetary terms of the church's settlement agreement with victims of abuse. The papers detail the effort to keep the pattern of abuse by numerous priests under wraps.

"This is a sad day for me," says Matthias Conaty, who was a victim of priest abuse. "It's sad because men who were supposed to be trusted abused children, and equally awful is the fact that men who were supervising those men found it more important to protect what they saw as the interest of the church and containment of scandal."

Conaty, who founded ChildVictimsVoice.com to help other survivors of abuse, says the documents are being made public to warn parents in towns where the priests are now living. "The most important reason for giving a full accounting of what happened here in the Diocese of Wilmington is to do all we can to ensure that this tragedy does not happen to one more child."

Dozens of documents were posted to the BishopAccountability.org website this afternoon. Thousands more will be added over the next few days.