Saginaw Bishop Should Be Investigated, Abuse Victims Group Says
By Niraj Warikoo
A new court filing says Saginaw Bishop Joseph Cistone witnessed the shredding of a document in Philadelphia that listed 35 Catholic priests suspected of sexually abusing children. The revelation prompted a victims advocacy group this week to call for Cistone to be investigated. He is not charged. The allegations came out in a criminal case involving a possible cover-up of child abuse by Msgr. William Lynn of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Cistone once worked. The court filing indicates that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died last month, had ordered his aides to destroy the list. The list came to light last week after defense attorneys filed a 1994 handwritten memo from the late Msgr. James Molloy, an assistant to Bevilacqua, in which he informed the cardinal that the list was destroyed. "On 3-22-94 at 10:45 AM I shredded, in the presence of Reverend Joseph R. Cistone, four copies of these lists from the secret archives," Molloy wrote in the memo, according to a copy cited by CNN. "The action was taken on the basis of a directive I received from Cardinal Bevilacqua." The memo was recently found in a locked safe in an archdiocesan office. Attorneys for Lynn, facing trial on charges of conspiracy and child endangerment, argue that since Lynn worked for Molloy, he is not guilty. Cistone and anyone else who knew about the list "should be held accountable," said Barbara Dorris, a director with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Cistone's attorney, William Winning, said: "Bishop Cistone has done nothing wrong at all. "He has fully and totally cooperated with the pertinent authorities in Philadelphia" Contact Niraj Warikoo: 313-223-4792 or nwarikoo@freepress.com
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