Former Bishop Sued over Failure to Supervise Priest Accused of Abuse

By Bob McGovern
Boston Herald
June 17, 2015

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/06/former_bishop_sued_over_failure_to_supervise_priest_accused_of

A former Bay State bishop is being sued by two men who say he negligently oversaw a priest who allegedly sexually abused them repeatedly for nearly a decade.

Former Bishop of the Fall River Diocese Daniel A. Cronin is being accused of failing to appropriately supervise the late Rev. Monsignor Maurice Souza. Paul Andrews and Daniel Sherwood, the two men who brought the suit, say they were abused as minors by Souza while they were parishioners of St. Anthony Parish in East Falmouth more than 30 years ago.

Cronin went on to become the Hartford Archbishop before retiring from the position in 2003.

“Archbishop Cronin failed to protect innocent children and as a result these children, who are now adults, have suffered life-lasting serious harm,” attorney Mitchell Garabedian said. “One has to wonder how many children were sexually abused by Monsignor Souza and why proper supervision did not take place.”

The suit was initially brought in Connecticut, but was moved to Massachusetts after both sides came to an agreement, according to Garabedian.

“The claims of abuse against Monsignor Souza were first brought to the attention of the Fall River Diocese in July 2012; this was 20 years after Bishop Cronin had left the area,” said Fall River Diocese spokesman John Kearns, in a statement. “No other allegations of abuse or inappropriate conduct against Monsignor Souza had ever been brought to the attention of the Fall River Diocese nor have any other claims been made since then.”

Souza sexually abused Sherwood more than 200 times from approximately 1977 to approximately 1985, according to Garabedian. The priest sexually abused Andrews more than 50 times from approximately 1979 to 1985, he added. Souza died in 1996.

“Monsignor Souza was not properly supervised by Archbishop Cronin over the course of years and as a result Monsignor Souza ruined lives,” Garabedian said.