UNITED STATES
Care2
by Steve Williams
September 3, 2012
Fresh from giving the leading prayer at the Republican National Convention, Cardinal Timothy Dolan will also be giving the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention. Given Dolan’s record though, which includes staunch anti-women’s choice positions and allegations that he paid off sexual abusers in the clergy, should he really be on the bill at all? …
So why is this guy speaking at the Democratic National Convention? Some have praised the Democratic party for offering this olive branch as a smart move to undercut the Republican Party’s claim to the Catholic base. However, it seems all those who have had positive things to say about Dolan’s DNC prayer have overlooked Dolan’s actions as archbishop of Milwaukee.
It emerged earlier this year during bankruptcy proceedings against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee that there was record of Dolan authorizing payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests so that they would leave the priesthood, instead of actually reporting the offenders to the police.
Said the The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in a statement at the time: ”We know, incontrovertibly, that while Dolan was claiming to heal the Milwaukee Church of the sexual abuse scandal he was instead running a shadow operation to pay off priests who had raped, sexually assaulted or abused children so that they could quietly take this money and disappear into the community unprosecuted, undetected, and unrepentant.”
This “laicization” or “defrocking” as it is known, is (staggeringly) not uncommon in the Catholic church. Reports suggest the ex-clergy were also given $1,250 in monthly pension benefits and health insurance until they were able to land a job, this in addition to the $20,000 severance.
Dolan initially denied that he made such payments, saying the claims were “false, preposterous and unjust,” and then when proof was offered, Dolan simply would not comment.
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