NEW YORK (NY)
Daily News
June 25, 2019
By Larry McShane
An alleged sexual abuse victim went public Tuesday with charges against a veteran Catholic priest, becoming the eighth accuser to identify the cleric who remains active in a Manhattan parish.
“I never thought I would have to come to this moment,” said accuser Joseph Caramanno, 34, at a Manhattan news conference. “I thought that everything would be settled, and he would be removed, and that’s it. … I’m putting my name out there, putting my face out there, so be it. I truly hope something is done. Something that should have been done years ago.”
Caramanno, joined by his attorney Jeff Anderson, accused Monsignor John Paddack of molesting him during a predatory stretch where the priest supposedly targeted his victims between 1984-2002. Lawyers for the victims said the Archdiocese of New York first learned of the charges back in 2012.
Previous accusers alleged that Paddack, currently stationed at the Church of Notre Dame on W. 114th St., steered them away from classmates with an offer of private advice — only to grope the boys.
“We are here to sound the alarm about the present practice being employed by the top priest in the archdiocese, Cardinal Tim Dolan, and the very perilous and reckless decisions he chooses to make … and to hide what he knows to be a very dangerous situation,” said Anderson.
Paddack, interviewed by the Daily News in March, denied all the allegations against him.
“Nothing happened, believe me,” he said. “I have a 50-year record of teaching. And it’s a good record, believe me. I think they’re seeing the advertisements on television and in the paper, and a chance to make money. Very sad, and it could ruin a reputation.”
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