NEW YORK
New York Post
By Kathianne Boniello
March 1, 2015
Forgive me, fathers, for you have sinned.
Three Catholic priests who run homeless charities in Manhattan are anything but Christian behind closed doors, longtime female staffers at St. Francis Friends of the Poor claim in a lawsuit.
Franciscan Friars John McVean, John Felice and Tom Walters subjected the women to racist rants and took a veritable vow of silence as the ladies were repeatedly manhandled for three years by a leering, oversexed co-worker, court papers allege.
The trio “ruled St. Francis with an iron fist and fostered a culture of intimidation,” according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit. “The priests, who many at St. Francis suspect occasionally come to work drunk, often lashed out at employees and frequently screamed at subordinates.”
McVean, Felice and Walters — all friars in residence at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street — launched their nonprofit in 1980 and now house 250 mentally ill men and women at three Manhattan locations. The charity is independent of the Archdiocese of New York.
McVean routinely referred to the building manager as “a goat-loving Muslim,” “an idiot Muslim” and “often said that ‘Muslims are dangerous,’ ” according to court papers. …
The most traumatizing experience, the women say, came at the hands of Friends of the Poor program director Gyasi Bramos-Hantman, who subjected the women to an atmosphere that “would not be tolerated in any locker room,” according to the lawsuit.
About “twice a month,” Bramos-Hantman would corner the women for unwanted hugs, rubbing himself against them and once embracing O’Leary so forcibly “it loosened [her] colostomy and drainage bag,” she claims.
The women turned to McVean, Felice and Walters for help, but were threatened with termination by the priests, who engaged in “a massive coverup,” they allege.
The three priests denied the allegations.
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