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	Letter Left out Third McKeown Complaint By Laura Frank The Tennessean July 8, 1999 The bishop of the Nashville Catholic Diocese said yesterday his statement to parishioners Sunday concerning convicted child molester Edward J. McKeown was "misleading" and that church leaders had failed to publicly disclose a third complaint about McKeown's behavior while a priest. Bishop Edward U. Kmiec said the church was not trying to hide the complaint. "This was an honest mistake and we apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from our statements," Kmiec said. The bishop's response came after The Tennessean questioned church leaders about a publicly undisclosed third complaint of inappropriate sexual behavior by McKeown. In an interview yesterday, Kmiec also expanded on several related issues, some of which the diocese had previously left unanswered. Kmiec said there was no evidence the diocese reported this newly revealed complaint against McKeown to authorities in 1988, as required by law. Church officials did not warn youth leaders at McKeown's church in Antioch, where youth leaders said he had contact with children while receiving pedophilia treatment. And, Kmiec said, diocese officials were aware at the time that McKeown had taken a job with Davidson County Juvenile Court after leaving the priesthood. "It was most regrettable," said Kmiec, who was named bishop at the end of 1992. "Some information could have been shared." Kmiec said his priority now will be focusing on reaching out to any victims of sexual abuse by priests. "I extend my hand to them with apologies," Kmiec said. "I'm begging for forgiveness and want to be all the help we can. It is a priority part of my ministry as bishop and I do so with all sincerity. "It's an abominable thing that has happened." The bishop's revelations come at a time when the Nashville Diocese is under scrutiny for how it handled complaints against two pedophile priests. McKeown was sentenced last month to 25 years for raping a 12-year-old boy in 1995. Former priest Franklin T. Richards admitted to church leaders he raped three boys while he was principal of Knoxville Catholic High School. The diocese loaned Richards $10,000 to help pay an undisclosed settlement to three Knoxville families in 1985. Helen Donnelly, the Davidson County assistant district attorney general who prosecuted McKeown, says the 1988 report of abuse is significant because it sheds a different light on how the diocese handled the situation. The diocese turned over evidence of the report to a secret grand jury earlier this year when McKeown was being indicted. "What this means is that the diocese was on notice from the first report they got about McKeown, then they learn about a second victim," Donnelly said. "Then they get the third report saying he gave a kid a condom and they just cut him loose into the world." The diocese forced McKeown to resign from active priesthood in March 1989. He got a job as a record keeper in Juvenile Court and later obtained custody of a troubled boy. It was that boy he was convicted of raping. McKeown, a Father Ryan High School teacher in the 1970s, also told police he molested 21 boys over two decades. Church attorney Gino Marchetti, who helped draft the bishop's statement from last week, told The Tennessean then that the diocese had received only two complaints against McKeown while he was a priest. One alleged child sex abuse. The other complaint came after McKeown gave a schoolboy a condom for Christmas in 1988. Church leaders now say they received another report of child sex abuse against McKeown. This one came in March 1988, from an East Tennessee mother who said McKeown had sexually abused her son in 1984, while he was a priest in Harriman, Tenn. The mother had complained to a Knoxville priest, who in turn wrote to then-Bishop James D. Niedergeses. The diocese took no action following the letter, said the Rev. David R. Perkin, diocese chancellor and spokesman. "The mother was not identified in the letter" from the priest, Perkin said. "It said she was concerned about McKeown receiving treatment. She wasn't interested in any publicity." The diocese made no attempt to learn more about the complaint, Perkin said. Marchetti said his earlier statments about receiving only two complaints was a "miscommunication." He could not explain why he failed to reveal the East Tennessee complaint when asked in an interview how many reports of child sex abuse were received against McKeown. Donnelly says the bishop's statement wrongly said the district attorney's office had confirmed only two "victims or incidents regarding McKeown." She said she told Marchetti not to say her office had confirmed only two. "I told Mr. Marchetti the district attorney's office was aware of three complaints of inappropriate sexual behavior to the diocese between 1986 and 1989," Donnelly said. "I told Mr. Marchetti that prior to the bishop's letter being published or read." Marchetti says he didn't understand that from Donnelly. "I didn't hear that," he said. So when the bishop's statement was printed in The Tennessean and read at Masses last Sunday, it said: "These are the only two reports the diocese ever received regarding misconduct by McKeown. The District Attorney's IN STATEMENT office confirmed that at no time did the diocese receive reports of any other victims or incidents regarding McKeown." Yesterday, Kmiec said he was glad to correct his statement. "I'm really interested in correcting as much as possible," he said. "This is all most regrettable." STATEMENT OF BISHOP EDWARD U. KMIEC Wednesday, July 7, 1999 In our efforts to fully cooperate and communicate what our files contain concerning Edward McKeown, we have mis-communicated some information. The information in our files is as follows: The diocese has reports of two acts of sexual abuse by McKeown. The first occurring in 1971 and reported to the diocese in 1986. The second incident occurred in 1984 and was reported to the diocese in 1988. We also have reports of an inappropriate gift given by McKeown to a young person in 1988. In my recent pastoral letter and in comments made by members of the diocesan staff or its representatives, our remarks became confused. There were clearly three episodes two involving sexual abuse and one of inappropriate conduct. In our effort to communicate, we mistakenly shorthanded our comments to give the misleading impression that the diocese was aware of only two actions not all three. We have previously shared this information with the appropriate authorities and we will continue to do so. This was an honest mistake and we apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from our statements. GETTING HELP Any victim of sexual abuse by a priest may call a special hot line set up by the Catholic Diocese of Nashville and run by Catholic Charities. You may be referred for counseling at your choice of a church or private setting, diocese officials said. The hot line is toll-free: 800-770-0602.
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