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	Clergy Victims Angered by Handling of Case By Denise Lavoie The Associated Press, carried in KanasCity.com May 25, 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/14669651.htm BOSTON - For victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Boston Archdiocese's initial handling of sexual harassment allegations against its top health care executive had a familiar ring: multiple allegations, minimal consequence and secrecy. "There are extraordinary and painful parallels," said David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Dr. Robert Haddad, president and CEO of the Caritas Christi Health Care System, resigned early Thursday amid allegations he harassed more than a dozen female employees by subjecting them to unwanted hugs and kisses. His forced departure comes a week after a private reprimand from Cardinal Sean O'Malley. After learning of four allegations, the Caritas board supported the reprimand and ordered Haddad to take sexual harassment sensitivity training. But after The Boston Globe made the allegations and reprimand public Sunday, at least 10 more women made similar allegations against Haddad. O'Malley then called another meeting of the Caritas board of governors, which met into the early morning hours Thursday. Haddad resigned after the board gave him the option of being fired or stepping down with salary plus benefits for 10 months, worth about $830,000. Haddad, a Medford native of Lebanese descent, has attributed the complaints to a cultural misunderstanding, saying that in his culture, hugs and kisses are "warmly given and received." He also said he felt he did not do anything inappropriate. The initial decision to reprimand rather than fire Haddad was criticized by some clergy sex abuse victims, who said they felt O'Malley sought to protect Haddad just as church officials for decades protected priests who sexually abused children. O'Malley was installed as Boston's archbishop in July 2003, seven months after Cardinal Bernard Law resigned amid intense criticism of his role in moving priests who had been accused of abuse from parish to parish instead of removing them. "The fact that this man was not immediately terminated makes me wonder ... whether they've learned anything over the last four years?" said Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell. O'Malley's spokesman, Terrence Donilon, said O'Malley sought to make a reasoned decision "based on the facts that were presented" to him. O'Malley sought the advice of three outside lawyers who are experts in employment and sexual harassment law. One lawyer found that although Haddad's conduct was illegal and improper, it "was not of an exceptionally egregious nature," according to the archdiocese. The lawyers recommended a stern reprimand, a requirement that Haddad attend sensitivity training and that he be warned that any future complaints would result in immediate termination. Donilon said that as soon as the additional women came forward, O'Malley showed "no hesitation" in taking stronger action. Helen Drinan, the top human resources executive at Caritas, had strongly recommended that Haddad be fired after receiving the initial four complaints. After Haddad was reprimanded, Drinan sent the board an e-mail warning about "what will befall this organization when the public learns that the church in Boston has once again put the powerful predator ahead of the powerless victim." Employment attorneys, however, said it's not always clear-cut how to discipline an employee accused of sexual harassment. "What constitutes what we call hostile environment? Is a hug sexually harassing? How many hugs does it have to be?" said Nancy Shilepsky, a Boston employment lawyer not involved in the Haddad case. "There are gradations. Some activities are clearly on one side or the other, but there may be some that may be more in the middle." O'Malley has been widely praised for his efforts to help victims of clergy sexual abuse. Within months of arriving in Boston, he helped negotiate an $85 million settlement for more than 550 victims.
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