BishopAccountability.org
	Ignominious Outcome By Brian McGrory Boston Globe May 26, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/ 2006/05/26/ignominious_outcome/ If Robert Haddad gets a near-million-dollar payout from the Boston Archdiocese after being a serial harasser and unmitigated boor, how much more might he have earned for being an exhibitionist or something worse? If he committed an actual felony, would he have gotten the full $3 million he initially sought from the Caritas board? You could just about fill an airplane hangar with all his female subordinates who say that Haddad, ousted president of the Catholic healthcare system, groped them, kissed them on the mouth, called them at home to ask inappropriate questions. And that's his big sanction: 10 months of his already bloated pay, more money than most normal people will make in 20 years of work. Where, it might be time to ask, is the sense in that? The lawyers, of course, give their stock lawyerly replies. They say these cases are complicated, that sexual harassment allegations inevitably end up as he-said, she-said kind of deals, that hours of depositions would have to be taken, that victims are made to feel uncomfortable, that court time adds up, that the outcome is always at risk. The Caritas board members start fretting over soaring fees for attorneys, over the fact that Boston legal eagle Bob Popeo is sitting on the other side, over the likelihood that that their own names will appear in the papers again and again and again. But just imagine if someone in this case, anyone, had a scintilla of spine. Imagine if Cardinal Sean O'Malley stood at a bank of microphones yesterday and acknowledged his own mistake in failing to grasp the gravity of the situation from the start. Imagine if he announced that, on second thought, he decided to fire Haddad without giving him the chance to resign. He could have said he doesn't negotiate with such demeaning cads as Haddad. He could have said he listened to the advice from his battery of lawyers, but ultimately decided that he had to take a larger stand. He could have said that if the Catholic Church can't put morality before convenience, then what institution in this city would or can? In response to the inevitable question over what he'll do if Haddad sues, O'Malley could have simply replied, "Let him." Let him sit in court day after day, watching one woman after the next take the witness stand to testify against him. Let him watch as all those witnesses detail behavior that ranges from the obnoxious to the grotesque. Let Haddad see his own battered image on television every night and in the newspapers each morning. O'Malley could have vowed that not one single dollar is going to come out of patient care, not one dime from a collection basket, to line Haddad's pockets. He could announce that he would raise money from concerned supporters to ward off Haddad's likely suit. O'Malley wouldn't even have to point out that it was his own $400-an-hour lawyers at Ropes & Gray who didn't think Haddad's behavior was a dismissible offense and that one Ropes & Gray lawyer, Stephen B. Perlman, even likened Haddad's behavior to "effusive, friendly warmth that is nonetheless unwelcome." Thank you, Ropes & Gray. Where does the line form to get more of your advice? Imagine if O'Malley had said that the church in Boston already created too many victims, that those days are long over. Imagine if he said the archdiocese has the chance to stand up for them, and it will. Yeah, imagine. Of course, none of that happened. Not even close. But for Helen Drinan, head of human resources at Caritas, pressing the issue privately and the Globe's Walter Robinson bringing it into public view, Haddad would still be president and the church would skip merrily onward. Instead, Haddad gets a huge payoff to go away -- we should all be so lucky -- and Boston Catholics, once again, end up embarrassed. Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at mcgrory@globe.com.
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