Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of New York, said on Sunday that reports he approved payments to priests facing sex abuse charges while he was archbishop of Milwaukee were "groundless and scurrilous."
Speaking to reporters after mass at St. Patrick's on Sunday, Dolan blasted the New York Times' coverage of “this issue” saying it was not fair or accurate. He also took aim at the organization behind the charges – specifically the abuse victims' advocate group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, which recently made public a document from the archdiocese's bankruptcy proceedings that references a proposal to pay up to $20,000 to priests accused of abuse who return to the laity.
"SNAP has no credibility whatsoever," Dolan said. “To respond to charges like that that are groundless and scurrilous in my book is useless and counterproductive.”
The Times was among numerous media organizations that reported about the document made public by SNAP.
Dolan’s comments Sunday seemed to contradict a statement made to WNYC by a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York last week, which said that the cardinal "has read and supports the statement from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee."
A spokesman did not return request for clarification on Sunday.
Dolan also said nothing like that had occurred in the New York Archdiocese.
"Thank God Cardinal Egan did a splendid job, that's all taken care of," said Dolan, referring to his predecessor.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee confirmed last week it had a policy to pay suspected pedophile priests to leave the ministry, a practice that was crafted under Dolan, it said.
The archdiocese said in a statement last week that in 2002, the church "affirmed that priest offenders should no longer be functioning as priests in any capacity and having someone seek laicization voluntarily is faster and less expensive and it made sense to try and move these men out of the priesthood as quickly as possible."
Dolan is leaving New York today for Ireland, with about a hundred people from New York, where he'll attend the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin next weekend.
Brigid Bergin is the City Hall reporter for WNYC. She covers city politics, including the upcoming mayoral race. She’s also traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to report on the trial of the five men accused of plotting the September 11th terror attacks.
Comments [7]
Leviticus 5:1 - If you are called to testify about something you have seen or that you know about, it is sinful to refuse to testify, and you will be punished for your sin.
This colossal piece of sh*t leads the Catholic Church in New York, the biggest city in America. If he was a corporate CEO (and he essentially IS, in many respects) he would be rotting in prison.
And are there any protests outside St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue, where he preaches? No! That will change in short order....
Disgusted and furious,
Paul
If Dolan is really about charity, I want him to give $20,000 to every survivor of clergy sex abuse in the USA, for starters, then more money to each according to their needs. If he can do it for the criminals, he can certainly do it for their victims.
Documents don’t lie Cardinal Dolan. Apparently you are the one with no credibility whatsoever!
Dear Cardinal Dolan,
NY Times not the only paper reporting it, and to use the name of Egan in defense of this is a joke, he was one of the biggest "move arounders" there ever was...next you'll be quoting John Cardinal Law.
It's a sad, sad day, when pedophile/predator priests are given cash rewards for their henious behavior. And, remember, they were slipped back into society for the next unsuspecting family to be destroyed. I was orphaned by their sickness and given less for counseling. The Diocese of Camden is still covering for the priest involved. They simple say, he is dead. I reported what happened 10 ten years ago. He died 5 years ago.
Annette Nestler-SNAP Southern New Jersey
609-247-2966
This document has nothing to do with SNAP. If Cardinal Dolan does not like the document, he needs to place blame squarely where it belongs: himself(who authorized the procedure), the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (who said the document was accurate), and the federal bankruptcy court (which authorized the release). I don't care about Cardinal 's opinion of a small, victims-run organization. But the nation should care that Dolan treated sex offenders better then he would treat Jesus himself, if Jesus were a victim of clergy sex abuse
OK Dolan, make up your mind. You need to be consistent and stick with only one lie...OK?
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, 636-433-2511
snapjudy@gmail.com
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org).
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.