DA takes bishop to task
Diocese denies being slow to disclose allegations against ex-priests
By Steve Urbon, Standard-Times senior correspondent
JACK IDDON/The Standard-Times
Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. speaks at a news conference announcing a list of priests he says have been accused of sexual abuse. In the photo in the background, the Rev. Donald Bowen, 64, an accused priest, stands with a group of children. |
Declaring "the shroud of secrecy has gone on long enough," Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. yesterday accused Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley of sitting on the cases of priests accused of sexual misconduct.
Diocese of Fall River officials strongly rejected Mr. Walsh's accusation.
Mr. Walsh produced a list with the names of 20 former priests who, at some time in their career, had complaints filed against them. The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution in all these cases has expired.
One additional priest, the Rev. Donald Bowen, who 30 years ago served at St. Mary Church in Norton, was indicted by a county grand jury Wednesday and was charged with one count of indecent assault and one count of unnatural and lascivious acts. The alleged conduct ended in 1971.
Mr. Walsh said a lawyer for the Rev. Bowen had called to say that the priest would return from his mission in Bolivia to face the charges.
Under the statutes as they were written at the time of the alleged crimes decades ago, he faces five years imprisonment on each count. The clock stopped on the statute of limitations when he left the country.
Mr. Walsh hailed the courage of the victim in coming forward after several decades, and said he hopes the woman's example -- she is 47 now -- would be an inspiration to others.
Mr. Walsh expressed frustration, stating that if he had known about the cases earlier he might have been able to prosecute them.
"We don't know if we would have been able to prosecute. That's an answer we will never know and that is why I am so disturbed about this delay in giving these names to the Bristol County district attorney's office," said Mr. Walsh at an afternoon press conference.
"I will not pretend these victims don't exist. I won't pretend we don't know names. I won't pretend this type of conduct did not occur," he said.
He said the information was provided by the diocese after "a delicate but ultimately forceful request" earlier this year. Asked why he didn't seek the information a decade ago after the James Porter case, Mr. Walsh said, "perhaps it was naivete on my part."
"I've been here for 10 years and so has (Bishop O'Malley). I hadn't heard these names until just recently," said Mr. Walsh, who is running unopposed for re-election in November. Bishop O'Malley leaves next month for the Palm Beach, Fla., diocese.
The Diocese of Fall River sharply disputed Mr. Walsh's charge that it hadn't been cooperative and timely.
"In March of this year, Bishop O'Malley took the initiative in offering to the district attorney the names of priests against whom allegations of sexual misconduct had been made," the diocese responded in a written statement. "Although some of these allegations were made in recent years, they all referred to sexual misconduct which occurred 20 to 50 years ago. No priest named by the district attorney today is currently engaged in priestly ministry. Many of the names submitted were already known to the district attorney's offices. The bishop decided to offer information concerning past allegations to the district attorney's office because of the heightened concerns over clergy abuse in recent times. From the beginning, the diocese pledged its full cooperation with the district attorney; at no time did the district attorney have to threaten or cajole."
Diocese spokesman John Kearns produced a newspaper report from April quoting Mr. Walsh as saying, "At the request of the Fall River Diocese ... an exchange of information has begun. More is contemplated."
In fact, said the diocese, the flow of information was often from law enforcement officials to the diocese.
"It has been law enforcement officials who referred victims to the diocese because their hands were tied due to the statue of limitations which offered a limited window to prosecute," the diocese stated.
Since the Porter case, the Fall River diocese has been held up as a model for the proper handling of accusations against priests, counseling of victims and the safeguarding of children. Bishop O'Malley put in place a strict policy of screening personnel at all levels and reporting accusations to law enforcement authorities.
But Mr. Walsh saw it differently yesterday.
"When the Porter case came out it would have been a perfect time for them to tell us about other cases. To sit there for 10 years and pretend that there are no other cases in Bristol County perpetuates a falsehood, and I'm not going to be a part of that."
Before Porter, it was a long-standing practice to settle such cases secretly and out of court, and most of the cases cited by the district attorney predated Bishop O'Malley's arrival.
One of the priests on Mr. Walsh's list, however, was publicly accused 10 years ago, amid the Porter turmoil. The Rev. Paul G. Connolly, a former New Bedford priest then serving in Taunton, was put on administrative leave by Bishop O'Malley after six people came forward with accusations of misconduct.
After initial press reports based on unnamed sources, the diocese confirmed that information in a press release.
But Mr. Walsh decided not to become involved. After interviewing an alleged victim referred to his office by Porter victims' attorney Roderick MacLeish, Mr. Walsh declined to prosecute. "We spoke with one individual and after speaking with him decided there was nothing to investigate or to prosecute," Mr. Walsh said at the time.
"We have heard through the media that there were three individuals (later six)," but until they come forward, they're not cases," said Mr. Walsh in September 1992. Mr. Walsh would not say at the time why his office would not press an investigation of the Rev. Connolly, saying that going into detail would be a breach of confidentiality in such cases.
Asked yesterday to reconcile that scenario with Mr. Walsh's statement that he "hadn't heard these names until just recently," Assistant District Attorney Gerald T. FitzGerald angrily said there was no contradiction, that Mr. Walsh was being misinterpreted. He then became personally abusive to a reporter before hanging up the phone.
Some of the other names on the list are much more recent, and victims' attorneys heaped praise on Mr. Walsh for his decision to reveal all of them.
Gina Dines Holness, an attorney in Mr. MacLeish's firm, said she "strongly supports" Mr. Walsh's actions. The firm represents the alleged victims of several of the priests on Mr. Walsh's list, among whom is the Rev. Robert Kaszynski, former pastor of St. Stanislaus parish in Fall River, who resigned earlier this year after one allegation. Now there are four allegations. Frank Nebush of Utica, N.Y., the husband of one of the accusers, Joyce Nebush, said yesterday, "I never thought (Walsh) would do anything."
Ms. Holness said: "He should be applauded that he took the step to name the names of people who are immune because of the statute of limitations. The fact is that people are coming out now because they are reminded in some way" by the revelations.
Her firm also represents clients who have filed civil claims because of the alleged actions of other priests on the list: the Rev. Raymond McCarthy, with four alleged victims; Monsignor Albert Berube, one alleged victim; and the Rev. George Avellar, one alleged victim. (The Standard-Times is not listing those who are not the subject of official complaints).
Monsignor Berube, longtime pastor of St. Anthony de Padua Church in New Bedford, died in 1993. Also deceased is the Rev. Avellar, who served at Mount Carmel Church in New Bedford. The Rev. McCarthy is an Attleboro native, ordained in 1954, who served at Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River, and later at St. Patrick Church in Fall River. He then was transferred to St. Mark's Parish in Attleboro Falls, and to Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville on Cape Cod in 1969.
Mr. Walsh's decision to name names wasn't universally applauded. One source close to the Porter case said, "It's outrageous to throw out the names of 20 people who aren't accused of anything. If he released the names of 15 people who other people said stole things, no one would run that list in a million years. Is that the way our democratic system works? We throw it out and say we're now stirring up the pot?"
Mr. Walsh said, "My staff and I discussed at length the ramifications of releasing the list. I understand that I will be criticized for committing to such a rare course of action.
"The deciding factor was this: We will not be a party to perpetuating the darkness, to protecting the silence and the secrecy. Enough is enough."
Mr. Walsh's decision goes a step beyond what other prosecutors have done. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz declined to comment on Mr. Walsh's move, but said he would probably not have done the same because "the vast majority of the cases are beyond the statute of limitations."
Essex County District Attorney Kevin Burke, president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, said he would be reluctant to release the names of priests who had not been charged unless he believed they were a "clear and present danger" to the public.
"It's a real balancing test -- the rights of individuals who have the potential of being accused of a crime but they can't be prosecuted versus the public safety and the right of citizens to know," Mr. Burke said. "It is a very tough call."
This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on September 27, 2002.
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