USA: ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON REJECTS PROPOSED SETTLEMENT WITH ALLEGED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE.
Record ID:
165711
USA: ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON REJECTS PROPOSED SETTLEMENT WITH ALLEGED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE.
- Title: USA: ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON REJECTS PROPOSED SETTLEMENT WITH ALLEGED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE.
- Date: 3rd May 2002
- Summary: (W3) BOSTON, UNITED STATES (MAY 3, 2002) (REUTERS (A) - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV: DAVID SMITH, ARCHDIOCESE CHANCELLOR, ENTERING PRESS CONFERENCE 0.06 2. CU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID SMITH, ARCHDIOCESE CHANCELLOR, SAYING: "I just spoke with Cardinal Law. He is very disappointed with the results of the vote this morning but he fully understands the reasoning of the finance council. He lives with the painful truth that in this crisis there are no easy answers. From his perspective and from the finance council's perspective it's not a matter of whether or not if we want to adjust the (inaudible) solution - it's a matter of devising one that can be done within the limits of resources of the church and without compromising the critical work that the church in Boston has to do. As you know the scope of the issue is expanding, our resources are not. Balancing the needs of victims one against the other is not an enviable task. The cardinal remains particularly determined to focus on those who have been offended. He wants the archdiocese to respond as quickly and as effectively as possible." 1.15 (W8) SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 3, 2002) (NBC - NO ACCESS USA/CNN/INTERNET) 3. GV/MV: FATHER PAUL SHANLEY WALKING INTO COURT ROOM (2 SHOTS) 1.34 4. SIDE VIEW ZOOM IN: FRED SMALL, PUBLIC DEFENDER AND SHANLEY'S ATTORNEY ANNOUNCING THAT SHANLEY IS WAIVING RIGHT TO OPPOSE EXTRADITION TO MASSACHUSETTS 1.57 5. CU/PAN/GV: SHANLEY WALKING OUT OF COURT 2.09 (W8) MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (FILE) (NBC - NO ACCESS USA/CNN/INTERNET) 6. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF SHANLEY DURING CHURCH SERVICE 2.18 7. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF SHANLEY MEETING BOSTON ARCHBISHOP BERNARD CARDINAL LAW 2.22 8. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF SHANLEY 2.26 (W3) UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (FILE) (REUTERS (A) - ACCESS ALL) 9. MCU: BOSTON CARDINAL BERNARD LAW 2.31 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved Details Reeling from child sex abuse scandals, the Roman Catholic Church in Boston has rejected a proposed settlement of up to $30 million U.S. dollars with 86 alleged victims of a defrocked priest as another cleric agreed to return to the area to face charges of raping a boy. The decision to reject the settlement came on Friday (May 3) after state legislators passed a law ordering clergy to report cases of suspected abuse to social workers, following allegations the church has known about priest molesters but failed to keep them away from children. The Boston Archdiocese's financial council threw out the settlement with the victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan, fearing it would use up funds also needed to compensate an increasing number of other alleged victims in the area. The council rejected the plea of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, the senior U.S. Catholic prelate, to approve the deal. David Smith, archdiocese chancellor said, "I just spoke with Cardinal Law. He is very disappointed with the results of the vote this morning but he fully understands the reasoning of the finance council". "As you know the scope of the issue is expanding, our resources are not. Balancing the needs of victims one against the other is not an enviable task. The cardinal remains particularly determined to focus on those who have been offended. He wants the archdiocese to respond as quickly and as effectively as possible," added Smith. Molestation allegations against Geoghan, who is serving a prison term for fondling a 10-year-old boy, triggered the sexual abuse crisis that has roiled the U.S. Catholic Church and reverberated to the Vatican. More than 130 people accuse him of molesting them during his 30 years in the Boston area. The archdiocese, which serves two million Catholics, also faces a suit involving a 71-year-old priest. Paul Shanley, who is alleged to have repeatedly raped a boy for years in the 1980s, sometimes in the church confessional in his Boston-suburb parish, on Friday waived his right to fight extradition from California. The priest, who was subdued and sober-faced as he wordlessly signed waiver papers in San Diego Superior Court, will be held in isolation until his extradition to Massachusetts. Shanley was arrested on Thursday (May 2) at his home In San Diego on child rape charges filed in Massachusetts. He faces three counts of child rape involving one child. Each count of the complaint carries a maximum prison sentence of life. It accuses Shanley of raping a boy inside a suburban Boston church confessional, rectory and bathroom between 1983 and 1990, when the boy was between 6 and 13. The new law in Massachusetts gives clergy, congregational leaders and church youth workers 30 days to turn over any information about child abuse -- no matter how old -- to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. Violation is a misdemeanour offence that carries a fine of up to $1,000 USD. The legislation, making Massachusetts the 31st state to have such a law, does not require clergy to report any information gained in the Catholic confessional. In both Boston cases, Law allegedly knew about the men's sexual problems. He has refused to resign, angering many Catholics who suspect the church of covering up abuse. The financial council's decision was the first time since Law came to Boston in 1984 it did not grant the required canon law consent for a settlement, the archdiocese said. The two high-profile Massachusetts cases, and reports of similar abuse in other U.S. archdioceses, drew U.S. cardinals to the Vatican last month to meet with Pope John Paul II. In the unprecedented council to discuss the scandal, U.S. cardinals said they agreed to support a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual offenders, saying they would be banned from ecclesial duties. Many Catholics have complained the cardinals stopped short of vowing to have all offenders defrocked.
- Embargoed:
- Keywords:
- Reuters ID:
- Story Text: