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  Bishop Took Pity on Geoghan after Allegations

By Eric Convey
Boston Herald
February 15, 2003

The one-time supervisor of the Rev. John J. Geoghan followed up on an early child abuse allegation against the now-defrocked priest by sending him to a coveted three-month posting at the North American College in Rome, documents released yesterday indicate.

"I felt he had been through a traumatic experience because of the letters and the accusations, etc., and that it was needed for him," Bishop Thomas V. Daily said during a deposition conducted by the law office of Mitchell Garabedian, who represents more than 80 Geoghan accusers.

Daily, now bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., said he thought the trip would be "helpful" for Geoghan. "That was the idea. I guess I said euphemistically to get his spiritual act together."

Daily also acknowledged, without saying explicitly, that he was more likely to act on a complaint about a priest if it was brought by a fellow priest rather than by a layman.

Geoghan is now serving a prison term, and he is the reason the archdiocese paid $10 million to settle claims brought by 86 alleged Geoghan victims.

"My clients' views about the leaders of the Archdiocese of Boston not caring about them are further supported by what is revealed in this transcript," Garabedian said yesterday. "My clients believe that Bishop Daily was much more concerned about protecting the Archdicoese of Boston from scandal than about protecting innocent children and their families from clergy sexual abusers."

 
 

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