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  O'Malley Meets with 400 Priests
Archbishop Talks of Spiritual Challenges

TheBostonChannel.com [Milton MA]
Downloaded September 3, 2003

MILTON, Mass. -- Archbishop Sean O'Malley met with about 400 priests Tuesday in the first in a series of meetings designed to introduce the new spiritual leader of the Boston Archdiocese.

O'Malley, who was installed July 30, spoke of the clergy sex abuse crisis that has fragmented the church over the last 19 months.

He did not address ongoing negotiations aimed at reaching a settlement with more than 500 alleged victims of sex abuse. Instead, he focused on how the crisis could be used as an opportunity for spiritual growth, said the Rev. Robert Bullock, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in Sharon, Mass., who attended the meeting.

"He talked about it in strong terms. He just said that this is a time that will make us or break us," Bullock said.

"He stressed that this is a great opportunity for spiritual growth. He said we could find in it new powers to grow through holiness."

The meeting at St. Elizabeth's Church in Milton, Mass., was the first in a series planned by O'Malley, said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, spokesman for the archdiocese.

O'Malley was named as a successor to Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in December amid widespread criticism of how he and other church supervisors mishandled allegations of sexual abuse against priests.

 
 

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