BishopAccountability.org

Clerical-Abuse Victims Group Charges Dolan 'Lied' When He Said Money Given to Perv to Leave Priesthood Wasn't a 'Payoff'

By Dan Mangan
New York Post
June 1, 2012

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/calling_dolan_liar_U76i0QsrROPwXMP1ybQoaI

Cardinal Dolan

[Minutes of the Archdiocesan Finance Council]

An advocacy group for clerical-sex-abuse victims yesterday charged that New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, while heading the Milwaukee archdiocese six years ago, "lied" when he denied any "payoff" to encourage a pedophile priest to leave the priesthood.

"The disturbing new revelations about Cardinal Dolan raise a troubling question: What other secret deals and 'incentives' did and does he offer to pedophile priests?" asked David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Dolan's New York Archdiocese spokesman, Joseph Zwilling, yesterday refused to directly respond to Clohessy's claims. Zwilling instead said only that the cardinal supported the Milwaukee Archdiocese's claim that there was no "payoff" to pedophile priests, only "charity."

Clohessy's allegation came after disclosures this week that while serving as Milwaukee archbishop in 2003, Dolan agreed to pay accused pedophile priests $20,000 in exchange for their agreeing to leave the priesthood.

In 2006, Dolan had strongly denied a victims-advocate's claim that pedophile priest Franklyn Becker was paid $10,000 in exchange for his voluntary laicization, telling the Milwaukee Sentinel:

"For anyone to assert that this money was a 'payoff' or occurred in exchange for Becker agreeing to leave the priesthood is completely false, preposterous and unjust.

"What this was, instead, was an act of charity, in line with Catholic social teaching."




.


Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.