Buffalo Bishop says procedures were followed in sex abuse cases

By Rich Newberg
WIVB
January 27, 2015

http://wivb.com/2015/01/27/buffalo-bishop-says-procedures-were-followed-in-abuse-cases/

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone says he was “deeply saddened” to hear of newly released reports of sexual abuse in the Buffalo Catholic Diocese.

While the two alleged victims went public with their complaints on Tuesday, the incidents they reported dated back to 1973 and 2002, before Malone’s tenure in Buffalo.

“These cases were handled in accordance with the policies and procedures enacted by our diocese and consistent with the Charter for The Protection of Children and Young People,” Malone said after reviewing the cases.

However, Vanessa DeRosa and Antonio “Tino” Flores don’t agree with that assessment. They want Pope Francis to investigate the way the Diocese handled their cases. If the pope agrees, their attorneys say it would be the first U.S. cases of such abuse investigated by the Vatican. They are hoping to meet with the pope when he visits the U.S. in September.

New York laws require people who allege they were abused as minors to come forward by age 23, so the statute of limitations for reparations has expired,

Flores says he was 10 years old when he was allegedly sexually abused by late priest, Father Linus Hennessy.

“He started touching me, taking my hand, rubbing his leg, unzipping his pants, putting my hand in it,” Flores said, describing the way the alleged abuse began.

He says the abuse went on for five years after the priest began counseling Flores’ family. One of his brothers had gotten in trouble with the law.

Flores said the priest, who died in 1983, had become a “father figure” to him. Flores was raised by a single mother. He said Father Hennessy’s abusive actions began once a week, then daily. He says the abuse included oral sex, masturbation, and attempted intercourse.

Flores says he sought help for the first time ten years ago, and that the Diocese helped pay for his psychiatric care.

He says an attorney for the Diocese then wanted him to accept a total of $50,000 for all the rest of the psychiatric care he may require.

Flores says he was shocked by the offer. He said he can’t hold a job and that his life has been ruined. He says he still suffers from depression and panic attacks and has a hard time going shopping with a lot of people around.

Bishop Malone confirmed that the Franciscans, the order of which Father Hennessy was a member, offered counseling to Mr. Flores, but that the Diocese of Buffalo has never made a monetary offer.

In the case of  25 year old Vanessa DeRosa, she says she was sexually abused she by her catholic school computer teacher when she was 14. Christian Butler, who worked at the now-closed St. Dominic Savio Middle School in Niagara Falls, was arrested and served time for endangering the welfare of a child.

“He did touch me numerous times,” she said. “He asked me to have sex with him in the back of his car. He asked me to baby-sit his non-existent children in return for sexual favors, so I never had any trust in him to begin with.”

DeRosa said no one at her school would listen to her, not even the liaison with the Diocese.

“He actually, at one point, when I was trying to explain what happened, put his fingers in his ears and said ‘la, la, la, I’m not listening,'” she said.

Bishop Malone said the Diocese had “cooperated fully and completely with the authorities in the criminal case” against the teacher.

Attorney Diane Tiveron, managing partner of the Buffalo law firm Hogan Willig, says her clients, DeRosa and Flores, may seek reparations from the Catholic Church.

She says they are seeking a papal investigation because legal action is not an option due the expired statute of limitations.

“Let’s not let laws protect abusers,” she said. “Let’s take care of our victims.”