2 priests, 1 with Cape ties, placed on leave after diocese review

By Doug Fraser
Cape Cod Times
November 3, 2019

https://bit.ly/2WCQlCk

The Diocese of Fall River announced Sunday that two priests have been placed on administrative leave, including one with ties to the Cape.

The Revs. Daniel Lacroix and Richard Degagne were placed on leave after an internal investigation and external review of personnel files revealed alleged misconduct that occurred decades ago, according to diocesan spokesman John Kearns.

Lacroix served as the assistant pastor, also known as a parochial vicar, at the Holy Redeemer Church in Chatham from 1988 to 1991, and as the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis from 2008 to 2014. Degagne did not serve in any Cape or Islands parish, according to Kearns.

Both men have denied the allegations, Kearns wrote in a press release. He said the cases have been referred to the Cape and Islands and Bristol County district attorney’s offices.

Both incidents happened decades ago, and Degagne’s incident occurred before he was ordained, according to the press release.

“As far as I know it didn’t happen in this parish,” the Rev. John Sullivan, pastor of Holy Redeemer, said Sunday.

Sullivan knows Lacroix personally and said the announcement came as a surprise.

“He’s a hardworking, dedicated priest. That’s what I observed,” Sullivan said.

Degagne is pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Easton and Lacroix is co-pastor of St. Joseph-St. Therese, St. Mary, and Our Lady of Fatima parishes in New Bedford.

The press release was not specific about the alleged misconduct, but in his Jan. 3 letter to the diocese, Bishop Edgar da Cunha talked about efforts taken to “foster healing in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis” in explaining a new internal review of priestly personnel files, as well as the hiring of an independent consultant for an “in-depth review of all records of the Diocese pertaining to the abuse or allegations of abuse of a minor by any cleric in the Diocese.”

Da Cunha was named to lead the Fall River Diocese, which encompasses Cape and Islands and Southeastern Massachusetts parishes, in 2014. In the January letter, he wrote that the goal of the investigations was to “establish a list of clergy against whom a credible allegation of abuse a minor has been made in the past.”

In an email response, Kearns said the decision to place both priests on leave “comes as a result of information gathered during the review.”

“Nothing is more important than the welfare of survivors, children and our community at large,” da Cunha said in the press release Sunday.

The bishop said that in addition to the review, the diocese revamped and strengthened its childhood protection program, known as Safe Environment Enterprise.

“No system is fail-safe. It has its loopholes, but I believe it is the best we can have,” said Sullivan, who said the number of abuse cases has declined dramatically in the past 20 years.

“We always wonder about sad situations like this,” Sullivan said. “We’re often sadly surprised and disappointed no matter the person or the circumstances.”

The Rev. Michael Fitzpatrick, current pastor of St. Francis Xavier parish, said he did not know the details of the incident and where it is alleged to have occurred. He said his impression from an internal communication from the diocese that was sent to priests earlier this week notifying them that there would be an announcement was that the Lacroix case may have been a prior incident that had already been investigated.

Fitzpatrick stressed that he did not know the details of either case, but noted that the “credibility” standard used to place a priest on leave and investigate is a fairly low. It can ruin reputations even when exculpatory evidence exists, he said.

“Due process needs to be looked at,” Fitzpatrick said. “Anyone can accuse anyone of anything. We ignored the plight of people who are abused for years, but now it’s swung the other way.”

He said he has known priests who were accused, placed on leave and later proved innocent.

“It’s really scary,” he said. “It can be years before you’re reinstated, if you ever are.”

The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.