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Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Posted by Mary Caplan on February 16, 2012
This weekend, NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan moves up again in the Catholic hierarchy. We’re troubled by this promotion of a prelate who continues to mishandle clergy sex abuse cases. We urge Catholics and citizens to look at Dolan’s performance, not his personality. And we urge Vatican officials to do likewise.
Dolan has been very lucky. He’s worked in states with particularly archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly child sex laws. So when child sex abuse victims and their loved ones are mistreated by church officials, it usually remains hidden because they can’t file lawsuits and expose the wrong doing. And Dolan has followed two relatively cold, callous or corrupt colleagues – Archbishop Rembert Weakland and Cardinal Edward Egan. So his gregarious demeanor is a welcome “breath of fresh air” that distracts observers from his actions and leads many to complacently assume that such a nice guy must surely treat abuse victims better than his predecessors. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be true.
By promoting Dolan, Pope Benedict is essentially rewarding wrongdoing which encourages wrongdoing. That’s what happens often in the Catholic hierarchy.
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