MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
March 26, 2012
Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki will prostrate himself before the altar at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church on Thursday in a special Mass of Atonement meant to acknowledge the church’s sins in the handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis and steps it has taken to reform.
Although all Catholics are welcome, the archdiocese specifically invited sex abuse victims in its announcement. It is unclear how the archdiocese’s bankruptcy, in which it has taken steps that would block large numbers of victim’s claims, would affect that turnout.
St. Frances was selected for its size and location, not its history, according to a church spokeswoman. Two archdiocesan priests who had served at the parish, Father Charles W. Walter (1987-1993) and the late Father Edmund Haen (1955-1972), appear on the archdiocese’s list of priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse against them. Haen died in 1997; Walter remains fully restricted from ministry, according to the list.
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