MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe
April 21, 2012
Editorial
By now, the story of predator priests in the Roman Catholic Church and the young victims they sexually abused is so sadly familiar that it’s hard to shock people. But fresh details are still cause for outrage, especially when they loop back to Boston and raise new questions about accountability.
As reported recently by the Globe, the Rev. Bradley M. Schaeffer was the leader of the Jesuits in the Chicago area when an anguished father came to him in 1993 with concerns about an inappropriate relationship between the charismatic retreat leader Donald J. McGuire and the man’s young son. Schaeffer never investigated the complaint or contacted police. Instead, he sent McGuire for treatment of a sexual disorder, and later expressed doubts that the treatment had been effective. But he didn’t take further steps against him, except to ban him from traveling with anyone under 21.
McGuire went on to commit more offenses, and today is serving 25 years in federal prison for repeatedly molesting a 13-year-old boy in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, the Jesuits face a lawsuit for their failure to protect one of McGuire’s alleged victims. Schaeffer, who looked the other way so long ago, went on to become a member of the Boston College Board of Trustees and leads a study center for future Jesuit priests that is affiliated with BC.
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