NEW YORK
Staten Island Advance
By Maura Grunlund
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is accusing New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan of being part of a plan to “pay off” accused child-molester priests to quietly leave the priesthood and cheated victims out of appropriate compensation.
A spokesman for Cardinal Dolan has not returned a request for comment by the Advance.
SNAP members who are making an announcement today in Milwaukee are citing the minutes from a March 2003 Milwaukee Archdiocese Finance council meeting (see PDF document below), when Cardinal Dolan was archbishop of that diocese. The minutes show that there was a discussion about “unassignable priests” receiving full salary.
It was proposed at the meeting to reduce their benefit to $1,250 per month, the same as their pension benefit, and to offer to pay them $20,000 for laicization — leaving the priesthood. The payouts were to be $10,000 at the beginning of the process and $10,000 at completion, independent of the cleric’s salary, pension and benefits. SNAP alleges that the plan was accepted and implemented based on what it claims were payments to accused members of the clergy.
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