NEW YORK
Gothamist
Despite calling accusations that he paid off pedophile priests as the archbishop of Milwaukee “false, preposterous and unjust,” the Times reports that Cardinal Timothy Dolan in fact made payments of as much as $20,000 to “a handful” of accused priests to encourage them to leave the priesthood sooner. “It was a way to provide an incentive to go the voluntary route and make it happen quickly, and ultimately cost less,” a diocese spokesman said, apparently not accounting for the incalculable costs of human misery associated with bribing pedophiles.
Experts in the Catholic Church’s response to sexual abuse say that payouts to dismissed priests are not uncommon. When a man becomes a priest, the church is expected to care for his needs for a lifetime.
Right, because the Church is here to serve the priests, not the people who pray to the church that their children can worship without being molested.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.