UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal
May 31, 2012, 1:13 pm
Posted by Lisa Fullam
Laurie Goldstein at the New York Times reported yesterday on then-Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan approving payments of up to $20,000 to sex-abuser priests as an incentive for them to accept laicization.
When asked about such payments at the time, Dolan flatly denied the charge.
Cardinal Dolan, then the archbishop, responded that such an inference was “false, preposterous and unjust.”
Ahem. Well, in the bankruptcy proceedings, documents show that multiple such payments were made. (Andrew Sullivan’s report is headed: “Cardinal Dolan, Brazen Liar?” But dissembling hierarchs is not my topic here.)
Now it is true that priests don’t draw much of a salary, though it should also be noted that, unlike their lay colleagues in ministry, they also get their education free, housing free, and receive benefits, including retirement. They do not take a vow of poverty (unlike religious,) so can become wealthy if they have a side gig, though most do not. I would be sympathetic to leaving retirement benefits in place, since it’s very hard to establish oneself mid-life (or later,) but this is a substantial cash bonus just for leaving.
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