CONNECTICUT
Patch
By Paul Petrone
Monday, the Rev. Dennis Carey, formerly the pastor of Waterford’s St. Paul in Chains Rectory, was arrested for first-degree possession of child pornography. Court documents would later show that while there are no allegations of Carey sexually abusing children, the priest admitted to police he was addicted to child porn for the last two years.
For many, it seemed like another of many cases of a priest in the Roman Catholic Church being charged with a crime against children. But Michael Strammiello, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, said Thursday nothing could be further from the truth, calling the Roman Catholic Church “the model institution” when it comes to protecting children.
“There is no institution in America that has done more to protect young people than the Catholic church,” Strammiello said. “No institution has done more, invested more.”
Strammiello said the screenings of priests and the way child abuse allegations are handled has completely changed since 2001, when allegations of priests sexually abusing children began pouring in nationally. He said the church is constantly working on how to guarantee safety for children, and has done a better job than anybody of doing that.
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