MASSACHUSETTS
National Catholic Reporter
Aug 8, 2017
by Maria Benevento
Ex-priest Paul Shanley was released from prison on July 28 after serving 12 years for child sex abuse, but some worry he still poses a danger to children.
Two organizations, Real Women Real Stories and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, are co-sponsoring an online petition, “Victims’ Plea: Place Rapist Ex-Priest in a Secured Treatment Center,” that urges “the Boston Archdiocese and the State of Boston to insist Shanley live in a facility where he can receive treatment and where he will have no access to children, and to wear a GPS bracelet so that his whereabouts can be tracked on anytime.” Organizers clarified to NCR that the state of Massachusetts is the intended government recipient of the petition.
To emphasize the danger of letting Shanley move freely, the petition cites the example of a 72-year-old Irish ex-priest who was convicted of abusing at least 25 children in California, but was later reported to be living yards from a playground in the Netherlands and volunteering at a Catholic parish under an assumed identity.
Although Shanley is 86, the petition warns his advanced age could actually make him more dangerous by allowing him to seem “harmless.”
“Everything we hear about predators says they’ll tend to repeat the crime,” said Barbara Dorris, outreach director for SNAP. “Many people came forward saying Shanley hurt them, yet he’s being turned loose in society.”
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