POTSDAM (NY)
North Country Now
March 14, 2018
A report from a Minnesota law firm specializing in representing sexually abused children has released a report identifying eight priests who were assigned to St. Lawrence County churches that have been publicly accused of molesting children.
The report comes from the Jeff Anderson and Associates firm out of St. Paul, Minn.
The priests include fathers John J. Fallon, Theodore M. Gillette, John Hunt, Liam O’Doherty, Robert M. Shurtleff, Clark S. White, David E. Wisniewski and Paul F. Worczak.
The firm says the vast majority of the accusations have not gone to court, and the statute of limitations has expired on many of them.
It is believed that the Diocese of Ogdensburg does not make available to the public the full history, knowledge and context of the sexually abusive clerics,” the report says. “The Diocese of Ogdensburg can be viewed as a microcosm of the national problem of priests sexually assaulting minors because the diocese fails to fully disclose its knowledge of sexually abusive priests. Upon instituting a zero tolerance policy in 2002, half of the eight publically known perpetrators were removed (Fathers Gillette, Shurtleff, White & Wisniewski).”
In 2002, Diocesan Administrator Monsignor Richard Lawler said that since 1950, 56 people, 37 of whom were minors at the time, have made sexual-abuse allegations against 35 clergymen. The diocese determined that the allegations against 23 of the priests were credible, according to the report.
The identities of all 35 priests have not been disclosed to the public.
“In the interest of public safety the identities and the histories should be disclosed,” the report says.
The Ogdensburg diocese has created the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which is a third-party-administered fund that compensates some victims of childhood sex abuse by priests. There is a May 31 deadline for those who qualify.
“Currently, the IRCP is available only for survivors who previously reported their abuse. It is possible the program will be made available in the future to survivors of abuse who have not yet reported their abuse,” the report says. “While the IRCP does provide some measure of justice and accountability, it is also complex and requires a survivor to waive his/her future rights if a settlement is received.”
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