OLEAN (NY)
Olean Times Herald
July 19, 2019
By Tom Dinki
Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone called his listening session last month in Olean “the most powerful” one yet, according to meeting notes from a group of lay people working with the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
The embattled Malone spoke to and listened to local parishioners for two hours June 29 at Archbishop Walsh Academy as part of his listening sessions about the diocese’s clergy sexual abuse crisis.
While media was not permitted in the session, the Movement to Restore Trust, an initiative of lay people that is hosting the listening sessions, posted its own notes from the session on its website.
According to the notes, Malone, who has faced widespread calls for his resignation in light of his handling of allegations against clergy, apologized to a mother whose son was abused by a priest, said he could have done better but did not, and promised to continue to change the diocese’s leadership culture.
“Of the four listening sessions I have attended, all designed for me to listen to the parishioners, this is the most powerful,” Malone is quoted as saying.
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