Whistleblowers blog
Dec. 6, 2019
By Tinker Ready
“I should really tackle that vacuum closet,” Siobhan O’Connor told herself when her boss, Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone, was out of town.
HIdden inside, she found a thick binder. It included documents from pending litigation charging priests with sexual assault. Many were still in their jobs. Last summer, she leaked the list to a local television station.
It took not one, but two whistleblowers to oust Malone, who resigned on Wednesday after evidence emerged that he was covering up for abusive priests.
O’Conner shared her story on NPR this morning.
I’ve been a Catholic all my life…I remember thinking that I was certain this was necessary. This truth had to come out for the good of our Catholic community. But I did struggle with the knowledge that I would be betraying my bishop.
She also knew her actions would impact her life.
But I remember thinking that, if I don’t do something, it will it change my life in a far graver way. I could never move past this if I were to be aware of this and walked away without doing something. I’m so grateful I did because I have had this lasting peace ever since then.
She has also shared her story with 60 Minutes.
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