OLD BROOKVILLE (NY)
The Patch [Glen Cove NY]
May 12, 2021
By Peggy Spellman Hoey
Msgr. Mario Costa was one of dozens of priests recently named in a court document as the subject of abuse allegations, court documents say.
OLD BROOKVILLE, NY — A plaque to mark the contributions of a deceased Roman Catholic priest, who has been accused in a clergy abuse scandal, has been covered up outside of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Old Brookville, according to a report in Newsday.
The name of Msgr. Mario Costa was identified on a list of over 100 credibly accused clergy members who attorneys for the Diocese of Rockville recently included in legal papers as part of their bankruptcy court filing, the outlet reported. A parishioner told Newsday that the plaque was covered with white cardboard-like material that was held in place by blue contractor’s tape on Tuesday.
Diocese spokesman Sean Dolan told Newsday the diocese is “gathering information and assessing the issue of dedications and memorials and will be communicating with the parishes regarding next steps.”https://74b9a2f91c1940f83fe2550c39d1b975.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
He did not comment further for the outlet.
In recent years, victims of clergy abuse and their supporters have called for the removal of plaques and other dedications to accused priests outside of the diocese’s churches, calling them hurtful reminders of the abuse. Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented an abuse victim, called for the removal of the name of Rev. Elegio Della Rosa from St. Rocco in Glen Cove last year, Patch reported.
More recently, the churches have included St. Paul’s, as well as St. Aidan’s in Williston Park where there is a street outside dedicated to Rev. Charles Bermingham, according to Newsday.
There have also been calls to remove dedications to Bishop John McGann, who has not been named on the list, from outside of St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre.
Daniel Hampton contributed additional reporting to this story.