PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyBurbs
Some might argue that it’s better late than never. But for the family of Bristol Borough’s Daniel Neill, who took his own life in 2009, the removal of an allegedly abusive Catholic priest from the ministry comes as little consolation for the loss they’ve sustained and the grief they’ve endured. In short, it’s too little, too late.
How would you feel? Fact is, the defrocking of Rev. Joseph Gallagher comes seven years after the 78-year-old now former priest retired.
It was more than 30 years ago that Neill, then just 10 years old, reported to the principal at St. Mark Parish school that he had been sexually molested by Gallagher. According to a 2011 wrongful death suit filed by Neill’s family, the principal called the then altar boy “a liar and threatened … that his family would be disgraced if he persisted in making his report of sexual abuse.”
And so the child kept the allegations under wraps until 2007 — for nearly three decades — before again reaching out to the church. This was after the pedophile priest scandal erupted, including revelations that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia not only covered up the crimes but transferred accused priests from one parish to another in an effort to silence victims and protect the priests.
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