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	Ex-O.C. Catholic Leader Issues Apology Bishop Driscoll Cites 'Misplaced' Priorities When Supervising Priests Accused of Abuse By Ann Pepper and Andrew Galvin Orange County Register [California] May 7, 2005 Roman Catholic Bishop Michael P. Driscoll admitted Friday that his priorities were "horribly misplaced" when he helped supervise priests accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s, as chancellor for the Diocese of Orange. Driscoll, now the bishop of Boise, Idaho, posted a statement of apology on his diocesan Web site. In it, he said that although he had already apologized in June 2002 for his role in the scandal, he was doing so again in anticipation of a court-ordered release of diocesan personnel files expected to shed light on how he - and the Diocese of Orange - responded to complaints of child abuse against local clergy and other diocesan employees. "I am deeply sorry that the way we handled cases at that time allowed children to be victimized by permitting some priests to remain in ministry, for not disclosing their behavior to those who might be at risk, and for not monitoring their actions more closely," Driscoll wrote. "Yet, the focus at that time was to provide help to priests so they could continue in their vocations. I know now that our priorities were horribly misplaced. First and foremost, we should have done everything to protect the children." Driscoll began his career as a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. When the Diocese of Orange was formed in 1976, he was appointed to assist Bishop William Johnson in running it. Driscoll oversaw priest personnel for the diocese until 1987. He was elevated to auxiliary bishop in 1990 and took Bishop Tod Brown's place in Idaho after Brown was appointed bishop of Orange in 1998. The release of the personnel files is part of a $100 million settlement between the Orange Diocese and 90 plaintiffs who accused more than 30 former diocesan employees of abuse. The settlement, which is the largest in the U.S. abuse cases, was approved in January, but the personnel files have not been made public. Several former employees accused in the suits have objected to the release of their files. Some personnel files already have been made public through lawsuits that were settled in earlier years. One case involved allegations against the late Rev. Siegfried Widera, who was convicted of molesting a boy in Wisconsin before transferring to the Diocese of Orange in 1977. In a December 1976 letter, then-Milwaukee Archbishop William Cousins asked Driscoll to find a place in the Orange Diocese for Widera. In the letter, Cousins admitted that years earlier Widera had had "a moral problem having to do with a boy in school" as well as a more recent "repetition of (the) previous offense." Despite the letter, Widera became a priest in the Diocese of Orange and served until 1985, when he was removed amid new allegations that he molested young boys. In a 2002 deposition, Driscoll admitted that he never checked to make sure that Widera continued getting psychiatric treatment and didn't warn pastors or parishioners at the churches where Widera served. Widera was accused in nine of the suits that the Diocese of Orange settled in January. "It was a different time back in the 1970s, and I think we have learned from our mistakes," said the Rev. Joe Fenton, spokesman for the Diocese of Orange. "We have had a difficult and wrenching experience dealing with something that society as a whole needs to deal with in a more profound way." John Manly, an attorney who represented 30 plaintiffs in the Diocese of Orange settlement, called Driscoll's apology "crocodile tears." "There is no apology that can make up for the crimes of commission and omission committed by Bishop Driscoll and other members of the Diocese of Orange," Manly said. "The fact he never once called law enforcement on these predators and allowed countless young lives to be destroyed is not forgivable." Driscoll wasn't available to be interviewed about Friday's statement, said a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Boise.
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