By Matthew Lysiak and Tina Moore
New York Daily News
October 16, 2011
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/16/2011-10-16_parishioners_defend_priest_in_sex_cases.html
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| Msgr. Thomas Brady was suspended two alleged sex attacks on minors. |
Parishioners at a Catholic church in Brooklyn Saturday defended a retired monsignor accused of preying on minors.
Msgr. Thomas Brady, 78, was suspended Friday after he was charged with attempting a "criminal sex act" on two teenage boys on Thursday, according to court records. The alleged attacks happened on the same day but at different times.
"It can't be true. Not Father Brady. No way," said Dot Harris, 67, who has attended services at Brady's church, Good Shepherd, in Mill Basin for 12 years. "This is all nonsense."
"He's a good man," said Good Shepherd Church parishioner Jackie Hunter, 57. "I don't believe the accusations."
Hunter said Brady, who stepped down as the church's leader in 2009 after 20 years, presided over both of her parents' funerals.
"He's a trusted member of the community," she said. "Everyone is just devastated that someone would make these allegations."
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Brooklyn said Brady suffered several strokes over the last few years and was undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer.
A parishioner who didn't want to give his name said the allegations couldn't possibly be true.
"He's so sick," the man said. "I saw him yesterday morning. He can barely move."
Brady declined comment.
Contact: tmoore@nydailynews.com
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