New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Wednesday reacted to a report that detailed sexual abuse of children by more than 300 priests in Philadelphia, saying the church should have done a better job.
“While I have not had time to read the entire report, it clearly lays out the pain experienced by victim-survivors, pain which continues to this day, and the terribly wrong way that these incidents were usually handled by the Church in the past which contributed to their suffering,” Dolan said in a letter addressed to members of his archdiocese.
“While it is true that the abuse of minors was badly handled by all segments of society, if there is one segment that should have done a better job, it is the Church. And while the Church in the past may have been an example of what not to do, today I believe it is a model of what to do to prevent sexual abuse, and how to respond when an accusation comes to light,” he added.
The grand jury report released Tuesday said more than 1,000 children – and possibly many more – were molested by Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania since the 1950s, and that senior church officials systematically covered up the abuse.
"Church officials routinely and purposefully described the abuse as horseplay and wrestling and inappropriate conduct. It was none of those things. It was child sexual abuse, including rape," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a news conference in Harrisburg.
Dolan also said three clerics from his archdiocese were mentioned in the grand jury report, including James McLucas, James Rush and Ed Parrakow. McLucas was alleged to have sexually abused a 14-year-old girl, but Dolan said an affidavit from the woman involved states that a sexual relationship did not start until she was in her 20s and in college.
Rush was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year- old girl, but the Diocese of Harrisburg determined that there was no sexual abuse, but that grooming had taken place.
“Rush was suspended canonically by the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2016, and the Diocese then alerted the Archdiocese of New York to the suspension,” said Dolan. “The archdiocese immediately suspended him as well.”
Parrakow was found to have committed multiple acts of abuse of minors, and was sent away for treatment because of it. He was then given an assignment in the Diocese of Greenburg, where he continued to abuse.
“As much as it pains us to admit it, this is clearly an example of the wrong way that these cases were handled in the past. Parrakow was eventually suspended, and then laicized,” Dolan said.
Dolan, in his letter, also offered an apology to the victims, and expressed gratitude for their strength in coming forward.
“Although the situation in the Church is very different today, especially since the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, that does not mean that we can become complacent or think this is all behind us. We must continue to do all that we can to address the pain and suffering that victim-survivors continue to feel,” he added.
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