Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:
As the bishops assemble this week in Seattle, they will once again grapple with the issue of clergy abuse. While some recent allegations are worthy of pursuit, others don’t pass the smell test. All of the following cases have been reported in the news since June 1:
• A Tennessee man claims he was abused in the 1970s, though he and his lawyers admit his memories are returning “a little at a time”
• A Louisiana man claims he was abused in the 1970s, though he admits that he “suppressed” his memories until recently
• A Texas man claims he was abused in the 1980s but can’t remember the accused priest’s name
• A convicted murderer from Pennsylvania claims he was abused in the 1960s, though two of his own brothers don’t believe him
• A Kansas man who initially accused a priest of wrestling with him back in 1970s, now claims he was groped
• The Seattle archdiocese is being sued by a woman who claims she was fondled in the early 1960s at a church picnic by a man who was not a priest
• After a New York man read about the death of a priest whom he knew, he claimed he was abused by him in the 1960s
• A Tennessee man claims he was abused in the 1970s, though the suit never names the priest, who died in 2002
• A California priest who lives in a retirement home and has never been charged with anything, is being accused of abuse in the 1960s
• After one Ohio woman came forward claiming she was groped in the 1960s, four other women in the area now claim victim status
• A man from Pennsylvania says he was touched inappropriately in the 1970s, and even though he never contacted the police, the accused priest has been permanently removed from ministry and has had his job terminated at the diocese
We hope the bishops take note of these suspect cases. While the guilty must pay, all accused priests are entitled to a presumption of innocence.
