Milwaukee Archdiocese, Under Dolan, Paid Sex Abusers to Leave Priesthood

Laurie Goodstein reports in the New York Times:

[A] document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed on Wednesday that payments of as much as $20,000 were made to “a handful” of accused priests “as a motivation” not to contest being defrocked. The process, known as “laicization,” is a formal church juridical procedure that requires Vatican approval, and can take far longer if the priest objects.

Timothy Dolan, now a Cardinal and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, but at the time the Archbishop of Milwaukee, authorized the payments. He did not respond to several requests for comment, according to the Times.

Here are some things Dolan has commented on lately:

 

Read the story here: http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/sarahposner/6023/milwaukee_archdiocese%2C_under_dolan%2C_paid_sex_abusers_to_leave_priesthood/#more


Showing 5 comments

  • Jeannie Guzman
    commented 2012-06-10 15:31:29 -0500
    To Old Bredin: I’ve always thought that it would be fitting if they were hung by their cahones until dead!
  • Jeannie Guzman
    commented 2012-06-10 15:29:59 -0500
    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if after the trial of Monsignor Lynn, up in Philly, if bishops, archbishops and even Cardinals, find themselves on the witness stand, defending their actions regarding Pedophile Priests? I’ve gone out and brought an expensive SLR Digital Camera to commemorate the day when a bishop, archbishop or Cardinal, needs to turn in his pricey Gammarelli Brocade Vestments, for a rather drab, orange, cotton, prison jumpsuit! Maybe for Cardinals, a little orange prison jumpsuit could be made by Gammarelli’s out of Sack Cloth!
  • Mari Passananti
    commented 2012-06-07 16:12:53 -0500
    Maureen Dowd had a very good piece on Dolan’s priorities this week. I wrote about him in my blog yesterday. Hope it’s ok to share the link, since you’ve linked to my prior posting about the Philadelphia trial.
    http://thelittlegrape.blogspot.com/2012/06/fathers-bum-and-go-sister-go-part-1.html
  • David O'Regan
    commented 2012-06-05 09:17:41 -0500
    More evidence that the Catholic Churches leaders can’t be trusted, and must be held accountable for their criminal complicity in the rape of children!
  • Old Bredin
    commented 2012-06-01 15:06:34 -0500
    Convicted pedophile priests should be hung in public and on TV.

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