Egan Defends Stance on Priest Complaints

Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan insisted Saturday that he properly handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests when he was a bishop in Connecticut. He also urged that all allegations of sexual abuse be immediately given to police.

In a letter prepared for distribution this weekend to all parishioners in the Archdiocese of New York, the nation’s third-largest archdiocese, Egan for the first time answered charges made about his conduct when he was bishop of Bridgeport, Conn.

“Should any priest sexually abuse a child, he will be removed from pastoral ministry,” Egan wrote.

The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported last week that it had uncovered sealed court documents indicating Egan failed to aggressively investigate some abuse allegations and did not refer complaints to criminal authorities.

In his letter, Egan said he instituted a policy in Bridgeport that “any clergy accused of sexual misconduct with a minor was, after preliminary diocesan investigation, to be sent immediately to one of the most prominent psychiatric institutions in the nation for evaluation.”

He added: “If the conclusions were favorable, he was returned to the ministry, in some cases with restrictions, so as to be doubly careful. If they were not favorable, he was not allowed to function as a priest.”

Egan did not specify the number of priests evaluated or disclose the results of any diocesan investigations.

The Bridgeport diocese settled complaints against six priests for an undisclosed amount in March 2001, shortly after Egan was appointed to the Archdiocese of New York. Egan served in Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000. He said the cases the Courant cited occurred before he was named bishop.

Egan wrote in the letter Saturday that if the Archdiocese of New York receives an allegation of sexual abuse, “we will make the appropriate report to the proper authorities if there is reasonable cause to suspect abuse and the victim does not oppose the reporting.

“I would strongly encourage, however, anyone who has an allegation of sexual abuse to bring it to the proper civil authorities directly and immediately.”

Today, some of the nation’s other leading archbishops planned to have priests read messages addressing the child-molestation scandal. Pope John Paul II on Thursday broke his silence on the matter, saying the “grave scandal” was casting a “dark shadow of suspicion” over all priests.

Some worshipers leaving Saturday evening Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan said they doubted the sincerity of the letter.

“I don’t know how true any of this is. You want to believe it, but I don’t know what to believe at this point,” said Angelina Zito, 35. “I’m a Roman Catholic, and I feel bad not taking their word for it, but I don’t know.”

Also Saturday, the New York Times reported that when Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily was the second-highest official in the Archdiocese of Boston, he sought to avoid a scandal rather than investigate priests accused of molestation.

Daily has emerged as a key figure in the case of defrocked priest John Geoghan, who has been accused of molesting more than 130 children. Daily said Friday he regretted some decisions he made during his tenure in Boston, from 1973 to 1984.

The newspaper cited court documents stating that in 1982, when Daily was a chancellor in the Archdiocese of Boston, he was told of allegations that Geoghan abused seven boys, ages 6 to 14.

Daily said he may have encouraged the family to keep quiet about allegations. He didn’t tell authorities about Geoghan, and when he transferred him to another parish, he said, he did not recall telling about the complaints against him.