Cardinal Egan Comments on Sex Abuse by Priests

Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan March 20 called sexual abuse of children "an abomination" and promised to issue a letter that will include "a detailed outline of how the Archdiocese of New York responds to accusations of sexual abuse."
The cardinal's one-page statement followed a barrage of media reports questioning the cardinal's handling of past cases of clergy sexual abuse allegations.
In addition, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau had called on the archdiocese to report any allegations it had of child abuse, including those in the past, to his office. In neighboring Connecticut, where Cardinal Egan was a bishop before his promotion to New York in 2000, state's attorneys asked for records of any cases within the past five years that may not already have been reported.
"Sexual abuse of children is an abomination. It leaves scars on its victims that long endure," Cardinal Egan said.
He said it "is not only immoral, it is also illegal," and added, "I believe that allegations of abuse should be reported to the proper civil authorities."
He called on anyone with an allegation to bring it directly to civil authorities.
He reiterated the new archdiocesan policy, announced recently by his communications office, that whenever allegations of abuse of minors are brought to the attention of the archdiocese, it will report the allegations to civil authorities "when there is reasonable cause to suspect that abuse has occurred and if the victims do not oppose the reporting."
In the three days before Cardinal Egan's statement, a flurry of articles and news reports appeared in Connecticut and New York media raising questions about how well he handled cases of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors in Bridgeport, Conn., where he was bishop from 1988 to 2000.
The media attention was sparked by an investigative report by the Hartford (Conn.) Courant March 17 on the cases of three Bridgeport priests accused of abuse. The Courant said the report, which it headlined "Egan Protected Abusive Priests," was based on "secret court documents" it obtained regarding the priests' cases. The story was published simultaneously in the New York area by Newsday, Long Island's leading daily.
Cardinal Egan said the report "omitted certain key facts and contained inaccuracies."
"I am confident that these cases were handled appropriately. The salient and essential facts of this matter will be touched upon in my upcoming letter," he said.
In the Brooklyn Diocese, which covers the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, Bishop Thomas V. Daily also was facing media criticism, much of it over the handling of child abuse allegations against Brooklyn priests that had been brought by a New Jersey priest and by three nuns in the diocese.
Cardinal Egan's successor in Bridgeport, Bishop William E. Lori, recently announced that he will form an interdisciplinary advisory panel of experts to assist the diocese in its handling of sexual abuse issues and allegations.

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