The archbishop greeted victims of priest abuse, and said more help is needed.
BOSTON (AP) – Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley, wading into a small knot of protesters after Mass on Sunday, said more needs to be done to heal the wounds of the church’s priest sexual abuse scandal.
“We want to make sure that all of the survivors get all the help they need,” O’Malley said. “The church has taken action. We need to take more.”
O’Malley made the comments five days after the announcement last week that the archdiocese had reached a settlement of $85 million with 552 alleged clergy sex abuse victims.
O’Malley said an audit to be made public before year’s end will outline steps the archdiocese has already taken, but acknowledged that the process of responding to the concerns of victims will take a long time.
“I can’t resolve all of the problems overnight,” he said.
Maryetta Dussord, 59, of Boston, was one of about two dozen protesters who gathered on the sidewalk outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday. Dussord said she was dismayed to see O’Malley standing on the cathedral steps, shaking departing parishioners’ hands.
Then one of Dussord’s fellow protesters approached O’Malley, who listened, turned and gingerly walked into the group of protesters.
“I was so happy,” said Dussord, who said three of her children were abused by the Rev. John Geoghan. Geoghan, who was convicted of groping a 10-year-old boy, was killed in his cell last month, allegedly by another prisoner. “He (O’Malley) has to come out and feel the wounds, feel the pain, listen to the anger, feel the anger. I think it was a wonderful step.”
Other victims said they are waiting to see if O’Malley’s words turn into actions.
“I stuck out my hand and I held onto his because I wanted him to listen,” said Dale Walsh, 55, of Cambridge, who said she was abused as a teenager by the Rev. Paul Shanley. “I hope he listened. He kept saying some platitudes to me. We’ll see if he listened.”
O’Malley spent most of the impromptu sidewalk meeting listening to victims and advocates. He did not speak at length with reporters.
The settlement calls for alleged victims to receive awards ranging from $80,000 to $300,000, with the final amounts determined by a mediator, who will consider such factors as the type of molestation, the duration of the abuse, and the injury suffered.
Victim’s advocates have called the agreement only a first step.
The archdiocese must also pledge lifetime reimbursement for therapy costs for all victims, perform better background checks on men who want to become priests and establish a truly independent oversight panel to guard against future abuse, said Paul Baier of the group Survivor’s First.
One protester, Laura Breault, 44, of Hull, echoed the demands.
“The settlement was only one part of this,” she said. “We fear that it (the review panel) is not going to be independent. It’s going to be people chosen by the church.”
O’Malley has acknowledged that the archdiocese will cover the cost of the settlement through loans, insurance claims and perhaps the need to sell of some church-owned real estate.
O’Malley was installed in July as head of the nation’s fourth-largest diocese. He replaced Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to step down as archbishop last December after months of mounting pressure over criticism that the church attempted to cover-up allegations of sex abuse.
AP-ES-09-14-03 1721EDT
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