Canon lawyer Father Thomas
Doyle, a church child abuse expert, says he finds it hard to believe the
Seattle Catholic Archdiocese wasn't warned about a child-abusing priest
who moved in 1976. Whether the Seattle archdiocese knew about Pat O'Donnell's admitted sex abuse of boys is the key in a lawsuit against the archdiocese brought by two local victims.
On Thursday, the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese made a very public apology, saying the church didn't realize the nature of pedophiles and child sexual abuse, and too often relied on experts who said offending priests had been rehabilitated and were ready for a new assignment. The Seattle archdiocese says it had allowed O'Donnell to take the post because it hadn't been informed about his history of abuse.
But the expert witness said priests were often given fresh starts in new churches or another chance after therapy. He told the jury he can't believe Seattle didn't tell Spokane it was sending a sex offender their way. "Any major issue of that nature the suffragan or the bishop of a diocese would share it with the archbishop," said Doyle.
Excerpted from KOMO News.com.
On Thursday, the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese made a very public apology, saying the church didn't realize the nature of pedophiles and child sexual abuse, and too often relied on experts who said offending priests had been rehabilitated and were ready for a new assignment. The Seattle archdiocese says it had allowed O'Donnell to take the post because it hadn't been informed about his history of abuse.
But the expert witness said priests were often given fresh starts in new churches or another chance after therapy. He told the jury he can't believe Seattle didn't tell Spokane it was sending a sex offender their way. "Any major issue of that nature the suffragan or the bishop of a diocese would share it with the archbishop," said Doyle.
Excerpted from KOMO News.com.
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