The archdiocese appealed to the state Appeals Court, arguing that the Globe - and the public - should not have access to documents about the church's inner workings. (August 24) CNN's Renay San Miguel talks to Phil . "[3] He was placed on sick leave three days later and ordered by Cardinal Humberto Medeiros to undergo counseling. Geoghan's sister hits guards, September 27 The St. Brendan's teacher, who declined to be named, said that at first, Geoghan's willingness to spend inordinate amounts of time with children was admired. Other times, he fondled their genitals or forced them to fondle his - occasionally as he prayed. In his own defense last summer, Law wrote in the Pilot, the archdiocesan newspaper, Never was there an effort on my part to shift a problem from one place to the next., The cardinals assertion followed his disclosure, in court documents, that he was informed in September 1984 of the four-year-old allegations that Geoghan had molested the seven Jamaica Plain boys. image7off = new Image(); Members of the Boston Globes Spotlight speak out about breaking the church abuse scandal story. image10on = new Image(); No American diocese has faced a scandal of similar dimensions since 1992. Theres a scene in the movie Spotlight when Boston Globe reporter Matt Carroll, played by actor Brian dArcy James, realizes that a rehab facility for priests accused of sexual abuse is located around the corner from his own house. Geoghan was put in charge of three youth groups, including altar boys. Morrissey said the church had no interest in knowing what the Globe's questions would be. In a recent interview with the Globe, Benzevich said he does indeed remember Geoghan taking boys to his room. For Carroll, however, there was a story. image11on = new Image(); Dussourd discovered what was happening after the children finally told her sister, Margaret Gallant. Please have experience assisting with feeding. Thomas confronted Geoghan with the allegations, and was taken aback when Geoghan casually admitted they were accurate. [AQB]'+'&j=1.0&[AQE]" height="1" width="1" border="0" alt="" />'); father geoghan scituate. Do you realize what youre taking from him? Thomas asked, according to Dussourd. But for all Geoghan's notoriety, the public record is remarkably skeletal. Lane is now retired. The Spotlight Team found evidence that one of Laws top subordinates worried that Geoghan would cause further scandal at St. Julias in Weston, where he began work on Nov. 13, 1984. The files also contain a poignant - and prophetic - August 1982 letter to Law's predecessor, the late Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, from the aunt of Geoghan's seven Jamaica Plain victims, expressing incredulity that the church to which she was devoted would give Geoghan another chance at St. Brendan's after what he had done to her family. Loney is aware of the history, though. image7on = new Image(); Two months later, the cardinal gave Geoghan a fresh start at St. Julia's. For years, McSorley has battled alcoholism and depression. That complaint to church officials coincides with the time frame when Geoghan received in-patient treatment for sex abuse at the Seton Institute in Baltimore, according to Sipe, the psychotherapist who was on Setons staff at the time. Miceli, until recently a member of Laws cabinet, contradicted Mueller in his own deposition. Please choose again. Reverend John J. Goeghanwho had retired in 1993 after 28 years as a priestentered the news quietly in 1996 when a woman in Waltham, Massachusetts filed suit alleging that he had sexually abused her three sons. The investigation and prosecution of Geoghan were one of . And now, as the plaintiff in one of the lawsuits against Geoghan, McSorley is bitter. ". He just zeroed in on some kids.. ", The cardinal's assertion followed his disclosure, in court documents, that he was informed in September 1984 of the four-year-old allegations that Geoghan had molested the seven Jamaica Plain boys. The church's likely legal defense, as Rogers hinted in July, will be that doctors deemed Geoghan rehabilitated. The Scituate house, a seven-room home at 64 Oceanside Drive with sweeping views of the Atlantic, is assessed at $268,500. In a. But the answer was delayed until Morrissey's call late Friday, in which she said she would not even accept questions in writing. Nonetheless, Miceli said he drove to Geoghans new parish in Jamaica Plain to relay the womans concerns to Geoghan face-to-face. image12off.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/newnav/parish_map_off.gif"; By Kevin. image4on.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/nav_jan23/victims_on.gif"; On February 9, 1980, John E. Thomas told Bishop Thomas Vose Daily that Geoghan admitted to molesting seven boys. From the Jamaica Plain case alone, the archdiocese's top officials were aware of Geoghan's attraction to young boys, and how he picked his victims: The affable Geoghan usually befriended Catholic mothers struggling to raise large families, often alone. . But then he patted his upper leg and slid his hand up toward his crotch. In 1996, Mitchell Garabedian filed suit against Father Geoghan, a foreshadowing of the massive litigation to follow naming hundreds of Catholic priests and dioceses throughout the United States and ultimately the world. It was written by Rezendes. Abusive priests - Geoghan among them - often instructed traumatized youngsters to say nothing about what had been done to them. In preparing this article, the Globe also sought interviews with many of the priests and bishops who had supervised Geoghan or worked with him. On Dec. 7, Bishop John M. DArcy wrote to Law, challenging the wisdom of the assignment in light of Geoghans history of homosexual involvement with young boys., Within the next week, two doctors cleared Geoghan for parish duty, according to an archdiocesan chronology that is in court files. if (form.dest.options[myindex].value != "none") He wasnt all that familiar with the neighborhood in 2001, having lived there for only a few years. "[3] He graduated in 1962 and was ordained. And, she said, he was incensed that he had not been warned. bishop accused of ignoring abuse in NYC, 5/12/2002: Scandal erodes traditional deference to church, 8/20/2002: Ariz. abuse case names bishop, 2 priests, 12/1/2002: Archdiocese weighs bankruptcy filing, 12/4/2002: More clergy abuse, secrecy cases, 12/14/2002: Pope accepts Cardinal Laws resignation in Rome. image1on.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/newnav/home_on.gif"; Top church officials, such as Bishop John B. McCormack, have been implicated in systematic abuse coverups. Im not exactly sure what the script said, Carroll said. image11off = new Image(); She testified that Miceli assured her that Geoghan would be handled by appropriate church authorities and would never be a priest again. Mueller also said that Miceli asked her to keep the matter to herself: Bad as it was, he said, `Just try - dont think about it. Remaining charges of indecent assault in that case were still pending prosecution. I dont want him doing that to my wee-wee, touching my wee-wee . He was reassigned to several parish posts involving interaction with children, even after receiving treatment for pedophilia. Mueller recalled the boy saying. Almost immediately, Geoghan was working with First Communicants, befriending young children and their parents, even taking some boys to his familys summer home in Scituate, where - parents say they later discovered - he sexually abused the youths. He then changed to Portsmouth and went too Oscott seminary. In the second case, a judge dismissed the conviction of Geoghan in two rapes, after hotly contested arguments, because the statute of limitations had run out. Receive the latest news and breaking updates, straight from our newsroom to your inbox. alert("That is not a valid selection. The few who complained were invariably urged to keep silent. document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + "off.src"); image14on = new Image(); On February 13, 1962, Geoghan was assigned as an assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Saugus, Massachusetts. On Dec. 17, Rogers sent the Globes attorney, Jonathan M. Albano, a letter threatening to seek legal sanctions against the newspaper and its law firm if the Globe published anything gleaned from confidential records in the suits. Regardless of what he says, or the doctor who treated him, I do not believe he is cured; his actions strongly suggest that he is not, and there is no guarantee that persons with these obsessions are ever cured, Margaret Gallant said in her plea to Medeiros. In 1980, for instance, he was ordered out of St. Andrews in Jamaica Plain after casually admitting he had molested the seven boys. Geoghan spent the following year on sick leave, under treatment for his compulsion, but living with family in West Roxbury. Three weeks after Geoghan arrived in Weston, Bishop DArcy protested the assignment to Law, citing Geoghans problems and adding: I understand his recent abrupt departure from St. Brendans, Dorchester may be related to this problem., A copy of the letter contains a redacted paragraph, an apparent reference to the Rev. image9off.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/nav_jan23/clergy_off.gif"; But Geoghan betrayed their trust and took advantage of their devotion and friendship, Sacco said. [6] In 1995 Geoghan admitted to having molested four boys during his tenure at Blessed Sacrament. . Despite his history of abuse, diocesan leaders moved the abusive priest to one parish after another. And for good reason, the Spotlight Team found: The archdiocese already had substantial evidence of Geoghans predatory sexual habits. The letters from Bishop D'Arcy and Margaret Gallant were among documents found by the Globe during a review of the public files of 84 civil lawsuits still pending against Geoghan. In 1998, Benzevich told reporters he was branded as a troublemaker for reporting Geoghan, and that church officials hinted that he might be sent to Peru if he persisted. One of his alleged victims, Anthony Muzzi Jr., said in an interview last week that in addition to his own abuse, his uncle caught Geoghan abusing his son. Director Cushing Hall, Scituate, a home for troubled teenagers, 1971-85. He warned that he would seek court-imposed sanctions even if Globe reporters asked questions of clergy involved in the case. James H. Lane, has told friends he was never warned that Geoghan had a history of sex abuse. In the early 1970s, parishioner Joanne Mueller accused Geoghan of molesting her four young sons. image15on.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/newnav/about_site_on.gif"; image9on.src = "http://cache.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/images/universal/nav_jan23/clergy_on.gif"; No American diocese has faced a scandal of similar dimensions since 1992. father geoghan scituate. The Globe could find no evidence that Law accepted that advice. That year, in the Fall River Diocese, more than 100 of former priest James Porters victims surfaced publicly with evidence that Porters superiors - including, in the 1960s, then Monsignor Medeiros - shifted him from one parish to another as parents learned of his compulsive abuse. Before his deposition, Benzevich said, Wilson Rogers 3d approached him, told him the church was trying to protect him from being named as a defendant, and offered to represent him. [3] That same month, Mullins wrote that Geoghan had "fully recovered", and Brennan stated that there was no need for restrictions on his work as a priest. I froze up, McSorley said. There is no dispute that Geoghan abused children while he was at Blessed Sacrament in Saugus after his 1962 ordination. Geoghan's second assignment - in 1966 to St. Bernard's in Concord - ended after seven months, according to a detailed chronology of Geoghan's service prepared by the church which does not explain why the assignment was so abbreviated. A Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial for the repose of Father's soul will be offered on Friday, March 3, 2023 at 10am, in St. Joseph Church, North Scituate. What would it take to turn more offices into housing? During his time in the priesthood, Geoghan sexually abused more than a hundred young boys in Greater Boston parishes. Francis H. Delaney, who was Geoghans pastor at St. Andrews, said in an interview that church officials never told him why Geoghan disappeared from the parish.