18 DECEMBER 21, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Diocese, sex abuse lawyers at
odds over abusive priest report
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM / @ROBBPOZ
Four dozen priests who worked
at Queens churches over the
last half-century were accused of
child sex abuse, according to a report
released by a legal group representing
victims. The Diocese of Brooklyn and
Queens, however, charged that the
report isn’t completely accurate.
Lawyers Helping Survivors of Child
Sex Abuse issued “Hidden Disgrace,”
a 22-page summary which lists the
names of 65 clergy members in the
Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens
who have been accused of sexually
abusing children; in some cases, the
abuse occurred more than 50 years
ago. An examination of the report
found that 48 of the priests had been
assigned to Queens churches, schools
and institutions.
The report came out a week before
the Dec. 21 deadline for child sex abuse
survivors to enroll in the Independent
Reconciliation and Compensation Program
(IRCP). The Diocese of Brooklyn
launched the voluntary settlement
program in June to provide restitution
to those who had been abused
by a priest or deacon but who could
not seek legal remedies because of an
expired statute of limitations. Survivors
can come forward on their own or
with legal representation to fi le a claim.
On its website, Lawyers Helping
Survivors of Child Sex Abuse describes
itself as a coalition of “the
nearly 500-member powerhouse
fi rm of Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.” along
with “national sex abuse fi rms James,
Vernon & Weeks, P.A. and Noaker Law
Firm LLC.” The legal team calls itself
“a forceful and cohesive team of attorneys
to fi ght for sexual abuse victims.”
The website also has pages for IRCPs
in the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Diocese
of Rockville Centre and the Archdiocese
of New York, and other pages for
child sex abuse cases involving the Boy
Scouts and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Hidden Disgrace” also named eight
priests who, up until Dec. 14, had not
been previously accused in public of
abusing children. Four of these clergymen
previously worked in Queens.
The diocese, however, questioned
the report’s legitimacy, and the motives
of the legal team responsible for
its publication. In a lengthy statement
last Thursday, the diocese charged
that the report included the names of
priests “who were falsely accused and
subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing,”
and other clergymen who either
hail from other countries or belong to
a specifi c order, but are not under the
diocese’s jurisdiction.
“When names of priests and former
priests, who were credibly accused, become
public because of the compensation
program, it is more evidence that
the program is working as the diocese
intended,” Carolyn Erstad, a diocese
spokesperson, said in the statement.
“However, it appears today as though
lawyers, looking for new clients, have
hastily and irresponsibly published
some names of innocent men.”
The report noted that many of the
allegations “emerged long aft er the
statute of limitations on the crimes
expired, and therefore have not been
heard in a court of law.” Currently,
in New York state, survivors of child
sex abuse cannot seek legal action
against their abusers aft er reaching
23 years of age. Many sexually abusive
priests, the report points out, remain
unnamed.
“For far too long, there has been
little known about priests accused of
abuse, and this silence has had devastating
consequences,” according to
Jerry Kristal, an attorney with Weitz &
Luxenberg. “This report aims to shine
a light on the credibly accused predators
in Brooklyn and Queens, and to let
survivors know that their abusers will
not be hidden any longer.”
Credibility of new charges
questioned
The Diocese of Brooklyn, however,
cautioned that the charges against the
eight newly identifi ed priests named
in the lawyers’ group report surfaced
just weeks ago, and that “the credibility
of the allegations made against them
has not yet been determined.” They
slammed the lawyers group as acting
unethically in publicizing their names
before the charges are proven valid.
“When money is made available
through a compensation program
like the IRCP, there is always the risk
of fraudulent allegations brought by
people looking to make money,” Erstad
said. “Therefore, allegations made
aft er the start of the compensation program
against priests in good standing
must be investigated.”
Last month, the Diocese of Brooklyn
issued its own list of priests who were
laicized by the Vatican because they
had sexually abused minors. Laicized
priests, Erstad explained, are stripped
of all duties and rights as a member of
the clergy; they cannot celebrate Mass
publicly, wear vestments or maintain
a reverend title, or serve in any other
public manner on the church’s behalf.
Ten of the 13 laicized priests were
included in the Dec. 14 report.
The diocese said that Lawyers Helping
Survivors of Child Sex Abuse “have
already represented a number of survivors
taking part in the various local
IRCPs and, we believe, have profi ted
substantially from doing so.” They even
went as far as to suggest the group
might be misleading clients by off ering
services through a .org webpage typically
used by nonprofi t organizations.
The diocese noted that IRCP participants
do not need their own counsel
to apply, but can receive free legal representation
to help them understand
the settlement agreement before they
decide whether to sign it.
‘A typical knee-jerk response’
Asked for a response to the diocese’s
charges, Kristal told QNS in a phone
interview that it represented a “typical
knee-jerk response” from a large
organization facing additional legal
liabilities.
“There is no fraud. People need to
know that there is a deadline” for the
IRCP, he said. “We’re encouraging
people to come forward and take advantage
of the program.”
As to the accusation that some
priests on the list were falsely accused,
Kristal acknowledged that those
names were errantly included — and
would have them removed once the
legal team verifi es the information
with the diocese.
“We have no interest in accusing
someone falsely,” he added. “We’re
not trying to hurt anyone’s reputation.”
This is a condensed version of the
original report which was published
Tuesday on QNS.com.
