Catholic Bishops and Sex Abuse

All of this information is taken from the website cited at the bottom of the posting.

Roughly two-thirds of top U.S. Catholic leaders have allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to keep working, a systematic practice that spans decades and continues today, a three-month Dallas Morning News [Downloaded from http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/bi/dallas/2002/priests.cgi on 2/18/04. See also the original list of bishops as it was printed and the article about the database.] review shows

Here is a write-up taken from reporters Brooks Egerton and Reese Dunklin they relied on published reports, court records, interviews and church records obtained in civil litigation.  Many other bishops are in their study.

Rockford

BISHOP THOMAS DORAN

The family of three boys came forward in late 1996 with allegations that the Rev. Harlan Clapsaddle had molested them decades earlier. "We were encouraged by the diocese to keep quiet," Kevin Misslich recently told a Rockford television station. "They assured us that they would handle the Clapsaddle matter." In early 1997, the diocese removed Father Clapsaddle from his parish and ordered treatment. When he finished, he was put back to work, ministering in a nursing home. He stepped down in May. Bishop Doran has said he "acted responsibly" and stressed that Father Clapsaddle was working in a "restricted setting." Nursing home officials said they weren't told about the priest's past until two days before he quit.

Click on the following for these articles about Rockford and other Catholic Catholic Diocese:  Catholic Bishops and Sex Abuse