Posted on 04/26/2002 9:36:09 PM PDT by history_matters
Reverend Paul Shanley, who was involved with the North American Man Boy Love Association which promotes sex between men and children, also suffered from sexually transmitted diseases, he wrote.
Personal papers and other documents relating to Mr Shanley have been discovered by the Boston archdiocese and handed to lawyers suing the Church on behalf of an alleged victim of molestation.
Revelations about Mr Shanley's activities, sex abuse by another local priest and the fact that the archbishop appeared to cover up what he knew have sent shockwaves around the US and the world.
The discovery of Mr Shanley's diary coincided with the summoning of US cardinals to the Vatican to brief the Pope on what had happened and discuss how to tackle the scandal.
The papers were handed under a court order to lawyers acting for Gregory Ford, who says he was sexually abused by Mr Shanley.
One of the lawyers, Roderick MacLeish, said the documents included a frank diary from 1972 of Mr Shanley's role as a "street priest" ministering to drug addicts, runaways and homosexuals.
He read an excerpt written by Mr Shanley:
"Imagine much of my life these last few years has been choosing not to pick between good and evil, but the lesser of two evils."My God, I've even taught kids how to shoot up properly."
Mr MacLeish said: "What we have are Paul Shanley's own perverted ramblings about his conduct."
The lawyer received 800 documents from the archdiocese which may include duplicates of about 800 papers he has already been given. He said the diary showed Mr Shanley sought regular treatment for venereal disease.
Records handed over from the Church showed officials had been told of allegations of abuse against Mr Shanley as early as 1967.
Also included were articles showing the archdiocese knew Mr Shanley, 71, had been a vocal proponent of sex between men and boys, as well as correspondence between the archdiocese and the Vatican on Mr Shanley's views about sex.
Mr Shanley, who is now retired and believed to be living in San Diego, California, has never been charged with abuse and has not spoken publicly since the case began.
A spokesman for the Boston archdiocese, Reverend Christopher Coyne, said the late discovery of the documents was "terribly embarrassing".
The alleged abuse victim Mr Ford, now 24, and his parents are suing Cardinal Bernard Law and the archdiocese for allegedly failing to protect him from being abused by Mr Shanley between the ages of six and 11.
Shanley and all who covered up for him are all servants of evil as far as I am concerned -- and anyone who sexually abuses a child deserves the death penalty as far as I am concerned.
If you really think that, perhaps you in your self righteousness should start up your OWN newspaper! You can have all of the front page religion stories that you want.
And I guess the reason why I'm coming down so hard about your post is because I'm just so darn sick of conservatives whining -- suck it up or find another outlet. Or better yet, start your own media outlet vis a vis Fox. Why waste bandwidth commenting on a story you so despise -- let the thread die if you don't like it.
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