(Albany) Diocese may reopen investigation

The Albany Catholic Diocese said it may reopen an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by a priest.

The Diocese Sexual Misconduct Review Board is seeking people who claimed to have information of allegations against the Reverend Louis Douglas.

Some of those people held a news conference on Wednesday and claimed they had such information. Two prior investigations showed no evidence of sexual abuse of a minor against Douglas.

Douglas was reinstated by Bishop Howard Hubbard earlier this month. He is retired and living in Delaware.

"The clamoring groups that called for Cardinal Law's blood have been noticeably low-key on this one, probably because Bishop Hubbard holds a special place in the bleeding heart of the Catholic left. Still, His Excellence cannot completely ignore the situation; he has hired Mary Jo White, a former prosecutor, to investigate the charges against him. I'm sure we'll see more plot twists (if the players don't all commit suicide) before the curtain closes on this sordid drama. If a movie were made of it, it might look something like this:

Albany Confidential: a gritty, sordid tale of sex, suicide, scandal, betrayal, and corruption in an Upstate New York diocese. Meet John Aretakis, the shrill attorney who is working to clean up the diocese, despite himself. Meet Mary Jo White, the tough-as-nails woman who once prosecuted John Gotti, now charged with a tougher job: investigating Bishop Howard Hubbard. All the clues point to the bishop, who has enjoyed a stranglehold on this town since his appointment four decades ago. Called "A Film Noir Folk Mass" and "Goodbye, Good Men meets 'Pulp Fiction,'" "Albany Confidential" is an edge-of-your-pew thriller that will keep you guessing until the recessional.

Coming soon to a theater near you (as soon as Roman Catholic Faithful finds a distributor)."

From: the "Otto-da-Fe" blogspot.

From the March 19, 2004 Albany Times Union (http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=230106&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=3/19/2004):

Diocese to hear misconduct claims
Albany-- Interviews planned for 3 who say they have information about exonerated priest

By JORDAN CARLEO- EVANGELIST, Staff reports
First published: Friday, March 19, 2004

Investigators for the Roman Catholic Diocese will interview three people who claim they have additional information about alleged sexual misconduct by the Rev. Louis Douglas, recently exonerated by a review board, the diocese said Thursday.
The announcement came in response to a letter made public Wednesday from Timothy Sawicki of Schenectady and Pamela Brace and Marcia Preusser of Albany, who said their allegations of sexual misconduct by Douglas were not heard by the diocesan review board that cleared him earlier this month.

Douglas, who was cleared along with the Rev. Donald Ophals of St. Francis de Sales parish in Troy, has been semi-retired and living in Wilmington, Del., since 1993. He moved there prompted by the concerns expressed by parents at St. Catherine of Siena, where he was posted at the time. Preusser and Brace were two of those parents.

In their letter, the three claim the diocesan sexual misconduct review board did not consult them during its investigation of the complaint against Douglas, a complaint that it ruled unfounded March 7.

In response, the diocese announced Thursday that investigators will interview the three to determine whether "there is a factual basis to reopen the investigation" of Douglas.

Sawicki, 44, has claimed that he was abused by Douglas and other priests in the 1970s. Douglas was suspended from his part-time position in the Wilmington Diocese when the allegations were raised.

"If these individuals have some new information that would change (the panel's previous finding), then the review panel would consider reopening the investigation," said diocese spokesman Ken Goldfarb.

Sawicki's attorney, John Aretakis, said Thursday that the diocese's decision to interview his client and the two others is tantamount to an admission by the review panel that they "made a mistake" by rushing to judgment in the Douglas case by examining only one allegation against him. He said the Wilmington Diocese had agreed to speak with his client, so he is confident that, hearing what his client has to say, it will not reinstate Douglas.

"It's going to look real contradictory," for the Albany Diocese to reinstate him and for Wilmington to say no, Aretakis said.

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