JOHN CHADWICK
Bishop Frank J. Rodimer of the Diocese of Paterson said he never knew his friend and colleague, the Rev. Peter Osinski, was abusing a boy while the two clerics shared a summer home.
For some, Rodimer's failure to recognize what was happening under his own roof suggests a troubling disconnect, emblematic of the sexual abuse scandal roiling the Catholic church.
"The point is, there is a built-in denial system in the clerical system, especially about sex,'' said A.ŸW. Richard Sipe, a former priest and psychotherapist who has treated both victims and abuser priests. "It's not seen. It's not commented on. It's denied.''
Yet other experts, speaking in general terms, said it's reasonable the bishop knew nothing because child abuse is carried out in countless households unbeknown to spouses and siblings.
Dr. Fred Berlin, a psychiatrist who founded the sexual disorders clinic at Johns Hopkins University, said society as a whole has been slow to recognize the warning signs of sexual abuse against boys.
"For years, people did not think boys would be the victims of sexual abuse; it was girls who needed protection,'' Berlin said. "Now we have learned very sadly that boys needed the protection. But that kind of appreciation has only come to a head in more recent years.''
Rodimer and Osinski shared vacation homes at the New Jersey shore from the early 1970s to 1997, the year Osinski was arrested for molesting a boy over a period of 12 years. Osinski, a priest in the Diocese of Camden, pleaded guilty and is serving a 10-year prison term.
Rodimer said he knew nothing about the abuse, and said he was horrified to learn the truth.
In a deposition, Osinski said he engaged in sexual contact with the boy four or five times in a Long Beach Island home while Rodimer was asleep in his room down the hall.
One victims' advocate, speaking in general terms, expressed skepticism that such abuse could go unnoticed.
"In deposition after deposition, we have seen dozens if not hundreds of priests say things like 'it seemed odd,' or 'it troubled me,' or 'I wondered if something happened,'Ÿ" said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
Still, both Osinski and the victim told authorities Rodimer had no knowledge of their relationship, and never asked about it. Osinski said he didn't need to explain the boy's presence to Rodimer, because the boy's family also visited the summer home as overnight guests. The parents gave their permission for the boy to stay on after they left.
In a suit filed against Rodimer, however, Stephen Rubino, the lawyer for the victim, says the bishop's experience at handling sex abuse cases within the diocese should have enabled him to recognize that Osinski was "grooming'' the boy for a sexual relationship.
For Rodimer, the lessons of the Osinski case seemed evident in a sworn statement he gave a year after Osinski was sentenced.
In a deposition for another sex abuse case, Rodimer expressed distaste after learning how one of his priests became unusually close with a student.
The student alleged abuse and the priest was removed from his teaching assignment.
"It's more obvious today than it ever was," he said, "that this is not a good relationship between a priest faculty member or |any faculty member, and a student.''
Staff Writer John Chadwick's e-mail address is chadwick@northjersey.com
This info should be subpoenaed. The Church has undermined all the good priests in this country by not being forthcoming.
What, exactly, does this mean? That priests can't go to a movie with teenage boys? That they can't go out for ice cream or a hamburger? I was interested in the priesthood at all because a good monsignor, Robert Forliti, took me under his wing and took a special interest in me.
Maybe he was gay, I don't know. But he never laid a hand on me or said anything out of the ordinary.
I suspect that the relationship between priests and boys who might be interested in the priesthood is going to change dramatically because of this scandal, and that will mean some of these guys go do other things and forget about the priesthood.