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Demands for Resignations in Wake of Priest Sex Abuse Documents

 

            The victims of priest sex abuse are calling on Catholic Church leaders in Wilmington…to quit…in light of records documenting how the Wilmington diocese handled pedophile priests.

            These officials include vicar general J. Thomas Cini….as well as Joseph Rebman and Clement Lemon…who are called the architects of the cover up. 

            In addition…the victims advocates called for Bishop Francis Malooly…to publicly address the complicity of his predecessors Michael Saltarelli and Robert Mulvee in the sex abuse scandal.

            The Wilmington News Journal reports…that the documents reveal how church officials strategized…as allegations were raised and the changing tone of their responses…as survivors circumvented church authorities to make their allegations public.

            The paper says…the records also include references to victims…who committed suicide…or worried about contracting AIDS after being assaulted by priests.

            Anne Boyle…with BishopAccountability.org…said that she had not seen this kind of behavior in other diocese.

           She says she expects the implicated officials to be put out of active ministry immediately…if – in her words – the bishop really cares about protecting kids and cleaning up this terrible mess.

          (Associated Press content added)

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.