Victims of clergy sexual abuse say Manchester Bishop John McCormack knows more than he?ll say about accused child molester Father Joseph Birmingham. A group of men are suing the Archdiocese of Boston over the alleged abuse at Massachusetts parishes over the course of 20 years. They held an emotional news conference in Manchester today to release documents that they say prove McCormack knew about the abuse... NHPR?s Raquel Maria Dillon was there.
They call themselves the Survivors of Joseph Birmingham, and today they turned their sights on Bishop McCormack. They say want to meet with him and ask questions about what he knows.
Gary Bergeron of Lowell, Massachusetts says he first asked to meet with McCormack back in April, but got no response.
BERGERON :15 yesterday at 3 o?clock in the afternoon, I got a call from Fr. Arsenault offering for a meeting to meet with us. I dunno if it was prompted by this press conference. I hope that it was out of the goodness of his heart.
The Manchester Chancellor, Father Ed Arsenault, met with the group today. He says this past Sunday, McCormack asked him to set up a preliminary meeting with the alleged victims.
ARSENAULT :16 It took me til the middle of the week to do that and it was not until yesterday that I was able to contact Gary Bergeron. And another gentlemen. I met with them just a few minutes ago. We had a very cordial, frank, and I hope helpful.
McCormack and Birmingham went to St. John?s Seminary in Boston together. Soon after graduating in 1960, they were placed at St. James Parish in Salem, where they lived in the same rectory. After serving as a priest in the Boston Archdiocese for almost 30 years, Birmingham died in 1989.
Later, McCormack became a top aide to Bernard Cardinal Law ? he was responsible for personnel matters and handling sexual misconduct cases.
McCormack has denied that he knew about Birmingham?s alleged predatory behavior towards young boys...
The six men told stories about the alleged molestations ? in Birmingham?s room, in his car, in school closets ? and recalled that McCormack was often nearby.
Larry Sweeney says he and his brother were abused as a children at St. Michael?s parish in Lowell.
SWEENEY :24 Father Birmingham was having a feast on young boys. When he finished at one parish and the heat got a little too hot, they shipped him off to another parish and served up another platter of young boys for him. The caterers were McCormack and other higher-ups who knew about McCormack and what he was doing.
The state Attorney General?s Office and victims? lawyers speak highly of the Manchester Diocese. They say it cooperated with investigations and negotiated a recent settlement in good faith? But Birmingham?s alleged victims question McCormack?s leadership abilities and honesty. Gary Bergeron:
BERGERON :07 If he has done such great work in NH, the people of NH applaud him for that. I?m not gonna take that away from him.
:18 I don?t care if he does tremendous work every day until the day he dies. It is not going to make up for what I suffered for what my brother suffered. For what 54 other men who?ve joined this suit have suffered and for hundreds of other victims and family members.
But their message was mixed. Individual members of the support group, Survivors of Joseph Birmingham, called for McCormack?s resignation. Bergeron says their immediate objective is to sit down with the Bishop to ask him some tough questions. But they also released more than 100 pages of documents. They say the diocesan memos and reports prove that McCormack lied to concerned parents about the danger Birmingham posed to their children.
BERGERON :16 If the people of New Hampshire read these documents after document and know who they?re dealing with. If they decide at that point, and he decides after looking in the mirror, ?I can still do this.? We?ll let the documents speak for themselves.
Bergeron and the rest of his support group say they?re looking for answers, not vengeance. They suspect that Father Birmingham victimized dozens of other young boys over the years. And they say the best way to prevent such abuse in the future, is to cut through the Church?s secrecy now.
For N-H-P-R News, I?m RMD, in Manchester.
