Murder Haunts Catholic Church

Charges Of Sexual Abuse Reopens An Old Murder Investigation

(CBS)  "I told him at that meeting that as long as Father Richard Lavigne was receiving any sustenance from the diocese, I wouldn’t give any money to the church, and I flippantly said, 'Hold back the 6 percent,'" says Mason. "And father looked like he was gonna pass out about that point in time."

Even so, Scahill agreed to submit that ultimatum to the head of the Springfield diocese, Bishop Thomas Dupre. The bishop’s spokesman characterizes the bishop's reaction as “disappointed.”

Scahill describes him as furious: "He said what? And I told him again. And he said, 'You cannot do that.' He says, 'There's no conversation relative to this matter. You absolutely cannot do that.'"

Scahill says that Dupre threatened to suspend him. And McGeer says other local priests treated him as a traitor.

Why isn't there widespread support? "There's a very strong silence that goes on in that priesthood," says McGeer. "As a result, priests are not breaking that silence. They're staying together with it."

"The church must become accountable. The church must change," says Scahill, who spread the message by speaking out for victims of sexual abuse and against Dupre. McGeer encouraged church members to support their cause. Mason bombarded newspapers with letters demanding that the bishop defrock Lavigne.

In January 2003, the Springfield diocese initiated procedures to remove Lavigne. Then in October 2003, Scahill received a phone call from a concerned mother. She had been following the news about his battles with the bishop, and she had something Scahill needed to know.

"[She said] that her son and one of his friends had been abused by Bishop Dupre," says Scahill.

Scahill met the two men, who repeated the charges. Then reporter Bill Zajac of the Springfield Republic got wind of the allegations. And in February 2004, he asked Dupre to respond.

"The next morning, I woke up and then I heard the news that the bishop had resigned his position and he had checked himself into a hospital the night before," says Zajac.

Seven months later, Dupre was indicted for statutory rape, the first U.S. Roman Catholic bishop to be charged with sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty, and the charges were later dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.

Shortly before Dupre’s resignation, Lavigne was defrocked and soon afterward his financial support ended. The diocese told 60 Minutes Wednesday the public pressure had nothing to do with it. But McGeer disagrees: "I do believe Richard Lavigne would still be a priest and that Thomas Dupre would still be the bishop in Springfield, had we not taken some action."

Last summer, Scahill and his congregation celebrated their victory. "We have the belief that what we have done at St. Michael's has made children safer for all times and victims have been given voice to begin their healing," says Scahill.

The investigation into Danny Croteau’s murder was reopened two years ago, but some detectives fear that too much time has passed, that not enough new evidence can be found to bring charges. And Lavigne – no longer Father Lavigne -- still lives in Springfield. And Carl and Bunny Croteau still attend Catholic Mass every day.

That Dupre is still a Catholic bishop in good standing 15 months after his resignation, his whereabouts unknown, is both troubling and disgraceful. Have the Croteau's thought about leaving the church?

"No," says Bunny Croteau.

"You're convinced that a priest killed one of your sons. He sexually abused three others. The hierarchy of the church covered it up in a conspiracy. You're convinced," says Rather. "But you stick in. You stay in."

"They can't take God away from us," says Bunny Croteau. "That's the one thing they can't have."