Defenses, Regrets, Settlements

Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan insisted Saturday that he properly handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests when he was a bishop in Connecticut. He also urged that all allegations of sexual abuse be immediately given to police.

In a letter prepared for distribution this weekend to all parishioners in the Archdiocese of New York, the nation's third largest archdiocese, Egan for the first time answered charges made about his conduct when he was bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., from 1988 to 2000.

"Should any priest sexually abuse a child, he will be removed from pastoral ministry," Egan wrote.

The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported last week that it had uncovered sealed court documents indicating Egan failed to aggressively investigate some abuse allegations and did not refer complaints to criminal authorities.

In his letter, Egan said he instituted a policy in Bridgeport that "any clergy accused of sexual misconduct with a minor was, after preliminary diocesan investigation, to be sent immediately to one of the most prominent psychiatric institutions in the nation for evaluation."

He added: "If the conclusions were favorable, he was returned to the ministry, in some cases with restrictions, so as to be doubly careful. If they were not favorable, he was not allowed to function as a priest."

Egan did not specify the number of priests evaluated or disclose the results of any diocesan investigations.

The Bridgeport Diocese settled complaints against six priests for an undisclosed amount in March 2001, shortly after Egan was appointed to the Archdiocese of New York. Egan served in Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000. He said all the cases cited by the Courant occurred before he was named bishop.

Eagan wrote in the letter Saturday that if the Archdiocese of New York receives an allegation of sexual abuse, "we will make the appropriate report to the proper authorities; if there is reasonable cause to suspect abuse and the victim does not oppose the reporting.

"I would strongly encourage, however, anyone who has an allegation of sexual abuse to bring it to the proper civil authorities directly and immediately."

On Sunday, some of the nation's other leading archbishops planned to have priests read messages addressing the child-molestation scandal.

Pope John Paul II on Thursday broke his silence on the mater, saying the "grave scandal" was casting a "dark shadow of suspicion" over all priests.

Also Saturday, The New York Times reported that when Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily was the second-highest official in the Archdiocese of Boston, he sought to avoid a scandal rather than investigate priests accused of molesting children.

Daily has emerged as a key figure in the case of defrocked priest John Geoghan, who has been accused of molesting more than 130 children.

On Friday, Daily said in a statement that he regretted some decisions he made during his tenure in Boston, which lasted from 1973 to 1984.

The newspaper cited court documents claiming that in 1982, when Daily was a chancellor in the Archdiocese of Boston, he was told of allegations that Geoghan abused seven boys, ages 6 to 14, in one extended family.

Daily acknowledged that he "may well have" encouraged the family to keep quiet about their allegations. He never informed law enforcement authorities about Geoghan, and when he transferred him to another parish, he said, he did not recall telling the parish's pastor about the complaints against Geoghan.

Since the emergence of documents revealing that Boston church officials had ignored abuse allegations against Geoghan, dozens of priests - out of more than 47,000 nationwide - have been suspended or forced to resign.

Separately, the Archdiocese of St. Louis said it had paid about $1.6 million over the past 20 years to people who claim they were molested by Roman Catholic priests.

"The rationale is to assist people who have brought complaints," Bernard C. Huger, a lawyer for the archdiocese, said in Saturday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "In some cases, settlements were made even if the claim was considered not to be substantiated."

Church officials said most of the claims were substantiated. Church officials refused to say how many cases were settled.

The figure released by the Archdiocese of St. Louis is small compared to recent settlements in other cities.

The Archdiocese of Boston earlier this month agreed to pay up to $30 million to 86 people who accused former priest John Geoghan of child molestation. The archdiocese already had paid an estimated $15 million to 40 of alleged victims of Geoghan, who was convicted in January of indecent assault on a 10-year-old boy.

In Dallas, nine altar boys who said they were molested by former priest Rudolph Kos received $23.4 million in 1998. In New Mexico, the archdiocese paid an estimated $50 million to settle about 45 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by former priest Jason Sigler.