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  Supporters, Accusers Have Stake in Priest Trial

By Denise Lavoie
Telegram & Gazette [Cambridge MA]
February 6, 2005

Defrocked priest Paul Shanley was one of the most notorious figures in the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the Roman Catholic Church, but his trial has been a low-key affair, drawing only a smattering of spectators on any given day.

A few Shanley supporters have shown up, offering him a handshake or an occasional cup of coffee during breaks in the testimony. Some of his alleged victims have been there, too, listening as his now-adult accuser testified the once charismatic priest would take him out of Catholic education classes to molest him.

And what they see is not the long-haired vigorous "street priest" once hailed for befriending the downtrodden, but a frail old man wearing a hearing aide remaining stoic as the most graphic of allegations unfolded over the course of the two-week trial. The jury resumes deliberations Monday.

"I didn't want to be afraid any more," said one man who went to see Shanley for counseling 30 years ago at age 15, when he felt confused after his first homosexual experience.

"We had sex the first time I saw him. ... It was an ongoing thing until age 22 or 23," said the man, who was one of more than 500 people who settled lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Boston in 2003 in a global $85 million settlement.

"At the trial, I sat 10 feet or so behind him, and I didn't feel scared. I felt a great relief. I had built up this fear in my head all these years. Suddenly, I wasn't afraid anymore when I actually saw him. I felt like a 45-year-old man instead of a scared little kid," said the man, who asked not to be named.

Bill Gately, who said he was molested by another priest in the 1960s, sat in on two days of the trial.

"I felt as if I could offer a gentle, supportive presence to the victim in this case and to the other people who would be watching it with anxiety. I just wanted to be there for any victims," said Gately, who is co-coordinator of the New England chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Others have come to support Shanley, who was known in the 1960s and '70s as a "street priest" who reached out to troubled youth.

Paul Shannon met Shanley more than 30 years ago when Shannon was a Jesuit seminarian. Shannon, who has attended every day of the trial, said he believes his friend is a victim of hysteria over the clergy sexual abuse scandal that erupted in Boston in January 2002 - four months before Shanley was arrested in California.

"These notions that Paul Shanley would deliberately hurt kids ... that is simply preposterous for anybody who knows him," said Shannon, a librarian and teacher who lives in Boston.

Shannon said he believes it will be impossible for Shanley to get a fair trial because of the extensive media coverage of not only Shanley's case, but three years of continuous coverage of the scandal that led to multimillion-dollar settlements and an investigation by the state attorney general that concluded at least 1,000 children were molested by more than 230 priests since the 1940s in Boston.

In the criminal trial that began in late January, Shanley is accused of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy from 1983 to 1989 at St. Jean's church in Newton, beginning when the boy was 6. His accuser, now a 27-year-old firefighter from suburban Boston, testified that he repressed memories of the abuse until three years ago, when the clergy sexual abuse crisis exploded in Boston and he read about a friend's allegations of abuse against Shanley. The jury began deliberating late Thursday.

Shanley's trial has also attracted lawyers who represent people in lawsuits accusing Shanley and other priests of sexually abusing children.

Boston attorney Carmen Durso, who represented about 30 people who settled their lawsuits as part of the 2003 settlement, said he came to watch the Shanley trial to show support for Shanley's accuser and for other alleged victims who may not have the courage to come forward.

"I'm not sure Shanley is going to be convicted, but people need to see this, see that he is being prosecuted. They need to know that they are not the only ones who have gone through something like this," Durso said.

"We're at a point now where a lot of people don't want to hear about this anymore. It's been going on for three years, and they just want it to go away. It's important to let victims know it's not over."

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said that many victims view the charges against Shanley in a larger context. The outcome of the trial, he said, is very important to the victim community.

"I believe many victims look at these proceedings and see not only the defendant priest on trial, but his supervisors, the archdiocese and the Catholic Church as a whole," Garabedian said.

Editors' Note: Denise Lavoie is a Boston-based reporter covering the courts and legal issues.

 
 

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