Priest-sex scandal expands to N.H.

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Posted 8:41AM on Saturday, February 16, 2002

MANCHESTER, N.H. - An expanding scandal in the Roman Catholic Church has spread to New Hampshire, where 14 priests accused of sexual misconduct with children over a 25-year span are being investigated for possible prosecution. The Diocese of Manchester, which covers New Hampshire, gave prosecutors the names of the priests Friday. Attorney General Philip McLaughlin said it will be up to individual county attorneys to decide whether to prosecute. ``We're not at the end of the road here. We are at the beginning of the road,'' McLaughlin said. Bishop John B. McCormack acknowledged that some of the 14 were returned to duty over the years after doctors deemed them fit, a practice he acknowledged Friday was wrong. The Archdiocese of Boston has identified 80 priests in Massachusetts in recent weeks as having abused children over the past 40 years. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed there against the church and some priests, including McCormack, a top church official in Boston before he took the Manchester post in 1998. Some of the Massachusetts lawsuits accuse Cardinal Bernard Law and other leaders there of knowing about allegations of sexual assaults but failing to respond. After meeting with officials from the diocese and consulting prosecutors, McLaughlin said earlier this week he knew of no priests under investigation for sexually abusing children. On Friday, McLaughlin said he believes the church has been upfront with his office in their conversations. Of the 14 priests, one - the Rev. John R. Poirier of Holy Family Parish in Gorham - was still actively working. He was barred from working as a priest effective Friday. Seven other priests, all retired or suspended, had been disciplined the same way in the past. The remaining six were retired or on sick leave. Effective Friday, they were barred from celebrating Mass. The priests named Friday were accused between 1962 and 1987. Church officials declined to say whether any of those who were returned to duty were later accused of other abuse. ``The majority of the priests had one accusation,'' said Pat McGee, a diocese spokesman. ``I can't characterize it any more than that.'' Recognizing that it often takes victims years to come forward, New Hampshire law allows prosecutors to file child sexual assault charges until the victim turns 40. The Rev. Edward Arsenault, the diocese chancellor, said earlier Friday there have been monetary settlements with some of the victims in New Hampshire. He declined to give details. Arsenault said a review of New Hampshire records began last week. At meetings with the accused priests Thursday, all reacted with ``a deep sense of sadness,'' he said.