Group grows as priests seek a voice amid abuse scandal

BOSTON -- When three old friends met for dinner last year, they intended to start no more than a lively discussion about everyday issues they face as priests -- from workloads to loneliness and theology.

Fifteen months later, the Boston Priests Forum has grown to 250 members and become an important voice for clerics in the sex abuse scandal. Today, it will decide whether to call for the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law -- a man they have pledged to obey.

The Rev. Paul Kilroy, one of the founders, said the group isn't about rebellion but about healing the church.

"I don't have any illusions about this being a revolt," Kilroy said. "We just want to move on. We're very tired and worn down by the crisis and we want to move on."

Already this week, a group of lay Roman Catholics, Voice of the Faithful, voted overwhelmingly to ask the cardinal to resign. So did 58 priests, including some members of the forum.

The dissension from priests is extraordinary, given their vow of obedience to the cardinal. But the Rev. Robert Bullock, a leader of the forum and one of its early members, said it simply reflects the feeling among parishioners as church attendance and finances falter.

Debating Law's resignation is deeply painful, Bullock said. But he said the group's leadership is unanimous in believing the cardinal should resign. A priest, he added, is also responsible to God, his conscience and the church.

The dissent from priests has probably devastated Law because a bishop views priests as family, said Thomas O'Connor, a Boston College historian and author of Boston Catholics.

"When you lose that, who else is there?" he said.

The forum's first meeting was in September 2001 at Kilroy's parish, St. Bernard's in Newton. Also there were the Revs. Walter Cuenin of Newton and Thomas Powers from Wellesley. They invited friends to the next dinner and by the end of the year, the group had swelled to about 50 members.

"We needed to help each other, get a deeper sense of community," Bullock said. "We were all splattered about. We needed to reflect on our experiences."

When the scandal broke early this year, the group didn't shy away from controversy. It invited two speakers it knew Law would not approve of: the Rev. Richard McBrien, a Notre Dame theologian who is a widely known dissenter, and the Rev. Donald Cozzens, whose latest book examines how a culture of denial in the church has fueled its problems.

Law's response to the forum was cool, even after the group wrote him in August to request an urgent meeting and warn, "Your Eminence, the priests are hurting." Law didn't meet with group until late October.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright