Parishioners shocked by allegation of priest misconduct
All Categories
Page Category: 2006 November
http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=103763
Parishioners shocked by allegation of priest misconduct
By Peter Reuell
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
HUDSON-- Parishioners at St. Michael Church yesterday called the Rev. StevenPoitras a "personable, dedicated" priest, and expressed shock and angerat a recently revealed allegation of sexual misconduct.
Ina statement released Monday, the Archdiocese of Boston said Poitras hadbeen suspended from his post as the second-ranking priest at theManning Street church after being accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the statement, the alleged abuse took place in 1994, when Poitras was assigned to a church in North Andover.
Afterreceiving the allegation, archdiocese officials notified the stateattorney general's office and the Essex County district attorney, andlaunched a preliminary investigation.
Parishioners, however, yesterday seemed reluctant to believe the allegations.
"He's a very nice person," Antonio Goncalves said outside the church. "It was very pleasant to have Mass with him."
The abuse allegation, "was a shock," he said. "We loved him. He was a very good person to be with."
Inside the church, two other parishioners, who asked that their names not be used, echoed Goncalves' comments.
"Heis a wonderful, wonderful man," one woman said, as she decorated aChristmas tree near the church's altar. "He was a very decent person,and he loved being a priest."
Parishioners were told of Poitras' suspension last weekend, and the scene was an emotional one.
"Wewere shocked," said the woman who asked not to be identified. "Peoplewere crying. Everybody was just in a state of shock."
"Hewas funny, very personable, outgoing," said one man, who also did notwant to be named. "Just a nice, nice man. We haven't talked to anybodythat wasn't in an absolute state of shock."
Whileon suspension, Poitras is not allowed to minister publicly, and is notallowed to live at the parish rectory, archdiocese spokesman KellyLynch said yesterday.
Church officials, however, emphasized the allegations against Poitras are just that -- allegations.
"Thedecision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does notrepresent a determination of his guilt or innocence as it pertains tothis allegation," the statement reads.
ThoughLynch refused to give any further details on the allegation, she didsay the alleged abuse "did not occur at the parish to which FatherPoitras was assigned in 1994."
Officialsfrom both the attorney general's office and the Essex County districtattorney's office refused to confirm whether they are investigating theallegation.
DorothyKennedy, president of the Boston area Council of Voice of the Faithful,a group founded in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal, called thearchdiocese's decision to go public with the allegation correct.
"Ithink they've done the right thing in publishing it, yes," she said."We are interested in seeing justice for the victims of sexual abuse.The reason we want to see a credible allegation made public is becausethere may be other victims out there."
Kennedy, however, was quick to add that the organization wants to see due process for priests who are accused.
"Oneof our concerns is about priests who have been accused who are inlimbo," she said. "We've heard there are many priests that have beenaccused and we don't know the status of the investigations.
"Transparency is a real concern of ours because it's through transparency that justice prevails."
(Peter Reuell can be reached at 508-626-4428, or at preuell@cnc.com.)
It has been an honor and a privilege to provide more than 20 years of availability to those who seek further information on the reality of the global clergy abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic and other religions.
Contact me if you need assistance in locating specific pages or if you or someone you know sees the importance of keeping these pages active by assisting in keeping the full access to the sites information available to the general public.
desktop-If you found this information to be of assistance please don't forget to donate so that we can extend these information pages which are focused on providing knowledge and information to survivor/victims on their Human Rights with justice, compassion and empathy at the fore along with sound knowledge of Human Biology and Psychology, Human Evolution and Neuroscience. Information is not provided as legal or professional advice; it is provided as general information only and requires that you validate any information via your own legal or other professional service providers.
Check out tfyqa.biz history here
Look for these other respected FAQyMe Gene-affiliated, secular social-inclusion sites
Clergy Abuse Action - repurposed || Molested Catholics by the Million || Captain Obvious - My Broken Society || A first in Secular Australia for Children - It's not Rocket Science || The Blue Print - It's OH so Obvious - repurposed || The GCAC - The Global Clergy Abuse Crisis - repurposed || TFYQA Think for Yourself, Question Authority || XT3 Molested Catholic courtesy of George Pell and babbling Benny || Defending the Human Rights of Catholic Adults and Children Trauma in Religion || The FAQyMe Gene - The FAQ Why Me Gene blog
Check for the latest on the FAQyMe Gene
You can directly support my work at PayPal John A Brown. Read more about John Brown here
Were you like so many others born into a constitutionally protected God based death and rape culture?
About and bits
IP Geolocation by geoPlugin
