Diocese adds another to list of credible sex abuse allegations against priests

April 1, 2016 | Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – As the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced a settlement with a sexual abuse victim, Bishop Mitchell Rozanski reiterated his plea with the church and local communities for forgiveness for the sins of representatives of the faith.

“In this Year of Mercy, our church seeks forgiveness for the past actions of clergy as well as our failure to adequately address past abuse claims. And in the name of our local church I echo this request,” he said.

On March 29 the diocese added the late Rev. Paul Archambault, who served in some fashion at parishes in Chicopee, Hampden, Northampton, South Hadley and Springfield, to its list of clergy with credible allegations of abuse.

In a statement to the media, the diocese revealed Achambault committed suicide in 2011 after learning of the allegations against him. With this in mind, the diocese was compelled to confirm the veracity of the victim’s claims.

“This is yet another sad reminder of the pain and tragedy caused by these deliberate acts, which not only cause such tremendous harm to victims, their families and close acquaintances but also violates the trust of our people and impugns the integrity of the majority of clergy and religious who faithfully minister in the Catholic Church,” Rozanski said. “This matter was made even more sad and tragic by the fact that when faced with the consequences of his actions, Father Archambault elected to take his own life.

“I want to extend to all victims my sincere apology for what they had to endure. I want to assure them and the entire community of my fervent resolve to continue to address this terrible plague upon our Church through our ongoing screening, education and awareness efforts. We must never let our guard down; rather we must all remain vigilant,” he continued.

Archambault’s is the 18th name to be added to the list of diocesan priests, deacons, and religious order priests who have had one or more credible allegations of sexual abuse of a child made against them in life. Archambault is one of six on the list now deceased.

Former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupre is not among the 18 because, according to the diocese, church law requires misconduct allegations against a bishop be addressed specifically by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

A complete list is available at http://diospringfield.org/wp-content/uploads/updated-2016-List-of-accused-priests-for-website.pdf.

The diocese also called for parish leaders to provide direct notification of the findings to the church communities at which Archambault was assigned or conducted ministry – Holy Name of Jesus in Chicopee, St. Mary in Hampden, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Northampton, St. Theresa in South Hadley and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Springfield.

Rozanski urged victims to break their silence.

“Finally, let we reiterate the need for anyone who has an awareness of abuse, past or present, to step forward and report it to local law enforcement officials,” he said.

In addition to law enforcement and child protective service agencies, the diocese recommended contacting its Office of Child and Youth Protection at 452-0624 or its confidential abuse hotline at 800-842-9055.

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