Newly released files in Boston reveal that a woman who said she had been raped by the infamous Fr. Porter (before last year the worst case of a pervert priest to hit Boston) went to Fr. Paul shanley afterward for counseling. Yikes. From the frying pan into the fire.
- According to the memo, dated Oct. 14, 2002, the unnamed woman was allegedly raped by Porter in 1967 at St. Patrick’s Parish in Stoneham. The memo was written by Barbara S. Thorp, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Healing and Assistance Ministry. The Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese, called it a “terrible situation all around. ... At the time she was sent to Father Shanley, no one knew.”
That’s not exactly true, is it Fr. Coyne? The first allegations against Shanley were made in 1966, so they were there somewhere in the archdiocese’s files.
But on the other hand, it’s not like she was referred to Shanley by the Church. According to her account, Shanley was a family friend and when the allegations against him surfaced she felt “deceived and betrayed.” Of course, these days we must always find some way to blame the Church in every situation. In today’s Boston Herald, the woman comes forward and castigates the Church and Barbara Thorp for releasing information from her counseling session with Thorp. (The article is not yet online.)
From what I can see, the information did not include the woman’s name or enough details to guess her identity. Since state law now requires mandatory reporting, what was Thorp supposed to do? She had to reveal the information, right? Of course, I smell a lawsuit on the wind. Of course.
