Memorial names of Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse open old wounds

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Mgr. Charles Bermingham was such a beloved pastor of St. Aidan’s Church in Williston Park that the street in front of the parish was named in his honor decades ago.

But last month Bermingham’s name was among 101 priests on a list of clerics that the Rockville Center Diocese, in documents submitted to the U.S. bankruptcy court, said credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

Now lawyers, attorneys and survivors are demanding that authorities remove the “Bermingham Place” road sign. Bermingham died in 2003.

A “simple gesture” of removing the name “would help survivors try to heal and achieve some degree of closure,” said Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based lawyer who represents 25 survivors in lawsuits against the Catholic Church Roman in Long Island.

In another parish in Nassau County, St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Brookville, the lower parish hall and offices are named after Bishop. Mario Costa. He too was included on the diocesan list submitted on April 15.

The room has a plaque with a sculpted representation of Costa’s face and a quote that reads in part: “Living in the midst of the world without desiring its pleasures… penetrating all the secrets; heal all wounds… have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity. “

Some parishioners and activists want his name removed from the hall, along with the plaque. Costa died in 2007.

“It’s the height of hypocrisy for him to say this stuff and for them to keep him there while he’s on their list of credibly accused priests,” said Pat Stoneking, an attorney based at Manhattan with Jeff Anderson & Associates who also represent the survivors. on Long Island.

“He’s on your list of priests accused of doing horrible things, and you have a plaque in place?”

The Diocese of Rockville Center, which oversees Catholic parishes on Long Island, said it had not made any decisions regarding the street and hall commemorations.

Critics did not like inaction.

“Keeping these names fair is another indication of the Catholic Church‘s insensitivity to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and the lack of concern it places in healing survivors,” Garabedian said.

The diocese, which declined to provide details of the allegations against the priests, said it is still studying the matter.

“The diocese has studied the issue of building names and is in the process of tackling it,” said Sean Dolan, a spokesperson. “The diocese is not commenting on specific cases at this time. The allegations are being dealt with in the appropriate judicial bodies.”

The mayor of Williston Park, Paul Ehrbar, said he was not aware of Bermingham’s inclusion on the list of suspected child sex abusers, and that local officials should meet to decide whether to take action.

Bermingham began working at St. Aidan in 1960, according to court documents, and retired in 1977, according to the parish website.

At one point, he was head of the Catholic Youth Movement in the diocese and director of Catholic Charities, the newspapers reported.

Costa spent 27 consecutive years as a pastor at St. Paul the Apostle, starting in 1975, aside from a seven-month absence in 1982, according to the newspapers. He finished his service there in 2002.

Long Island parishioner James Hughes, who said he was an altar boy for Costa when the priest served at Holy Family Parish in Hicksville in the 1970s, said he wrote to church officials and asked Bishop John Barres to have the plaque removed.

“Allowing that plaque to stay put and have the room named after Costa is a slap in the face for those who have fallen victim to this guy,” Hughes said. “The culture of deception and silence continues.”

He added that “the diocese knew this priest, hid him from the parishioners and did not make anyone who fell victim to this man feel welcome and comforted”.

The list – the first time the diocese has provided a detailed account of the names of priests with credible allegations against them – also provides the locations where the abuse took place, motels, boats, ski resorts and even a plane. , in such remote places – launched as Yellowstone National Park, the Bahamas, Rome, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland.

The diocese has recently come under criticism for omitting the names of several dozen priests from the list, including two prominent church figures, former Bishop John McGann and Bishop. Alan Placa, although lawsuits have been brought against them.

Bermingham is listed as Priest No.8, and the document states that the alleged abuse occurred in St. Aidan. During his career he also served or lived in other locations including St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Babylon and St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Huntington.

Costa is listed as Priest No.22, and the document states that the alleged abuse occurred at St. Paul the Apostle. Dating back to the 1950s, he also served in other parishes including St. Patrick in Glen Cove, Ss. Cyril & Methodius in Deer Park, and Holy Family in Hicksville.

Bermingham and Costa weren’t previously known to lawyers for clergy sexual abuse survivors, Stoneking said.

Garabedian said many Catholic dioceses had halls or other buildings named after priests who were later found to have credible charges of child sex abuse against them.

Often, he said, church officials refuse to write down the names.

Some church analysts have said the Diocese of Rockville Center and local officials may have little choice in these cases.

“Any street name, any building, anything that honors someone who later turned out to be an abuser, it just has to go,” said Reverend Thomas Reese, senior analyst for Religion News Service, a news agency specializing in religious issues. . “It cannot stay. It would be an insult to abuse survivors. It would be foolish not to get rid of these things.”

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