Your gift counts double until 5/31: $24,002 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!
 Off the Record

the inner ring

By Diogenes (articles ) | May 03, 2005 1:30 PM

A Springfield (MA) paper is reporting that its investigator believes he's located some of the daisies in the chain:

The investigator hired to probe the 1972 unsolved murder of 13-year-old altar boy Daniel Croteau says he now suspects that a ring of about 10 pedophiles, many of them priests, operated a sexual abuse ring that preyed upon children at the time Croteau was killed.

"These priests formed their own Internet before any Internet existed," said private detective and former state trooper R.C. Stevens recently. "It allowed them to exchange information and strategies, share children, and rid themselves of them."

Last year, after the inglorious exit of Bishop Thomas Dupre, Springfield's Msgr. Richard Sniezyk referred to a network -- not of pedophiles, but of churchmen who covered for abusers.

The newly-elected leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said yesterday the church must "come clean," admitting that an "old boy network" years ago protected priests suspected of sexual abuse. ...

"I think truly an old boy network existed. We have to admit that no one did anything with it in those days," Sniezyk said, adding that priests are now being held accountable.

When he last made the news, Bishop Dupre (St. Luke Class of '04) was refusing to respond to questions about his alleged molestation of boys -- on Fifth Amendment grounds. Given the nature of what's at stake in Dupre's testimony, and his brother bishops' commitment to accountability, it might be opportune for his spiritual director to stop by for a chat.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($24,002 to go):
$80,000.00 $55,997.55
30% 70%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 1 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: Ignacio177 - May. 04, 2005 7:15 AM ET USA

    Does anyone forward these fact to the CDF office?

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church 12 hours ago
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church 20 hours ago
The sad decline of self-government May 22
That impromptu exorcism again May 22
The Mystery of the Spirit May 21

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8