Cardinal O’Malley defends handling of letter on McCarrick
September 10, 2018
The Archdiocese of Boston has released a statement explaining why Cardinal Sean O’Malley did not receive a June 2015 letter warning about sexual misconduct by former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Cardinal O’Malley has said that he did not personally receive the letter from Father Boniface Ramsey, although it was addressed to his attention. He explained that his priest-secretary, Father Robert Kickham, opened and responded to the letter.
In a new public statement—which does not allude directly to the letter from Father Ramsey—the Boston archdiocese says that because Cardinal O’Malley receives a great deal of correspondence in his position as chairman of a papal commission on sexual abuse, “the process has been for his priest secretary to review the correspondence and respond on matters that fell outside the mandate of the Commission. However, the statement continues, the cardinal has now “revised the protocol” so that he will “personally review all letters that come to his office” if they are related to sexual abuse.
Father Kickham has come under some criticism for apparently failing to alert Cardinal O’Malley to the complaints against McCarrick. But the statement from the archdiocese emphasizes that “Father Kickham is an essential and valued member of the cardinal’s senior staff,” who has “the full faith and confidence of the cardinal and the support of his brother priests.”
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Posted by: [email protected] -
Sep. 10, 2018 11:01 PM ET USA
Father kickham should be relieved immediately. What he is saying is that he was dumb, deaf, and blind when reviewing the letter on Mccarrick. We are supposed to believe this story. No wonder we the laity are angry. As for O'Malley, remember his fawning support for Kennedy at his funeral. He is not the greatest supporter of the Church's teachings on Canon 915, abortiom, or marriage.
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Posted by: james-w-anderson8230 -
Sep. 10, 2018 10:41 PM ET USA
It is hard to believe that Fr. Kickham, as such a trusted senior member of the staff, didn't ask the Cardinal how to handle such a political hot potato.
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Posted by: Eric -
Sep. 10, 2018 12:56 PM ET USA
“Father Kickham is an essential and valued member of the cardinal’s senior staff,” who has “the full faith and confidence of the cardinal and the support of his brother priests.” Hmmmm. Obviously NOTHING will happen to Fr. Kickham. And the bishops wonder why the faithful are so angry. NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
