Records show church discussed alleged abuse

Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, Mass — Church officials discussed the Rev. Paul Shanley’s troubling sexual history and how to prevent him from harming others during the early 1990s, according to records from the Boston Archdiocese’s file on the now-retired priest.

A judge allowed all but three pages of the file to be made public Tuesday, saying public interest was a greater concern than privacy in the sexual abuse case. The materials include correspondence and other materials related to Shanley’s fitness for the priesthood.

The records largely centered on correspondence after Shanley had moved to California in 1990, with a job recommendation from the archdiocese. Several years later, officials were discussing whether to try to return him to Boston for psychiatric treatment.

Roderick MacLeish, the attorney for alleged victims suing Shanley, said the materials released Tuesday showed that although the archdiocese was familiar with Shanley’s problems, the church never informed his former parishioners in Newton, where he served from 1983 to 1990.

In one 1995 letter, a church official, the Rev. Brian Flatley, wrote that the archdiocese had learned in 1993 that "Father Shanley had a past history of aberrant sexual involvements."

In a 1994 memo, the Rev. John McCormack said Shanley’s "pathology is beyond repair." He summarized conclusions from a discussion about a psychiatrist’s report.

"How do we protect others from him," he wrote. " … What is important is that he does not practice as a priest."