By Brock Bergeson
In a Boston Superior Court trial, a jury found Paul Shanley guilty on two charges of raping a child and two charges of indecent assault and battery on a child on Feb. 7, 2005.
Then Reverend Paul Shanley was appointed pastor of St. Jean''s parish in Boston by Cardinal Bernard F. Law in 1985. After his appointment, many accusations of molestation were brought forth by the community, but nothing was ever really done.
Paul Thompson, from Alpine, who is a bishop in a singles ward for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the case brings up important issues that need to be dealt with.
?I?m glad that we are publicizing these things, especially for men,? Thompson said. ?They need to know that they can?t get away with these things. He has had a problem that has gotten out of control, and those type of people need to be dealt with.?
Thompson said the LDS Church already has put rules and regulations in place to help ensure these types of incidents do not happen.
?Training and Church manuals clearly outline the things that Bishops should and should not do,? Thompson said. ?Bishops are constantly communicating with stake presidents and the stake president is constantly aware of the interactions between bishops and the sisters inside the church.?
Shanley left Boston in 1990 for another sabbatical arriving at St. Ann Parish in San Bernadino, Calif. Three years later, Shanely was recalled to Boston on several alleged claims by alleged victims that he had abused. While receiving treatment at the Institute of Living in Hartford, he admitted to having had sex with teenage boys.
The archdiocese?s own personnel records showed church officials knew Shanley publicly advocated sex between men and boys, yet they continued to transfer him from one parish to another. The state attorney general?s office concluded nearly 1,000 children in Boston had been molested by more than 240 priests in 1989.
?I think it is terrible and awful,? said Michael Dunn, from Boulder City, Nev., majoring in history. ?How can someone of any religion continue in their profession or ministry by doing such things.? Dunn said he thinks The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint has done a good job implementing and sending memos to help avoid similar situations in the future. One example Dunn said includes the rules that missionaries cannot hold children.
In 2002, more than 800 pages of Shanley?s personnel file at the Boston Archdiocese were made public under a court order. In the same year, he was indicted by a grand jury on 10 counts of child rape and six counts of indecent assault and battery.
In 2004, the four accusers in the case reached a financial settlement worth $500,000 with the archdiocese, but the case didn?t stop there. Shanley was later defrocked by Pope John Paul II, and one of the four alleged victims decided to pursue the situation as a criminal case.
?I think a persuasive sentiment was he had already gotten a half-million dollar settlement,? Victoria Blier told the Associated Press. ?He had no reason whatsoever to pursue this criminal case, and he knew that pursuing the criminal case was going to lay a painful life bare.?
?It will bring more awareness to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with greater scrutiny and controls they have in place,? said Cuong Huynh, from Vietnam, majoring in information systems. ?For example, the interviews that Bishops have with youth and activities that involve the youth will be affected.?
In January 2005, jury selection began in the Middlesex Superior Court trial. The defense in the case called just one witness---a psychologist. The psychologist claimed recovered memories, similar to the ones in this case, can be false even if the accuser truly believes they are true.
?We agreed after discussion that you can experience something up to a point, and then not think about it and have plenty of other things in your life that are more important,? Blier told the AP.