Dolan Denies Pedophile Payoffs

Cardinal Timothy Dolan yesterday blasted a New York Times report that revealed his payments to pedophile priests.

“The New York Times does not have a reputation for fair and accurate reporting when it comes to this issue,” Dolan said yesterday after Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown. “So, to respond to charges like that — that are groundless and scurrilous — in my book it’s useless and counterproductive.” Yesterday, Dolan denied that similar payments were being made in the New York Archdiocese, which includes about 400 parishes in Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, and seven suburban counties. “No, thank God. Cardinal Egan did a splendid job — that’s all taken care of,” said Dolan, referring to his predecessor, Edward Cardinal Egan. Dolan didn’t say whether similar payments to abusive Archdiocese of New York priests were made in the past. The cardinal also lashed out at an advocacy group — Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — that has called the payments “secret deals” and “incentives.” But Dolan fumed, “SNAP has no credibility whatsoever.”

The payoffs were revealed last week in the bankruptcy papers of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. Many suspect that Dolan moved hundreds of millions of dollars while posted there in order to thwart court judgements in favor of the victims of priests.