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ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PATERSON (NJ) IGNORES NEEDS OF VICTIMS OF CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE POST DALLAS MEETING

(PRWEB) September 21, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Clifton, NJ Â? September 23, 2002

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is comprised of 377,000 Catholic faithful located in three northern New Jersey counties. Along with many other dioceses in the United States, the Paterson diocese has dealt with numerous accusations of priests who have allegedly sexually abused minors.

Steven Rabi, age 54 and a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a former career law enforcement officer, disclosed what he endured to the diocese in March 2002, after forty-three years of living with the shame and secret of clergy sexual abuse.

In 1959, at age eleven, Rabi was a sixth grade student at St. Nicholas elementary school in Passaic, NJ. The associate pastor at that time, Rev. Joseph W. Molloy, had Â?accessÂ? to him while he was an altar boy. Molloy served as the priest in charge of altar boys. Molloy took Rabi under his wing, providing the attention that RabiÂ?s own father could not give him because he worked long hours. Molloy Â?groomedÂ? him and started his sexual exploitation with an attempt to fondle the pre-pubsescent boy. Later, after catching Rabi in a petty theft of two dollars from a church collection box, Molloy administered Â?penanceÂ? to him behind closed doors in the parish rectoryÂ?a bare bottom spanking that developed into genital fondling and his initiation into oral sex performed upon him by the priest.

During an almost two-year period, Father Molloy forced Rabi into oral sex, masturbation, and sodomy. He performed sex acts on him and threatened Rabi with excommunication (expulsion) from the Catholic Church, told him that no one would believe him if he told anyone, and that he had the power to have God love or hate him. As a priest, he held high respect with his Irish Catholic parishioners.

Rabi says he kept his secret of being a victim of priest incest for decades. On several occasions over the last ten years, he attempted to reach out and find a priest who he could confide in and tell about his abuse. The strength was never enough to get it out into the open. Then, 2002, the Boston Archdiocese, Cardinal Law and the media deluge that followed, brought what Rabi describes as his Â?wounded soulÂ? to the point where it cried out for healing.

Rabi contacted PatersonÂ?s Bishop, Frank J. Rodimer, and sent him a long narrative with details of the abuse. The diocesan legal representative, Kenneth F. Mullaney, Jr., wrote Â?Mr. Rabi has lived for his entire life with the scars of the sexual abuse allegedly committed by Father MolloyÂ?this matter cannot even remotely be considered a Â?repressed memoryÂ? or “recovered memoryÂ? situationÂ?as a result, any potential cause of action by Mr. Rabi would be time barred by New JerseyÂ?s Statute of Limitations.Â?

The 2002-2003 New Jersey State Legislative Session has a bill in committee, A2141 that would eliminate the statute of limitations in such cases. It is sponsored by NJ Assemblyman Phil D. Cohen (D), Deputy Majority Leader. Rabi would like to testify before the Judiciary Committee when it considers the Bill.

The accused priest, Joseph William Molloy, left the priesthood prior to 1978 when Rodimer was installed as the sixth bishop of the Paterson diocese. RabiÂ?s background as a police investigator helped him get additional information about his abuser. Molloy married, raised five children, and adopted a Romanian baby in 1990. Additionally, Molloy worked as a child abuse investigator for the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (now known as the Dept. of Families and Children) in Florida. This is an agency riff with problems and even the hiring of convicted sex offenders. Rabi wonders if a thorough background was done on Molloy and if he had complaints made against him that paralleled to his unfortunate experiences as a boy.

The Passaic County ProsecutorÂ?s Office in Paterson that is investigating all accusations of priest sexual abuse dealing with the diocese wrote Rabi to state that they could not prosecute Molloy since he is deceased. Molloy died in June 2000 at the age of 72.

Meanwhile, the Paterson Diocese urged Rabi and his wife to meet with Bishop Rodimer at the diocesan center in Clifton. Rabi flew from his home in Albuquerque, NM, and had a meeting with Rodimer on August 2, 2002. While Rabi did not have legal representation to accompany him, the meeting consisted of the Bishop, his Vicar General, Msgr. Herbert K. Tillyer, and the Chancellor, Rev. John E. Hart. According to Rabi, Â?the diocese had all the big guns there for the meeting. I guess I was supposed to be intimidated. Instead I felt empowered.Â?

During the two-hour meeting, Rabi read a Victim Impact Statement and had also prepared a PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of his presentation, he asked Rodimer for authorization to address the parishioners at St. Nicholas where the abuse had taken place. Those present told Rabi that it was inappropriate, that the parish demographic had changed from an immigrant Irish parish to an inner city Hispanic community. Â?Most of them will have no idea what you are discussing,Â? said Msgr. Tillyer. Â?Additionally, we never have a victim speak at a Mass. They use an auditorium and have advance notice. Some of our people really do not want to hear about priest sexual abuse because it bothers them and their Faith,Â? Tillyer added. So, Rabi decided to forego pushing that issue further. Later, Rabi learned that another victim of priest sexual abuse, Mark Serrano, had been permitted to speak with parishioners at the church where his abuse took place, St. Joseph’s in Mendham. That parish has had eight men come forth saying they were abused by a priest assigned there.

There were several other issues that Rabi brought to the meeting with him. The major issue was funding for healing, therapy, counseling, prescribed medication, and vocational rehabilitation. While Rabi suffers no substance abuse issues, he has had bouts of clinical depression that has kept him from gainful employment.

The position taken by the Diocese of Paterson to pay for counseling and therapy upsets Rabi greatly. Â?It is their position originally that I seek out a local Catholic outsourced provider and they would handle the billing/payment end of it. I have not been, nor desire, to return to the Roman Catholic Church. My Faith in that Church is nil,Â? Rabi said. Later, Rabi was told that he could use any local healthcare source provided that his own health insurance be the primary source of payment and that the diocese would pick up the remainder. This infuriated Rabi. Â?Imagine that I have to use my healthcare provider to pay for medical treatment as the result of being raped and sodomized by one of their priests? How ridiculous is that?Â? Most recently, Rabi has been told by the diocese he may seek whomever he wants to provide counseling, and that they will send him the standardized agreement to pay for it.

Unfortunately for the diocese, Rabi will not allow that. Â?I want a lump-sum payment in a local bank account where I make the payments directly. The umbilical cord of the Church that has been a stranglehold has been cut and they must realize it once and for all,Â? Rabi said.

Nearly twelve weeks after the meeting with the diocese and Rabi has yet to see any progress made in his attempt to receive compassion, understanding, and empathy from the diocese. Nor has he received a dime for therapy and counseling. Â?I guess it comes down to the fact that I have to second mortgage my house and start playing hardball with these Â?black collar criminals,Â? Rabi commented. He added, Â?Rodimer tells me in a one-on-one private conversation that he feels the crisis in the Church will help him become more humble and less arrogant.Â? Â?Actually, I believe he is a pompous son-of-a-bitch who cannot wait to retire. HeÂ?s got people believing that he is sincereÂ?hell, does paying back the diocese a secret settlement of $ 250,000 to cover-up sex abuse by a priest friend guarantee him salvation?Â?

Bishop Rodimer is eligible to ask the Vatican to consider his request for retirement next month. At that time, Rodimer will celebrate his 75th birthday, the normal retirement age for bishops.

Meanwhile, Rabi is moving ahead with publicity. He has posted a website that is already gaining support as well as some controversy. Its domain name alone is unusual: http://www.sexually-abused-by-patersondiocese-priest.com

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