Getting too close to home, now. This is all very sad.


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Priest Accused of Child-Sex Abuse Commits Suicide
Friday, April 05, 2002

Associated Press


CLEVELAND — A Roman Catholic priest shot himself to death in his car three days after being accused of molesting a girl two decades ago, authorities said Friday.

The Rev. Don A. Rooney, 48, was found slumped over the wheel Thursday in a pharmacy parking lot in suburban Hinckley, a gunshot wound to the head. Cuyahoga County coroner Dr. Elizabeth Balraj ruled it suicide.

The priest left a note. "It was just to notify a family member. That's all," Balraj said.

"We're just all in shock," said Victoria Pisano, a parishioner at Rooney's church, St. Anthony of Padua in Parma. "I can't believe he would take his life being a man of faith."

Robert Tayek, a spokesman for the Cleveland Diocese, said a woman had called on Monday to allege that Rooney, as a newly ordained priest, sexually abused her in 1980 when she was a girl. The alleged abuse occurred at Rooney's first priestly assignment, at a church in Wadsworth.

The allegation was turned over to the Wadsworth police, Tayek said.

The priest had been asked to come to diocesan offices on Wednesday to discuss the allegation and was reported missing by his family when he did not show, Tayek said.

Since January, dozens of priests out of more than 47,000 nationwide have been suspended or forced to resign on suspicion of child molestation, in a scandal that began in Boston.

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[ 04-05-2002: Message edited by: J Thur ]

Dear Cantor Joe,

This is so terribly upsetting.

What if the priest was innocent, but thought the media attention and others would condemn him as guilty right away?

Perhaps another kind of victim in this unseemly, horrible mess is emerging now, the victim who is the priest, the priest who has no one to turn to for the kind of forgiveness and understanding he regularly has given out to others, the priest who suffers from the sneers of others who implicitly question his moral integrity as a celibate, the priest who would rather commit suicide than face the barrage of condemnation even before he can be proven guilty or innocent.

The celibate priest stands alone through all this. There is no one to listen, to understand or to help.

Alex

Saw it on the news last night. Lord, have mercy!

Sharon

Sharon Mech, SFO
Cantor & sinner
sharon@cmhc.com

Its important to remove Priests from active Ministry if it is proven they did something wrong. This was just an accusation but was he really guilty? Now there is only the word of one person.Its seems the gates of hell are working overtime to prevail.Its really sad.

Nicky's Baba

This really worrying.

So far , thank God we do not seem to be having the same percentage of problems here. Having said that I do worry , particularly with the cases from many years back that are now beginning to surface, are we seeing cases of False Memory Syndrome ?

After so many years how can a priest prove his innocence ?

Why are there not adequate support systems for our priests [ here I mean ALL priests - East and West]. Are we giving them enough support ?

Oh dear there is no easy answer

Yes! What if the priest was actually innocent?

The problem right now is that a mere acqusation is enough to get you "immediately" suspended.
No recourse. Your guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Now this is injustice.
Stephanos I

[ 04-06-2002: Message edited by: Stephanos I ]

No one is suggesting that the priest was guilty or innocent. This is just sad news. That is all. As for an immediate suspension, the article makes no mention of that. He was simply being called to make an account of an allegation while there was a police investigation started. In the meantime, he shot himself.


Joe

[ 04-06-2002: Message edited by: J Thur ]

Joe,
I was just commenting on present policies in general. And that the fact of it is that there is an immediate suspension just by accusation.
Stephanos I

Indeed it is sad however you look at it.

[ 04-06-2002: Message edited by: Stephanos I ]

[ 04-07-2002: Message edited by: Stephanos I ]