orders for his arrest, let me tell you everything else I know about him.’
Excerpts from the correspondence between Edward Dressler, psychiatrist, and Cardinal Francis Casey
Boston, 14 May 1991
[. . .]Your Eminence, we no doubt find ourselves in the presence of a born recidivist. From what I am told, this is the fifth time he has been reassigned to a new parish. The tests we carried out over the course of two weeks confirm that we cannot take the risk of sending him to live in close proximity to young children without putting them in danger. [. . .] By no means do I doubt his desire to repent, because it is strong. But I do doubt his ability to control himself. [. . .]We cannot permit ourselves the luxury of having him in a parish. It would be better if we clipped his wings before he loses all control. Otherwise, I cannot take responsibility for what might occur. I recommend a period of internment of at least six months in the Saint Matthew Institute.
Boston, 4 August 1993
[. . .] This is the third time I’ve had dealings with him [Karosky]. [. . .] I have to say that the ‘fresh air’, as you called it when you moved him from parish to parish, hasn’t helped at all; rather the opposite. He is beginning to lose control with greater frequency, and I detect traces of schizophrenia in his behavior. It’s very possible that at some point he will completely cross the line and become another person. Eminence, you know my devotion to the Church, and I understand the present overwhelming lack of priests, but to lower the bar so very close to the ground . . . Thirty-five of these men have passed through my hands so far, Eminence, and I have seen, in some of them, the possibility that they might recover on their own. [. . .] Karosky is definitely not one of them. Cardinal, only on rare occasions has Your Eminence followed my advice. I beg you to do so now: persuade Karosky to enter the Saint Matthew.
UACV Headquarters
Via Lamarmora,
Wednesday, 6 April 2005, 12.03 a.m.
Paola sat down, bracing herself to hear what Fowler had to say. ‘Ninety ninety-five was when it all began – for me, anyway. At
that time I’d retired from the Air Force and was working under the
direction of my bishop. He wanted to make use of my training in
psychology, so he sent me to the Saint Matthew Institute. Have any
of you heard of it?’
All three answered in the negative.
‘I’m not surprised. The very existence of the institution is a secret
to the majority of the public in North America, even the more
informed ones. It officially consists of a residential centre set up to
deal with priests and nuns who have “problems”, and it’s located
in Sachem Pike, Maryland. The reality is that ninety-five per cent
of its patients have a history of sexual abuse of minors or problems
with drugs. The institute’s facilities are, without question, luxurious:
thirty-five rooms for the patients, nine for the medical personnel
(nearly all interns), a tennis court, a pool, a recreation room with
billiard table . . .’
‘Sounds more like a health resort than a psychiatric institution,’
Pontiero interjected.
‘Well, the place is a mystery, in more ways than one. It is a mystery to the outside world and a mystery to those who stay there:
at first, they see it as a place they can retire to for several months,
somewhere they can rest; then, little by little, they discover that it
is altogether different. All of you know the enormous problem the
Church in my country has had with certain Catholic priests over the last few years. From the public’s point of view, it wouldn’t go down very well if they felt that priests accused of sexual abuse were getting
paid vacations in a luxury hotel.’
‘So were they?’ asked Pontiero, who seemed to be very affected
by the subject, perhaps on account of having two children himself,
both teenagers.
‘No. I’ll try to sum up my experiences there succinctly. Upon my
arrival I found it to be a profoundly secular
Excerpts from the correspondence between Edward Dressler, psychiatrist, and Cardinal Francis Casey
Boston, 14 May 1991
[. . .]Your Eminence, we no doubt find ourselves in the presence of a born recidivist. From what I am told, this is the fifth time he has been reassigned to a new parish. The tests we carried out over the course of two weeks confirm that we cannot take the risk of sending him to live in close proximity to young children without putting them in danger. [. . .] By no means do I doubt his desire to repent, because it is strong. But I do doubt his ability to control himself. [. . .]We cannot permit ourselves the luxury of having him in a parish. It would be better if we clipped his wings before he loses all control. Otherwise, I cannot take responsibility for what might occur. I recommend a period of internment of at least six months in the Saint Matthew Institute.
Boston, 4 August 1993
[. . .] This is the third time I’ve had dealings with him [Karosky]. [. . .] I have to say that the ‘fresh air’, as you called it when you moved him from parish to parish, hasn’t helped at all; rather the opposite. He is beginning to lose control with greater frequency, and I detect traces of schizophrenia in his behavior. It’s very possible that at some point he will completely cross the line and become another person. Eminence, you know my devotion to the Church, and I understand the present overwhelming lack of priests, but to lower the bar so very close to the ground . . . Thirty-five of these men have passed through my hands so far, Eminence, and I have seen, in some of them, the possibility that they might recover on their own. [. . .] Karosky is definitely not one of them. Cardinal, only on rare occasions has Your Eminence followed my advice. I beg you to do so now: persuade Karosky to enter the Saint Matthew.
UACV Headquarters
Via Lamarmora,
Wednesday, 6 April 2005, 12.03 a.m.
Paola sat down, bracing herself to hear what Fowler had to say. ‘Ninety ninety-five was when it all began – for me, anyway. At
that time I’d retired from the Air Force and was working under the
direction of my bishop. He wanted to make use of my training in
psychology, so he sent me to the Saint Matthew Institute. Have any
of you heard of it?’
All three answered in the negative.
‘I’m not surprised. The very existence of the institution is a secret
to the majority of the public in North America, even the more
informed ones. It officially consists of a residential centre set up to
deal with priests and nuns who have “problems”, and it’s located
in Sachem Pike, Maryland. The reality is that ninety-five per cent
of its patients have a history of sexual abuse of minors or problems
with drugs. The institute’s facilities are, without question, luxurious:
thirty-five rooms for the patients, nine for the medical personnel
(nearly all interns), a tennis court, a pool, a recreation room with
billiard table . . .’
‘Sounds more like a health resort than a psychiatric institution,’
Pontiero interjected.
‘Well, the place is a mystery, in more ways than one. It is a mystery to the outside world and a mystery to those who stay there:
at first, they see it as a place they can retire to for several months,
somewhere they can rest; then, little by little, they discover that it
is altogether different. All of you know the enormous problem the
Church in my country has had with certain Catholic priests over the last few years. From the public’s point of view, it wouldn’t go down very well if they felt that priests accused of sexual abuse were getting
paid vacations in a luxury hotel.’
‘So were they?’ asked Pontiero, who seemed to be very affected
by the subject, perhaps on account of having two children himself,
both teenagers.
‘No. I’ll try to sum up my experiences there succinctly. Upon my
arrival I found it to be a profoundly secular
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