Cardinal Timothy Dolan: 'I pledge'

Writing as “someone who himself realizes the shame that has come upon our Church,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan took a moment Friday to update the faithful about the clergy within the Archdiocese of New York credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or of possessing child pornography.
According to Bishop Accountability, a non-profit watchdog organization, three of the 120 priests identified by Dolan as being credibly accused worked at local parishes between the 1970s and 1990s:
Francis Stinner worked at John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen from 1973 to 1980, according to Noaker Law Firm. He was defrocked in 2005 and died in August 2017.
Stinner was removed from his final parish assignment in 1997 after abuse allegations dating back to the 1960s and 1970s became public.
The archdiocese reached settlements with the victims through its compensation program in May 2017 and October 2017, according to Noaker Law.
Edward A. Pipala served at Sacred Heart parish in Monroe from 1981 to 1988 and as pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Goshen from 1989 to 1992, according to Noaker Law.
The archdiocese was alerted to Pipala’s sexual abuse of children in 1977, when a mother told church officials he had sexually abused her son.
Pipala was removed from his last assignment in 1992, and in 1993 he surrendered to state police, according to Noaker Law.
He was charged with sodomy, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, and was sentenced to seven years in prison on state and federal charges.
According to Dolan’s statement, Pipala was removed from ministry and defrocked. He died in 2013.
In 1993, Donald T. Malone was assigned to St. Patrick’s parish in Highland Mills as pastor, according to Bishop Accountability.
Malone was removed from his previous position as principal of Archbishop Stepinac High School in 1988 after he was arrested for soliciting sex from a teenage male, according to Noaker Law. The charges were dropped after the archdiocese arranged with police to remove Malone from his position, send him for counseling and bar him from working with youth.
St. Patrick’s was one of several assignments Malone received following his removal from Stepinac, according to Noaker Law.
Malone was removed from ministry and defrocked, according to Dolan’s statement. He died in 2012.
More than 350 individuals compensated
The list also included the names of priests who were the subject of a claim made to the archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program that were determined to be eligible for compensation.
To date, the program has compensated more than 350 individuals, according to the archdiocese’s website.
Dolan said in his statement that he chose to publish the list of names after hearing from abuse victims, fellow priests and laity.
The Archdiocese of New York encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
'I pledge'
“(W)e must continue to be vigilant to make certain that the failings of the past are not repeated,” he said. “I pledge again today that I will do all in my power to ensure the safety of our young people, and to react with sympathy, understanding, and respect toward those who come forward with an allegation of abuse.”
Dolan also outlined the steps the archdiocese has taken to modify its procedures to ensure that minors are protected and to comply with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2002 adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
According to the archdiocese, the list of clergy is limited, in that it does not include priests belonging to religious orders or institutes, or priests who were ordained in other dioceses.
The Archdiocese of New York would not confirm the parish assignments of Stinner, Pipala or Malone when reached by phone.
With offices in New York and Minneapolis, Noaker Law Firm specializes in sexual abuse cases involving the Roman Catholic Church, according to its website.