US/VATICAN: The Vatican has defrocked an accused American paedophile priest, Paul Shanley, a central figure in the clergy sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Archdiocese said yesterday the Vatican had relieved Mr Shanley of his duties as a priest effective from February 19th. Another accused paedophile priest from the Boston archdiocese, Ronald Paquin, was also defrocked, the archdiocese said.
"They are no longer to be referred to as a priest nor to exercise sacramental ministry as they do not have the faculties of the Church," the archdiocese said in a statement. Mr Shanley, who was arrested in California in 2002, brought back to Massachusetts and ultimately released on $300,000 bail, has pleaded not guilty to raping and sexually assaulting a number of boys at a Boston church. Two years ago, lawyers for alleged clergy abuse victims obtained church documents showing that the archdiocese was well aware of Mr Shanley's sexual views when it promoted him to lead a parish in 1983.
Those documents, released under order from a judge, showed that the archdiocese knew in 1979 that Mr Shanley had attended a meeting of men involved in sexual relationships with male youngsters - a meeting that gave rise to NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association.
"Shanley was and is an absolute monster who badly damaged dozens of children," Boston attorney Mr MacLeish said. "I hope this means he gets no money, no pension, and complete disassociation from the Catholic Church."