Advocates for clergy sex abuse victims on Wednesday asked Roman Catholics to stop donating to the Providence Diocese until it does more for potential victims of two priests accused of abusing children. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called on Bishop Thomas Tobin to actively seek out potential victims of Philip Magaldi and A.J. Cote, who have worked in Rhode Island.
David Clohessy, national director of the group, said he wanted Tobin to visit the parishes where the men worked and urge people to come forward. He also said Tobin should more aggressively seek out potential victims or people who may have witnessed improper conduct by Magaldi and Cote.
"Within this diocese, there are current and former church workers, current and former church members, who if they were prodded by a spiritual leader like Bishop Tobin and begged and encouraged to come forward, that they would, in fact, divulge information that just might lead to the successful prosecution of these two men," Clohessy said.
Magaldi worked in Johnston, Providence and Cranston in the 1960s and 1970s. Cote worked in Providence as recently as 2005
Skip Shea, 48, a victim of clergy sex abuse from Uxbridge, Mass., said he hoped Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the United States, when Benedict said the church would "do everything possible" to heal the wounds of clergy sex abuse, would show Tobin and other bishops the way to handle cases going forward.
"The pope showed them how to be pastoral. If the bishops can't do it, I would then ask that the priests do it," he said. "I think it's kind of a new day here. It's time for them to follow their leader."
Michael Guilfoyle, a spokesman for the diocese, said the diocese has taken the issue seriously, taking out ads in the state's largest newspaper, sending suggested bulletin announcements to all its parishes and putting a link on every page of its Web site to a section on its child protection policy and contact information for those who wish to report abuse.
"The diocese has been very aggressive in the effort to encourage those with information about clergy abuse to come forward and report the allegations, and the diocese will continue to do so," he said.
In a written statement, the diocese also encouraged parishioners to give, especially in light of state budget cuts to programs like welfare and health care for poor children.
"Withholding charitable donations to the diocese only hurts the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders who struggle each day to provide life's basic needs for their families," it said.
Magaldi was removed as a priest in 1999 after sexual misconduct allegations in Rhode Island and Texas. Church officials in Texas have recently disclosed that he is HIV positive. The Providence Diocese said in a news release that Magaldi had left Rhode Island by the time the allegations surfaced. Guilfoyle said the diocese conducted an investigation and turned the results over to State Police, local law enforcement in Texas, and the diocese of Fort Worth, which is trying to defrock him.
Magaldi worked at Our Lady of Grace in Johnston from 1961 to 1965, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Providence from 1965 to 1968, and St. Matthew's in Cranston 1969 to 1976. He has said that he is innocent.
Cote is accused of abusing children in Washington and Massachusetts. He was a Dominican priest assigned to the diocese by his order, and worked at St. Pius V Church in Providence as recently as 2005. SNAP said Cote now lives in New York City. A listing for him could not be found.
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