Buffalo Catholic Diocese Whistleblower Tells Her Story On 60 Minutes This Sunday
A woman who has claimed to have copied hundreds of incriminating documents from Bishop Malone’s secret archives will be featured this Sunday night on 60 Minutes.
Malone’s former executive assistant, Siobhan O’Connor is accusing the bishop of withholding the names of dozens of priests who have sex abuse accusations against them from a report released last March, according to CBSNEWS.com
“Hundreds of documents O’Connor secretly copied from the confidential files of the Diocese of Buffalo offer an extraordinary window into Bishop Malone’s decisions about priests accused of abuse. The devout O’Connor professes love for her church and her bishop. But she says she left the diocese last summer after three years because the documents she discovered indicated the bishop had allowed the accused priests to continue in ministry. “The reality of what I saw left me with no other option because at the end of my life, I’m not going to answer to Bishop Malone, I am going to answer to God,” she tells Whitaker.”
“I did betray [Bishop Malone], and yet I can’t apologize for that, because there was a greater good to consider,” says O’Connor.
O’Connor, 35, is deeply religious and once considered becoming a Catholic nun, spending time in a convent. She describes herself as devoted to the bishop for the three years that she worked for him, but after hours on the phone with sexual abuse victims who called the diocese looking for assistance – only to be met with inadequate responses – she was convinced the broader Catholic community needed to know how the diocese was operating under Malone.
Part 1 of the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team investigation, chronicled by Charlie Specht of WKBW Buffalo, revealed that Malone returned Ft. Art Smith to ministry despite allegations of inappropriate contact with a child. A previous bishop had suspended Smith, but Malone returned him, according to documents obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News Team I-show:
Part 2 revealed that Malone allowed Fr. Robert Yetter to remain pastor of St. Mary’s in Swormville despite multiple sexual harassment allegations by young men:
Part 3 cited church records showing more than 100 priests in the diocese being accused of sexual abuse or misconduct. In March, Malone released a list of only 42 priests “who were removed from ministry, were retired, or left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”
The investigative series sparked civic leaders in Buffalo to call for the resignation of Malone and Catholics have held weekly protests in front of the Diocese of Buffalo Chancery.
In August, Malone held a news conference and vowed to stay as Buffalo bishop.
In an email sent to Specht earlier this month, spokesman for the Boston archdiocese, Terrence Donilon, said “It is the Cardinal’s assessment that the information in your reports should be reviewed by the Church authorities who have oversight and jurisdiction for the action or inaction of diocesan leadership in Buffalo with regard to the reports of abuse.”
“For those reasons, Cardinal O’Malley will send the documentation of your reports to the Most Rev. Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, with note of the content and allegations in the reports,” Donilon continued.
The three-part series for 7 Eyewitness News reveals more than 100 priests of the diocese have been accused of the abuse, despite Malone having previously released the list naming only 42 priests “who were removed from ministry, were retired, or left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”
In a statement in advance of the interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, O’Connor said, “Please know that my conscience compelled me to take action regarding Bishop Malone because of my profound concern for victims, the diocese and our community. As a faithful Catholic, I could not abide by what I witnessed at the Chancery.”
“As the whistleblower, my heart is heavy, but my soul is at peace,” she concluded.
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