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Bishop Released on Bond
Aired June 17, 2003 - 13:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The bishop is free for now. Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix posted bond and was released from jail. He's accused of leaving the scene of an accident that killed a pedestrian. It's just the latest legal problem for Bishop O'Brien.
CNN's Frank Buckley live now from Phoenix with more on what's taking place.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, so far, we haven't seen Bishop Thomas O'Brien, and it's not clear if he has, in fact, reported to work here at the diocese offices in downtown Phoenix. Spokespersons for the diocese have not returned CNN's repeated calls for comment.
We did see Bishop O'Brien last night, however, when he appeared for the first time in court to hear formally the charge he was arrested on -- that is, fleeing the scene of a fatal accident.
The arrest of O'Brien came after police went to his home and found his car. The car's front windshield is clearly shattered. According to police, O'Brien said he thought he hit a dog or a cat or that someone may have thrown a rock. Instead, say police, O'Brien hit Jim Reed, who you just saw a second ago, a 43-year-old man who was crossing the street. It happened in the dark at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Investigators say Reed was not at a crosswalk.
Now, the arrest of O'Ryan (ph) comes just -- O'Brien comes just a couple of weeks after revelations that he avoided prosecution in the church sex abuse scandal. He did so by agreeing to limit his authority with regard to the sex abuse policy within the church and also by agreeing to donate several hundred thousand dollars from the diocese to various programs to help victims.
He also had to acknowledge that, as bishop, he knew that priests who had been accused of sex abuse continued to work at parishes, continued to have access to children, and that they were transferred without the knowledge, in some cases, of the supervisors, and certainly without the knowledge of the people in those parishes.
So, this arrest of the bishop coming within the context of that with that as a backdrop. As you can imagine, Kyra, people here are stunned.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. Frank, what do you think? Is there a possibility the bishop will resign? BUCKLEY: Well, that's always a possibility. But, as you know, Kyra, that's at the discretion of the pope. In fact, when there were questions about whether or not Bishop O'Brien would resign in the context of the sex abuse scandal, Bishop O'Brien said just that -- that I serve at the pleasure of the pope, not of the county attorney, as he put it in a statement.
So, it's possible that he could resign. But, again, this is something that the pope would have to decide whether or not he would accept that resignation. And so far, we haven't heard one way or the other.
PHILLIPS: And at 1:30 Eastern Time, the country attorney expected to come out and make a statement. What is he expected to say?
BUCKLEY: Rick Bromley (ph) is going to be talking about the charge, the actual charge, and what the potential penalty is. In this case, the worst-case scenario for Bishop O'Brien if he is, in fact, convicted and sentenced, would be three years and nine months in prison, or just shy of nine months -- three years and nine months in prison, or to be as little as probation. So, that would be the potential sentence. That will be one of the things that will be touched on in the news conference in about 15 minutes.
PHILLIPS: All right, Frank Buckley live from Phoenix, Arizona. We'll check in with you then. Thanks, Frank.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 17, 2003 - 13:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The bishop is free for now. Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix posted bond and was released from jail. He's accused of leaving the scene of an accident that killed a pedestrian. It's just the latest legal problem for Bishop O'Brien.
CNN's Frank Buckley live now from Phoenix with more on what's taking place.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, so far, we haven't seen Bishop Thomas O'Brien, and it's not clear if he has, in fact, reported to work here at the diocese offices in downtown Phoenix. Spokespersons for the diocese have not returned CNN's repeated calls for comment.
We did see Bishop O'Brien last night, however, when he appeared for the first time in court to hear formally the charge he was arrested on -- that is, fleeing the scene of a fatal accident.
The arrest of O'Brien came after police went to his home and found his car. The car's front windshield is clearly shattered. According to police, O'Brien said he thought he hit a dog or a cat or that someone may have thrown a rock. Instead, say police, O'Brien hit Jim Reed, who you just saw a second ago, a 43-year-old man who was crossing the street. It happened in the dark at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Investigators say Reed was not at a crosswalk.
Now, the arrest of O'Ryan (ph) comes just -- O'Brien comes just a couple of weeks after revelations that he avoided prosecution in the church sex abuse scandal. He did so by agreeing to limit his authority with regard to the sex abuse policy within the church and also by agreeing to donate several hundred thousand dollars from the diocese to various programs to help victims.
He also had to acknowledge that, as bishop, he knew that priests who had been accused of sex abuse continued to work at parishes, continued to have access to children, and that they were transferred without the knowledge, in some cases, of the supervisors, and certainly without the knowledge of the people in those parishes.
So, this arrest of the bishop coming within the context of that with that as a backdrop. As you can imagine, Kyra, people here are stunned.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. Frank, what do you think? Is there a possibility the bishop will resign? BUCKLEY: Well, that's always a possibility. But, as you know, Kyra, that's at the discretion of the pope. In fact, when there were questions about whether or not Bishop O'Brien would resign in the context of the sex abuse scandal, Bishop O'Brien said just that -- that I serve at the pleasure of the pope, not of the county attorney, as he put it in a statement.
So, it's possible that he could resign. But, again, this is something that the pope would have to decide whether or not he would accept that resignation. And so far, we haven't heard one way or the other.
PHILLIPS: And at 1:30 Eastern Time, the country attorney expected to come out and make a statement. What is he expected to say?
BUCKLEY: Rick Bromley (ph) is going to be talking about the charge, the actual charge, and what the potential penalty is. In this case, the worst-case scenario for Bishop O'Brien if he is, in fact, convicted and sentenced, would be three years and nine months in prison, or just shy of nine months -- three years and nine months in prison, or to be as little as probation. So, that would be the potential sentence. That will be one of the things that will be touched on in the news conference in about 15 minutes.
PHILLIPS: All right, Frank Buckley live from Phoenix, Arizona. We'll check in with you then. Thanks, Frank.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
