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American Morning

Attorney, Father Discuss Rape Charges Against Priest

Aired May 03, 2002 - 08:22   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows that Catholics overwhelmingly want Cardinal Law out. And this follows on the heels of a very important arrest yesterday in San Diego. Father Paul Shanley, an alleged serial child abuser, is now facing criminal charges that could actually land the retired priest in prison for the rest of his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father Shanley, did you rape and molest little boys when you were a priest in Boston?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Shanley faces three charges of raping a child by force and there could be more charges coming. The alleged victim in the criminal complaint is Paul Busa, who is now 24. Busa's childhood friend was Greg Ford, who also claims he was molested by Shanley as a boy, starting at the age of six. The Ford family's civil lawsuit helped set in motion the unfolding scandal and the ultimate arrest.

Joining us now from Boston is Greg Ford's father, Rodney Ford, along with the family's attorney, Roderick Macleish. Welcome back, gentlemen.

RODERICK MACLEISH, ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED VICTIMS: Good morning, Paula.

RODNEY FORD, FATHER OF ALLEGED ABUSE VICTIM: Good morning.

ZAHN: Mr. Ford, when you saw the video of Father Shanley being arrested, what went through your mind?

FORD: I was glad to finally see him being taken into the police cruise and being taken away to jail. This man is a monster. He needed to be removed from the streets immediately. He will never get at another child again.

ZAHN: And what was your son Greg's reaction when he heard the news?

FORD: I looked at my son and I could see that his eyes brightened up for a minute. But at the same time, my phone was ringing with several victims calling us to thank us. But on the other hand they were crying. These problems that they're going through just didn't go away overnight because Shanley was arrested. They're still dealing with very serious emotional problems now.

ZAHN: And not only was your son a victim, but let's talk a little bit about Paul Busa, who is the latest person named in this complaint. Apparently he, too, suffered the similar kind of abuse that you have alleged that your son suffered at the hands of Father Shanley. What do you know about Mr. Busa?

FORD: I know that he was in my son's class, with several other kids also being involved with this. When Greg found out exactly what did happen to him, he realized that it also hit home to the Busa boy, too. And he called me one night saying that he was in a fetal position crying for six hours. This is a man that was in the air force. I felt so bad for him. I wanted to just reach out to him. But he's doing the right thing now and we support him 100 percent.

ZAHN: And did he suffer the same kind of pressure you all suffered in bringing these charges forward? I know that you have said in previous interviews there are probably a number of victims who are out there who are simply too afraid to come forward.

FORD: Well, that is true, and this week Cardinal Law blamed me, my wife and my son for negligence in this. And it's, I think it had a profound effect on a lot of the victims. I think they want to come forward, but when they see such reactions coming from the cardinal, the most powerful person in the church, in the American church, you know, they need to step forward now again. Don't start hiding.

ZAHN: Mr. Ford, what did he mean by negligence?

FORD: Well, I guess he's saying that we were, contributed to dropping my son off at CCD class. So I guess we should have known better, that there was a pedophile priest in there. I don't know that. I'd like to ask him that question when we depose him June 5.

ZAHN: Let me ask you this, Mr. Ford, how did you hear this from Cardinal Law?

FORD: It was in all the newspapers, plus he put out a press release, plus it was in some of the papers that he filed through his attorney. He also filed, also signed this himself.

ZAHN: Mr. Macleish, what was your reaction when you heard Cardinal Law had said that?

MACLEISH: Well, it was in a legal pleading that was filed by his lawyers on his behalf. You know, this was not legal boilerplate, Paula. This was the first offense that the cardinal set forth in his answer to these charges. And it was the negligence of the parents and the negligence of a 6-year-old child.

I've been doing this for a long time, Paula. I was absolutely stupefied, and that that would be the first, very first offense that would be asserted.

ZAHN: I'm just not clear on what it meant, that a parent shouldn't drop their kid off?

MACLEISH: I guess what it meant was that when Rodney Ford was helping his son, 6-year-old son shine his shoes for CCD class he had to tell him to watch out for the priest. I don't know any set of facts that could support that assertion. And, again, we'll be asking the cardinal about that at his deposition.

But I do want to say one thing, Paula, that there are many steps that have to go for this good church, the Catholic Church, to start healing. But I think that his arrest is important not in terms only of the clerical abuse situation, but this is a man, Rodney Ford, Paul Busa, whom I represent, Greg Ford and Paula Ford, people who live in Newton, Massachusetts, who have really taken on a powerful institution that has unfortunately, at the leadership level, hid these pedophiles and look what they have accomplished. You know, people now are starting to call both the Fords and us and saying I'm now ready to come forward. This happened to me.

I think it's going to be the next several months. I don't think child molesters are going to be safe because I think they're now starting to realize that people are coming forward and there is no place to hide.

ZAHN: And gentlemen, you, no doubt, have heard that Father Shanley's attorney is saying this is nothing but a witch hunt. Let's listen together about the latest volley that he fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK MONDANO, SHANLEY'S ATTORNEY: I don't think it takes much insight to know that being hounded across the country by the press is not a comfortable thing for him and the fact that the same thing is happening to his family members is completely unfair and unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: When you hear this point that in some way Father Shanley is a victim, what is your strategy to put that down?

MACLEISH: Well, look, Paula, I represent men who are 52 years old who were molested in the same way in the 1960s in Stoneham, Massachusetts. I represent men who were molested in Braintree, Massachusetts. I represent four individuals in Newton -- I represent approximately 20 people who were molested by Father Shanley, people who don't know each other, people who have no obvious connection to each other.

Father Shanley a victim? I'm sorry, our thoughts and our prayers should be with children right now, with Mr. Ford, Mr. Busa and all of the other children that tragically were affected by this monster over three decades.

So I think I've heard enough about Paul Shanley being a victim. I don't know about you, Mr. Ford, but I've heard enough.

ZAHN: What about you, Mr. Ford? When you heard his attorney say this is nothing but a witch hunt, what did you think?

FORD: This is not a witch hunt. This is about the truth and this is about holding someone responsible for the acts that he did all over this country.

ZAHN: What is the personal toll, Mr. Ford, this has taken on your family? When you came forward at a time when very few families felt empowered to do that, to take on the church?

FORD: We never knew where we were leading with this. We've had to fight all the way for everything that we've gotten so far. They talk about a new sensitivity program that's in place in Boston. Is this is the sensitivity program, I think we're in a lot of trouble. They tried to put gag orders on us. It's not, we're not going to stop until we get to the truth. People are going to be held responsible for this. What happened to my son, the Busa boy and other family members, this has to stop.

How can I feel bad for Shanley? That's ridiculous.

MACLEISH: You know, Paula, there are very few people that would have done what Mr. Ford and his family have done. They have opened up this whole area, and, as I said, not just for victims of clerical abuse. This is going to be a better church because of what Mr. Ford and his family have done. In my view, and I think in the views of many others, they are true heroes.

ZAHN: But Mr. Ford, even you admitted this morning that you think you got nothing but slapped in the face by Cardinal Law by coming forward.

FORD: That's true. But I think a lot of people now are speaking up for us and showing us a lot of support. So in that sense I think we're way ahead of Cardinal Law at this point.

ZAHN: All right, Rodney Ford, Roderick Macleish, good of you to join us on AMERICAN MORNING on the heels of this arrest. Good luck to both of you.

MACLEISH: Thank you, Paula.

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