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American Morning

Interview with Marie LaBollita, Our Lady Help of Christians

Aired May 03, 2002 - 07:08   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: The big question at this hour: Do women in the Catholic Church have a voice? Well, the arrest of retired priest, Paul Shanley, keeps the spotlight on the church and its troubles. Abuse allegations against Shanley first came to light in a civil suit filed by the family of Greg Ford. They were encouraged to come forward by a nun, Sister Marie LaBollita, after confiding in her.

Well, yesterday the family's attorney applauded her efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODERICK MACLEISH, FORD FAMILY ATTORNEY: One of those significant dates was January 31, when Paula and Rodney Ford discovered for the first time that their son, Greg, had been molested by a priest, Paul Shanley, who had been the parish priest of St. Jean's for 11 years. They went to see the church. They went to the church to see Sister Marie, and then they came shortly to our firm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: And Sister Marie LaBollita joins us now from Boston. It's an honor to have you with us -- good morning, Sister.

SISTER MARIE LABOLLITA, OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS: Good morning, Paula. It's nice to be here -- thank you.

ZAHN: Thank you. First of all, what was your reaction when you heard Paul Shanley, the retired priest accused of molesting one of the Ford sons, who is now in San Diego with authorities?

LABOLLITA: I was greatly relieved, Paula, and I was really relieved for the sake of the Fords and particularly of Greg. I know this has been a very deep crisis that they have gone through together, so I was elated that Paul had been caught by the authorities.

ZAHN: If it wasn't for you, do you think this man ever would have been arrested?

LABOLLITA: I would hope so. I feel that I had a significant role only in the sense that I was able to be there for the Fords and to minister to them in a time of crisis; that I would hope that the authorities would have caught him without Paula coming forward to me.

ZAHN: Take us back to that disturbing day when you heard from Paula Ford, the mother of Greg Ford, one of Shanley's alleged victims. What did she tell you?

LABOLLITA: Paula told me that Greg had been raped by Paul Shanley, and an electric shock went through my entire body. I was absolutely horrified. I couldn't believe that such a thing could happen to any child, but it hits closer to home when you know the family, and I think the shock is even deeper, Paula.

ZAHN: And what did you tell Paula to do?

LABOLLITA: I told Paula that at this point in time, given the circumstances, that I think she should seek out counsel, legal counsel, and also to report this to the archdiocese.

ZAHN: And based on the history of what has happened in the Boston Archdiocese, do you think it had any impact at all that those authorities were even notified?

LABOLLITA: I believe the authorities were notified, but things seemed to move along very carefully, and I know it was a struggle for Paula and for Rodney to begin to work with the archdiocese. The wheels I think were turning very slowly for them, and I think that was painful.

ZAHN: Is that Cardinal Law's fault?

LABOLLITA: Well, since Cardinal Law is the official head of the archdiocese, I think it would be very important for him to take a very strong role in that.

ZAHN: Based on the documents that have just surfaced showing that the Boston Archdiocese was very aware of all of these abuse allegations surrounding Father Shanley, and he was allowed to move to California, and those parishes out there weren't even warned of his past, does that indicate to you that Cardinal Law should resign?

LABOLLITA: I believe the cardinal needs to really consider that resignation seriously. His leadership has been seriously compromised by all of this scandal, and I think that needs to be deeply considered, both by the cardinal and by the Vatican.

ZAHN: And it would appear as though lay people agree with you. I want to put up on the screen the latest CNN-USA Today Gallup Poll, which posed the question: Should the pope remove Cardinal Law as head of the Boston Archdiocese? And 68 percent said yes. But it was also made abundantly clear, was it not, in Rome that this won't happen anytime soon, if it will happen at all?

LABOLLITA: Well, the Vatican moves slowly. The Vatican does not usually make decisions very quickly based on polls. There are many considerations to be taken into account, and I think that conversation lies between Cardinal Law and the Vatican.

ZAHN: Another poll question asked if the Catholic Church has done a very good job with dealing with the problem of sexual abuse committed by priest, and here are the numbers right here among Catholics; 70 percent say the Catholic Church has done a bad job. At what point does Rome need to be sensitive to what lay people are saying here?

LABOLLITA: I think they need to take the voice of the people very seriously, especially in this crisis. I think the Vatican needs to move definitely more swiftly on this issue into learning to play many voices who have the experience in this field, as well as to bring into consideration a lot of the victims and the families of abuse, because they are so closely connected with this.

ZAHN: And, Sister Marie, while you describe this process of things moving so slowly, in the meantime, do you think Catholic parents should be comfortable taking their children to church activities that perhaps might be only supervised by priests?

LABOLLITA: Paula, I believe that people should be comfortable taking their children to church activities. Usually today, it's not only priests who are supervising along. Usually, adults are present. So I think presently today, there is more of a safety factor, and I think everyone is very conscious of it. I know in parishes, priests and the staff are very, very conscious of children today, and they take every effort to be sure the children are well-supervised.

ZAHN: Well, Sister Marie LaBollita, thank you so much for sharing your story with us this morning. We know that you didn't want to take credit for any actions that led to the arrest of Father Shanley, but the Ford family and their attorney certainly say if it weren't for you, this arrest never would have happened. Thank you again for your time this morning.

LABOLLITA: Thanks so much, Paula.

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