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American Morning
Interview with Rodney Ford, Jeffrey Newman, Chuck Colbert
Aired December 12, 2002 - 09:15 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: To Boston now where Cardinal Bernard Law and more than five bishops who work for him have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. The "Boston Globe" reporting that jurors are looking into possible criminal violations by church officials who supervised priests accused of abusing children. Now that comes as an accused pedophile priest is free on bail this morning.
Paul Shanley was met by a group of protesters when he was released from jail yesterday. And in the meantime, anonymous donors had posted his $300,000 bail. Shanley has spent the last seven months behind bars awaiting trial on child rape, indecent assault, and battery charges.
Now, Rodney Ford's son Greg is one of Shanley's alleged victims, and Rodney Ford joins us from Boston, along with Jeffrey Newman, the attorney for the Ford family. Good to see you all, welcome back.
So Mr. Ford, how did the news of Reverend Shanley's release on bail affect your son?
RODNEY FORD, FATHER OF ABUSE VICTIM: Well, it was very disturbing. I have seen a look in his face that I haven't seen in years, and I never thought that I would see that look again, but it's back. And I know that he is very upset, every time that I put the TV on just to keep follow-up on what's going on, he leaves the room.
I try to tell him that he needs to keep a good upper lip on this, and that he has done an awful lot of good, but it is very disturbing to him.
ZAHN: Have the two of you talked about the kinds of people you think might have been involved in raising $300,000 to free this man on bond, and what their motivation would be?
FORD: Well, that is the $300,000 question we are all asking today. The timing is very suspect on all this. They say family members put together this large amount of money, but yet, none of the family members wanted to take him in. The timing is just so suspect that the cardinal, Law, goes to Rome and he is facing such a crisis here. There is a lot of speculation where this money might have come from?
ZAHN: Mr. Ford, let's talk about the condition of his bail for a moment. He had to give up his passport, he has to stay in Massachusetts, he can have no contact with children under the age of 16 as well as former victims. Do you still believe he poses a risk to Massachusetts citizens? FORD: He's a threat to the community, there's no doubt about it, man. He's a predator, he feeds off of children. Where he's living now, people should be aware where he's at, and every move that he is making. He's such a serious threat to the community.
ZAHN: And Mr. Newman, before we let you go, talk a little bit about what Mr. Shanley faces in the courtroom, a trial early next year on ten counts of child rape and six counts of indecent assault and battery?
JEFFREY NEWMAN, ATTORNEY: Well, the criminal trial will be kind of a test run for a lot of the other cases. Mr. Shanley is going to have to face his accusers at this point, and we think that the D.A.'s office is working very hard to prepare their case, and prepare to go to trial. We're not anticipating a plea bargain, we think it will be an open trial, and probably one that should accord. People have to see and hear the words so they know what actually happened.
ZAHN: Finally, Mr. Newman, who do you hold responsible for allowing for this man to be released on bail?
NEWMAN: I'm not sure I hold anybody in particular responsible. The D.A.'s asked for very high bail. A second judge reviewed the bail and figured that he wouldn't be able to -- the second judge felt that 300,000 was a lot of bail, and that for an individual to raise that would be difficult. I think that, hopefully, other judges looking at this, especially given the relative risk and the evidence that exists, will increase the bail. I'm not sure any particular individual is at fault.
ZAHN: Mr. Ford, a final thought from you this morning, just what your family is wrestling with?
FORD: It's something that's out of our control. Father Shanley will have his day. He will be judged, and he will be judged in front of God, and that's what we're looking for.
ZAHN: Well, as always, we know it's difficult for you to share your family story with us, but we always appreciate your time. Rodney Ford, Jeffrey Newman.
FORD: Thank you, ma'am.
ZAHN: And may the holidays provide you some sense of relief and peace.
Now, Chuck Colbert has been covering the Church sex scandal for the "National Catholic Reporter," and he joins us from Boston this morning to give us an idea of how the community is reacting -- good morning. We know, Chuck, that based on some of the local video we saw from local news stations, that you had helicopters in the sky and protesters standing outside the Cambridge Jail when Reverend Shanley was released on bail. Describe to us what the tenor of the community is right now.
CHUCK COLBERT, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER": There is great concern. I had a call this morning from a woman survivor in Provincetown who was just beside herself with reports from AP and Channel 7 last night and this morning that Shanley may well be in Provincetown; it's a very small community, great concern there.
I think too, Paula, remember that -- we had a protest at the cathedral on Sunday that more victims came forward, particularly the voices of women. Their anger was directed at law enforcement officers, the attorney general, D.A.s, elected officials, and now, last night, we had the Voice of the Faithful, one of the largest church reform advocacy groups, come forward with their petitions asking for Cardinal Law to resign. So, I think one of your earlier newscasts said it was windy. I would say there is a fair amount of turbulence in the archdiocese right now.
ZAHN: And what is it you think members of the archdiocese want? Do they want Bernard Law out?
COLBERT: Well, there is a range of feelings. I think it is anger, it is sadness, and a profound sense of betrayal. That was very clear last night when the Voice of the Faithful held their meeting and they adopted four motions. One asking Cardinal Law to resign immediately. They're petitioning the holy father, John Paul II, to acknowledge the need for improved leadership only after, I think this is important, meaningful consultation with the church of Boston, including laity, priests, religious, and the hierarchy for a replacement, a suitable person in a situation which is de facto not functioning at this time.
They're also asking Bishop Wilton Gregory to have the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops weigh in on this, and finally they're asking Bishop Gregory to open -- and the bishops to open these records of known sex abusers and allegations in other dioceses. And it was a very deliberative meeting. People spoke with dispassion, but with genuine concern, and these are main people in the church. You can't get any closer and more inside the bone marrow of the local archdiocese than some of the folks from Voice of the Faithful.
ZAHN: Well, we would love to rely on you as our barometer to help us better understand how this all comes together in the weeks and months to come. Chuck Colbert, thank you, very much for your time this morning.
COLBERT: You're welcome.
ZAHN: Appreciate it.
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 December 12, 2002 - 09:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: To Boston now where Cardinal Bernard Law and more than five bishops who work for him have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. The "Boston Globe" reporting that jurors are looking into possible criminal violations by church officials who supervised priests accused of abusing children. Now that comes as an accused pedophile priest is free on bail this morning.
Paul Shanley was met by a group of protesters when he was released from jail yesterday. And in the meantime, anonymous donors had posted his $300,000 bail. Shanley has spent the last seven months behind bars awaiting trial on child rape, indecent assault, and battery charges.
Now, Rodney Ford's son Greg is one of Shanley's alleged victims, and Rodney Ford joins us from Boston, along with Jeffrey Newman, the attorney for the Ford family. Good to see you all, welcome back.
So Mr. Ford, how did the news of Reverend Shanley's release on bail affect your son?
RODNEY FORD, FATHER OF ABUSE VICTIM: Well, it was very disturbing. I have seen a look in his face that I haven't seen in years, and I never thought that I would see that look again, but it's back. And I know that he is very upset, every time that I put the TV on just to keep follow-up on what's going on, he leaves the room.
I try to tell him that he needs to keep a good upper lip on this, and that he has done an awful lot of good, but it is very disturbing to him.
ZAHN: Have the two of you talked about the kinds of people you think might have been involved in raising $300,000 to free this man on bond, and what their motivation would be?
FORD: Well, that is the $300,000 question we are all asking today. The timing is very suspect on all this. They say family members put together this large amount of money, but yet, none of the family members wanted to take him in. The timing is just so suspect that the cardinal, Law, goes to Rome and he is facing such a crisis here. There is a lot of speculation where this money might have come from?
ZAHN: Mr. Ford, let's talk about the condition of his bail for a moment. He had to give up his passport, he has to stay in Massachusetts, he can have no contact with children under the age of 16 as well as former victims. Do you still believe he poses a risk to Massachusetts citizens? FORD: He's a threat to the community, there's no doubt about it, man. He's a predator, he feeds off of children. Where he's living now, people should be aware where he's at, and every move that he is making. He's such a serious threat to the community.
ZAHN: And Mr. Newman, before we let you go, talk a little bit about what Mr. Shanley faces in the courtroom, a trial early next year on ten counts of child rape and six counts of indecent assault and battery?
JEFFREY NEWMAN, ATTORNEY: Well, the criminal trial will be kind of a test run for a lot of the other cases. Mr. Shanley is going to have to face his accusers at this point, and we think that the D.A.'s office is working very hard to prepare their case, and prepare to go to trial. We're not anticipating a plea bargain, we think it will be an open trial, and probably one that should accord. People have to see and hear the words so they know what actually happened.
ZAHN: Finally, Mr. Newman, who do you hold responsible for allowing for this man to be released on bail?
NEWMAN: I'm not sure I hold anybody in particular responsible. The D.A.'s asked for very high bail. A second judge reviewed the bail and figured that he wouldn't be able to -- the second judge felt that 300,000 was a lot of bail, and that for an individual to raise that would be difficult. I think that, hopefully, other judges looking at this, especially given the relative risk and the evidence that exists, will increase the bail. I'm not sure any particular individual is at fault.
ZAHN: Mr. Ford, a final thought from you this morning, just what your family is wrestling with?
FORD: It's something that's out of our control. Father Shanley will have his day. He will be judged, and he will be judged in front of God, and that's what we're looking for.
ZAHN: Well, as always, we know it's difficult for you to share your family story with us, but we always appreciate your time. Rodney Ford, Jeffrey Newman.
FORD: Thank you, ma'am.
ZAHN: And may the holidays provide you some sense of relief and peace.
Now, Chuck Colbert has been covering the Church sex scandal for the "National Catholic Reporter," and he joins us from Boston this morning to give us an idea of how the community is reacting -- good morning. We know, Chuck, that based on some of the local video we saw from local news stations, that you had helicopters in the sky and protesters standing outside the Cambridge Jail when Reverend Shanley was released on bail. Describe to us what the tenor of the community is right now.
CHUCK COLBERT, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER": There is great concern. I had a call this morning from a woman survivor in Provincetown who was just beside herself with reports from AP and Channel 7 last night and this morning that Shanley may well be in Provincetown; it's a very small community, great concern there.
I think too, Paula, remember that -- we had a protest at the cathedral on Sunday that more victims came forward, particularly the voices of women. Their anger was directed at law enforcement officers, the attorney general, D.A.s, elected officials, and now, last night, we had the Voice of the Faithful, one of the largest church reform advocacy groups, come forward with their petitions asking for Cardinal Law to resign. So, I think one of your earlier newscasts said it was windy. I would say there is a fair amount of turbulence in the archdiocese right now.
ZAHN: And what is it you think members of the archdiocese want? Do they want Bernard Law out?
COLBERT: Well, there is a range of feelings. I think it is anger, it is sadness, and a profound sense of betrayal. That was very clear last night when the Voice of the Faithful held their meeting and they adopted four motions. One asking Cardinal Law to resign immediately. They're petitioning the holy father, John Paul II, to acknowledge the need for improved leadership only after, I think this is important, meaningful consultation with the church of Boston, including laity, priests, religious, and the hierarchy for a replacement, a suitable person in a situation which is de facto not functioning at this time.
They're also asking Bishop Wilton Gregory to have the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops weigh in on this, and finally they're asking Bishop Gregory to open -- and the bishops to open these records of known sex abusers and allegations in other dioceses. And it was a very deliberative meeting. People spoke with dispassion, but with genuine concern, and these are main people in the church. You can't get any closer and more inside the bone marrow of the local archdiocese than some of the folks from Voice of the Faithful.
ZAHN: Well, we would love to rely on you as our barometer to help us better understand how this all comes together in the weeks and months to come. Chuck Colbert, thank you, very much for your time this morning.
COLBERT: You're welcome.
ZAHN: Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
