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CNN Saturday Morning News
Florida Bishop Admits Sexually Abusing Teenage Boy
Aired March 09, 2002 - 07:28 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 Roman Catholic bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, has resigned. Bishop Anthony O'Connell admitted sexually abusing a teenage boy some 25 years ago.
CNN's John Zarrella has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The bishop of Palm Beach has become the latest Catholic priest caught in a sexual abuse scandal.
BISHOP ANTHONY O'CONNELL, PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: And I'm saddened and embarrassed and ashamed.
ZARRELLA: Late Friday, Bishop Anthony O'Connell admitted having a sexual encounter with a teenaged boy at a Catholic seminary in Missouri more than 25 years ago.
O'CONNELL: There was nothing in the relationship that was anything other than touches.
ZARRELLA: O'Connell went public after his accuser, Christopher Dixon, now 40, told his story to "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" newspaper. It's an episode in his life O'Connell says he thought was buried in the past for good because Dixon, who himself became a priest for a time, had settled his claim in a secret agreement with the church; a secret broken when Dixon went public.
CHRISTOPHER DIXON, ACCUSER: As those sessions went on, in his attempts to try and help me be comfortable with my body and to understand that there's nothing about my body, whether it's my face, my fingers, my genitals or what have you, nothing about it is bad. And that led to him trying to prove that nothing was bad about that by taking me to bed with him.
This ruined my life in many respects, although I'm well on my way to recovering and making a life for myself. But it's also affected the lives of many other people. And as hard as it is, people have to remember that these people are just men, they're not gods.
ZARRELLA: As this latest incident came to light, the ten bishops of Florida, including O'Connell himself, issued a statement condemning sexual abuse by priests. The statement said in part -- quote -- "The people of God have a right to be able to trust those who minister to them in God's name."
A spokeswoman for the Archbishop of Miami pointed out the people of the church are not infallible.
MARY ROSE AGOSTA, ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI: It is obvious that the Catholic Church is a human institution. And while we, as a church, always strive to be pure, as humans, we cannot be.
ZARRELLA: The revelation in south Florida is just more salt in the wounds of the U.S. Catholic Church, after months of controversy in the Boston diocese. Eighty priests there are accused of misconduct, and a former priest is serving time for indecent assault. Ironically about a month ago, Bishop O'Connell, when asked about the Boston case, defended Catholic priests.
O'CONNELL: As reprehensible as it is, and it is, the bulk of our Catholic priests are totally faithful to their commitment to celibacy, are totally trustworthy in their parishes.
ZARRELLA: At his press conference Friday, O'Connell said the Dixon incident wasn't his only fall from grace.
O'CONNELL: There could be one other person of a somewhat situation and in a somewhat similar timeframe.
ZARRELLA: O'Connell has offered his resignation to the Vatican.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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