Upstate New York |
He couldn’t hit the priest.
Altar server Kevin Braney, then 15, again found himself trapped in a side room at St. Ann’s Church in Manlius with then-Monsignor Charles Eckermann, the light streaming through the small window in sharp contrast to the dark things happening within. He couldn’t run, either. Outside, many were gathered, preparing for Mass and probably talking about their weekends. That was more than 25 years ago. “There’s no way to process it at that age,” said Braney, now 42. “I thought, ‘I’m just going to pretend that this isn’t happening to me right now. I’m just going to check out and freeze.’” Now, Braney is one of several calling on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse to release the names of all priests against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse have been made. It’s something Bishop Robert Cunningham has been considering since he heard Braney’s story last summer, Director of Communications Danielle Cummings said. It wasn’t until October of last year, though, that the Vatican found Braney’s allegations against Eckermann, who began working as a priest at St. Ann’s in 1988, credible. At that point, he was removed and stripped of his ability to function as or be presented as a priest. Attempts to reach Eckermann were unsuccessful. If Cunningham decides releasing the names is the best move for the diocese, Syracuse would be among the first 25 percent of the 195 United States dioceses to do so, even though the first diocese to release the names, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, did so back in 2002. It’s not an easy decision. Releasing the names In New York, one can look only to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester for an example of how a diocese functions after releasing the names — it opted to do so in June 2012. Rochester diocese officials didn’t respond to several requests for comment. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, however, has important insight: It just released a list of 31 names in December. Diocese Media Coordinator Suzanne Hammons said the reaction to Bishop James Wall’s choice has been “a mixture.” “I don’t know if a lot of Catholics think about it often if it hasn’t directly affected them,” she began. “But some say (releasing the names) is good for transparency. Some say it doesn’t go far enough — you’ll always have that.” Read more at http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150201/News/150139899#ixzz3QWpXzwhD.
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ABOUTPieces that were published during the eight months I spent covering Herkimer County and other topics in upstate New York. Archives
February 2015
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