From: Ouko joachim omolo
Colleagues Home & Abroad Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor David John Malloy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to be the ninth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rockford after he accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas G. Doran who turned 75 years old.
Monsignor David John Malloy is inheriting the diocese which became embroiled in a sex abuse scandal. He is also coming from the diocese where about 550 people are currently asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy.
The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t afford. The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to allegations of clergy abuse and more than a dozen suits against it have been halted because of the bankruptcy proceedings.
One priest alone is accused of abusing some 200 boys at a suburban school for deaf students from 1950 to 1974. James Stang, a bankruptcy lawyer who represents creditors in the Wisconsin case, estimated that about 550 claims had been filed this year.
Those who filed claims will end up splitting a settlement amount that will be determined by the creditors’ committee, archdiocese and its insurance company. The archdiocese had only $4.6 million in assets to be applied to claims in 2010.
Monsignor David John Malloy will be responsible to answer what happened to Fr Harlan Clapsaddle who Doran had in 1996 removed from most of his pastoral duties when a family reported sexual abuse after two decades of silence. In the aftermath of the scandal, Doran served on a national committee that responded with new training and guidelines meant to better protect children.
Doran has retired leaving behind unfinished business since another priest, Mark Campobello, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse of two females under the age of 16.
About two months after his initial release in 2008, Campobello was briefly returned to custody after being found guilty of violating conditions of parole by deviating from a predetermined route between his home and job. A year later, he returned to prison again after losing the permanent residence required of parolees.
The Catholic Diocese of Rockford settled the case for $2.2 million in 2007 before it could go to trial. According to the daily, Bishop Thomas Doran stated he was not aware of any abuse until Campobello’s arrest in December 2002, despite statements from prosecutors that diocese officials had been conducting interviews regarding the case since the previous October—before police had been notified.
Campobello’s abuse of two teen-age girls is believed to have occurred between 1999 and 2001. The civil case filed by the victims against Campobello, the diocese and Bishop Doran sought, in large part, to determine whether diocese officials had been aware of Campobello’s conduct prior to his arrest.
According to case documents, at least two school teachers had been aware of the abuse in the 1990s, but did not report it to police until years later.
As required by church law, Bishop Doran submitted his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75 Feb. 20, 2011. Bishop Doran will remain as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Rockford until the date of Bishop-elect Malloy’s episcopal ordination and installation, which will be determined shortly. Upon that date, according to Canon Law, Bishop Doran will retain the title of “Bishop-emeritus” of the Diocese of Rockford.
Lucky Doran that he retired at the age required. There are some bishops who have been prematurely forced to retire for similar scandals. In recent events Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of a senior Irish bishop, Bishop of Cloyne in southern Ireland John Magee after he had been accused of mishandling complaints against Irish priests.
The bishop resigned March last year at the age of 73 after a church report found his handling of abuse allegations had put children at risk of harm. Magee apologized for his actions.
New sexual abuse allegations have also surfaced against a priest in Pope Benedict’s former diocese in Germany. The allegations against suspended Peter Hullermann date back to 1998. More than one-hundred reports of child abuse at Catholic institutions have emerged in recent months.
Bishop-elect Malloy was born Feb. 3, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wis., the son of David (deceased) and Mary Malloy. He has one sister Mary Ellen and four brothers; Daniel, Father Francis, Robert and Richard.
He attended Christ King Grade School in Wauwatosa, Wis., and graduated from Wauwatosa East School in 1974. He graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He studied one year at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee and five years at the Gregorian University in Rome where he received advanced degrees in theology.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983 by Archbishop Rembert Weakland. He served two years as associate pastor of St. John Nepomuk Parish in Racine. In preparation for the Vatican Diplomatic Service he attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy from 1986 to 1990 where he received a degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, (Angelicum) and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University.
After his studies, he served as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican Embassies) in Pakistan (1990-1994) and the Apostolic Nunciature in Syria (1995). From 1995 to 1998 he was secretary to the Permanent Observer Mission to the Holy See. Bishop-elect Malloy left the Diplomatic Service in 1998 and served for two and a half years in the Vatican’s prefecture of the Papal Household helping with the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.
In 2001 he was appointed Associate General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and in 2006 began a five year term as General Secretary. After his term at the USCCB ended, Bishop-elect Malloy was assigned to be pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Geneva where he has served since Aug. 1, 2011. He speaks Italian, Spanish and some French.
People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
P O Box 14877
Nairobi
00800, Westlands
Kenya
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-?578
E-mail- ppa@africaonline.co.ke
omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Website: www.peopleforpeaceafrica.org