Kelly apologizes for handling of abuse case

Archbishop also says public's focus will help church

By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

Louisville Archbishop Thomas Kelly last night expressed regret for the pain caused by his handling of a sexual-abuse case and said he believes the Catholic Church will be strengthened by the public scrutiny it is receiving.

Kelly also said the church is responding to the sexual-abuse crisis in numerous ways beyond the ''headlines and sound bites,'' and it is showing its openness by releasing internal documents in court cases showing how it handled priests accused of abuse.

Kelly's comments came at a gathering of all priests of the archdiocese and hundreds of other worshippers at the Cathedral of the Assumption for the Chrism Mass, centered on the blessing of ceremonial oils to be used in the coming year.

It marked Kelly's first major public appearance since last week's release of two internal memos he wrote in 1983, outlining his handling of a priest accused of abuse.

In the memos, Kelly described how the Rev. Thomas Creagh admitted to molesting a teenage boy in March 1983 and how the archdiocese was able to contain the scandal, keep Creagh in ministry and reach a confidential financial settlement with the victim's family, whom he described as ''hostile and vindictive.''

''I regret that in the past week my own actions and words have become the occasion of pain for members of the church and the wider community,'' Kelly said last night.

''Both the local and national media have focused on individual events and particular persons, but what we really need is a wider view,'' Kelly said. ''The whole story has not been written yet, and while I don't want to blame the media, headlines and sound bites will never adequately or accurately report all that we have done and all we are doing to resolve this crisis.''

Kelly -- who removed Creagh from ministry last year, after the priest was named in the first of five lawsuits -- made no mention of calls for his own resignation.

Kelly said the church needs to be compassionate to all victims of sexual abuse, whether suffered in the church or in their own families, and to ensure that it always hears the concerns of parents.

''There has to be an increasing openness of the church to public scrutiny,'' he said. ''I would just as soon not to have gone through the last week, as you can imagine. But . . . the public scrutiny will be helpful to us.''

Kelly said the church is showing its openness to that scrutiny.

''But it's not perceived yet that we are,'' he said. ''The fact that we turned over so many documents about our current difficulties indicates to me that we are heeding the voice of the public authorities.''