Sometimes the accusations are even anonymous:
The Rev. Edward McDonagh was removed from St. Ann's in West Bridgewater in May, two months after the archdiocese [of Boston] received a letter from a woman claiming her brother, a prostitute who died of AIDS, told her 20 years ago he'd been raped by McDonagh in the early 1960s. The family has not sued and McDonagh's lawyer, David Sorrenti, said he hasn't been told the identity of the accuser or his family.''It makes it difficult to defend,'' he said.
In a letter to the archdiocese, Sorrenti said the allegation was ''an unsupported, unreliable, hearsay statement'' that wasn't worthy of belief.
Sorrenti said in an interview that the archdiocese, buried under civil suits from about 400 victims, is ''definitely taking the safe way out.''
