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Brighton, MA 02135-3193 September 26, 2003 Thank you for your response to our letter concerning Paul Edwards’ allegations against Monsignor Michael Smith Foster and the late Rev. William J. Cummings. We are extremely glad that you have ordered a full review of the case. However, we would like to stress that our appeal to you focused on the Archdiocese’s handling of Edwards’ allegations, not on the Review Board’s conclusions. As you know, the Archdiocese’s lawyers and Monsignor Foster’s supporters derailed Edwards’ lawsuit by savagely attacking his character and credibility. During the first stage of this attack, Monsignor Foster’s defenders undermined Edwards’ reputation by spreading false information in the press. During the second stage, in order to justify Foster’s reinstatement, agents of the Archdiocese filed affidavits that vilified Edwards as a dangerous psychopath even though they had absolutely no evidence to support their claims. Indeed, the affidavit that was signed by Dr. Ned Cassem, a Jesuit priest and psychiatrist who has never met Edwards and did not have access to his medical records, contained so many baseless statements that the Church investigator, the Rev. Sean Connor, suggested that it was “fraudulent.” Since it would be impossible for anyone concerned about protecting the rights of victims to countenance this mistreatment, we are confident that your review will lead you to do all you can to rectify the damage done to Paul Edwards after he lodged his complaint. Moreover, since the Edwards case will soon be examined by the Victims’ Rights Committee, an independent group of experts whose sole purpose is to make certain that victims are treated fairly, we hope that you will speak with one voice with the advocacy community: while we all must work to expose false allegations, we must never allow any accuser to be destroyed simply for speaking out. As we feared, the Archdiocese has refused to honor Edwards’ request for his records, a request that was based on stipulations in the May version of Archdiocese’s Policies and Procedures. After Edwards made his request, we found that these stipulations, which provided accusers access to investigatory information, had been deleted from the policy document. Since the officials who altered the document did not notify anyone of the deletions, and since the Archdiocese has yet to explain why the policy was changed, we are confused about whether you intend to allow the new rules to remain in place. In the Edwards’ case, almost all of the relevant information has already been released to the public, so the Victims’ Rights Committee will be able to conduct a thorough review even if the Archdiocese continues to deny him access to his files. However, since the new policy takes rights away from victims while preserving them for the accused, we have faith that your commitment to fairness and transparency will call you to restore complainants’ access to information and to condemn the surreptitious manner in which the policy was changed. We understand that the Archdiocese is in dialogue with Roderick MacLeish, Edwards’ attorney, and we are certain that Mr. MacLeish is doing everything in his power to protect his client’s legal interests. But as advocates for Paul Edwards and others who have been injured by agents of the Church, our mission is not to play the part of lawyers; instead, it is to create a climate in which all victims feel that it is safe to speak out. The Archdiocese’s annihilation of Paul Edwards confirms one of the deepest fears of virtually all victims of sexual abuse, which is that those who come forward will be crushed by forces more powerful than they could ever hope to be. If you defend what was done to Paul Edwards, your message to victims is that this fear is justified. In contrast, if you acknowledge that Edwards has been unfairly maligned, you will show victims everywhere that disclosing the crimes committed against them will not expose them to humiliation, intimidation, or any other threat. Please, Archbishop Sean, seize this opportunity to lead us out of this crisis. Allowing the destruction of one victim endangers the rights and well-being of all victims. By helping to heal the wounds inflicted on Paul Edwards, you will calm the fears of all those who have suffered at the hands of predatory priests. Sincerely,
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