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May 20, 2008 6:21 am US/Eastern
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Father Toohey Formally Dismissed From Priesthood
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
A former Baltimore County priest convicted of sexually abusing a minor has been removed from the priesthood.
Pope Benedict has granted the Archdiocese of Baltimore's request to officially remove Father Jerome "Jeff" Toohey from the priesthood.
It comes three years after Toohey pleaded guilty in court to abusing a minor during his tenure as chaplain at Calvert Hall.
"I hope this will open up the floodgates of actions that will cleanse the church of this," said Frank Dingle with SNAP of Maryland.
He calls the decision long overdue. He runs Maryland's branch of the Survivor Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP). It advocates for thousands of victims, including Thomas Roberts. He's the former Calvert Hall student and CNN anchor whose decision to come forward with allegations against Toohey led to the former priest's conviction. Roberts was 14 and a sophomore at Calvert Hall when the sexual abuse started. It's abuse that lasted until Roberts graduated. He didn't share his story until a few years ago.
"It was my most guarded secret that I had way tucked away and did not want to talk about," Roberts said. "You're ashamed at what has taken place. You don't want to talk about it...In this situation, I internalized it for a long time."
In the 1993, the church restricted Toohey from performing any duties as a priest after receiving what they said was a credible allegation of molestation. Eighteen years later, in November 2005, Toohey admitted to sexually abusing Roberts. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, served nine months and was then placed on home detention.
Archbishop Edwin O'Brien reiterated the archdiocese's commitment to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse. He says, "We are deeply sorry for the pain suffered by survivors of abuse due to the actions of clergy."
Toohey's defrocking is effective immediately. Church observers expect similar announcements involving priests in the U.S., Ireland and Australia.
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