Church details Egan's role in abuse case

Cardinal Edward Egan

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Cardinal Edward Egan, when he was bishop of the Bridgeport, Connecticut, diocese, allowed a priest once sent to a psychiatric institution for "serious sexual misconduct" to continue functioning as a priest, according to a statement Tuesday by the New York Archdiocese.

The decision was made in 1990. Two years later, however, after similar allegations were raised against the priest, Laurence Brett, Egan ordered an investigation, withdrew Brett's "priestly faculties" and unsuccessfully attempted to have him defrocked.

"He never again functioned as a priest," the archdiocese's statement said.

Egan's handling of alleged misconduct by Brett was at the center of a lawsuit filed against the Bridgeport diocese by Frank Martinelli, who alleged he was molested by Brett as a teen-ager.

The archdiocese's statement was in response to the release of a videotaped deposition Egan gave in 1997 for the lawsuit, which was settled shortly before Egan left Bridgeport to become archbishop of New York in 2000.

According to the statement, Egan's predecessor in Bridgeport, Bishop Walter Curtis, sent Brett to a psychiatric institution for testing and treatment after the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced in 1964. At the recommendation of a psychiatrist, Curtis allowed Brett to work at a religious publishing house.

In 1990, Egan met Brett for the first time, the statement said. In his 1997 deposition, Egan said the priest made a "good impression" -- so good that he would have been inclined to write Brett a letter of recommendation.

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Because there had been no new accusations for more than 25 years, Egan and his advisers "concluded that Bishop Curtis' decision seemed sound. In 1991, this conclusion was confirmed by a clinical psychologist," the statement said.

But a year and a half later, Egan learned of other alleged misconduct by Brett during Curtis' tenure, at which point he ordered an investigation, the statement said. In his deposition, Egan described Brett as "evasive and not terribly forthcoming."

Egan then suspended Brett from any priestly functions and got Brett to petition the Vatican to "laicize" -- defrock -- him, according to statement.

"However, Father Brett, on the advice of his attorneys, withdrew the petition," the statement said.

Martinelli alleged that when Brett was his teacher, the priest sexually assaulted him and bit his penis. In his deposition, Egan was asked if he believed that a teacher assaulting and biting a student's penis would be sufficient cause to suspend a priest.

"I would have to know all the details," he said. "The suggestion is so strange I would want to know more about it."

Egan said a priest "has the responsibility to obey the law," and abusing a child would violate both civil and church law. But asked if a priest could be fired, Egan said that according to Internal Revenue Service rules, priests are considered self-employed.

"Every priest, like every rabbi, is self-employed. He pays his income tax four times a year. So when you use the expression fired, I don't know what you mean," Egan said.

Asked how the church could have severed a relationship with Brett if none existed, Egan said what was severed was his "professional authorization to act," similar to the relationship between a client and a lawyer.

Asked after a Mass last weekend if he still holds the view that priests are self-employed, the cardinal said, "The question is whether they're an employee of the parish or the diocese. But I don't think that's a major issue. I wouldn't bother with that."

Egan served as bishop of the Bridgeport diocese from 1988 to 2000. He was later elevated to cardinal.

In March 2001, the diocese paid $15 million to 26 plaintiffs to settle sexual abuse claims against eight priests. The current leader of the Bridgeport diocese, Bishop William Lori, is now examining the records of all clergy back to the founding of the diocese 49 years ago.

Egan has adopted a "zero tolerance" policy for priests in the New York archdiocese that calls for their removal from ministry if credible allegations are raised about sexual abuse.

-- CNN Correspondent Jason Carroll contributed to this report.