Paul Shanley
Encyclopedia
Paul Richard Shanley is an American laicized priest
who was accused and convicted of raping
a child. He served at St. Jean's Parish in Newton, Massachusetts
and was a prominent figure in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal.
. While there he and another priest, John J. White, co-owned "a bed-and-breakfast for gay customers 50 miles away in Palm Springs
".
Father Shanley had earned "the nickname the hippie priest for his long hair and outspoken views, including his public rejection of the church's condemnation of homosexuality." He attended a conference on sexuality where the founders of NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association, conceived the idea of such an organization.
'. Shanley admitted that he was 'attracted to adolescents' and on the basis of this confession, the Boston archdiocese secretly settled several lawsuits against Shanley. The archdiocese of Boston in 1993 had to admit to the diocese of San Bernardino part of the truth about Shanley, and the bishop of San Bernardino immediately dismissed him."
In February 2005, Shanley was found guilty of indecent assaults and the rape of a male minor and received a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison. Shanley's case remains controversial because the allegations of abuse came only after the victim (now an adult) alleged that he "recovered" memories of the abuse from approximately 20 years earlier. The notion of "repressed memory" is highly controversial and has been excluded from several courts of law. The manner in which the accusations against Shanley arose and enormous attention in the media also have given rise to questions about the validity of the convictions.
On November 26, 2008, Superior Court Judge Stephen Neel denied Paul Shanley's motion for a new trial. Shaw responded by filing a petition for review of the case in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (known as the Supreme Judicial Court), arguing that the judge had erred, and that "repressed memory" is an unproven, hypothesized phenomenon that has not been accepted in the scientific community and should not be admitted as evidence in Massachusetts courts. In January 2009, the Supreme Judicial Court granted the petition and ordered the case transferred from the intermediate appellate court for review by the state’s highest court.
On September 10, 2009 the Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case. Prior to the hearing, nearly 100 very prominent scientists, psychiatrists and psychologists from throughout the United States and eight countries signed a friend of the court brief telling the Court that "repressed memory" has never been demonstrated to exist and should not have been admitted as evidence.
Robert F. Shaw, Jr. argued that Paul Shanley was prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned based upon inadmissible evidence. The case is being closely watched throughout the United States and abroad.
On January 10, 2010, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts unanimously affirmed Shanley's conviction. The Court concluded: "In sum, the judge's finding that the lack of scientific testing did not make unreliable the theory that an individual may experience dissociative amnesia was supported in the record, not only by expert testimony but by a wide collection of clinical observations and a survey of academic literature. ... There was no abuse of discretion in the admission of expert testimony on the subject of dissociative amnesia."
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who was accused and convicted of raping
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
a child. He served at St. Jean's Parish in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
and was a prominent figure in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal.
Early career
Shanley first gained notoriety during 1970s as a "street priest," catering to drug addicts and runaways who struggled with their sexuality. His writings included "Changing Norms of Sexuality". During the 1980s, Shanley served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Newton. In 1990, he was transferred to St. Anne's in San Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
. While there he and another priest, John J. White, co-owned "a bed-and-breakfast for gay customers 50 miles away in Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...
".
Father Shanley had earned "the nickname the hippie priest for his long hair and outspoken views, including his public rejection of the church's condemnation of homosexuality." He attended a conference on sexuality where the founders of NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association, conceived the idea of such an organization.
Crime
According to Leon Podles in his book Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, "In late 1993, Shanley was sent to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, for evaluation. The Boston archdiocese has refused to release this evaluation, but other released files show that Shanley admitted to nine sexual encounters, of which four involved boys, and that he was diagnosed as 'narcissistic' and 'histrionicHistrionic personality disorder
Histrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early...
'. Shanley admitted that he was 'attracted to adolescents' and on the basis of this confession, the Boston archdiocese secretly settled several lawsuits against Shanley. The archdiocese of Boston in 1993 had to admit to the diocese of San Bernardino part of the truth about Shanley, and the bishop of San Bernardino immediately dismissed him."
In February 2005, Shanley was found guilty of indecent assaults and the rape of a male minor and received a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison. Shanley's case remains controversial because the allegations of abuse came only after the victim (now an adult) alleged that he "recovered" memories of the abuse from approximately 20 years earlier. The notion of "repressed memory" is highly controversial and has been excluded from several courts of law. The manner in which the accusations against Shanley arose and enormous attention in the media also have given rise to questions about the validity of the convictions.
Appeal
In 2007, Shanley's new attorney, Robert F. Shaw, Jr., filed motion for a new trial on his behalf challenging his convictions as unjust. During a hearing in May 2008, Shaw forcefully argued that "repressed memories" were without general acceptance in the scientific community, were "junk science," and that the court had not been presented with accurate information about the scientific status of repressed memories before trial. Shaw argued that Shanley is entitled to a new trial.On November 26, 2008, Superior Court Judge Stephen Neel denied Paul Shanley's motion for a new trial. Shaw responded by filing a petition for review of the case in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (known as the Supreme Judicial Court), arguing that the judge had erred, and that "repressed memory" is an unproven, hypothesized phenomenon that has not been accepted in the scientific community and should not be admitted as evidence in Massachusetts courts. In January 2009, the Supreme Judicial Court granted the petition and ordered the case transferred from the intermediate appellate court for review by the state’s highest court.
On September 10, 2009 the Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case. Prior to the hearing, nearly 100 very prominent scientists, psychiatrists and psychologists from throughout the United States and eight countries signed a friend of the court brief telling the Court that "repressed memory" has never been demonstrated to exist and should not have been admitted as evidence.
Robert F. Shaw, Jr. argued that Paul Shanley was prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned based upon inadmissible evidence. The case is being closely watched throughout the United States and abroad.
On January 10, 2010, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts unanimously affirmed Shanley's conviction. The Court concluded: "In sum, the judge's finding that the lack of scientific testing did not make unreliable the theory that an individual may experience dissociative amnesia was supported in the record, not only by expert testimony but by a wide collection of clinical observations and a survey of academic literature. ... There was no abuse of discretion in the admission of expert testimony on the subject of dissociative amnesia."
See also
- Roman Catholic sex abuse casesRoman Catholic sex abuse casesThe Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders. These cases began receiving public attention beginning in the mid-1980s...
- Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
- Crimen sollicitationisCrimen sollicitationisCrimen sollicitationis is the title of a 1962 document of the Holy Office codifying procedures to be followed in cases of priests or bishops of the Catholic Church accused of having used the sacrament of Penance to make sexual advances to penitents.It repeated, with additions, the contents of an...