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by Randy CassinghamRandy Cassingham's Honorary Unsubscribe Recognizes the Unknown, the Forgotten and the Obscure People who Had an Impact on Our Lives
Sister Catherine Mulkerrin
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A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston since she was a teen (technically not a nun, since she was not cloistered), Sr. Mulkerrin worked for the poor, and campaigned against nuclear proliferation. In the early 1990s Mulkerrin worked for the Archdiocese of Boston -- in its office for victims of abuse. Over a two-year period she received reports about more than 100 priests in the Archdiocese that had molested children. She repeatedly brought the most credible reports to the attention of her superiors -- and was ignored. "I know I sound like a broken record," she wrote in one memo, "but we need to put in church bulletins 'It has come to our attention a priest stationed here between 19XX and 19XX may have molested children.'" But Bishop John B. McCormack, who was in charge of ministerial personnel and an aide to Cardinal Bernard F. Law, never acted. Sr. Mulkerrin's warnings came to light when the scandal exploded in 2002, leading to billions of dollars in lawsuits being filed against the Roman Catholic Church, most particularly in the Boston Archdiocese. Her warnings to the church were brought to light when the lawsuits were filed. When it became clear that Cardinal Law had been repeatedly warned about the problem priests, yet did nothing, he resigned as archbishop. Sr. Mulkerrin also spent six years as the leader of her order. She had cancer for 24 years before it finally killed her on May 17, at 72.
From This is True for 18 May 2008
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