BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone is firing back at a former assistant-turned-whistleblower who says the bishop should resign over his response to reports of clergy sexual misconduct.
In a statement just before midnight Tuesday, the diocese calls statements made by Siobhan O’Connor during an earlier news conference “embarrassingly contradictory.” It attached emails from O’Connor praising the bishop.
O’Connor secretly copied and leaked confidential files that she says show Malone allowed an accused priest to remain on the job and excluded dozens of others from a list of problematic priests released publicly earlier this year.
Malone’s said he made mistakes with cases involving adult victims, but never knowingly left a priest accused of child abuse in ministry.
O’Connor on Wednesday calls the bishop’s response to her comments a “needless deflection” from the issues.
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