Recently in an interview published by the Connecticut Magazine, Egan said regretfully, “I never had one of these sex abuse cases … Not one.”
In reference to the apology he made in 2002, Egan admitted that while he did say “If we did anything wrong, I’m sorry,” and that he did not think that they had done anything wrong.
Egan’s view of things, however, does not match that sported and admitted by the Vatican today.
While in the four-day summit in Rome, Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse clearly defined that the church has an obligation to report sex abuse, Egan holds a different opinion. In his published interview, Cardinal Egan told the Connecticut Magazine, “I don’t think even now you’re obligated to report (abuse cases) in Connecticut.”
Talking on the issue, Brian Wallace, who was director of communication of the Bridgeport diocese (with Egan as the bishop from 1988 to 2000) expressed to the media, “If there is one thing Catholics agree on, (it) is the abhorrence of child abuse, any form, and the need to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
While upstanding people like Wallace say “We know the abuse was real and it happened.” And while the Vatican calls summits even after a decade from the issue to raise awareness about what happened in 2002, Egan thinks nothing happened that was wrong.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests made a press release in response to Egan’s remorseless behavior and said that Egan was “painfully dismissive of the abject suffering of tens of thousands.” Calling Egan’s behavior as “unrepentant” and “self-absorbed.” The SNAP said “Most bishops have a dreadfully skewed and self-serving view of the crisis…” and that “most work very hard to conceal it.”
Brian Wallace said, “Catholics are united and it won’t happen again.” But apparently for Egan, nothing had happened, at all.