c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Once upon a time, Monsignor Charles M. Kavanagh was the sort of New York priest who performed weddings between a Tiffany employee and a Lehman Brothers mortgage analyst in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

That was then, when he was pastor of a large Bronx parish and chief fundraiser for New York’s late Cardinal John O’Connor. These days, Kavanagh, 69, is living on Long Island with relatives.

His fate is being decided in Erie, Pa., 441 miles from the desk of his bishop in New York, Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who suspended him in 2002. Three judges, a promoter of justice (prosecutor) and a defense attorney _ all canon lawyers and all priests _ are participating in a trial requested by Kavanagh, who stands accused of improper behavior years ago by a 42-year-old Oregon restaurateur and married father of four.

In 1978, Kavanagh, then rector of New York’s Cathedral Preparatory School, struck up a friendship with 14-year-old student Daniel Donohue. Kavanagh was not only the school rector, but Donohue’s teacher, spiritual director and confessor as well. Their intense six-year relationship ended when Donohue was 20, studying at a college seminary in Queens. He essentially told Kavanagh, who often visited him there, to get lost.

In 1984, Kavanagh wrote to Donohue’s parents at Christmas:

“I know that, for the Christian, time does not heal all things; only reaching out for healing and understanding does. Since April, when Dan said `things were over’ I have wanted to reach out to Dan and to others. … The silence has been deadly. … I need your forgiveness and understanding.”

The letter languished among Donohue’s parents’ papers, a yellowing indictment of a priest that Donohue’s father, Jack, calls “a sick man, a disturbed man.” Last September, Dan Donohue gave the letter to media. In it, Kavanagh calls his relationship with a student 25 years his junior “the closest human friendship and the deepest spiritual relationship of my life. … I love Dan so very much.”

The trial is being held in Erie at Egan’s request. Under church rules, it is really a case of Kavanagh v. Egan. Erie might be a good choice. The instances of child sex abuse among its clergy seem few, but are kept secret all the same. Bishop Donald W. Trautman has refused to reveal them.

Up in the small conference room in Trautman’s headquarters, clerical secrecy prevails. Witnesses in the Kavanagh case are examined by the priest judges. Most likely, Kavanagh’s defense attorney and Cardinal Egan’s prosecutor are also in the room. The witnesses’ names are secret. The judges’ names are secret. The proceedings are secret. The findings are secret. Unless Kavanagh reveals the result, it will be secret as well.

The question to be decided is whether to remove Kavanagh as a priest. A recommendation will go off to Rome, and by the last snowfall of the season, an answer should come back.

Canonically, the case presents a conundrum. Church law provides for “just penalty” _ including removal from the priesthood _ of a priest who manipulates or forces a minor to have sex. Both Donohue and Kavanagh say there was no sexual encounter, although there was some touching, some hand-holding, some hugging. Kavanagh climbed into bed with Donohue once and snuggled up behind him.

The four single-spaced typewritten pages Donohue’s family kept so long depict a troubled writer. All Donohue wanted was an apology. But Kavanagh, who had repeatedly admitted the relationship and the letter, denies any impropriety.

There are 1 billion Catholics in the world, and no doubt nearly all can see the dysfunction Kavanagh has admitted. There are married deacons and nuns who are canon lawyers, yet the smallest percentage of Catholics _ ordained priests _ are involved in judging the matter.

No matter which way the case comes down, we’ll have to wonder why.

(Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate in the religion department at Hofstra University and author of a number of books in Catholic studies.)

KRE/PH END ZAGANO

Editors: A photo of Phyllis Zagano is available on the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.