Msgr. Lawrence Breslin Receives
Priest of Integrity Award

Ohio Pastor Identified Abuser In Vatican Diplomatic Corps.

Indianapolis, IN and Newton MA – July 10, 2005 - Voice of the Faithful has awarded Msgr. Lawrence J. Breslin, of Centerville, Ohio, its 2005 Priest of Integrity Award. The presentation was made at the organization’s Convocation entitled “The Laity Speak: Accountability Now” held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana July 8-10. As a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Msgr. Breslin identified a high ranking priest in the Vatican diplomatic corps as a sexual abuser of a young woman in Ohio.

Breslin is pastor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese church where the abuse had taken place. He was a top official of the Pontifical North American College, a seminary in Rome to which US Bishops send some of their most promising priest candidates. He repeatedly warned Vatican officials about Msgr. Daniel Pater, an admitted abuser who left Ohio after molesting a girl and was rapidly climbing the Vatican bureaucracy. Breslin spoke out about Pater again, in a feature story in the Dallas Morning News, and on an in-depth three-part Cincinnati TV news series on the sexual abuse crisis.

"Monsignor Breslin has provided a model of leadership for all Catholics - ordained and unordained alike- to follow," said James E. Post, president of Voice of the Faithful. "He courageously named a fellow priest, who admitted the abuse, thereby placing the interest of the innocent victim ahead of a brother preist. He has also spoken out about deficiencies in the investigation of other cases of alleged abuse in the archdiocese of Cincinnati. In each case, Msgr. Breslin has demonstrated a commitment to truth and to bringing sunlight to the Catholic Church."

"We live in times of crisis. We seek true reform," said Kristine Ward, vice president of Voice of the Faithful, and one of the Convocation's co-chairs. "Models of exemplary leadership are needed as torchbearers of light in ourChurch. Msgr. Breslin has been a bright light in the darkness of this tragedy."

The Indianapolis leadership meeting focused on ways to bring greater accountability to the Catholic Church, particularly in the areas of bishops' accountability, financial accountability, and lay accountability. The Convocation included a menu of grassroots training sessions, as well as panel discussions and breakout sessions that focused on accountability-driven actions. Francine Cardman, who is Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, delivered the keynote address. Other speakers included Justice Anne Burke, the former head of the National Review Board; Paul Lakeland, chair of the department of
Religious Studies at Fairfield University; and David Castaldi, chair of the board of
Voice of the Faithful.

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