BOSTON, Sept. 12 — Complaints that the Rev. Robert V. Gale was molesting young boys first reached the attention of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in 1979.
There were more reports and concerns raised about sexual abuse in 1981, 1983 and 1987. But according to documents released today, which described the complaints, it was not until 1991 that the archdiocese removed Father Gale from parish ministry. Then, Father Gale was allowed to live at another church, where in 1994 more accusations were made.
The documents are part of 252 pages of church records concerning five priests who have been accused of sexual abuse. The papers were released today by lawyers for some 250 people who say they were abused by priests.
In many cases the complaints were handled by some of the highest-ranking archdiocesan officials, including Bishop Thomas V. Daily, who now heads the Brooklyn diocese; the Rev. John B. McCormack, who is now bishop of New Hampshire; and Bishop Robert J. Banks, who is now bishop of Green Bay, Wis.
In 1981, the Rev. George Rosencranz was arrested after a security guard in a Sears Roebuck store discovered him performing sexual acts with a young man in a restroom stall, according to a memorandum written by Bishop Daily.
Bishop Daily wrote that Father Rosencranz denied the accusations and "expressed concern to me about his effectiveness at the parish if people know or heard of allegation, etc. I told him in light of his protestation of innocence I would support him."
Bishop Daily also wrote that "we can't contact" the news media and added that priests "are vulnerable."
Father Rosencranz was allowed to return to his parish, and the charges against him were dismissed. The notes from Bishop Daily suggest that the police might not have charged Father Rosencranz if they had known he was a priest.
In 1987, the archdiocese received another complaint from a former parishioner who accused Father Rosencranz of making sexual advances 18 years earlier. He was briefly sent for treatment, but later Bishop Banks wrote that the church had determined "there is no reason to pursue this matter any further" because "the person making the charge was unable to provide any corroborating evidence."
In 1989, Father Rosencranz was arrested in a state park in North Andover, Mass., charged with indecent assault after he tried to touch the crotch of an undercover police officer. After the arrest, Father Rosencranz was placed on sick leave, the archdiocese's way of quietly removing him from ministry.
Donna M. Morrisey, a spokeswoman for the Boston Archdiocese, said she could not comment on the cases because they were in litigation. Calls to a spokesman for Bishop Daily were not returned.
Spokesmen for Bishop Banks and Bishop McCormack cited the difficulties of commenting on personnel documents they had not seen. In a statement, Bishop Banks added, "I can only say that I always tried to deal fairly with both the priests and those alleging abuse."
In 1979, Bishop Daily was told that Father Gale, a pastor at St. Joseph's church in Quincy, molested two boys, and Father Gale admitted to one accusation. Bishop Daily, told that the parents were ready to take their cases to prosecutors, removed him from St. Joseph's.
But Father Gale was transferred to another parish, St. Jude in Waltham, and allowed to supervise altar boys, three of whom complained in 1981, including one boy who said the priest had put his hand down the boy's pants. Father Gale told Bishop Daily he had "black-outs" and did not remember the incident.
Father Gale was allowed to remain at the Waltham church for seven years. He was removed after more accusations but was transferred to a church in Brookline.
In the 1980's, he was accused of molesting boys at a church-run camp in New Hampshire.
In 1991, Father Gale was removed from the Brookline church, apparently because of a drinking problem, according to a report in The Boston Globe. He moved into a South Boston rectory, but in 1994, the archdiocese received an accusation that he had kissed a teenager on the mouth at a christening. In 1995 and 1996, with the archdiocese trying to settle lawsuits concerning Father Gale, the church agreed not to allow him unsupervised access to children, the documents show.
Last month, Father Gale was arrested and charged with four counts of raping an altar boy at the Waltham church from 1980 to 1984.