Joe Billock, a longtime parishioner and car salesman, had suspected some other priests he knew might be named in the report, like one from Charleroi, Pa., who he said had shown up at his shop once with pornographic magazines in his vehicle. He, too, had heard rumors about Father Crowley’s departure, but said none were related to sexual misconduct.
Still, the night before the grand jury report was to be released, Mr. Billock said he got a funny feeling. “I just said, ‘I bet you Father Crowley will be on the list,’” he said after Mass on Wednesday evening.
At the Holy Angels crochet circle on Thursday morning, women reflected on the awful week, for them and for the broader church. “I feel they shouldn’t have covered it up at the beginning,” said Eleanor Martin of the diocese’s handling of abuse cases as she made a pom-pom for a purple hat. “Had this come out 30 years ago, there’d not be as much of it.”
That same day, Father Ahlin got a call from a woman who identified herself as one of the victims, and who was distraught. “She felt this was putting her through all that pain again,” he said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard from her.”
Sunday’s services weighed heavily on his mind. “I’ve been thinking something has to be said,” Father Ahlin said. “But I can’t even formulate how to even approach it.”
A day earlier, he had questioned the allegations against Father Crowley. After the call, he said he was not sure if he would tell his congregation about his doubts.
“Given the way she expressed herself,” he said, “I’d have to believe what she said.”
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