As pressure continues to mount for Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone to step down over his handling of sex abuse cases, two seminarians have publicly left the diocesan seminary and echoed calls for his resignation.
The first seminarian, Stephen Parisi, withdrew in a 6-page letter dated August 15 where he outlines what he describes as a lack of proper governance.
He concluded his letter by directly addressing Malone, offering a stinging assessment of his leadership and pleading for his resignation.
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“I close by thanking Bishop Malone and the formation team for my time at Christ the King. The most valuable lessons I have learned at the seminary have not included how to properly write a paper, or even how to nurture a personal prayer life,” he wrote.
“By observing the behavior of most (not all) priests on the formation staff, I have learned how not to treat people. If there is any doubt regarding the veracity of the examples cited above, documentation, witness testimony and other forms of evidence have been retained. Bishop Malone, for the love of God and for the sake of the faithful of the Diocese of Buffalo, please step down!” Parisi continued.
Parisi’s resignation was followed by that of another seminarian, Matthew Bojanowski, who alleges that he was sexually harassed by a diocesan priest, Father Jeffrey Nowak, and that Malone failed to take action when it was reported.
“The diocese of Buffalo suppresses the truth in relation to sexual abuse,” Bojanowski said at a news conference on Tuesday. “There is no transparency in the Buffalo Diocese and there is no justice for victims of abuse, whether the victims are children or adults.”
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