You man know Monsignor Wallace Harris as the highest-ranking black priest in New York, or as the priest who arranged the Yankee Stadium mass for Pope Benedict, or even as the priest who swore in New York's Gov. Paterson. You know, the nice looking guy who baptized your baby or taught your kid’s catechism class. Ring a bell? Yes? Great, he just resigned over his alleged abuse of 10 people when they were kids.
For now, Harris remains an ordained priest but he "will never again publicly function or present himself as a priest," Archbishop Timothy Dolan in a letter to parishioners at St. Charles Borromeo Church on West 141st St.
The Chicago-based Survival Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) blasted Dolan for "quietly and deceptively" letting Harris resign and not laying his crimes out to his flock.
He dodged a bullet in 2008 when the statute of limitations prevented the prosecution of two cases. And a fan page circulated that espoused the good side of Monsignor Wallace. I’m sure he did a lot of good things while serving as a priest, he did at least 10 bad things too. Many of these pedophile priests accomplish great things, but it is all meaningless after abuse surfaces.
