Buffalo Ex-Seminarians to Malone: Resign

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In Buffalo, New York, two seminarians have resigned in protest over the ongoing culture of cover-up.

Former seminarian Stephen Parisi is calling on Catholics to cut off donations to the diocese: "The only way for the Church to survive is for good and honest lay people to reclaim their Church, and the first step is to stop putting money in the collection basket."

Parisi resigned as dean of seminarians at Buffalo's Christ the King Seminary last week, telling Bp. Richard Malone in a letter: "My parents instilled in me a basic sense of faith and morals. I have come to the realization that the values and morals of this seminary and diocese do not correspond to my own."

Speaking to Buffalo's WKBW news, Parisi listed a host of reasons why he left the seminary: "Continual cover-up by this diocese of sex abuse, abuse of power, abuse of authority, abuse of seminarians."

Things are so bad in Buffalo that Parisi is calling for an apostolic investigation of the diocese: "We need change. We need somebody to come in and clean house."

Parisi's resignation came just days after Buffalo attorney Kevin Stocker, who represents nearly two dozen clerical sex abuse victims, filed a RICO lawsuit against the diocese.

Stocker accuses the diocese of running a racketeering enterprise that included "[p]ayments to the law firms and accountants to perform their roles in concealing the misconduct in the Diocese of Buffalo."

"In order to conduct these activities, you need professionals to advise and organize and carry [it] out. But it appears that it was a very sophisticated, well-financed organization and a well-thought strategy on how to transfer funds and hide funds," said Stocker.

Parisi and Stocker represent a rising tide of Buffalo Catholics fed up with the corruption under Bp. Malone.

They join a growing chorus of area faithful calling on Malone to resign.

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