Buffalo, N.Y., Sep 6, 2019 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- New allegations have surfaced that the second whistleblower reporting a cover-up of clerical sexual abuse by the Diocese of Buffalo, Fr. Ryszard Biernat, was sexually abused as a seminarian in the diocese by a priest who was later removed from ministry for other credible accusations of abuse.
A new report by the Buffalo-area news station WKBW reveals allegations by Fr. Biernat that when Biernat was a seminarian he was assaulted by a Buffalo priest at St. Thomas Aquinas parish.
Biernat said in an interview with WKBW that he was assaulted by Fr. Art Smith, a diocesan priest whom Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo asked to be kept in ministry in 2015 in a letter to Vatican officials, despite the bishop admitting in that same letter that Smith had groomed a young boy, had been accused of inappropriate touching of at least four young men, had faced boundary problems, and refused to stay in a treatment center.
Fr. Smith was suspended in 2018, after the diocese received a new substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. He denied the accusation that he assaulted Biernat, but told WKBW that he simply told Biernat that he “liked him more than he would ever know.”
WKBW reported that a letter sent by Bishop Malone to the Vatican included Biernat’s allegations.
After Biernat told Bishop Edward Grosz, then-auxiliary bishop of Buffalo, his allegations of assault by Fr. Smith, Grosz allegedly responded by threatening Biernat’s vocation if he kept talking about it.
“He said [it] was my fault because I [didn’t] lock the door,” Biernat quoted Bishop Grosz, as reported by WKBW. “And then he said, ‘and Ryszard, if you don’t stop talking about this, you will not become a priest. You understand me? You understand me?’” Biernat said.
The Diocese of Buffalo did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.
Biernat—currently on a personal leave of absence—eventually became the vice chancellor of the diocese and Bishop Malone’s secretary. On Sept. 4, WKBW reported conversations of Biernat with Malone and others that the priest secretly taped.
The conversations from Aug. 2, 2019 and March 2019 appeared to show that Malone not only knew of allegations made against Fr. Jeffrey Nowak, then-pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians parish in Cheektowaga, but that Malone believed the allegations—months before Fr. Nowak was reportedly removed from ministry.
The allegations were raised by then-seminarian Matthew Bojanowski; the seminarian sent a letter to Bishop Malone detailing his allegations against Fr. Nowak that was dated Jan. 24; Bishop Malone reported on Wednesday that the diocese’s receipt of the letter was on Jan. 28, 2019.
WKBW reported Aug. 7 that the Diocese of Buffalo had removed Fr. Nowak from ministry. At a Wednesday press conference, Bishop Malone said Nowak “was removed from ministry until he would go for that assessment,” but did not say when. On Aug. 28, the diocese announced that Fr. Nowak had been placed on “administrative leave.”
In the conversations, Malone appears to instruct Biernat not to say anything about Nowak, telling him, “[y]ou’re an American citizen you’re free to do what you want. I think we’re gonna blow this story up into something like an atom bomb if we start talking about that.”
Biernat’s lawyer told WKBW that Malone’s comments constituted blackmail, “directly or at a minimum indirectly.” His lawyer Barry Covert did not respond to CNA’s interview request by the time of publication.
Back in March, Malone considered sending Fr. Nowak to an institute for mental health treatment, but acknowledged the difficulty of doing so, saying he could “go ballistic” at the request.
In the recorded conversation on Aug. 2, Malone appeared to acknowledge that it was a “crisis” for the diocese, and that if the news was made public it could spell the end of his tenure as bishop.
“We are in a true crisis situation. True crisis. And everyone in the office is convinced this could be the end for me as bishop,” Malone said in the recorded conversation.
Malone held a press conference Sept. 4 for local reporters selected by the diocese. The bishop said the scandal is a “convoluted matter,” according to WIVB4.
“I’m not a masochist—I’m here because I feel an obligation…to carry on,” the bishop told reporters.
In the press conference, Bishop Malone said that Fr. Nowak first agreed in July to go to St. Luke’s Institute in Maryland for an assessment, but “did not comply.”
In the beginning of August, Nowak again said he would go for an assessment, according to Malone, but again did not go; after the diocese gave Nowak a third opportunity on Aug. 25, he “did not go,” Malone said, “and that is when I put him on administrative leave.”
In the taped Aug. 2 conversation, Malone allegedly said that Fr. Nowak “has agreed by the way to go to Southdown,” an institute for religious and clergy that specializes in mental health and addiction problems. “Cause I told him it’s that or leave of absence,” Malone said according to abridged transcripts of the conversation reported by WKBW.
“I think if we bring Jeff [Nowak] in, that gets very, who knows what he’s gonna do,” Malone said. “Even I know he’s a loose cannon.”
Bishop Malone has been the center of controversy in the diocese for almost a year; in November 2018, his former executive assistant Siobahn O’Connor leaked confidential diocesan documents related to the handling of claims of clerical sexual abuse.
Last month, a RICO lawsuit was filed against the diocese and the bishop, alleging that the response of the diocese was comparable to an organized crime syndicate.
In the Aug. 2 conversation, Malone also referenced his fear of Biernat going public with the news because of the existence of a letter between Biernat and Bojanowski. Nowak, he said in the taped conversations, was jealous of a supposed relationship between Biernat and Bojanowski. Malone called it “a very complex, convoluted matter,” in his Wednesday press conference.
A letter between the Biernat and Bojanowski dated from 2016 was reportedly found by Fr. Nowak in Bojanowski’s apartment, the Buffalo News reported. The letter was reported to be a love letter, which Biernat’s lawyer has denied.
Crux also reported a 2018 real estate transaction under both Biernat’s and Bojanowski’s names.
O’Connor, the 2018 whistleblower, said she believes the letter was between friends and not a love letter, and that it has been circulated to distract from the Fr. Nowak scandal.
“I do not believe it is a love letter. I genuinely believe that it was a letter of friendship, which is a form of love and a very important one at that,” she wrote on her blog on Friday.
Fr. Biernat was counseling Bojanowski on how to get out of an abusive, grooming relationship, O’Connor argued, noting that she talked to Bojanowski directly about the letter and the house transaction, and that he responded without guile.
“Fr. Ryszard recognized a young man was being groomed by a priest, and he recognized it because it happened to him,” she said, adding that both Biernat and Bojanowski have shared that with her.
Regarding one line in the letter where Biernat wrote Bojanowski, “I am afraid that all that you know about me may compromise your freedom to love or to leave,” he was simply telling the seminarian that he would not stalk Bojanowski if he left the seminary, and would not use his position of influence to do so, O’Connor said.
Biernat shared the news of his house purchase with O’Connor last year, she said, and he was not secretive about it and even conducted the transaction with the help of the diocese’s lawyer. The house had been owned by a family member of Bojanowski’s, she said, and as Bishop Malone was moving to a new residence, Biernat did not want to move with all his belongings with the knowledge that Malone might be retiring soon and he would then have to move again, so he decided to purchase the home with Bojanowski.
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He “identifies” as catholic in the same way that Biden does. Twisting it to suit his political purposes. I find that dishonest and disgusting. Since there is no chance of his winning the nomination, Christie should have at least kept his moral stance intact. Pathetic.
Catholics aren’t required to take everything that comes out of a pope’s mouth as gospel truth. This is a misconception of many Protestants.
To be fair, the Pope has never denied Church teaching on marriage. Gov. Christie’s use of the declaration to appear more current and politically woke is even more disheartening than Fr. Martin’s publicized actions. Unless Gov.Christie actually misunderstood the document as changing Catholic marriage requirements, which is
possible considering the confusing way it’s written and how it’s been presented by the media. And perhaps the level of catechesis in people of Gov. Christie’s generation. Who knows?
We live in strange times.
Well if he can say, as he clearly did in Amoris Laetitia, that a man can “discern” that in his concrete circumstances that he can abandon his family and run away with his mistress to start a new family, he can conclude that this is what God is asking of him at this time, then it sounds pretty clear to me that Francis’ idea of marriage isn’t exactly the same as a Catholic idea of marriage.
I don’t thin kit is wise for Christie to follow the “changing times” instead of the Word of God. First the Pope never said it was legitimate to bless gay marriage. The blessings he speaks of is the same as blessing a Rosary or a home. It doesn’t seem that Christie knows his ancestral faith very well.
Christie should run,
At a fitness center and away from the food.
Not for President.
I remember seeing an enormous chair especially built to hold the weight and girth of President Taft.
I’d never vote for Gov. Christie but it wouldn’t be based upon his size. You’re correct that he needs to be concerned about it though.
I think this comment is a little mean-spirited. Like many Americans, I have struggled with weight since my early 30s. I gained a lot of weight while pregnant and have had a terrible time losing it and have actually gained even more weight over the years–and lost it—and gained it back—and lost it—and currently, have gained back around 12 pounds of the 40 that I lost last year after retiring, and am determined to get back on track with healthy eating and walking daily and limiting my sweets–it’s HARD to lose excess weight, and I imagine that with Mr. Christie’s crazy schedule due to his choice to get involved with politics, it’s even tougher than for someone like me that has a lot of free time since retiring! Thin people have no concept, no understanding, and no sympathy for how someone like me can eat an entire large package of Oreos in 24 hours–I’m guessing that sweets are one of Mr. Christie’s weaknesses, too! It’s a lot harder than thin people think to change your entire lifestyle (which revolves around food!) and find healthy ways to deal with the cravings for sweets/salts/sofas! My motivation to continue the fight against fat is my beautiful 2-year-old grandson–I want to live long enough to see him graduate from high school! I hope that Mr. Christie can find a way to be healthy, and I pray that he and many others will continue to be wooed by the Holy Spirit (perhaps through his priests) into all truth regarding same sex couples.
I hope Gov.Christie sees the light too, Mrs. Sharon and I wish him the best for his health and weight issues.
He had stomach stapled if remember correctly
Yes.
I don’t look to Chris Christie for guidance on issues of moral probity. And, in a similar vein, I don’t look to Mr. George Bergoglio to explicate the perennial teachings of the Catholic faith. I look to Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, Church Tradition and the continuous Magisterium of the Church to guide my thinking. Bergoglio I consider to be an anomaly who will go down in the history of the papacy alongside those other popes who breached the mission of the office they held.
THE Gospels have no language condemning homosexuals. Christ instructs us to love our neighbors and homosexuals are our neighbors. We need our neighbors in Church where they can hear the Word of God—-that’s what changes people’s hearts. Whereas the Old Testament has language condemning homosexuals—-it also has language condemning the eating of pork and shellfish.
You seem to be leaving out the books of the New Testament written by St. Paul. He plainly taught against sexual immorality, which included homosexuality.
Gerald, I’d suggest that you exolore the teachings of the faith more deeply.
Gerald, the New Testament has plenty of language condemning that sort of deviancy. For goodness sakes. And Christ spelled out very clearly what and whom a marriage consists of.
There’s an extensive list of vices and disorders Our Lord didn’t specifically condemn in scripture but do you think that suggests a stamp of approval?
How about the New Testament which states there are no sodomites in Heaven? We must pray for them, not accept their sin.
Christie is just revealing how out of touch he is.
He might want to clue in on the excrement/fan response to FS before he rings in with his endorsement.
What a can of worms a few bishops and the Pope have opened. Does it help anything? Does it do harm? I have never felt such confusion in our Church as I have the past few years. Where does it all lead? When will it end?
It has all been prophesied. The second part of the Fatima third secret reveals that Satan has inserted himself to the highest reaches of the Vatican etc. This pope seems to be a Freemason who is leading the Church to the One World Church of the Antichrist. Remember, the Lord is in control. He seems to be making it clear who are the sheep and who are goats.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink the part we, as Catholics, should play in Democratic politics. Should we belong to parties, campaign, even vote? What does it mean to be “in the world but not of the world” ? What does it mean to be the leaven, salt, or light in the world? We live in a democracy but is this really compatible with Christianity. Don’t we live in a Kingdom right now. How can we have two masters? Arn’t we told that we are strangers and pilgrims merely passing through a foreign land? Why all this concern and bother about the temporal when we should be preparing ourselves for the eternal. Let’s come out from among them and get back on the straight and narrow path to eternity.
Not only are we Christians, but we are citizens of the United States of America. Your grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and husbands (and many women as well) have fought and died for this country, and every day, military, police, firefighters, and other first responders work to keep Americans safe. Our elected officials are mere men and women and make mistakes and go astray–AS WE ALL DO!!! It is our DUTY as citizens to participate in our government, which is OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, and FOR THE PEOPLE!! To not vote is to hand our country over to candidates who are willing to do anything to win–and I do mean ANYTHING-spend billions on a campaign, say anything, wine and dine anyone, endorse any policy–we can’t let this happen. We need to be involved as much as we are able and still manage to do our duty to our other responsibilities (church, family, workplace, etc.). And we need to do it all with the love of Christ as our motivation, and the teachings of Holy Mother Church and Sacred Scripture as our guide. If we lose and have to march into stadiums full of lions, at least we will know that we did our proper duty to our God and our Country. I love the United States and want it to be the shining beacon that our forefathers visualized.
James, be assured that there are many of us who have pondered the same dilemma – just how involved we ought to be in a government that’s corrupted beyond belief.
I don’t know about you James but I have 2 dozen descendants who have to live in this world after I’ve gone on to my reward. I have a duty to be involved in national and community affairs and elections even if I’d prefer not to.
What we neglect in our lifetime, our children and grandchildren will inherit.
Well said mrscracker.
Never does Christ instruct his disciples to go to Rome and write man-made laws to change the world. Christ gave us the Church to change people’s hearts and the world. The path to eternity runs through the Church, not Washington, DC. That is why everyone should be welcome in the Church to listen to the Word of God.
Everyone IS welcome in the church. After all, it is a hospital for sinners. The problem arises when sin itself is condoned.
give unto Ceasers what is Ceasers
in the G address, Lincoln reiterated that our country was basically an experiment:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
Who would have expected otherwise. The man is a product of post-conciliar catechesis at bests, if any at all. In essence, he is an example of the synodal katholic who live out of the virtue of convenience, with only a marginal grasp of up from down.
Chris Christie needs to read the Bible. You Cannot change Doctrine.
Politician, not statesman.
There is a world of difference.
God and Gods’ word never changes. God has sent numerous reformers to get this church back on track, but for some purpose He has hardened their hearts for His glory and purpose.
His presidential ambitions are one big fat joke. No doubt he will immediately get a private audience with the Pope if Father Jimmy Martin doesn’t get there first.
The new triumvirate: Obama, Christie and Fernandez? Read on…
Yea verily, the attitude of President Obama was also said to have “evolved,” between 2008 and the days immediately following his re-election in 2012. In 2008 he said, “‘I believe marriage is between a man and a woman; I am not in favor of gay marriage.’ This was a flat out lie according to his political advisor at the time, David Axelrod” (Recounted by Thomas McArdle, “Is Al Smith Dinner Still Worthwhile,” National Catholic Register, October 30, 2016).
Today, well, now candidate Christie already blurts that he’s in step with the signs of the times, whether married or not. But, let yours truly be the first to squash the possible rumor that Fr. James Martin is Christie’s campaign manager! Not at all! Martin is already too busy grooming Cardinal Fernandez.
Oh, now about Fernandez and his shunning of Scriptural citations…How about this less serpentine counsel: “…let your yes be yes, your no, no; that you may not fall under judgment” (James 5:12). Judgment, what judgment; who am I to judge?
“I had to change the way I’ve been raised both from a family perspective and what my mother and father taught me and felt and also from a religious perspective and what my Church taught me to believe”.
If Cardinal Fernández were not aware of the expected general interpretation of Fiducia Supplicans [FS] he must suffer a gapping cognitive blindspot. Whereas former governor Christie, a career in the judiciary as US attorney for NJ entirely capable of reading the message as sanctification of homosexuality. And isn’t this exactly what His Holiness Francis has had as a major objective during his pontificate?
Chris Christie’s sad conversion to the dark side of morality is a confirmation of Pres Biden’s all out promotion of disordered sexual behavior. How long will it take for a once staunch Catholic to acquiesce to abortion on demand? As scripture warned a time will come when even the elect will be in peril. What extravagant overtures of sanctity will we now hear from His Holiness to muffle the horror?
Love your neighbor means inviting everyone to Church to listen to the Word of God. The Church is the tool Christ gave us to change the world. It is an act of kindness to invite our neighbors to join us at Church.
I suggest Chris Christie and Pontiff Francis could just trade places, since it wouldn’t change anything.
It would be very mean to suggest that Governor Christie might be thinking that if the Church now allows blessings for homosexual couples that it could in the future declare that gluttony is no longer one of the deadly sins. Any comment to that effect should be blocked.
Perfectly understandable in the dim light of FS.
Chris Christie would do well to reflect before speaking, but he may be a bit desperate to continue as a Presidential candidate. However, we already have plenty of people who will slide with the times and strive to look “hip” and “with it.” Sadly, genuine leadership is a rarity, and so called leaders of today just run faster than their fellow followers.