Will Bishop Richard Malone refuse entry at Christmas Eve mass to the mother of a clergy sex abuse victim?

It's the same letter that was sent to Bishop Malone one year ago by an advocate for abuse victims.

Now it's signed by Marie Tupper.

Here's a copy of the letter sent today.

December 16, 2009

Most Rev. Bishop Richard Malone
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
Portland, Maine

Dear Bishop Malone,

I hope to be able to attend the Midnight Mass at the Cathedral next week. It is my understanding that you will deliver the homily.

I look upon my participation in this Mass as an “immersion experience.” I cannot resist having a front row seat to be able to listen to you preach about the unconditional love and compassion of Jesus Christ, yet, at the very moment you are speaking these words, you and I will both know that you have rejected me, the mother of a sex abuse victim, as unworthy of your time.

The Compassion of Christ calls us to be in communion with those who suffer, Bishop Malone. I will come in peace. But, if you happen to look my way from time to time, you may see me shaking my head ever so slightly (in disbelief), or my head may be in my hands as I pray for the tolerance to remain seated in spite of your hypocrisy.

Each time you see my face during the Mass, Bishop Malone, I want you to remember me, my 84 year-old mother, Claire Tupper, and my 35 year-old son. My son was sexually abused by Rev. Thomas Lee when he was a toddler. Have you ever wondered how my son and the rest of our family are holding up?

What a Christmas story you have to tell. At the same time that your houseguest, Rev. Paul Miceli, is warm and cozy inside your mansion on the Promenade, I will be standing on the sidewalk outside your home, shivering from the cold as I wait to meet with you.

Let’s not forget that while working as Secretary of Ministerial Personnel for Cardinal Law, your friend, Miceli, aided and abetted the sexual abuse of children by assisting in the transfer of abuser priests into unsuspecting parishes and schools.

On the other hand, my son was raped by our family’s parish priest during the time that my mother worked in the rectory as the housekeeper.

How ironic it is that you choose to invite Miceli, the very person who facilitated the sexual abuse of children, into your home yet, at the very same time, you slam the door on a mother whose only child was wrecked forever because of the harms and injuries inflicted upon him as a result of his child sexual abuse.

It will be a trying experience for me to hear you preach on Christmas Eve, Bishop Malone. Knowing what we both know, how will you ever be able to preach the gospel with passion and integrity?

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

Sincerely,
Marie Tupper
Boothbay Harbor, Maine