Foley Says He Was Abused by a Clergyman
Oct 03 6:49 PM US/Eastern
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
Disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley said through his lawyer Tuesday that he was abused by a clergyman as a teenager, but accepts full responsibility for sending salacious computer messages to teenage male pages.
Attorney David Roth said Foley was molested between ages 13 and 15 by a clergyman. He declined to identify the clergyman or the church, but Foley is Roman Catholic.
He also acknowledged for the first time that the former congressman is gay, saying the disclosure was part of his client's "recovery."
"Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man," Roth told reporters in Florida as Republicans struggled to avoid election-year fallout from the congressman's behavior and sudden resignation.
Foley represented the West Palm Beach district for 12 years until he abruptly resigned last week after being accused of sending lurid Internet messages to teenage boys who served as pages on Capitol Hill. The FBI and Florida law enforcement officials are investigating whether he violated any laws.
The lawyer said Foley, who is now in treatment for alcohol abuse, never had any inappropriate sexual contact with a minor. He said Foley was under the influence of alcohol when he sent many of the e-mails and instant messages.
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2 comments:
We Catholics spend so much time defending our faith to the protestants and this kind of stuff just makes it harder. We all agree that Truth is truth even carried in these broken earthen vessels but it gives the catholic bashers all the more fodder. Lord have mercy on us.
You're so right, we get so bogged down and ashamed of the sins of those in the church that we forget that we're preaching the good news.
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