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Article: Let us prey: 'Frontline' program details story of priest's abuse.
- Article from:
- The Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colorado)
- Article date:
- January 13, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Pueblo Chieftain. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Marvin Read
Jan. 13--It was a scenario repeated thousands of times during the history of the American Catholic Church: A devout family, rooted in its faith and a popular priest taking special interest in their son, an altar boy.
In this case, as in so many others, the priest, the Rev. Joseph Birmingham, took too special an interest in Paul Cultrera, a 14-year-old boy and a member of St. James Parish in Salem, Mass.
What began in the mid-1960s in the church as a teenager confessing typical transgressions became personal visits and heavy molestation in the priest's rectory and bedroom, in his shiny, black Ford Galaxie and hotel rooms.
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