Memorials honoring two Catholic priests named in abuse cases removed

A street sign and a plaque honoring two priests whom the Long Island Catholic Church says were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors years ago have been removed from public display.

The "Bermingham Place" street sign in Williston Park that honored the longtime pastor of the Church of St. Aidan, Msgr. Charles Bermingham, was taken down and replaced with the original name — Dover Street.

At St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Brookville, a plaque honoring Msgr. Mario Costa has been replaced by a portrait of the Virgin Mary.

Both men, who are dead, are on a list of 101 clerics that the Diocese of Rockville Centre said in a court document have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. The diocese submitted the list to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan in April.

Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said the village board voted 5-0 to remove the street sign, though initially he had reservations.

"I raised a concern that it’s still America, and you’re innocent until proven guilty," he said.

But after the village attorney explained that the church considers the allegations legitimate, Ehrbar said, he voted with the other officials to take down the sign.

The Costa plaque was gone in a photo provided by an area parishioner, James Hughes, who said he served as an altar boy for Costa for two years.

Diocese spokesman Sean Dolan said the church "defers to the decision of the Village in this matter" of the street sign.

Dolan also said in a statement that the diocese "is working with the parishes and is providing guidance on the issue of dedications and memorials within the parish property."

He had said last month that the diocese had been studying the issue but was not commenting on particular cases.

At St. Paul, the lower parish hall and offices were named after Costa. The hall had a bronze plaque bearing a carved likeness of Costa’s face and a quotation that said in part, "To live in the midst of the world with no desire for its pleasures … to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds … to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity."

Church officials covered the plaque with white cardboard-like material held in place by blue tape after Newsday reported on it last month, before installing the painting of Mary in recent days.

Hughes, a parishioner at the Church of St. Dominic in Oyster Bay, said the diocese and the village made the right moves, but he is stunned "that not a word has been said to the parishioners at St. Paul the Apostle as to why these actions were taken."

He called on the diocese to release its files on sex abuse by clergy, and for the Nassau County District attorney to seize those records if the diocese refuses.

Patrick Stoneking, a lawyer from Manhasset who represents clergy sex abuse victims for the firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, said the village’s removal of the street sign "is a strong statement of support to survivors of abuse, many of whom still live around here."

Concerning the plaque in Brookville, he said "it shouldn’t take an article in Newsday for these churches to do what they know is right. It is important for us to stop pretending that these horrible things didn’t happen to innocent Catholic kids."

Costa spent most of 27 consecutive years as pastor at St. Paul the Apostle, starting in 1975, except for a seven-month absence in 1982, court papers state. He completed his service there in 2002.

Bermingham joined St. Aidan in 1960, according to the court papers, and retired in 1977, according to the parish website.

Earlier, he served as the diocese's head of the Catholic Youth Movement and director of Catholic Charities, the papers stated.

Ehrbar said he informed the current pastor of St. Aidan, the Rev. Adrian McHugh, of the removal of the street sign honoring Bermingham. Both Rev. McHugh and Msgr. James Pereda, pastor of St. Paul, did not respond to requests for comment.

The list of 101 clerics was the first time the diocese has provided an extended accounting of the names of priests with credible allegations against them. It provides the locations where the abuse took part, from motels, boats, ski resorts and even an airplane, to locales as far-flung as Yellowstone National Park, the Bahamas, Rome and Zurich, Switzerland.

The diocese has come under criticism for leaving the names of several dozen priests off the list, including two prominent church figures, former Bishop John McGann and Msgr. Alan Placa, even though lawsuits have been filed against them.