Remove Accused Pastor's Name From Glen Cove Church, Attorney Says

GLEN COVE, NY — A Boston-based attorney who gained international fame when he was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" is urging a Glen Cove church to remove the name of a pastor accused of sexually assaulting a teenager.

The Rev. Eligio Della Rosa was credibly accused of forcing a 14-year-old boy to perform a sex act on him in or around 1964, attorney Mitchell Garabedian told Patch in an email Thursday. The sexual abuse happened at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Rocky Point, where Della Rosa was assigned at the time.

Garabedian and his client want Della Rosa's name removed from The Church of St. Rocco on 3rd Street, where he was assigned for decades beginning in the 1960s. The Diocese of Rockville Centre settled a sexual abuse claim in the case out of court in September, with the attorney describing that dollar figure as being in the low six figures.

"Father Della Rosa's name should be removed from that center immediately," Garabedian said, according to Newsday. "Keeping his name there sends a loud and strong message that they don't care about the victims and the Catholic Church continues to support pedophilia within its ranks."

Sean Dolan, director of communications at the diocese, told Patch in a statement Friday the "possible removal of the names of accused clergy that may appear on Church buildings is a matter that is under active review."

Garabedian has represented church sex abuse victims for years. He was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the 2015 film about The Boston Globe's reporting in 2002 on clergy abuse in Boston.

Garabedian provided Patch with Della Rosa's assignment record, citing the Official Catholic Directory. He was assigned in Goshen, Port Chester, Rocky Point, Glen Cove and Elmont before his death in 1991.

• 1950: Ordained
• 1951 – 1954: Not indexed
• 1955 – 1959: Salesian School for Boys, Goshen, NY (Archdiocese of New York)
• 1960: Not indexed
• 1961: Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Port Chester, NY (Archdiocese of New York)
• 1962 – 1964: St. Anthony of Padua Church, Rocky Point, NY (Diocese of Rockville Centre)
• 1965 – 1969: St. Rocco Church, Glen Cove, NY (Diocese of Rockville Centre)
• 1970 – 1974: St. Vincent de Paul Church, Elmont, NY (Diocese of Rockville Centre)
• 1975 – 1991: St. Rocco Church, Glen Cove, NY (Diocese of Rockville Centre)
• Died: 1991

From 1955 to 1961, Father Eligio Della Rosa was known as Father Eligio Della Rosa, s.d.b. a member of the Salesians of St. John Bosco.

Garabedian's latest effort comes after the journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, compiled what it called the most comprehensive list to date on Catholic clergy members who were "credibly accused" of sex abuse. The list included many abusers from New York but notably included no priests from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which has not publicly released the names of those credibly accused of abuse.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre is the ninth-largest diocese out of nearly 200 in the country, with more than 1.5 million Catholics. While it has released no names, the diocese has faced accusations of sex abuse by priests. In February 2019, a group of attorneys released a report detailing accusations against 51 priests and other staff at churches across Long Island that went back decades.

Three people also filed a lawsuit alleging that the late Bishop John McGann sexually abused them. The diocese also faces dozens of lawsuits from people who said they were abused by clergy. The suits were filed under the New York State Child Victims Act, which created a one-year window for past victims of sexual abuse to file suit against their abusers, even though the original statute of limitations passed. The diocese is trying to have those lawsuits overturned.

"The diocese has released the names of all clergy, employees and volunteers that we are aware of having ever been accused of the sexual abuse of a minor (whether credible or not) to the proper law enforcement authorities," Dolan said.

Patch staffer Alex Costello contributed reporting.