The top canon lawyer in the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston has been reinstated for a second time after an internal investigation found no substance to sexual abuse allegations against him.
Cardinal Bernard Law announced the reinstatement of Monsignor Michael Smith Foster late Wednesday night. Foster said he was "thrilled to tears," the Boston Globe reported.
Foster had been temporarily removed from his post in August, when the allegations surfaced in a lawsuit by Paul R. Edwards, 35, who claimed the abuse took place in the early 1980s.
After the Globe reported that Edwards had a history of fabricating stories, the lawsuit was dropped and Foster returned to work. But in September church officials placed him on leave for a second time after Edwards gave the archdiocese "additional information" that has not been made public.
Twenty-four Boston priests have been removed from ministry on sexual abuse allegations since February. Foster is the first to be exonerated. Advocates for priests' rights said the case underscores their concerns about false accusations and the difficulty of restoring a priest's reputation once allegations have been published.
-- Alan Cooperman
