Attorney: Priest In Rare Whitey Bulger Photo A 'Serial Pedophile'
BOSTON (CBS) – A priest shown in a rare photo with Whitey Bulger was defrocked by the Vatican for allegedly sexually abusing boys.
The photo, released late Wednesday night by Bulger's attorney with a series of other rarely seen pictures, shows Bulger sitting on a couch with Rev. Frederick Ryan.
Ryan would eventually become a vice chancellor of the Boston archdiocese.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian confirmed to WBZ-TV Thursday that the priest in the photo is Ryan.
Garabedian has represented several victims in the Boston Archdiocese clergy abuse scandal and called Ryan a "serial pedophile."
Ryan, according to the archdiocese, was defrocked in 2005.
He had been accused of sexually abusing teenage boys at Catholic Memorial High School in the 1980's. Ryan was the chaplain there from 1971 to 1974. He left to become vice chancellor of the archdiocese.
"At the time of the alleged sexual abuses, 1979-81, Ryan was not serving as chaplain at CM. The alleged abuses did not take place at Catholic Memorial school," Catholic Memorial spokeswoman Susan Griffin said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
It's not clear what relation Ryan had to Bulger, who is currently on trial for participating in 19 murders.
