Opus Dei paid nearly $1 million to settle sexual misconduct claims against the priest who converted Newt Gingrich

On Monday, the global Catholic group Opus Dei acknowledged that in 2005 it had paid $977,000 to settle sexual misconduct allegations against a prominent priest, Rev. C. John McCloskey. McCloskey, who provided spiritual direction at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C, was "the closest thing to a celebrity the Catholic Church had in the region," The Washington Post reports, and was widely known as the priest who converted Newt Gingrich, Larry Kudrow, Sam Brownback, and other prominent conservatives to Catholicism.

The settlement was paid to an unidentified woman who told the Post that McCloskey groped her several times while he counseled her over martial troubles and depression, then absolved her of her "misperceived guilt over the interaction" in confession. "I love Opus Dei but I was caught up in this coverup," she said. "I went to confession, thinking I did something to tempt this holy man to cross boundaries." Opus Dei said another woman told the community that "she was made uncomfortable by how [McCloskey] was hugging her," and the group is investigating a third, potentially "serious" but so far unsubstantiated misconduct claim against the priest.

Opus Dei went public with its settlement at the request of the first woman, who said she hoped it might help other potential victims come forward. Opus Dei Vicar Msgr. Thomas Bohlin said McCloskey's actions were "deeply painful for the woman" and "we are very sorry for all she suffered." McCloskey was removed from the Catholic Information Center a year after she made her complaint, Bohlin said. McCloskey was then sent to England, Chicago, and California for assignments with Opus Dei, his contact with women purportedly curtailed. Opus Dei said McCloskey, now in his 60s, "suffers from advanced Alzheimer's" and "has not had any pastoral assignments for a number of years." This is the only sexual misconduct settlement Opus Dei has ever paid in the U.S., spokesman Brian Finnerty said.

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