AUGUSTA -- This week, the Augusta (Maine) City Council formally asked the Maine State Legislature to change the name of its Father John J. Curran Bridge. The resolution passed unanimously, 8-0, with all City Councilors present.
This development followed a series of events over the past few months regarding the deceased Roman Catholic monsignor who led Augusta's Catholics in the 1960s and early 1970s. Two scholarships that bore Curran's name, one by the local Franco-American Le Club Calumet social club and the other by the University of Maine at Augusta, have had his name removed from the awards.
A man addressed the City Council prior to the vote and alleged he was sexually abused by Curran as a twelve-year-old boy in Old Town, where Curran served prior to being moved to Augusta's St. Augustine Church. The man, now living in Connecticut, told the Council, "[Curran] took from me my spirit, my trust in humanity [due to the sexual abuse]..."
Two other separate claims of sexual abuse of children by Curran have also been reported, and one of those claims has been corroborated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.
Maine's Bishop Joseph Malone sent a letter to the Council prior to the meeting when the vote was held and encouraged Councilors to vote to change the Curran bridge's name. Bishop Malone stated publicly that if Curran were alive today, Portland (Maine) Catholic officials would bar Curran from ministering and request the Vatican remove Curran from the priesthood.
The downtown bridge itself is the oldest and now least used of the three bridges that span the Kennebec River in Augusta. A bronze plaque set in a five foot granite slab sits at the corner of Water and Bridge Streets, identifying Father John J. Curran Bridge. The dedication of the bridge took place in 1974.
The inscription on the plaque reads:
"Dedicated to untiring efforts in uniting a city of good people, symbolized by...
"What is good for the community
is good for my people.
What is good for my people
is good for the community."
Very Reverend John J. Curran, Pastor,
St. Augustine Parish, 1962 - 1972
Sponsored by Le Club Calumet and Grateful Augusta Citizens
