Father Reverend Oliver managed sex abuse cases in Boston under Cardinal Bernard Law. Even though Bernard Law was disgraced and forced to resign in 2002 following revelations of him having allowed abusive priests to continue working in parishes, Father Oliver continued his work in the defense of priests charged with sex abuse.
After receiving the news of his new appointment, Father Oliver issued a statement saying, “It is with deep humility and gratitude that I received the news that the Holy Father is entrusting me with this service to the church.”
Under the new policy, he was successful in clearing about 45 percent of priests accused of sex abuse for lack of “probable cause.” The average clearance rates for priests accused of sex abuse in other dioceses across USA is about 10 percent.
Father Oliver was also instrumental in inducting clauses in the new policy on abuse that permits priests suspected of sex abuse to continue in the ministry and prevents their public identification as long as they are under the investigation of the church. However, in case of non-priests working in churches, the same policy recommends immediate suspension in case of suspected sex abuse.
The New York Times reports that though Father Oliver is not granting interviews, Terrence C. Donilon, a secretary for communications for the Archdiocese of Boston has told the media that “any attacks on Father Oliver's distinguished track record of service to the church and his many contributions to the response to clergy sexual abuse are unfounded and just plain wrong.”
