Steven Cook

A man who accused Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexually abusing him in the 1970s dropped his lawsuit against the prelate yesterday, saying his memory was unreliable. Steven Cook, 34, of Philadelphia, asked U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel to drop Cardinal Bernardin as a defendant. He told the court in a filing he was no longer sure if memories that arose during hypnosis "are true and accurate. " Cardinal Bernardin said yesterday that he considered the case closed and said he would pray for Cook.

A Catholic priest named with the archbishop of Chicago in a $10 million sex assault lawsuit admitted yesterday that the 34-year-old former seminarian who has accused him of sexual abuse 17 years ago was "a friend. " But the Rev. Ellis Harsham, 51, responsible for recruiting young clerics for the Cincinnati archdiocese, denied the charges. Steven Cook, who studied for the priesthood at St. Gregory's Seminary in Cincinnati but now lives in Philadelphia, named Harsham and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in the lawsuit filed Friday, charging the two clerics with sexually assaulting him during his teen-age years.

It was Andy Warhol, of course, who said that each of us gets 15 minutes of fame. I don't know if that is true - I suppose on some level it is, or people wouldn't have been walking around repeating it for the last 20 years - but it seems to me that before long we've got to stop and decide if we like where the idea is taking us. That is, do we really want victimization recognized as the national pastime? I know baseball is slow, but do we want to replace it without a vote? Speaking for myself, the thrill is gone.

HANOI 'LARGEST' SEARCH FOR U.S. MIAS The United States tomorrow will launch its largest search mission for Americans missing in action since the end of the war, as Washington and Hanoi continue to edge toward better relations. The operation comes as the United States is assessing the entire issue of MIAs and when and how to move ahead in lifting its 19-year trade embargo against its former enemy. Some Western diplomats and businessmen anticipate such a move will be made this year.

Steven Cook, tormented by AIDS, has come upon another torment: a memory, he says, brought out by hypnotism, he says, which revealed an act of homosexual sex nearly 20 years ago with the present Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago. The way he claims to remember it is that another priest introduced him to Cardinal Joseph Bernardin when he was Archbishop of Cincinnati and Cook, a 17- year-old seminarian who had been involved, allegedly, with a Father Ellis Harsham in homosexual activity.

For the better part of two decades, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was the preeminent leader among the Catholic bishops of the United States. Other prelates, such as the late Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia and Cardinal John O'Connor, who still presides over the Archdiocese of New York, wielded considerable influence inside the church. But it was Cardinal Bernardin, the subject of a one-hour documentary tomorrow on WHYY-TV (10 p.m. on Channel 12), who represented the church to American society.

The bizarre charges against Cardinal Joseph Bernardin prove once again that evil has a life of its own. Once the demons - figurative or literal as you may choose - are released, they run out of control and destroy or damage even the most innocent. For years the leadership of the Catholic Church has tried to protect priests who are guilty of the sexual abuse of children. Now it cannot protect the innocent, not even the bishop who more than any other bishop has tried to correct the mistakes of the past and end the abuse.

Hypnotism may have started it all, and it was a hypnotist who helped end it. In a lawsuit filed in November, Steven Cook, 34, a former Cincinnati seminarian who now lives in Germantown, contended that he had been sexually abused by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and another priest 17 years ago - a memory he had repressed until it was recently brought out in therapy. But in the last month, the case seemed to crumble as the cardinal's lawyers picked away at it. What they found was that a South Philadelphia hypnotist who treated Cook was not a licensed psychologist and, according to Cook's own lawyers, may have "skewed" Cook's recollections.

It all had happened so fast. He had noticed that the color of his urine was tinted orange and thought he should see a doctor. The appointment was set, and he carved time out of his 17-hour workday for it. The word from the doctors after that initial examination was not good; more tests were ordered immediately. And so, on a morning in June, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a prince of the Roman Catholic Church, pastoral leader to 2.3 million of the faithful here, and one of America's most prominent churchmen, was taken by car to a medical center.

PUNISH PRIESTS FOR SEX ABUSE George Azar and John McCall (letters Dec. 2): Granted, unlike in most sexual abuse cases involving extremely despicable and perverted priests, so- called "men of God," Steven Cook's allegations against Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, because of this "repressed memory" aspect, are difficult to substantiate. However, these allegations are by no means too far-fetched, taking into account the cases of such unspeakable behavior among priests and the many past cover-ups by the Church.

For the better part of two decades, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was the preeminent leader among the Catholic bishops of the United States. Other prelates, such as the late Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia and Cardinal John O'Connor, who still presides over the Archdiocese of New York, wielded considerable influence inside the church. But it was Cardinal Bernardin, the subject of a one-hour documentary tomorrow on WHYY-TV (10 p.m. on Channel 12), who represented the church to American society.

Steven J. Cook, 36, a former drug and alcohol counselor from Germantown who leveled and later retracted sexual abuse charges against Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, died yesterday at the University of Cincinnati Hospital of complications related to AIDS. Cook made the stunning accusations about Cardinal Bernardin in a $10 million sexual-abuse lawsuit in 1993, contending that the cardinal had molested him in the 1970s while Cook attended a Cincinnati-area seminary for high school students interested in entering the priesthood.

It all had happened so fast. He had noticed that the color of his urine was tinted orange and thought he should see a doctor. The appointment was set, and he carved time out of his 17-hour workday for it. The word from the doctors after that initial examination was not good; more tests were ordered immediately. And so, on a morning in June, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a prince of the Roman Catholic Church, pastoral leader to 2.3 million of the faithful here, and one of America's most prominent churchmen, was taken by car to a medical center.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin yesterday disclosed that he met privately last week with the Philadelphia man who leveled and later retracted sensational sexual abuse charges against him, and that the two men experienced what Bernardin called the most "profound reconciliation" he has witnessed during 43 years as a priest. The cardinal revealed details of the meeting Friday with his former accuser, Steven J. Cook, in a four-page written account, and later described it in more detail at a news conference here.

A highly unusual lawsuit that takes aim at the moral foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Camden was filed yesterday in a New Jersey state court, contending the diocese and American bishops conspired for half a century to cover up sexual abuse of children by 30 priests. The 275-page compilation of abuse allegations, filed in Superior Court in Atlantic City, portrays the Camden diocese as a criminal racketeering enterprise and a haven for pedophile priests. Camden Bishop James J. McHugh yesterday rejected the lawsuit, filed by a South Jersey lawyer who has negotiated settlements of several other sexual abuse cases with the Camden Diocese.

It was Andy Warhol, of course, who said that each of us gets 15 minutes of fame. I don't know if that is true - I suppose on some level it is, or people wouldn't have been walking around repeating it for the last 20 years - but it seems to me that before long we've got to stop and decide if we like where the idea is taking us. That is, do we really want victimization recognized as the national pastime? I know baseball is slow, but do we want to replace it without a vote? Speaking for myself, the thrill is gone.

Hypnotism may have started it all, and it was a hypnotist who helped end it. In a lawsuit filed in November, Steven Cook, 34, a former Cincinnati seminarian who now lives in Germantown, contended that he had been sexually abused by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and another priest 17 years ago - a memory he had repressed until it was recently brought out in therapy. But in the last month, the case seemed to crumble as the cardinal's lawyers picked away at it. What they found was that a South Philadelphia hypnotist who treated Cook was not a licensed psychologist and, according to Cook's own lawyers, may have "skewed" Cook's recollections.

A man who accused Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexually abusing him in the 1970s dropped his lawsuit against the prelate yesterday, saying his memory was unreliable. Steven Cook, 34, of Philadelphia, asked U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel to drop Cardinal Bernardin as a defendant. He told the court in a filing he was no longer sure if memories that arose during hypnosis "are true and accurate. " Cardinal Bernardin said yesterday that he considered the case closed and said he would pray for Cook.

HANOI 'LARGEST' SEARCH FOR U.S. MIAS The United States tomorrow will launch its largest search mission for Americans missing in action since the end of the war, as Washington and Hanoi continue to edge toward better relations. The operation comes as the United States is assessing the entire issue of MIAs and when and how to move ahead in lifting its 19-year trade embargo against its former enemy. Some Western diplomats and businessmen anticipate such a move will be made this year.

PUNISH PRIESTS FOR SEX ABUSE George Azar and John McCall (letters Dec. 2): Granted, unlike in most sexual abuse cases involving extremely despicable and perverted priests, so- called "men of God," Steven Cook's allegations against Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, because of this "repressed memory" aspect, are difficult to substantiate. However, these allegations are by no means too far-fetched, taking into account the cases of such unspeakable behavior among priests and the many past cover-ups by the Church.