Attorneys, social worker and pediatrician added to diocesan board

Wed, Nov 21st 2018 02:00 pm

The Diocese of Buffalo has announced four new members of the Diocesan Review Board (DRB) - Lee Coppola, John F. Coyne, M.D., Hon. Salvatore R. Martoche and Sister Mary McCarrick, OSF.  The DRB advises Bishop Richard J. Malone in his assessment of allegations of child or vulnerable adult sexual abuse.

Coppola, former dean of St. Bonaventure University's journalism school, was a newspaper reporter, an investigative television reporter and an assistant U.S. Attorney before taking his position at St. Bonaventure.  As an assistant U.S. Attorney, he investigated and prosecuted a number of high profile criminal cases for the government.  Coppola is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Law.

Coyne was an ordained Catholic priest before deciding to change his vocation and study medicine. The local pediatrician is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and currently works for Catholic Health.  He has long been regarded as a strong advocate for victims of child abuse and has worked closely with the Erie County district attorney's office as an expert witness in the prosecution of child abuse cases.  

Martoche, who is senior counsel at the prominent Hodgson Russ law firm, currently heads their Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice.  In addition to serving as a New York State Supreme Court justice and Appellate Division justice, he previously worked for the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Labor Department.  Martoche also served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, the area's chief federal law enforcement officer.  Martoche is a graduate of Canisius College and the University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, N.D.

Sister Mary, the recently-retired director of Catholic Charities, is a licensed clinical social worker with post graduate certification in family therapy.  She earned a bachelor's degree from Daemen College and master's degrees from St. Bonaventure University and the Worden School of Social Work in San Antonio, Texas. She completed post graduate work at the University of Rochester, Department of Family Therapy, dealing with multi-problems families, often with those suffering from violence and abuse, as well as many sexual abuse situations.  Sister Mary was the first woman religious to serve as the head of Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

 

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