News

Diocese denies fraud charges

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

GREEN BAY -- The Diocese of Green Bay will "vigorously defend" itself against a civil lawsuit filed in Outagamie County Circuit Court, said Deacon Timothy Reilly, diocesan director of administration, on Friday, Jan. 4.

	Related article: • Editorial -- Remembering survivors of clergy sexual abuse

Two days earlier, on Jan. 2, Deacon Reilly was served with papers naming the diocese in a civil lawsuit brought by Todd and Troy Merryfield. The suit alleges fraud and negligence by the diocese in the case of a former priest, John Patrick Feeney, who was convicted in 2004 of abusing the Merryfields while Feeney was pastor at St. Nicholas Parish in Freedom, from 1976 to 1979.

Feeney, who was a priest of the diocese from 1952 until he was removed from the clerical state in 2005, is currently serving a sentence of 15 years for three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault. He was convicted in Outagamie County on Feb. 26, 2004.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, accuses the diocese of knowing that Feeney was a danger to children, withholding information from parish members in this regard and thus failing to prevent the assaults on the Merryfields by Feeney while he was at St. Nicholas.

The Merryfields were 14 and 12 years of age at the time of the assaults.

Regarding the civil suit, Deacon Reilly said that charges that "the Catholic Church of the Diocese of Green Bay willfully undertook fraudulent actions to harm children" were "utterly preposterous" and promised that the diocese will defend itself "vigorously against these allegations."

Deacon addresses statements

While Deacon Reilly said he would not comment further on the case, since it is in litigation, he did address several statements made by the Merryfields and their attorney on Jan. 2.

After serving the legal papers on Jan. 2, the Merryfields and their attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., made statements against the diocese, its handling of the Feeney case, and its current handling of allegations of abuse by other diocesan clergy. The Merryfields, now both in their 40s, told reporters that they continue to be haunted by the assaults by Feeney. Both men have left the Catholic Church.

"If it wasn't for the diocese, Feeney would have never happened," Troy Merryfield told reporters.

His brother, Todd, said that "the veil of secrecy surrounding this is stunning."

Deacon Reilly offered his compassion to anyone who has been abused by "any minister of the church," but also said that charges of any ongoing cover-up, secrecy and refusal to take responsibility are "balderdash."

He cited the U.S. bishops' 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" and its revised edition of 2005 as the ongoing guide for the diocese's response to all allegations of sexual abuse.

Personnel files reviewed

In 2002, he added, personnel files of all priests of the diocese, dating back to 1859, were reviewed by a diocesan task force. It found that only two priests with substantiated allegations of abuse against them had not already been removed from priestly ministry. These two were subsequently removed from ministry.

"Since 2002," Deacon Reilly said, "every substantiated allegation has been pursued and turned over to the civil authorities. We have committed significant financial and staff resources to build and implement policies and procedures to ensure a safe environment for our children and vulnerable adults. These processes are reviewed every three months by an Independent Review Board and are reviewed in an annual audit by retired FBI agents to ensure that we are in full compliance with our own policies and the policies set forth in the (U.S. bishops' charter)."

Feeney had already been removed from priestly ministry long before the 2002 charter. In 1983, Bishop Aloysius Wycislo removed permission for Feeney to serve anywhere in the diocese and placed him on administrative leave. Feeney then moved to California.

In 1986, then-Bishop (now Cardinal) Adam Maida removed Feeney's priestly faculties, which meant he could no longer present himself as a priest or use the title "Father." Bishop Robert Banks refused a request from Feeney for reinstatement in the early 1990s.

Feeney, now 81, was arrested in California in September 2002 and extradited to Wisconsin to stand trial, where he was subsequently convicted.

On June 3, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI, at the request of Bishop David Zubik, formally dismissed Feeney from the clerical state.

There was one statement made by the Merryfields that Deacon Reilly agreed with - that "the sound of crickets" was coming from the diocese about abuse allegations.

Diocese has policies in place

"We as the Diocese of Green Bay and the Catholic Church," Deacon Reilly said, "have not gotten the message through to the general public about the radically progressive policies that have been implemented to ensure the protection of children and vulnerable adults."

Those policies include:

• the annual audits mentioned above and conducted by The Gavin Group, Inc., based in Worcester, Mass.;
  
  
• mandatory criminal background checks on all priests, deacons, seminarians, diocesan, parish or school employees or volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults. (To date, more than 20,000 background checks have been conducted.);
  
  
• an Independent Review Board of eight members that assesses allegations of sexual abuse by priests and other church personnel and reviews the subsequent responses and actions taken by the diocese;
  
  
• mandatory training in safe behavior and prevention of child sexual abuse for all diocesan, parish and school employees and volunteers who have any contact with children. After the training, these people receive monthly updates and tests on safe behavior practices;
  
  
• a diocesan personnel conduct policy - "Our Promise to Protect" - mandated for all employees and volunteers, that is regularly updated, most recently in September 2005.
  
  

While Deacon Reilly declined to comment further on the civil case, he said that he is saddened that publicity surrounding clergy sexual abuse has distracted people from "recognizing all the wonderful, self-sacrificing and valuable ministry that is being undertaken by the hundreds of thousands of Catholics in the Diocese of Green Bay."

The diocese, which is currently under the administration of Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee until Pope Benedict XVI appoints a new bishop, has 45 days to respond to the Merryfields' lawsuit.

Also on Jan. 2, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), renewed its call for the Green Bay Diocese and Archbishop Dolan to release the names of 53 clergy who SNAP says have been the subject of claims of abuse. The archbishop had previously released the names of such priests in the Milwaukee area.

"Bishop Zubik declined to release those names," Deacon Reilly said on Jan. 2, "and that's where that situation sits, probably until the new bishop is installed."