PATERSON (NJ)
Star-Ledger
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff
A New Mexico man will receive $50,000 and four years of counseling from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson as settlement over allegations he was sexually abused by two priests when he was a child, the man said yesterday.
Steve Rabi, 57, of Albuquerque, claimed in a lawsuit filed a year ago that the priests, the Rev. Joseph W. Molloy and the Rev. Francis X. Dennehy, both of whom are now deceased, abused him over the course of three years during the late 1950s and early 1960s at St. Nicholas Church in Passaic.
Rabi's lawyer, Greg Gianforcaro, confirmed the settlement, which was awarded last month. A diocesan spokeswoman was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Rabi, who formerly lived in Passaic, came forward with the allegations in 2002, reporting them to the diocese about two months after the clergy sex abuse scandal gained attention nationally that year.
Under the settlement, Rabi will meet with Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli, who has led the diocese for one year. The bishop at the time of the alleged abuse was James A. McNulty, who is deceased.