MADISON (WI)
The Capital Times
By Cristina Daglas
August 1, 2005
As parishioners filed out of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in downtown Madison on Sunday, they were handed leaflets detailing a trial that was beginning in Janesville today in which a priest is suing a 26-year-old man for defamation.
The man has accused the Rev. Gerald Vosen of sexually abusing him as a boy when Vosen was pastor at St. John Vienny parish in Janesville. Vosen, who is on administrative leave from his job as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo, says the allegations are false and, in an unusual move, has filed suit against his accuser and his accuser's parents.
"I hope to get my name cleared," Vosen told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his Merrimac home.
The family's attorney, John Casey of Milwaukee, recently told the Baraboo News Republic the jury will find the man's testimony believable enough to rule in the family's favor. Casey did not return a call for comment Saturday from the AP.