WISCONSIN
Pioneer Press
BY JULIET WILLIAMS
Associated Press
A man who claims he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest for six years sued the Milwaukee Archdiocese for fraud Thursday in the latest attempt by victims to overturn Wisconsin's ban on lawsuits against religious groups.
Wisconsin courts have upheld a decade-old ruling that prevents alleged victims from seeking damages. It is the only state in the country with such a law.
Victims' groups hope evidence obtained in a recent suit in California might persuade a judge to hear the case.
The man, now 44 and identified in court records only as John Doe, claims high-ranking officials in the archdiocese knew for years that the Rev. Siegfried Widera was sexually abusing children, yet transferred him between schools to cover it up.
The archdiocese transferred Widera in 1976 to the Diocese of Orange in California, where Widera acknowledged molesting at least 10 boys, according to a psychological evaluation there.