NORTH DAKOTA
The Forum
By Dave Forster, The Forum
Published Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The Catholic Diocese of Fargo could face “devastating” allegations of priest misconduct this week at a trial for employee discrimination, its attorney said Monday.
The lawyer for Melissa Enebo, a former secretary for the diocese, said he wants to include evidence of misconduct by priests to show the diocese treated them differently than Enebo. Enebo claims gender discrimination in her lawsuit because she said she was fired in 1999 for getting pregnant outside of marriage.
Benjamin Thomas, the diocese attorney, argued at pretrial motions Monday in Cass County District Court that priests aren’t considered employees of the diocese.
Only the Vatican can appoint and remove priests, Thomas said. Also, it is the Code of Canon Law, not state labor laws, that dictate how priests are disciplined, he said. Therefore, priests don’t provide a fair comparison in Enebo’s case, Thomas said.
Enebo’s attorney, Robert Schultz, pointed out later that some priests are considered employees of the diocese and are under the bishop’s oversight.