EVANSVILLE (IL)
Indianapolis Star
Associated Press
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A Roman Catholic priest who once cared for ailing nuns in Evansville faces a lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a 10-year-old altar boy while serving in Hong Kong more than two decades ago.
The Rev. Thomas S. Cawley, a member of the Vincentian order, is accused of molesting the youth while assigned to missionary work in Hong Kong in 1979.
The alleged victim, Michael Johnson, Kansas, recognized Cawley during services at a church in Johnson County, Kan., where Cawley was assigned to the parish, said Rebecca Randles, an attorney for Johnson.
"Cawley told the plaintiff that the sexual abuse was a form of God's punishment that the young boy needed," according to the court filing.