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	Woman Settles Lawsuit against Archdiocese By Brendan Kirby Press-Register [Alabama] February 3, 2007 http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1170497919127560.xml&coll=3 A woman who sued the local Catholic Church trying to win payment for counseling services she sought after what she described as sexual harassment by a priest has settled her claim out of court. Linda Ledet accused the Archdiocese of Mobile, Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb and the Very Rev. Michael Farmer in 2004 of reneging on their promise to pay for the counseling sessions. The archdiocese denied the allegations and prepared for a potentially embarrassing court battle at a time when priestly indiscretion has been a sensitive issue. The case was supposed to have gone to trial last month, but the parties came to terms over the past few weeks, attorneys said. The attorneys still must file formal paperwork consummating the settlement, and a Mobile County Circuit Court judge must approve it, but those are considered formalities. Citing a confidentiality agreement, both sides declined to reveal terms of the settlement. Instead, they issued a joint statement: "A dispute had arisen between Linda Ledet and the Archdiocese of Mobile as to the terms of an agreement between the parties. The parties are pleased to advise that this dispute has been resolved." Ledet and her husband and children were parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mobile, where the Rev. Paul Zoghby was an associate pastor from 1995 to 2001. According to her civil complaint, Zoghby in 1997 began making "improper, unwelcome and obscene advances toward" her. The advances, according to the suit, included trying to embrace Ledet intimately, touching her sexually, making lewd comments, exposing his genitalia and attempting to force her "physically and by command as her priest, to engage in sexual relations with him." The complaint claimed that Zoghby, who was not named as a defendant, warned that he would accuse Ledet of initiating the contact if she reported him and threatening "the eternal salvation of her soul if she revealed his misconduct." After initially denying the allegations, Zoghby in 2002 admitted misconduct, according to Lipscomb's account contained in an Alabama Supreme Court decision that ordered the church to turn over records of Zoghby's counseling sessions to Ledet's lawyers. Ledet, a lawyer and artist, had agreed not to publicize the matter in exchange for a promise that Zoghby would undergo the intensive therapy and that he would be placed in a position where he could not harm others, according to her account. In 2003, however, Ledet learned that Zoghby had returned to ministry and had been promoted to pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Foley. The revelation caused Ledet "emotional trauma," and she sought treatment at several facilities. But the archdiocese refused to pay the bill, according to her allegations. Farmer, who serves as the archdiocese's chancellor, declined to comment. He referred questions to attorney Grey Redditt, whose office issued the statement along with Ledet's attorneys.
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