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	Priest Accused of Sex Abuse Is Sued By Stanley Ziemba Chicago Tribune [Olympia Fields IL] May 1, 2007 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0704300557 may01,1,3019308.story?coll=chi-newslocalssouthwest-hed A Greek Orthodox priest who was pastor of a church in Olympia Fields in the late 1960s and early '70s is being sued by two men who allege that he sexually abused them as youths when he served a Dallas church nearly 30 years ago. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Texas' Dallas County Circuit Court, comes two months after the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese announced that Rev. Nicholas Katinas, 72, had been suspended over allegations he sexually abused an Illinois minor in the early 1970s while pastor of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. The lawsuit alleges that Katinas sexually molested the Dallas men in 1981 or '82 when both were teenage altar boys at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas where Katinas was assigned as pastor in 1978. The plaintiffs, identified only as John Doe I and John Doe II, also accuse the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver, which oversees Holy Trinity, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America of knowing about and covering up Katinas' "dangerous sexual propensities" for several years. "There is no evidence that law enforcement officials in Illinois or Texas were ever notified of Katinas' sex crimes against children as required by these states' reporting laws," the plaintiffs' Dallas-based attorney, Tahira Khan Merritt, states in the suit. The Greek Orthodox hierarchy waited almost seven months after Katinas announced his "retirement" as pastor of Holy Trinity Church before publicly admitting that he had been suspended, Merritt added. Efforts to reach Katinas and church officials for comment were unsuccessful. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, claiming the men suffer emotional problems as a result of the alleged abuse. The Olympia Fields accuser is not a party to the suit, but is included to show that Katinas has a history of sexual abuse, the suit alleges. Contact: sziemba@tribune.com
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