By Theodore Kalmoukos
Orthodox Reform
November 2, 2007
http://orthodoxreform.org/cases/fr-nicholas-katinas/dallas-requests-250k/
Funds Needed To Finance Defense For The Katinas Lawsuit
BOSTON, Mass. – Holy Trinity Church in Dallas, Texas is soliciting special contributions from its parishioners, above and beyond their regular annual membership, in order to pay attorneys $250,000 to defend the parish against a lawsuit which has been filed against the parish because its former longtime pastor, Nicholas Katinas, allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with minors.
Mr. Katinas was accused earlier this year of sexually molesting underage boys while serving as a priest at the Holy Trinity Church. He was finally sent to spiritual court this past summer, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople defrocked him to the rank of the laity this past summer.
In a letter sent to members of the parish this past October 5, current Parish Priest Rev. Christopher Constantinides and Parish Council President George Michael ask the faithful to contribute $250-1,000 or more. They express concern that, in the event the people who filed the lawsuit win judgment, "the church's assets (most notably its land and buildings) could be seized to satisfy the judgment."
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Neither Father Constantinides nor George Michael had returned the National Herald's calls at press time.
The letter states that, "I know that many, if not all, of you have heard of the lawsuit that has been filed against Holy Trinity by three individuals who claim they were abused by our longtime priest, Fr. Nicholas Katinas.
"The allegation of the suit is that the leadership of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church knew, or should have known, when Fr. Nicholas Katinas was hired that he would engage in abusive conduct.
To the best of our knowledge (and we have heard no evidence to the contrary), the parish council members who hired Fr. Nicholas Katinas nearly 30 years ago did nothing wrong, and had no reason to be suspicious of him."
Father Constantinides and Mr. Michael inform members of the parish that there are few choices in the matter.
"We as a church have only one choice to make: that is to vigorously defend ourselves, for two reasons: 1) If the people who brought this lawsuit are allowed to win a judgment, the church's assets (most notably its land and buildings) could be seized to satisfy the judgment. 2) The allegations against the church are untrue. If they go unanswered, the people who brought this action will be allowed to tarnish the sacred reputation of our church without justification."
The letter urges to faithful to contribute as much as possible: "We must do everything we possibly can to vindicate the Church," adding that, at this point, the church's budget does not make provisions for a lawsuit of such magnitude, and noting that the other parties being sued are taking steps to defend themselves: "Unfortunately, our budget does not include the money it will take to defend our church. Fr. Nicholas Katinas, who has also been sued, is taking the responsibility for his own defense. The Archdiocese, which has also been sued, is taking the responsibility for its own defense. The Metropolis of Denver, which has also been sued, is also taking the responsibility for its defense. Likewise, our Holy Trinity Church must find a way lo defend itself."
The letter also appeals to family-oriented sensibilities: "Families chip in to save their own in times of crisis, and as a Church family, that is what we must do. We need each other now more than ever."
At the same time, they inform parishioners that lawyers have already been hired: "Holy Trinity has found and hired a team of attorneys, Fletcher & Springer LLP, who are experienced in cases like this one. They agreed to take on Holy Trinity's defense for a relatively small initial payment. They are working hard to prove that Holy Trinity did nothing wrong, and to extricate our church from the lawsuit as soon as possible. However, they can not keep working unless they receive payment for their services," adding that "a realistic estimate of the amount needed for Holy Trinity to defend and resolve this matter is $250,000. If every parish family contributes seriously to this effort, we can reach that goal. The need is urgent. We must pay our legal bills immediately in order to continue the defense of our church."
A contribution form was attached to the letter indicating the amounts of the contribution, stating that, "in addition to my faithful stewardship giving, I commit joining together with other parishioners to give additional funds to help pay the expenses associated with the lawsuit against Holy Trinity. I understand that if more money is received than the cost to defend the church in this lawsuit, the unused portion of my gift will be available to be refunded to me upon my request."
Possible Third Victim
The original lawsuit, filed this past April 27, identifies two plaintiffs: John Doe I and John Doe II. It was amended this past June 13, and has identified a third: John Doe III.
The amended petition (Cause No. 0703807D) alleges, "Defendant Katinas, before coming to Holy Trinity, and while a Greek Orthodox priest at Assumption Church (in Olympia Fields, Illinois), had demonstrated a psychosexual disorder characterized by an abnormal, impulsive sexual attraction to adolescent boys. Plaintiffs further allege that defendants knew, or should have known, of Katinas' sexual proclivities and misconduct prior to the abuses complained of herein. These defendants also knew, or should have known, that Katinas' manifest psychosexual disorder rendered him unfit for a position of trust and confidence as pastor of Holy Trinity because he would again be allowed unsupervised access to boys… in the Orthodox community (pg. 4)… Equally morally repugnant, they have remained mute, and thus consensual, encouraging blind-faith supporters of their pedophile priest to intimidate and ostracize the innocent and injured (pg. 13)… Plaintiffs herein have been subjected to continual debilitating mental and emotional duress due to injuries they suffered at the hands of Katinas (pg. 28)."
The amended petition identifies Does I as a "needy altar boy (Pg. 5)," and Doe II as a "mentally challenged altar boy (pg. 6)."
It also characterizes the alleged sexual assault of Doe III as a "Halloween Trick (pg. 7)," and describes an encounter on Halloween night 1981, when Doe III was just 15 years of age: "After several minutes, Katinas told the other boys to leave because he needed to have a 'private' conversation with Doe III. After they left, Katinas closed and locked the door. He then sat on the bed (next to Doe III)… After Katinas finished with Doe III, he… turned on the light and left the room without saying a word. Doe III felt he, himself, may have been at fault. His mother picked up him and his brother about ten minutes later. The child buried the secret and told no one (pg. 8)."
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