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	Suit: Church Knew Ex-Priest Aggressive By Dana Willhoit The Ledger December 9, 2007 http://www.theledger.com/article/20071209/NEWS/712090416/1134 BARTOW | The Catholic Church knew that a former priest who was transferred from Newark to Lakeland had a history of sexual aggression toward women but did nothing about it, a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Orlando and the Archdiocese of Newark claims. The Rev. Walter Fisher, 51, who pleaded guilty in August to aggravated stalking, sexually assaulted a woman who was a member of the Church of the Resurrection in Lakeland where he worked. According to the lawsuit filed in Orlando, Fisher, also known as Wladyslaw Gorak, was a Catholic priest ordained in Poland in 1982. He was employed by the Archdiocese in Newark and assigned to numerous parishes from 1998 to 2003, the lawsuit says. "From virtually the outset of his employment with the Archdiocese of Newark, his supervisors and persons with authority within the Archdiocese of Newark became aware that Father Gorak (Fisher) had a problem concerning sexual aggression with women," the lawsuit alleges. memo in file In a memo in Fisher's confidential file written Dec. 28, 1998, and included in the lawsuit, the Rev. Ronald Marczewski wrote: "I was informed today by the Deacon, Joe Lubas, that he walked into the sacristy yesterday and found Fr. Walter embracing and kissing the leader of song, Carolyn. Carolyn was embarrassed and was pushing Fr. Walter away. She commented later that this has happened before. "I confronted Fr. Walter with this situation today. He said he was only greeting her for Christmas and the New Year. I explained to him again that in America we do not make physical advances to women unless we are sure that it is acceptable to the women involved." This situation had been going on for a while, according to the memo. "This is the third time that I have spoken to Fr. Walter about his behavior with and language to women. I talked to him at length about this situation, with Fr. Chester Zalubski present as an interpreter this past summer. This discussion was brought about by at least two occurrences: 1.) He allegedly said improper sexual things to an employee. He stated at that time that he was only trying to learn the meaning of some English phrases. 2. Several people had commented to me that he said improper things in Polish (Said things that they would not expect a priest to say.) "On Monday, Dec., 14, 1998, I spoke to the archbishop concerning him. I suggested that he be reassigned to a rectory with a pastor who spoke Polish to better evaluate the situation." sent to Florida Despite that, however, on April 28, 2004, the Archdiocese of Newark sent Fisher off to Florida with a glowing recommendation, the suit alleges. According to a letter written by the Most Rev. Arthur Serratelli, "I have reviewed the personnel file and other records that we maintain, and I have consulted with some who have served with him in previous assignments. Based on this review, I assure you to the best of my ability that Reverend Wladyslaw Gorak is a person of good moral character and reputation, and is qualified to serve in an effective and suitable manner in any diocese that welcomes him." The victim, referred to as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, knew Fisher when she lived in New Jersey and he was working at the Archdiocese of Newark. Like Fisher, the victim is Polish. Shortly after Fisher started working at Resurrection church in 2004, the victim moved to Lakeland. "At that time, (Fisher) began to regularly pursue, stalk, and harass Jane," the lawsuit alleges. He came to her home when he knew she was home alone, followed her from her house on trips to the supermarket and to the airport, and ignored her when she pleaded with him to stop stalking her. "Jane then reported these facts to the pastor of her church (the Church of the Resurrection), and (Fisher's) supervisor, Father Mello. She told Father Mello that she was scared of Father (Fisher). Father Mello assured Jane that he would convey her report to the Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, and that the Diocese would take action." However, although the victim talked to Mello repeatedly, begging him for help, nothing was done, the lawsuit alleges. attack reported On Oct. 12, 2004, Fisher broke into the victim's house by kicking in the door, threw her to the floor, ripped her clothes off, and took his pants off, the lawsuit said. He screamed profanities at her, thrust himself against her, and tried to rape her, according to the lawsuit. The victim finally escaped and ran outside of her house in her bra and panties, with her blouse in her hand. The victim told Father Mello about this, but still nothing was done, and Fisher continued to stalk and harass her, going to her place of employment and talking to her neighbor about her, the lawsuit alleges. Father Mello even gave Fisher the victim's work schedule, the lawsuit says. The victim filed a report with Lakeland police in May 2005. According to the report, the victim said "she is a devout Catholic, very dedicated to her faith, and the teachings of the church. She stated that she is a private person and has never contacted the police for anything. She stated that she is emotionally distraught over the incident that a man of faith would do such a thing, and is now in fear for her life. She stated that she believes such matters should be handled by the church, and wrote a letter to the archbishop informing him of the incident." She never received an answer from him, and felt that she had no other alternative but to let the police handle the matter, the lawsuit said. diocese statement A statement sent to The Ledger by Carol Brinati, director of communications for the Orlando diocese, said: "The Diocese and its representatives were unaware of Mr. Walter Fisher's propensity to harm anyone. He was a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark who moved to Lakeland and served as a helper priest at Resurrection Catholic Church. "The Diocese of Orlando conducted a state of Florida and FBI background check on Mr. Fisher, which cleared him for work in the Diocese of Orlando. The victim expressed that she was a close friend of Mr. Fisher's. She did not express any concern that Mr. Fisher would become violent. "After the incident, Mr. Fisher's faculties were removed so that he could no longer function as a priest. The Diocese also encouraged the victim to report the incident to law enforcement and cooperated with its investigation. "We continue to pray for all those involved in this situation." A spokesman for the archdiocese could not be reached for comment. No trial date has been set in the case of the Lakeland victim. Depositions will be taken from members of the archdiocese of New Jersey in January, according to lawyer Adam Cohen. Dana Willhoit can be reached at dana.willhoit@theledger.com or 863-533-9079.
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