BishopAccountability.org
	Abuse Group Calls Again for Priest's Prosecution Documents Show Assaults Occurred in 1984 at the Abbey By Andy Nelesen Green Bay Press-Gazette February 21, 2008 http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/GPG0101/802210624/1207/GPGnews Documents made public in a Delaware civil lawsuit showed a Norbertine priest known to have assaulted children was relocated to the St. Norbert Abbey in the mid-1980s. The documents — provided by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — included letters and notes about the Rev. Edward Smith, who in 2007 was held liable for sexually assaulting now-39-year-old Ken Whitwell 240 times over a three-year period in the 1980s. Some of the assaults occurred during a visit to the St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere in 1984, according to testimony in the federal case. On Wednesday, Peter Isely, SNAP's Midwest director, renewed his call for Smith's prosecution and wants Norbertine officials in De Pere to come clean about their connection to Smith. "Father Smith was known and confirmed to be a child sex molester," Isely said. "They deliberately and knowingly transferred him to Green Bay in 1986. Knowing this, he lived at the Abbey, he worked without any ministerial restrictions in Green Bay, and he was then transferred out of here in 1989. "It's simply not credible and not true that the Norbertines didn't know about him. They were involved in the transfer." The documents include an October 1995 letter from Daylesford, Pa., Abbot John Neitzel to Abbot Benjamin Mackin at the St. Norbert Abbey approving Smith's move to De Pere as executive director of the Tri-Catholic High School Foundation. "The bottom line (is) that it is not desirable at this time for Ed to remain in a ministry in the neighborhood areas and states served by Daylesford Abbey," Neitzel wrote. "He needs a new area and a new ministry to get a fresh start. "I believe that Ed Smith has a very good chance of performing his duties in his new setting with success and without concern or anxiety for others. "Because he will be living within your community, he is subject to you and your appointed superiors during the tenure of this assignment and living arrangements." St. Norbert Abbot Gary Neville last month said Smith was a Norbertine priest who worked in Delaware and has never been a member of the St. Norbert Abbey. Judy Turba, public relations coordinator for the Norbertine Order, said Neville's statement stands, but she also confirmed that the Norbertines recently have been in contact with local law enforcement. Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski said De Pere police have initiated an investigation, and that probe is ongoing. Zakowski expects to review the case once De Pere detectives complete their work but did not have a timetable as to when that might happen. Isely said he has been in contact with one person who claimed to have been abused by Smith while Smith was working in Green Bay. Isely said that individual has been in contact with De Pere police. De Pere police did not return calls seeking confirmation of the report. Criminal prosecution could proceed in Wisconsin if it is found that Smith was outside of the state for any amount of time after the assault. The state's time limits for prosecution — usually seven years — freeze if a defendant is out of state. Isely said Smith is currently in a priory in Delaware. A U.S. District Court jury last year awarded Whitwell $41 million in damages. Whitwell testified he was sexually abused hundreds of times by Smith, a faculty priest at Archmere Academy in Delaware, including episodes in that state, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Vermont. Isely also called for state Rep. Carol Owens, R-Oshkosh, to free up from committee child victims legislation that would clear the way for lawsuit like the one in Delaware to proceed in Wisconsin courts. Owens, however, didn't know if the bill would make it to the floor for a vote this session. "There are some problems with it," she said Wednesday. "For one, I have been told that it's unconstitutional and there's no precedent for it." Owens also said she was troubled because there are no measures included in the bill limiting the time frame for lawsuits.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.