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	Marianists' Investigators Contact Plaintiffs' Family, Associates By Patrick Malone Pueblo Chieftain March 21, 2008 http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1206079200/17 Relatives and acquaintances of men who are suing a religious order and the local Catholic diocese have reported that investigators representing the order have visited them at their Pueblo homes seeking information. In at least one case, an investigator reportedly outed the accuser to someone who didn't know their relative had been an alleged victim of sexual abuse. According to another plaintiff's relative, the investigator said she represented the Society of Mary religious order, better known as the Marianists. Twenty-four former students at the defunct Roncalli High School have alleged that then-Marianist Brother William Mueller conducted bizarre experiments on them using ether during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many allege they were sexually assaulted. Those lawsuits are pending in Pueblo District Court. Most of the men filed their suits as "John Doe" plaintiffs, or just listed their initials to preserve their anonymity. A recent ruling in the cases required the plaintiffs to reveal their identities to the Marianists and the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo. That court order prohibited the public release of the plaintiffs' identities. In conjunction with that ruling, the plaintiffs were required to identify whom they have informed of their allegations. The ongoing investigation by the Marianists apparently aimed to verify the timing of these disclosures by the plaintiffs. But the relative of a plaintiff alleges that Mueller's accusers are being outed to people who weren't aware of their status as plaintiffs. In lawsuits and police reports, 40 men in Missouri, Texas and Colorado have accused Mueller of abusing them while they were his students. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, considers Mueller one of the 10 worst abusers of children in the history of the Catholic church in America. David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, denounced the investigative tactics of the Marianists. "I think the goal is either to scare these victims into settling their lawsuits quickly and easily, or to intimidate other victims into staying silent," Clohessy said. "It's just shameful, intimidating, un-Christian, mean-spirited, legal hardball. And it's financed by the generosity of devout, unsuspecting Catholics." According to one plaintiff's relative, the investigators representing the Marianists showed up unannounced at the homes of plaintiffs' relatives, friends and co-workers last weekend. Some of the people who have been contacted have expressed frustration over the visits, but the investigators from Colorado-based Stanley Legal Investigations firm reportedly have been legitimately retained by the Marianist order. Phone messages to a Marianist spokeswoman on Wednesday and Thursday were not returned. Clohessy said he's concerned that the impact of the investigative tactics will reach beyond the Roncalli accusers. "Victims of all sex crimes - child molestation, adult rape - come forward largely because they are assured their privacy will be respected," Clohessy said. "If you violate victims' confidentiality, it can have an extraordinarily chilling effect on all kinds of victims."
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