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	Secret Deal Spares Zen's Blushes in Priest Sex Case By Nickkita Lau The Standard July 8, 2008 http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=68217&sid=19665432&con_type=1 A secret out-of-court deal has spared Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun from the embarrassment of testifying in court about a mystery sex scandal within Hong Kong's Catholic Church. The Catholic Diocese reached the settlement yesterday with the man who was molested by a former priest 17 years ago. Details of the settlement were sealed by mutual agreement. The plaintiff, now aged 32, had launched a claim seeking more than HK$10 million in damages against the diocese and former priest Michael Lau Ka-yee over the prolonged mental illness he said he suffered. Cardinal Zen and Vicar General Dominic Chan Chi-ming were scheduled to testify in the trial set for 12 days. Justice John Saunders congratulated both sides on reaching the settlement, adding it was unfortunate this had not been done before the case came to court. "It must be awful for the plaintiff to have to come to court to testify," Saunders said, adding he was not criticizing either party, but the mechanism. He said he hoped the Bar Association and Law Society would establish a better mediation system so plaintiffs can avoid such pain. The plaintiff, identified only as H, was in court yesterday, but the settlement was reached before he could be cross-examined. H, then 15, was an altar boy at the Altar Boys' Association where Lau served as spiritual director in 1991. On January 4, 1991, Lau invited H to his dormitory and molested him. In February 2003, Lau was convicted of two charges of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency and another of attempted buggery, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Following the settlement, H told TVB in a phone interview that he has been feeling miserable since the 1991 incident. "I hope my psychological shadow may soon disappear, although I don't think it will," he said. "I'm still full of hope towards the future." Senior counsel Daniel Fung Wah- kin, representing H, said outside the court the case has now come to an end. He also said it is always better to settle the cases sooner than later. Lau has been missing since his release from jail in 2006 and the diocese has said it would not be held responsible for his part of the settlement. Dominic Yung Yuk-yu, director of the diocese's social communication office, said he agreed that the case should not have been dragged out. He said the diocese sympathizes with the victim and has been trying to settle. It will try its best to prevent such a situation from arising again. Bar Association chairman Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said the association supports the promotion of mediation, but has no power to mandate mediation among its members because this is a consensual process. He noted that even the Chief Justice on Civil Justice Reform did not recommend mediation be mandated at this time. Law Society vice president Wong Kwai-huen said the society has been promoting mediation among solicitors, particularly in the handling of family and contract disputes.
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