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	Judge Won't Stay Lawsuit in Wis. Abuse Case Chippewa Herald July 15, 2008 http://www.chippewa.com/articles/2008/07/16/ap-state-wi/d91uls5o0.txt APPLETON, Wis. - A judge has refused to stay a civil lawsuit claiming the Green Bay Roman Catholic Diocese knowingly gave a priest with a history of abusing children unsupervised access to two brothers he molested in the late 1970s. Outagamie County Circuit Judge Nancy Krueger on Tuesday denied a request for a stay by the diocese and its insurer. She also denied a request to split the trial of the lawsuit into two parts _ one on the church's liability and the other to assign damages if awarded. The lawsuit was filed last Jan. 2 by brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield, now in their early 40s, who have publicly commented on their allegations against the church and the priest. The priest, John Feeney, was assigned to St. Nicholas Church in Freedom at the time of the abuse. The lawsuit claims the church knew of Feeney's predilections when he was assigned there, and by failing to disclose it the church was guilty of fraud. Documents were uncovered in 2004 _ during the criminal prosecution of Feeney _ showing the church's knowledge of the previous accusations that had been made against the priest. Feeney, 81, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the criminal case. A jury convicted him in February 2004 on three counts of sexual assault of a child and one of attempted sexual assault of a child. He was defrocked in 2005 by the Vatican. He had been barred from publicly preaching since 1986. Information from: The Post-Crescent, http://www.postcrescent.com
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