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	Belleville Diocese Faces Another Suit By Nicholas J.c. Pistor St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 29, 2008 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/7A4F7141D493309E862574B4000E42A8?OpenDocument Belleville — The legal problems for the Belleville Diocese didn't end on Wednesday with a massive $5 million verdict for conspiring to hide allegations of sexual abuse by a priest involving a former altar boy. Another former altar boy — from the same Salem, Ill., parish — filed suit in 2003 making similar allegations against the diocese and the Rev. Raymond Kownacki. That lawsuit is awaiting trial in Belleville. The lawsuit says Kownacki repeatedly sexually assaulted the boy for three years, starting in 1979 at St. Theresa's in Salem. Further, the suit says Kownacki was shuffled from parish to parish while diocesan officials knew he was a risk to underage boys and girls. Two Belleville lawyers, Michael Weilmuenster and Steve Wigginton, filed the suit. They also represented the former altar boy who won the $5 million verdict this week. "It's full steam ahead," said Wigginton. "We're not letting up." The plaintiff in the pending case was mentioned in a complaint written in 1982 to the diocese by another family, stating that Kownacki had abused their son and several others. Kownacki was moved to another parish shortly after that complaint. The suit alleges negligence and conspiracy by the diocese. It is nearly identical to the one that started the civil trial that played out earlier this week in a St. Clair County courtroom. On Wednesday, a jury ordered the Belleville Diocese to pay a former altar boy $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The verdict is the largest jury award in a local priest-abuse case. The jury found that the diocese conspired to hush sex-abuse allegations and allowed the priest free rein in the diocese — even after, court records show, church officials knew he couldn't control his sexual urges toward young boys and girls. According to unrefuted documents shown in court, the diocese moved the priest from parish to parish as claims of sexual misconduct came from nearly everywhere the priest went. Complaints of sexual abuse against Kownacki dated to the late 1960s, court documents indicate, and came from Central America to nearly every corner of Southern Illinois. It took more than 20 years for Kownacki to be removed from active ministry, according to internal memos shown to the jury. The Belleville Diocese has offered little public comment. "When Bishop Edward K. Braxton returns early next week, he will meet with diocesan officials to determine a course of action," the Rev. John W. McEvilly, the vicar general for the diocese, said Thursday. "We pray that for all of us, this is a point from which we can move forward and truly begin to heal." The diocese said it was still deciding whether to appeal the decision. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests issued a statement Thursday asking the diocese to forgo an appeal. Kownacki, 73, was removed from active ministry in 1995 but remains a priest and receives retirement benefits. He lives in an apartment building two blocks from Dupo High School. Contact: npistor@post-dispatch.com | 618-624-2577
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