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	Group Asks Catholic Lay Board to Investigate Bridgeport Bishop By Dave Altimari The Hartford Courant December 15, 2009 http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-bridgeport-priest1215.artdec15,0,3354156.story A support group for survivors of priest abuse is asking a national Catholic review board of lay people to investigate Bishop William F. Lori and his handling of sexual abuse claims against two active priests, including the former second-highest official in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. But an expert in clergy sexual abuse cases said Monday that the request by Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) likely won't get very far. "The best the National Review Board will do is say they regret the situation and they will make a note of it, but they have no authority to tell a bishop what to do or to suspend a priest themselves," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, an expert who has testified at numerous clergy sex abuse trials. Last week The Courant reported that in 2004 the Bridgeport diocese paid two men $20,000 each not to file lawsuits against the diocese after they came forward with claims that both Monsignors William Genuario and Frank Wissel had abused them when they were teenagers. The two men signed a written contract agreeing not to sue the diocese or the priests, in exchange for the payments. Genuario is a member of the Diocesan Tribunal, which handles such things as annulments, but he was the vicar general, second in command to then-Bishop Walter Curtis, when the abuse allegedly took place. Wissel, who told The Courant that the allegations against him were "ridiculous," is the pastor at St. Mary's Parish in Greenwich. Doyle said that although he wouldn't expect the national board to do anything, that doesn't mean Lori's actions in the case were proper. "In this case Lori is obligated to conduct an investigation, not to try and keep things under wraps," Doyle said. "The bishops in general have steadily been backsliding on promises that were made at the 2002 Dallas Conference of Bishops." In its letter, SNAP Executive Director David Clohessy said it is imperative that an independent board review Lori's actions and to determine whether these two priests should still be active. The letter asks the National Review Board to: • Immediately suspend Genuario and Wissel; • Personally visit every parish where Genuario and Wissel worked and remind parishioners that they have a moral and civil responsibility to report any knowledge of the alleged crimes to police; • Encourage the bishop to reach out to parishioners, both past and present, through the diocesan website and newspaper and church bulletins. "Please step in and appoint an independent team to not only look into the alleged crimes themselves but into how and why the accusations were kept secret and why these priests are being allowed to continue in ministry," the letter said In a statement, the Bridgeport diocese defended Genuario and Wissel: "Both Msgr. William Genuario and Msgr. Frank Wissel are priests in good standing. Neither has been the subject of a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor ... No one who has had a credible allegation of child abuse made against them remains in ministry." Thediocese added: "It would be erroneous to suggest the diocese does not take the protection of children seriously, when it has trained nearly 100,000 people in its Safe Environment prevention program and has conducted criminal background checks on approximately 30,000 clergy, lay employees and volunteers serving the diocese." Separately, Wissel said that he was told church officials did investigate the claims and "deemed them to be false." "I didn't know about any payments. It certainly wasn't done as any admission of guilt, that's for sure," Wissel told The Courant. "Because I was willing, if I had to, to go to court over this. It was ridiculous. What that money would have been for, I don't know. Perhaps rehabilitation." The 13-member National Review Board was established in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
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