BishopAccountability.org
	Green Bay Diocese to Fight Priest Abuse Lawsuit By Michael Louis Vinson and John Lee The Post-Crescent December 10, 2010 http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20101210/APC0101/12100495/Green-Bay-Diocese-to-fight-priest-abuse-lawsuit Additional information The P-C’s Badge to Bench Blog Sign up for news, weather and sports text alerts The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay is pushing back against allegations of fraud after an Outagamie County judge green lighted a lawsuit that claims the diocese knew a former priest posed a threat to children. "We believe that we demonstrated there was never any fraud, and we trust that we will prevail as the legal process unfolds," said Deacon Tim Reilly, diocesan director of administration. Judge Nancy Krueger rejected the diocese's motion to dismiss the case filed by Todd and Troy Merryfield, who were sexually assaulted by John Feeney in the late 1970s. Krueger said there was sufficient evidence to show the diocese was aware of previous cases of sexual abuse involving Feeney that date back to the 1960s. The diocese refutes that charge. "In our view, there is no indication that any diocesan official had knowledge of sexual molestation prior to the Merryfields' case in 1978," Reilly said. But Krueger said there was enough evidence otherwise to allow the civil suit to proceed. "A trier of facts could reasonably infer the diocese had prior knowledge that Feeney was a danger to children or had inappropriate contact with children before the Merryfield assaults," she said. "The court finds there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the diocese (fraudulently) misrepresented that Feeney was not a risk to children and could be safely placed in positions in which he had contact with children." The Merryfields filed their suit in 2008, which the diocese said was beyond the six-year statute of limitations. Krueger rejected that argument, saying the clock began in 2003 when the Merryfields first learned about the previous molestations. In a special report published in May 2002, The Post-Crescent detailed how Feeney was moved from parish to parish 14 times in 14 years, commonly after allegations of sexual misconduct, during his stint in the Green Bay Diocese. In all, Feeney served at 18 parishes in the diocese between his June 1952 ordination and before moving to California in 1983. Feeney, 83, was convicted in 2003 on four counts of sexually assaulting the Merryfields, who were 12 and 14 at the time of the abuse. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and is being held in the Dodge County Jail. John Lee: 920-993-1000, ext. 368, or jlee@postcrescent.com . Michael Louis Vinson: 920-993-1000, ext. 368, or mvinson@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @MichaelVinson
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.