BishopAccountability.org
	Abuse Victim Criticizes Ad against Prosser By Sharif Durhams and Don Walker Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 25, 2011 http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/118650379.html A victim of Father John Patrick Feeney's sexual abuse in the 1970s writes that he's upset with an ad criticizing Supreme Court Justice David Prosser's decision not to pursue charges against Feeney when Prosser was Outagamie County District Attorney. Troy J. Merryfield, who now lives in Suffolk, Va., released a statement Friday that says the ad by the Greater Wisconsin Committee is "offensive, inaccurate and out of context" and that he would actually vote for Prosser if he was a Wisconsin resident. He wrote that he wanted the group to remove the ad from the airwaves. Three years ago, Merryfield was critical of Prosser, saying he should step aside when cases involving priest sexual misconduct come before the high court. "He knows damn well what happened and what was said," Merryfield said at the time. "He dropped the ball, and he should recuse himself." Asked about that statement, Merryfield said Friday that "I don't want to get back to different things that were reported in the past." In his formal statement Friday, Merryfield wrote that Prosser chose not to file charges against Feeney because of his concern about the emotional turmoil that a trial could have had on him. Merryfield also writes that Prosser received assurances from the Green Bay diocese that administrative action would be taken against Feeney. The Greater Wisconsin Committee said it stood by the statements made in the ad, which they said "are supported by newspaper accounts and material gathered during the prosecution of Feeney." Prosser is running for re-election against Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. The election is April 5. Prosser has said he did nothing wrong when, as a district attorney, he talked with a bishop about Feeney's inappropriate conduct. A meeting between Prosser and Bishop Aloysius Wycislo surfaced in documents connected to a fraud lawsuit against the Green Bay Diocese and its insurance company. Merryfield said in a telephone interview on Friday that Prosser's campaign did not contact him about the content of the ad. He said his brother, who lives in the state, saw the ad and contacted him. "I got an e-mail from my brother about it," Merryfield said. "I'm so sick and tired of dirty politics." Merryfield said he did not expect to hear from the Greater Wisconsin Committee about removing the ad. In a December 1978 letter, Wycislo wrote to the Diocesan Personnel Committee chairman: "I have just spent a half-hour with the district attorney for Outagamie County, who presented me with evidence of a number of crimes of like sexual nature and a number of other civil violations of law that the attorney feels are base enough for a court case against Father (John Patrick) Feeney. .?.?.? I had to agree with the district attorney that the church would prefer to keep this out of court and out of the public eye and I was able to tell him of our decision last week with which he agreed." The 30-second ad ends with the line: "Tell David Prosser judges should protect our children, not sex offenders." A spokeswoman for the Greater Wisconsin Committee said the organization had no intention of pulling the ad. "The Greater Wisconsin Committee strongly supports law enforcement in the prosecution of those who prey upon our children. We are deeply concerned about David Prosser's unwillingness to prosecute, or even investigate, allegations of sexual abuse of children by Father Feeney that were brought to his attention. We feel strongly that our elected prosecutors and judges should protect our children, not child sex offenders." The committee said the ad does not mention any victims by name or show any pictures of victims.
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