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	Monterey Diocese Sued over Alleged Abuse in the 1960s By Larry Parsons Monterey Herald June 4, 2011 http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_18206030?nclick_check=1 Painful memories of being molested as a young altar boy by a priest came flooding back for a Monterey County man now suing Roman Catholic church authorities for his alleged abuse 50 years ago. As he watched a television show last November about men who were abused as children by priests, the man's eyes filled with tears and a new period of his life began — a time plagued by nightmares, shame and anger, his suit says. "Upon seeing that program, plaintiff began crying and had to turn off the television because he became so distraught," the suit says. "He has had nightmares and trouble sleeping since then and, as a result, he has sought counseling to help him deal with the trauma." The suit filed in Monterey County Superior Court doesn't yet name the priest, the church or the diocese where the sexual abuse allegedly occurred between 1960 and 1964. The victim, now in his 60s, is identified as John RF Doe in the complaint that seeks general and punitive damages. The Diocese of Monterey, in a statement, said it became aware of the allegations in November and reported them immediately to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office. The priest involved in the allegations today "is very elderly and has never been accused of any other incident of sexual misconduct," the diocese statement said. "He is a priest of the Diocese of Fresno and lives in a retirement community," the statement said. "The bishop of Fresno has been informed of the allegation, and we have been assured that he is not in the ministry." A diocese spokesman said the priest worked in the Pajaro-area parish in the 1960s, but he didn't know which church. The suit also alleges that church and diocese officials covered up the priest's sexual abuse and shuffled "pedophile priests to different parishes where they could continue to abuse young parishioners." As to that allegation, the diocese said, "We take exception to these statements among others." The involved priest was assigned to the parish where the molestations allegedly occurred from 1953 to 1967, the diocese said. He was assigned to the Fresno diocese in 1967 after the former Diocese of Monterey-Fresno was divided in two. Until November, there were no allegations leveled against the priest in either the Fresno or Monterey diocese, the statement said. The diocese said it has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding child abuse, and said there are no priests or deacons currently with the diocese who have any credible claims of abuse against them. In January, the diocese suspended the Rev. Edward Fitz-Henry, a priest in San Juan Bautista, amid allegations that he molested a former altar boy at a Salinas church in 2004 and 2005. The alleged victim filed suit in February. The victim in the new suit alleges that the unnamed priest molested him over a five-year period when he was 10 to 14 years old. The victim lived near the church and the priest would call him over and sexually abuse him on the church grounds, said the suit. The priest told the boy not to tell anyone about what was happening or he would get into "big trouble," the suit says. The trauma of being molested was buried for nearly five decades, said the suit. Lawrence Biegel, the alleged victim's attorney, said he kept the childhood trauma "tamped down" all those years. "He lived the kind of life ... that it was central to his being that he not deal with it," Biegel said. State law allows victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil charges within three years after they discover that the abuse caused psychological injury or illness. They first must be examined by at least one licensed mental health practitioner who finds a "reasonable and meritorious" basis for a suit. Bishop Richard Garcia, the diocese leader, met with the plaintiff and "offered him pastoral outreach and counseling," the diocese said. Biegel said the bishop was "very sensitive in the way he treated my client." The suit, he said, is not about the way the diocese currently is being run. "I respect Bishop Garcia," he said. "(The bishop) wrote my client a very beautiful letter, saying that he was keeping him in his prayers, and he completely believes that." The suit says it will be later amended to name specific defendants. Before that can happen, the plaintiff must file information with the court about corroborative evidence, according to state law. Larry Parsons can be reached at 646-4379 or lparsons@montereyherald.com.
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