BishopAccountability.org
	Belleville Diocese Pays $6.3 Million in 1970s Priest Abuse Case By Jesse Bogan St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 10, 2011 http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/article_afdd53b4-c36a-11e0-b285-001a4bcf6878.html After a nine-year court battle marked by multiple appeals by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, James Wisniewski's attorney was finally handed checks today, totaling $6.3 million in a priest sex abuse case dating back the the 1970s. The damages were paid three years after a jury awarded Wisniewski, now in his early 50s, $5 million in a suit in which he claimed the Rev. Raymond Kownacki sexually abused him as a child. Since the verdict, the judgment has grown by another $1.3 million with interest. As recently as last month, Belleville Bishop Edward Braxton had asked the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider the matter. Wisniewski's attorney, Mike Weilmuenster, said after the brief hearing today that he's thankful the jury in the case attempted to send "a message to the Belleville diocese that enabling childhood sexual abuse and covering it up will not be tolerated by this community." Rev. John Myler, a spokesman for the diocese, said: "The diocese is of course aware of the payment that was made today, but nevertheless the diocese continues to express our regret for any, any instances of childhood sexual abuse by a member of the clergy.” Asked specifically about this case, he had no comment other than to say the "diocese is committed to adhering to its childhood protection policy and the diocese will continue to assist victims and their families according to that policy." Kownacki was removed from the ministry in 1995 after abuse allegations began to surface. A former housekeeper accused him of raping, beating and performing an abortion on her in the 1970s. That case, which alleged Kownacki was quietly shuffled between parishes, was dismissed after the state Supreme Court ruled that it exceeded the statute of limitations. A third case was filed against him in 2003 by a man identified as John Doe, who as a boy mowed the parish lawn at St. Theresa's Catholic Church and School in Salem, Ill., where Kownacki was pastor from 1979 to 1986. That case was settled in 2009 for $1.2 million. Two more cases are pending that allege Kownacki sexually abused young boys who are now grown men. There is also a case pending that accuses Rev. Jerome Ratermann of abuse.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.