Former Palma Student Alleges Abuse by Priest; Documents Show History of Suspicions about Teacher
By Julia Reynolds
A former Palma High School student filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the Rev. Gerald Funcheon, a former Palma teacher, of molesting him on a school trip in the 1980s. Meanwhile, in another court case, copies of letters from and about Funcheon indicate a long history of suspicions about the Catholic priest, who taught at the Salinas school during the 1984-85 school year. Named in the new lawsuit, filed in a Minnesota court, are Palma High School, Funcheon and the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, a Catholic order also known as the Crosiers, which at the time had headquarters in Minnesota. Funcheon was a member of the order, which is not affiliated with Palma. The complaint alleges that Chris Spedden, now in his early 40s and living out of the area, was 13 when he was molested while on a ski trip to Bend, Ore., a trip chaperoned by Funcheon. Letters and other documents released after the settlement of a separate 2009 lawsuit against Funcheon show that church officials in the Midwest and a principal at Damien High School in Hawaii were concerned about the priest's "inappropriate" behavior with young students as far back as three decades ago. Attorney Mike Reck, who represents Spedden, said the documents show that officials had expressed concerns about Funcheon well before he arrived in Salinas. "None of the children at Palma should have been exposed to him," Reck said. "At his assignment immediately prior to Palma, parents met with the principal at Damien and reported his actions. That's what led to his being transferred from Damien to Palma." He said Funcheon is now believed to be residing in Missouri. Palma responds Palma's president, Brother Patrick Dunne, was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. The school released a statement reiterating comments made last month when assertions against Funcheon were first made public: "The Palma School community is saddened and angered to hear any reports or allegations of the abuse of children by any adults, but particularly by religious men whom they trusted and revered. Importantly, none of our staff, none of the Brothers serving this school, are connected to these legal issues. We are confident that the legal process to provide redress and compensation for victims is working." Attorneys for Palma said they were not aware of the lawsuit late Wednesday. The victim support group SNAP has announced plans to hold a press conference in front of Palma on Thursday. In a statement, school attorneys commented on the planned event, saying, "By choosing to stage another media event at our school, the plaintiff's lawyers are creating a distraction for our students; they are showing disrespect for the Palma faculty and parents who share a common objective of providing our students with an environment that supports their academic, spiritual, moral and personal growth." SNAP representatives said they are asking the school for transparency and answers. "The thing they owe their alumni and their victims is to be honest," said Joelle Casteix, a representative of SNAP, which stands for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Because Funcheon was also an Air Force chaplain, she said, Spedden looked up to him. The boy hoped to one day join the military service. Counseling sessions The documents from the 2009 lawsuit, also filed in Minnesota, shed new light on Funcheon's year at the local school. The Crosiers settled the lawsuit for $1.7 million in 2009, admitting that Funcheon and three other clerics had abused children. One plaintiff in the case said Funcheon began molesting him when he was 10 and kept it up for three years. Among the documents is a long letter from Funcheon to a superior describing insights realized during his weekly sessions with a Pacific Grove psychiatric counselor in 1984. At least a portion of those treatment sessions was to be paid by Palma's insurance policy, according to Funcheon's letter. Those sessions were described in a church document as "the most thorough-going and extensive counseling Fr. Jerry received while he was a Crosier." Court records show Funcheon has a long history of abuse allegations and has spent a lifetime shuffling from job to job around the country. A 2003 letter from pastor Richard McGuire at St. Odilia parish in Minnesota, where Funcheon taught religion, sex education and physical education from 1970-73, concludes, "The picture I now have is of a predator who has potentially hundreds of direct and indirect victims here at St. Odilia alone. I believe much more will come to light, including more lawsuits." A letter in 1992 from a Crosier official in Minnesota, the Rev. Robert J. Rossi, to a church official highlights the trajectory of Funcheon's activities while he "butterflied" from school to school in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Rossi said an early observation from 1965, when Funcheon was a fourth-year theologian, may have been telling: "Almost his sole interest is young boys." The letter goes on to describe an outing while Funcheon taught at Damien in Hawaii. That school is owned and run by the Irish Christian Brothers, the corporation that also operates Palma. According to a report corroborated by the school's principal, four boys who went on a beach trip were "washed" in the shower by Funcheon after they swam. The priest told the boys they would be spanked later with their pants down, Rossi's letter said, and he suggested they all go skinny dipping together. Funcheon then said he was "going to torture them by rubbing his beard on their stomachs," the letter reported. The letter said that while the principal thought "there was nothing sexual going on," he felt the behavior was inappropriate. Still, the letter said, "as of now, no disciplinary action is planned for Jerry." Because allegations against Funcheon were known while he still worked at Damien, attorney Reck said, he should not have been allowed to transfer to another Christian Brothers school. Outside the classroom After two years at Damien, Funcheon found work at Palma, where he began the weekly counseling sessions with Brian Robinson, a Pacific Grove psychologist. In his letter to his superior, hand-written on Palma stationery, Funcheon complained of uncontrollable anxiety and spoke of insights uncovered during his early counseling sessions. He wrote that he tended to lose his cool around superiors he thought were "investigating" him. He expressed frustration at "not being able — allowed? — to do what I do best." What he did best, he wrote, was to work with children outside the classroom — in the gym, on field trips and weekend retreats. "What happens is I lose control and lose my cool in class. ... Outside the classroom, I get along super with the kids." Although he said he didn't get along with many school staff members, he concluded that "what I am doing now is very beneficial for the kids and community here." Funcheon's time at Palma recently came to light when the Irish Christian Brothers declared bankruptcy as molestation lawsuits threatened to pile up. Molestation victims from Christian Brothers schools have until Aug. 1 to add their names to the list of claimants who might be eligible for asset settlements stemming from the bankruptcy. Although he could have filed suit as "John Doe," Spedden said through his attorney that he used his real name because he hopes it will "encourage any survivors from Palma to come forward before the Aug. 1 deadline." Julia Reynolds can be reached at 648-1187 or jreynolds@montereyherald.com
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