Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit Settled against Bishops Dupre & Maguire

By Anthony Fay
WWLP
July 27, 2012

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/clergy-sex-abuse-lawsuit-settled-against-bishops-dupre--maguire

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A man who claims that he was sexually abused by a western Massachusetts priest has settled a lawsuit against two bishops he says did nothing to protect him. His lawyers say damages in the suit are described as being a “substantial six figure sum.”

According to a news release sent to 22News by the law firm Stobierski & Stobierski, their client, Andrew Nicastro settled his lawsuit against former Bishops Thomas Dupre and Joseph Maguire on Thursday evening.

The settlement comes less than a week after the start of a civil trial against Dupre and Maguire at Hampden County Superior Court.

Nicastro says that as a child, he was sexually abused by now-defrocked priest Fr. Alfred Graves.

Nicastro, who had not commented during the trial, said Friday the settlement does not make the abuse go away, but it does go to the healing process. "It doesn't fix it immediately, but you will now put your life back on the right road and the most important one is to healing," he said.

His attorneys say that despite the large amount of money in the settlement, that was not what this case was about.

“For Nicastro the case was never about money, but about holding accountable those who failed protect him from sexual abuse,” the news release says.

In a statement sent to 22News, Bishop Maguire apologized for the abuse Nicastro suffered, and said he wished he had done more.

"I only wish that in 1976 as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims. I pray for these victims and their families, for their forgiveness and understanding," Maguire wrote.

"Since I was called to serve the people of the Diocese of Springfield, I have strived to be a faithful and caring bishop. That in this instance I was unable to protect young people from abuse is an enduring and deep regret."