Clergy Abuse Victim Speaks out about Trial Settlement

By Sarah J. Clark
Fox 4
October 17, 2014

http://fox4kc.com/2014/10/17/clergy-abuse-victim-speaks-out-about-trial-settlement/

[with video]

A man who endured sexual abuse by a Catholic priest as a child is speaking out Friday about this week’s trial that resulted in a nearly $10 million settlement for clergy abuse victims.

Jon David Couzens is a former altar boy who sued the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph in an 11 day trial that ended just before the jury would have started it’s deliberations.

Couzens is one of only two men in Missouri to ever take to trial a civil suit against the Catholic church for priest sex abuse. He says he endured 25 hours of repeatedly detailed and embarassing questions by lawyers for Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn.

The diocese has agreed to pay nearly $10-million to settle Couzens’ suit and 29 others that allege sexual abuse by priests.

Couzens says in court, lawyers portrayed him in an unpleasant and unflattering light, but in the end he says it was worth it to get retribution for the abuse he has survived.

“I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that the general public would think about victims such as myself and others that money would be the motivator,” Couzens said. “But actually it’s turned around, money is the motivator for the church. If they keep their secret they keep their power. And the way they keep their power is money. We put a dent in that and hopefully they will take a step back and say, ‘Wait a minute, look at what just happened. This is the second kid that took us to trial in the state of Missouri. What if we run into another one just like him.'”

Couzens and other victims want the Catholic church to defrock priests when there have been verified claims of abuse against them. He says the church continues to pay for retirement and provide other support for abusive priests identified in the suit.

In a statement earlier this week, the Catholic church says: “The diocese sincerely hopes that this settlement can bring about some closure to those hurt by abuse in the past. The diocese also prays for a healing which can bring peace to the hearts of all those hurt by child sexual abuse.”