NEW JERSEY/ILLINOIS
Peoria Journal-Star
The Associated Press
Posted Aug 12, 2013
NEWARK, N.J. —
The Catholic Diocese of Peoria will pay $1.35 million to settle a case of sexual abuse that took place when Newark Archbishop John J. Myers was in charge, a former altar boy’s lawyer said Monday.
The former altar boy accuses the late Monsignor Thomas Maloney of abusing him at Epiphany Catholic Church in Normal in the mid-1990s. His lawsuit accuses Myers, then the bishop of the 26-county diocese, of failing to take action against Maloney, who died in 2009.
The former altar boy says he was 8 years old when the abuse took place. His attorney, Jeff Anderson, accuses Myers of failing to protect children in Peoria, where he was bishop from 1990 to 2001, when he moved to Newark.
Anderson said the case against the diocese was settled Friday. The diocese and its attorney Joseph Feehan did not immediately return messages left after hours Monday. In an emailed statement Monday night, diocese Chancellor and general counsel Patricia M. Gibson said, “It is the standard policy of the Diocese of Peoria not to discuss details of any specific settlement out of respect for the confidentiality of those involved in a legal case. Any funds used for settlements do not come from diocesan or parish assets, but are paid through insurance coverages available to the diocese.”
Anderson said that on Tuesday he will release a 2010 deposition of Myers being questioned about the case. A spokesman for Myers did not immediately return a request for comment.
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