INDIANA
Lafayette Journal & Courier
Ron Wilkins, rwilkins@jconline.com November 20, 2014
A civil lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to get to the bottom of a long history of alleged sexual molestation by nearly two dozen Catholic priests of the Crosier order — including one from Lafayette who worked in various communities in Greater Lafayette.
Gerald Funcheon, 76, has confessed to sexually preying on children during more than 20 years as a Catholic priest. The civil lawsuit filed in Minneapolis on behalf of his victims seeks to find out how far and wide his wrongdoing stretched.
Various civil case settlements over the years have forced the Crosiers to release the names of 19 priests — some still alive, some now dead — who were “credibly accused” of molestation.
The lawsuit asks for them to release all accusations, whether internally deemed credible or not and put them up for judicial review. The court system would then decide which cases to make public.
Leading the charge on behalf of victims is the Anderson & Associates firm in Minneapolis. The firm used a Minnesota provision listing the claim as a “public nuisance,” which holds defendants liable not just in the state but anywhere in the country, explained Patrick Wall, a former priest now working for the firm.
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