By Rita Ciolli
Newsday
September 3, 2004

While Bishop William Murphy's special counsel is trying to use mediation to settle some of the multimillion-dollar sexual abuse lawsuits against the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the church is continuing its aggressive legal battle to dismiss the cases.

"It is not necessarily inconsistent with what I am doing, but it is different," said Mark Tuohey, the Washington attorney hired by Murphy in June to find an alternative to the courts to resolve the more than a dozen pending lawsuits brought by people claiming they were sexually abused by priests or church employees.

This dual approach came into sharp focus after George Repetti, the diocese's longtime trial lawyer, sent a letter to State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cozzens Jr., who is presiding over lawsuits filed by more than 40 plaintiffs claiming they were sexually abused as minors by Long Island priests. In an Aug. 24 letter to Cozzens, Repetti sought to downplay a story in Newsday that quoted Tuohey as saying he was "not closing the door" to settling the older cases. Repetti told the judge that Tuohey's comments that were published the previous day could be interpreted to mean the diocese had changed its legal position that the time period allowed to file these lawsuits has expired.

"This is absolutely unequivocally untrue," Repetti wrote. "The diocese has not changed its position on any cases that are time-barred."

Lawyers for the victims argue the cases are still valid under an exception in state law for fraud and negligence because the church covered up its problem with abusive priests.

Repetti's letter prompted a sharp rebuttal from Michael Dowd, a Manhattan attorney who represents more than two dozen plaintiffs. In a response he sent to Cozzens after reviewing the letter, Dowd said it was Repetti who was trying to influence the court "and at the same time sabotage any hope of resolving cases without painful and prolonged litigation."

Dowd said Tuohey is seeking to resolve cases "through a process of discussion, negotiation and mediation. Mr. Repetti, on the other hand, seems committed to a legal scorched-earth policy, which is all too familiar to victims of clergy abuse."

Repetti is on vacation and was not available for further comment.

Asked about the letter, Tuohey said earlier this week that he is trying to mediate the cases filed by three minors who were raped and sodomized by Matthew Maiello, the former youth minister at St. Raphael's parish in East Meadow who pleaded guilty in July 2003 and was jailed for the abuse.

Tuohey said he is deliberately staying uninformed about other pending court cases handled by Repetti. "It is not certain how and under what circumstances we will deal with folks who have filed claims that may be determined to be legally time-barred," Tuohey said. "Those cases will take their course in the legal framework. We are hoping to achieve, ultimately, a broad array of reconciliation in this process."

A spokesman for Murphy declined to comment on the statements of his lawyers.

For some victims and their families, the diocese is trying to have it both ways. "It is outrageous. At first, we were encouraged because we thought Bishop Murphy's intention was to settle these cases, and now we find out the opposite is true," said the father of a woman who said she was sexually abused by a priest as a minor. He asked not to be identified to protect his daughter's privacy.

Melanie Little, an attorney representing 25 plaintiffs, said the litigation could continue for years, especially because any decision by the trial judge would most likely be appealed. "It seems that everyone's energies would be better spent on trying to resolve these issues rather than prolong them," she said.

GRAPHIC: Newsday File Photo / Audrey C. Tiernan - Bishop William Murphy has hired a mediator for abuse cases, while continuing a court fight.