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	Priest Faces Additional Questions By Darren Barbee Fort Worth Star-Telegram March 02, 2006 http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/13997946.htm FORT WORTH -- The attorney for a former Arlington priest made "bald faced claims" when he told a judge that two sisters who accused the priest of sexual misconduct wanted the matter to remain private, according to documents filed in state district court Wednesday. More questions were also raised on Wednesday about the church investigation into the allegations the sisters made decades ago that the Rev. Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen inappropriately kissed them. In the court documents, the family challenged courtroom statements made last week by Tu's attorney, H. Allen Pennington Jr. of Fort Worth. Pennington said "these ladies do not want their names in the press or in the courtroom," or to be involved in the case. Pennington made his remarks while urging state District Judge Len Wade to keep closed the Fort Worth Diocese files concerning Tu. The files were sealed as part of another case, and Wade is deciding how to handle Tu's files. But the sisters and their parents said that no one in the family had spoken to Pennington, according to the documents filed Wednesday. The documents name the family, but the Star-Telegram is not identifying them because of the nature of the case. Pennington said in a statement Wednesday that the family's court "filings will be examined and responded to through appropriate court proceedings." The statement noted that Pennington would not comment further because of the newspaper's continuing role in the efforts to unseal Tu's files. The court documents filed by the sisters and their family also state that they were not contacted by Tu's religious order, the Dominicans, or by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where he now serves, to discuss what had happened. Yet, the archdiocese said in a statement last year that the sisters' "family confirmed that there was no sexual abuse." An archdiocese spokeswoman said Tuesday that its statement was based on a report from the Dominicans. Regina Wedig, a spokeswoman for the Dominicans, said Wednesday that the order stands by its statement. Asked how the Dominicans concluded that no sexual abuse had occurred, Wedig said the finding was based on "the information that we were given, that the Dominicans were given." Wedig said the information came from the Fort Worth Diocese. Wedig said she had not commented on whether the Dominicans themselves had investigated the sisters' complaints. The sisters came forward in 1993 and told the Fort Worth Diocese that Tu had taken them into his office, held them tight, held them on his lap and repeatedly kissed them on their faces and necks when they were about 7 to 9 years old. They said the incidents occurred in the 1970s. As a result of their allegations, Tu was temporarily suspended from active ministry at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Arlington. He underwent a psychological assessment that ruled out any sexual attraction to minors, according to previous church statements. In 1994, Tu was assigned to work in Houston. On Sunday, Tu was placed on temporary leave a second time because of a separate allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1970s. Tu declined to comment about the allegation on Tuesday. Houston officials have received no complaints against Tu, archdiocese officials have said. Tu's records are among the files of several Fort Worth Diocese clerics that the Star-Telegram, the Dallas Morning News and several people have asked Wade to open. Last week, Wade ruled that he would unseal the records of six priests. In Wednesday's filing, the sisters and their parents asked Wade to open Tu's records. Darren Barbee, (817) 390-7126 dbarbee@star-telegram.com
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