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	Catholic Church Responds to Sexual Abuse Scandals with Preventative Policies WIS [South Carolina] August 9, 2006 http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5261792 (Columbia) August 9, 2006 - Tuesday, WIS aired an interview with a Midlands man who took legal action against the Catholic Church. The church has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct by church personnel, and now WIS is looking into what they're doing to safeguard their congregations. The Catholic Church in South Carolina has a policy designed to deal with claims of sexual misconduct by church personnel. It's 30 pages long. Right up front, church leaders say they are "adamant" that abuse of children will not be tolerated. The policy has been in place since 2003, before John Morris and three other men filed a class action lawsuit against the Diocese of Charleston, which oversees all parishes in the state. All four plaintiffs said as children they'd been sexually abused by priests. "I have no desire to hurt the Catholic Church. My desire is to strengthen the church and make them come to their responsibility," says Morris. In June, Morris and the others settled their suit. The agreement called on the diocese to set up a $12 million fund which Morris says will be used to pay for any future claims against the Church. Morris, who lives in Lugoff, says he was often told by the priest who molested him that he should keep quiet about what happened. But he says two years ago, when he went to confession at St. Peter's Church in Columbia, a pastor again urged him to remain silent. "He said that this was old news and that, you know, that it would serve no purpose." Morris says Monsignor Leigh Lehocky even told him he might face excommunication if he went public with his story. Monsignor Lehocky declined to appear on camera, but he told us Morris' account of what happened in the confessional booth is not accurate. Lehocky says confession is designed to help people open up about the things that are troubling them. And he says he thinks investigations into sexual conduct by clergy have in general been good for the Catholic Church. Lehocky has spoken out about changes in Church policy on the subject before. Four years ago, he told us the Church had taken steps to confront the problem, "If the allegation is substantiated, not only does the Church continue to offer assistance to the victim, but it then makes permanent the suspension of the priest." A spokesman for the Diocese in Charleston has acknowledged our calls seeking comment, but has issued no statement. Reported by Jack Kuenzie Posted 5:31pm by Chantelle Janelle
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