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	Iowa's 4 Bishops Are Named in Family's Long-Shot Lawsuit By Shirley Ragsdale Des Moines Register September 21, 2006 http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060921/LIFE05/609210397/1039/LIFE Iowa's four Roman Catholic bishops are named in a long-shot Wisconsin lawsuit that seeks to compel every U.S. bishop to release the names and locations of all abusive priests - a list estimated to be in excess of 5,000 names, according to a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' study. The unprecedented lawsuit was filed by the family of Dan O'Connell of Hudson, Wis., who along with a co-worker was slain in February 2002. After a two-year investigation, Wisconsin authorities concluded that the Rev. Ryan Erickson, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hudson, shot O'Connell after a heated argument. O'Connell apparently had learned that Erickson was an abuser. The police investigation also found that Erickson had an alcohol problem, collected pornography, abused animals and collected guns. Days after police questioned Erickson about the slayings, the priest committed suicide. "We're not against the church," said Tom O'Connell of Cross Plains, Wis., Dan O'Connell's brother. "We are strong Catholics. My kids still go to Catholic school. But we're trying to protect children and build back the respect the good priests lost" — a reference to the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the church. Although the names of many abusive priests have been made public through individual lawsuits, they do not appear on sex offender registries, said Patrick Noaker, a St. Paul, Minn., attorney who represents the O'Connell family. "The U.S. bishops engaged in a conspiracy to move these predators nationally and acted to protect the priests from criminal prosecution," Noaker said. "The names will give parents the ammunition they need to protect their children." Monsignor Frank Maniscalo, spokesman for the U.S. bishops' conference, declined to comment on the lawsuit. In a statement, Bishop Joseph Charron of the Des Moines Diocese said he had been served with the lawsuit. He said he takes the protection of children very seriously and has made it a priority for the diocese. "More than 5,000 parents, volunteers and others have experienced a safe environment training program designed to raise awareness and eliminate opportunities for abuse in a Catholic church environment," the statement said. Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus has also been served. "As you know, we already have a listing of priests on our Web site," Hanus wrote in an e-mail request for comment. "We also explain on the Web site the principles we follow in determining how and when someone is included." Davenport Bishop William Franklin said he, too, has received the lawsuit. Releasing information about reports of child abuse by living priests to the Scott County attorney is part of the nonmonetary settlement made with 37 claimants who in 2004 received $9 million from the diocese. "The diocese will continue to comply with this agreement," the bishop said in a statement. "In addition, the diocese has turned over all credible allegations of child sexual abuse by living and deceased priests to the victims' attorneys." Bishop R. Walker Nickless of the Sioux City Diocese has not yet seen the lawsuit and declined to comment. If successful, the lawsuit will plow complex new legal ground, touching on issues of privacy and church privilege. But to get that far in the court system, the O'Connells' lawyers will have to establish the family's standing in the lawsuit. The family may have an actionable grievance against its own diocese, but it likely will be hard to prove that its allegations of wrongdoing automatically extend to other Catholic dioceses around the country. "In the United States we don't let people go to court to sue on behalf of other people's rights," said Randall Bezanson, an expert in privacy law and religion at University of Iowa law school. "People have to have a stake in the lawsuit," he said. "The legal system is not designed to deal with generalized grievances by people who have suffered no concrete harm or have no stake in seeking relief." Tom O'Connell is undeterred. For him, the lawsuit is all about holding the bishops accountable and making public the priests' names. "We tried going to the bishops' conference, tried to talk to them about our concerns, and they turned their backs on us," O'Connell said. "We're not asking for money," he added. "We want long-term reform. It seems the only way to get them to respond is by going to court. We hope the lawsuit will get local Catholics to go to their pastors and bishops and tell them the O'Connells are right. Encourage them to do right."
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