| ST.
FRANCIS — A U.S. Supreme Court decision not
to block a California lawsuit against the Archdiocese
of Milwaukee could lead to continued financial troubles
for the archdiocese.
The Supreme Court June 21 rejected an appeal seeking
dismissal of a sexual abuse lawsuit filed in California
against the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
Attorneys for the archdiocese had sought reversal of
lower court rulings on the case in California. They argued
that a California court should not handle cases involving
religious institutions in other states and the priest
accused of the abuse was no longer connected to the Milwaukee
Archdiocese when the abuse allegedly occurred.
The lawsuit involves the late Siegfried F. Widera, a
former priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese who moved
to California in 1976 following a conviction for child
molestation three years earlier. He became a priest of
the Diocese of Orange, Calif., in 1981. He was removed
from ministry there in 1985.
Widera jumped to his death from a hotel balcony in Mazatlan,
Mexico, on May 25, 2003, as police sought him for extradition
to the United States to face more than 40 charges of
child molestation in Wisconsin and California. He had
been on the run for more than a year.
Last September, a California appeals court ruled that
the lawsuit against the archdiocese could proceed since
Milwaukee church officials had failed to notify the bishop
of Orange that the priest had a criminal record for child
molestation.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the case simply
answers a procedural question and did not address merits
of the lawsuit, according to Dave Muth, an attorney at
Quarles and Brady, one of the attorneys representing
the archdiocese.
“This was a procedural question,” Muth told
the Catholic Herald. “We are in position where
it’s
as if the lawsuit started right now. We are in a very
preliminary stage. I know the parties are in mediation
in California and we’re going to have to see what’s
going on there.”
Jerry Topczewski, administrative assistant to Archbishop
Timothy M. Dolan, said it was too soon to discuss financial
implications of a lawsuit.
“The question for the court was one of jurisdiction,
and the merits of the lawsuit have not yet been addressed,” he
said in a statement. “Now we’ll get to work
on resolving the issue at hand, on the merits of the
case in the best interests of everyone involved.”
The California lawsuit, filed in 2002, alleges that Eric
Paino was sexually assaulted by Widera in California
in 1985 when Paino was 8 years old. According to Steve
Rubino, who along with attorney Katherine Freberg of
Irvine, Calif., is representing Paino, seven other victims
currently have cases pending against the Orange Diocese.
“We have several cases in California against the
Diocese of Orange relating to Siegfried Widera, and I’m
sure we will be adding (the Milwaukee Archdiocese) into
the lawsuit as quickly as we can,” he told the
Catholic Herald.
Scott Idleman, associate professor at Marquette University’s
School of Law, said that the Supreme Court decision does
not weigh in on culpability. It simply rules on a jurisdictional
question.
“The fact that the archdiocese can be sued in this
court doesn’t tell you in and of itself the outcome
of the case,” he said. “The archdiocese could
still prevail as a defendant.
“What this means is the archdiocese is going to
have to litigate now. It’s going to have to defend
against the allegations themselves,” added Idleman. “It
no longer can say that it doesn’t belong in that
court. That issue is now settled.”
Sexual abuse settlement cases against dioceses across
the country have led to serious financial troubles. Bishop
Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., announced last weekend
that his diocese is considering filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in the face of sexual abuse lawsuits seeking millions
of dollars.
In April, the Boston Archdiocese announced the sale of
43 acres of archdiocesan land to pay off $90 million
in loans taken out to pay off clergy sexual abuse settlements.
In Milwaukee, Archbishop Dolan announced the elimination
of 23 jobs at the Cousins Center last month. The layoffs
coincided with $1 million budget deficit for the 2003-2004
fiscal year, blamed partly on costs associated with the
clergy sexual abuse scandal.
Catholic News Service contributed to this report. |
