SNAP Wisconsin

the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Case against Green Bay diocese heads to jury Monday

May 18

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

From the Green Bay Press Gazette

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120518/GPG0101/120518085/Case-against-Green-Bay-diocese-heads-jury-Monday

By Jim Collar

APPLETON — A jury will begin deliberations Monday to determine if the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay covered up whether a priest who later was convicted of molesting two boys was a danger to children.

The diocese closed its case Friday in an Outagamie County civil lawsuit filed by brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield.

The Merryfields, who were 12 and 14 when they were molested, claim the Roman Catholic diocese was aware former priest John Feeney sexually assaulted others before 1978, when it assigned him to Freedom’s St. Nicholas Church.

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Pyschologist testified on diocese’s behalf

May 18

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

During court proceedings Dr. Lynch, the psychologist hired by the diocese of Green Bay, testified that he is a devout Catholic who was paid $22,000 by the diocese for his work on this case.

From the Appleton Post Crescent

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120518/APC01/305180070/Psychologist-testifies-diocese-s-behalf

APPLETON — A psychologist hired by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay said two brothers who were sexually assaulted by a priest in 1978 suffered only minor trauma as a result.

Attorneys for the church began calling their witnesses Thursday in the Outagamie County civil lawsuit alleging fraud against the diocese. Brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield say the diocese knew former priest John Feeney sexually assaulted others before 1978 and fraudulently misrepresented his safety when assigning him to Freedom’s St. Nicholas Church.

In their 2008 civil lawsuit, the Merryfields cite “profound psychological damage” as a result of the assaults.

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Diocese fraud trial continues

May 18

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

From Green Bay NBC 26

http://www.nbc26.com/news/local/151953935.html

By Brian Miller

Appleton– Testimony continued Thursday in a trial involving the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay and two former Outagamie County brothers who were sexually abused by former priest John Patrick Feeney in the 1970′s. Feeney was convicted of sexual assault for two incidents involving the Merryfields, once in the boys’ bedrooms. The other incident involved Feeney touching the Troy Merryfield’s penis through his pants during confessional at the church.

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Green Bay Catholic diocese begins testimony in civil trial

May 18

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

From Green Bay WBAY 2

http://www.wbay.com/story/18509112/2012/05/17/green-bay-catholic-diocese-begins-testimony-in-civil-trial

By Tony Ullrich

The Green Bay Catholic Diocese began presenting its case Thursday in the civil suit stemming from former priest John Patrick Feeney’s sexual abuse of two brothers in the 1970s.

Troy and Todd Merryfield’s former psychologist said any health problems the brothers developed were not due to the abuse.

Timothy Lynch claims when he saw Todd and Troy from 2009 to 2011, they didn’t attribute any depression, anxiety, or guilt to Feeney’s sexual abuse in the 1970′s.

“Even when we examined over and over and over, there was no mention of depression, no anxiety, no, no, no,” Lynch testified.

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Defense begins in diocese fraud trial

May 18

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

From Green Bay Fox 11

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/defense-begins-arguments-in-merryfields-vs-diocese-fraud-trial

By Chad Doran

APPLETON – There was potentially troubling testimony for the Green Bay Catholic Diocese during a civil trial Thursday.

A priest in a leadership role in the diocese admitted on the stand to hearing rumors of alleged inappropriate behavior by a now former priest.

John Feeney was convicted in 2004 of molesting Troy and Todd Merryfield in May 1978.

The Merryfields are suing the diocese for fraud, saying it knew of the issues surrounding Feeney.

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Ex-priest convicted of trying to hire hit man to kill abuse accuser

May 17

Posted by pilmaier in National Updates | No Comments

From the Dallas Morning News

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/05/ex-priest-accused-of-hiring-hit-man-to-kill-abuse-accuser-testifies-he-thought-his-life-was-in-danger.html/

By Scott Goldstein

A former Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy at gunpoint was convicted this afternoon of trying to hire a hit man to kill the boy.

John Fiala, who faces up to life in prison, showed no outward emotion as the verdict was read. The jury of nine women and three men that convicted him after a few hours of deliberating will decide his punishment.

Testimony in the punishment phase of the trial is underway.

Fiala testified this morning that he told a purported hit man to kill his accuser because he thought his own life was in danger.

He said his friend and neighbor Scottie Fisher told him the hit man was his brother. The brother would likely turn on Fiala if he wasn’t convinced the hit was on, Fiala said Fisher told him.

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Philly prosecutors rest in rare clergy abuse trial

May 17

Posted by pilmaier in National Updates | No Comments

From the Associated Press

http://www.wset.com/story/18497293/philly-prosecutors-rest-in-rare-clergy-abuse-trial

By Maryclaire Dale

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – After eight weeks, Philadelphia prosecutors have rested in the trial of a Roman Catholic church official accused of helping bury complaints that priests were raping or molesting children.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for his administrative role in the priest-abuse scandal. Prosecutors say the former secretary for clergy helped known predators stay in ministry. He is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy.

Defense lawyers counter that Lynn tried to address the problem, but took orders from Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Jurors have heard painful testimony from more than a dozen men and women who say they were abused by priests as children. And they have viewed about 2,000 documents, most unearthed from the secret archives.

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The truth about the Philadelphia Archdiocese, child sex abuse by it’s priests, and its latest missteps

May 17

Posted by pilmaier in National Updates | No Comments

The following is an excellent article by Marci Hamilton detailing events in the clergy sexual abuse trial currently under way in Philadelphia.

http://verdict.justia.com/2012/05/17/the-truth-about-the-philadelphia-archdiocese-child-sex-abuse-by-its-priests-and-its-latest-missteps

The most developed record in the country of a cover-up of child sex abuse by an entire Roman Catholic diocese now exists in Philadelphia. Why? Because recent Philadelphia prosecutors have proactively sought the truth, even when it was far from flattering to the diocese’s hierarchy. For an elected official, that takes guts. Fortunately, both former District Attorney Lynne Abraham and current District Attorney Seth Williams have plenty of guts.

The Philadelphia Archdiocese is being unmasked, day by day, as an institution that operated in such a way as to endanger children. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Msgr. William Lynn for his integral role in suppressing the identities of priest perpetrators. The policies that Lynn implemented have now been put under the harsh glare of the public spotlight, for the first criminal trial of a member of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy is now underway. Each and every day of the trial—which already has lasted six weeks, and is expected to last up to three months—the prosecution further peels back the diocese’s veneer, exposing it as a truly horrific place for children. Recently, it has also added to its profile of callousness by re-victimizing the victims it had a hand in creating.

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Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox Jews rally behind accused in child abuse case

May 17

Posted by pilmaier in National Updates | No Comments

From the UK Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/16/orthodox-sex-abuse-scandal-new-york?newsfeed=true

By Zoe Blackler

Until last year, Nechemya Weberman was a therapist in Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn. From the apartment building he owns in Williamsburg, he counselled teenage girls from ultra-Orthodox Jewish families. Girls, who through improper dress, flirtations with boys or a curiosity in life beyond the confines of their sects, were risking disrepute. In the antiquated world of the ultra-Orthodox, the stigma of immodesty can wreck a girl’s marriage prospects and her future in the community.

In 2007, two worried parents sent their 12-year-old daughter for counselling with Weberman, at the insistence of her school. For three years, the girl consulted him, seeing him often several times a week. The girl had been questioning her religious teachers, and her parents hoped that Weberman, who had raised his own pious, god-fearing children, would lead her back to the right path.

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Tearful testimony in church fraud trial

May 17

Posted by pilmaier in Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin Updates | No Comments

From Green Bay NBC 26

Video Link: http://www.nbc26.com/news/local/151821775.html

By Kasey Hott

APPLETON – Todd and Troy Merryfield took the stand Wednesday in the fraud trial against the Green Bay Catholic Diocese.

Former priest John Patrick Feeney was convicted of sexually abusing the brothers in the 1970′s. Wednesday, the brothers gave an emotional account of what happened.

“I would never put this stress on anyone, it tears families apart,” said Troy Merryfield.

Todd Merryfield says years of trying to hide the abuse eventually broke up his marriage, when he was involved in a criminal investigation of Feeney in 2002.

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