Article Title
U.S. Catholic church hit with two national lawsuits by sex-abuse victims
Subtitle: Class-action suit names Holy See in Vatican as defendant, cites federal racketeering laws
Link to Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2018/11/15/us-catholic-church-hit-with-two-national-lawsuits-by-sex-abuse-victims/?utm_term=.9d60b250613a
Source: Washington Post
Author(s): Tom Jackman
Date: November 14, 2018
Synopsis of Article
Two national lawsuits against the Catholic Church were filed on 13 November 2018, one in the District of Columbia (in the Federal district court there), the other in Federal district court in Minnesota.
The civil suit filed in D.C. (referred to herein as “Lennon et al. versus USCCB”) names as defendants the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Holy See (the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church, headed by the pope in Vatican City, Rome). Lennon v USCCB (“Lennon” for short) was filed as a class-action complaint, with a demand for jury trial.
Lennon charges the defendants with offences under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, viz., operating an on-going criminal enterprise (through a pattern of racketeering activity) and conspiracy. Lennon and the complaint filed in Minnesota both seek injunctive relief in the form of disclosure of the names of all clergy sexual offenders hidden in diocesan secret archives nationwide.
According to the article, the Lennon class-action suit seeks financial damages, trebled under RICO, “for assault, gross negligence, emotional distress and wrongful death, for the families of those who committed suicide after being abused by a priest or other Catholic official.”
According to the Lennon complaint:
“Rather than safeguarding and protecting Plaintiffs and Class Members—who were minor children at the time—Defendants protected the abusive Clergy, took extraordinary measures to conceal their wrongful conduct, moved them from parish to parish, without warning church members or the general public, thereby further facilitating their predatory practices, failed and refused to report the abusive Clergy to law enforcement or other responsible authorities as required by law, and—incredibly—even promoted the abusive Clergy. Defendants’ wrongful acts are ongoing and continuous.”
“Plaintiffs’ Complaint is grounded on multiple violations of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes embodied in the RICO statute prohibiting ‘schemes to defraud’ where the fraud is ‘representational’ or where the fraud amounts to ‘cheating and defrauding’ without representations. This Complaint alleges violations of the federal mail fraud and wire fraud statutes in both ways.”
“The RICO enterprise alleged in this Complaint is the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, an unincorporated association-in-fact.”
“The RICO Defendants conducting and participating, directly and/or indirectly, in the affairs of the Church Enterprise to injure and harm Plaintiffs and Class Members via the mails and wires are Defendant USCCB and Defendant Holy See.”
Link to Lennon Complaint:
Lennon et al v USCCB Holy See _ 2018-11-13
The civil suit filed in Minnesota (referred to herein as “Mclean et al. versus USCCB” names the USCCB as the sole defendant. Mclean v USCCB (“Mclean” for short) was filed with a demand for jury trial.
Mclean charges the defendant with maintaining a “public nuisance” that has posed and continues to pose an imminent danger to vulnerable children, i.e., children in Catholic churches, schools, and youth organizations. The USCCB created and maintains a public hazard by concealing “the known histories and identities from the public, parishioners and law enforcement of clergy accused of sexually abusing children across the country.”
Mclean seeks the “court ordered disclosure of identities of all offenders and their histories known only to the bishops who continue to keep this information secret.”
According to the Mclean complaint:
“Defendant continues to conspire and engage … in efforts to: 1) conceal from the general public the sexual assaults committed by, the identities of, and pedophilic/ephebophilic tendencies of [enumeration of specific individual members of the Catholic clergy] and other accused Roman Catholic priests across the country; and/or 2) conceal from proper civil authorities sexual assaults and abuse committed by [same enumeration of specific individual members of the Catholic clergy] and other agents against minor children; and/or 3) attack the credibility of victims of Defendant’s agents; and/or 4) protect Defendant’s agents from criminal prosecution for their sexual assaults and abuse against children; and/or 5) allow known child molesters to live freely in communities across the country without informing the public; and/or 6) participate in the concealment of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.”
“Defendant’s failure to report multiple allegations of sexual assault and abuse of children to proper authorities, as well as its failure to inform the public about sexual abuse, or priests accused of sexual abuse of minors has prevented the public from knowing of a real danger, and has thereby endangered the safety and health of a considerable number of members of the public by allowing child molesters to avoid prosecution and remain living freely in unsuspecting communities and working with and around children. These child molesters, known to Defendant but not to the public, pose a threat of additional abuse to a considerable number of members of the public.”
“To abate the continuing nuisance, Plaintiffs further request an order requiring that Defendant publicly release the names of all agents, including priests, accused of child sexual abuse, each such agent’s history of abuse, each such agent’s pattern of grooming and sexual behavior, and his or her last known address. This includes the release of Defendant’s documents on the agents.”
Link to Mclean Complaint:
Mclean et al v USCCB _ 2018-11-13
