Wednesday, July 23, 2008

New Sex Abuse Lawsuit for Denver Archdiocese

Another man filed a lawsuit Monday against the Archdiocese of Denver alleging he was abused by a priest at a church in Loveland about 40 years ago.

The lawsuit identifies the alleged victim only as "John Doe 2B" and claims that the late Harold White abused him around 1969 when he was 12 at St. John the Evangelist Church.

The claim came a week after another anonymous man filed a lawsuit alleging he was abused by White at the same church in 1969 or 1970. Both follow the archdiocese's decision to settle 18 claims of sex abuse for $5.5 million.

The bulk of the claims involved White, who was removed from ministry in 1993 and died in 2006, and the archdiocese agreed to release his records as part of the deal.

According to the suit, those documents show White admitted in February 1961 to molesting five or six children.

Michael Finnegan, a lawyer for the Minneapolis firm that filed both John Doe lawsuits, said the man involved in the latest case contacted the firm after the documents were released. He said he was upset that church records show officials transferred White after he was accused of sexual abuse.

Both lawsuits seek unspecified damages to be determined at trial.

Members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who released copies of the suit at a press conference, also called on Archbishop Charles Chaput to visit all the parishes where allegations were made about abusive priests and reach out to victims who haven't come forward.

Spokeswoman Kirsten Boyd said the group would like Chaput to work with SNAP to get any such people counseling, but she said any settlements or payments should be handled separately in the courts.

An archdiocese spokeswoman wasn't immediately available to comment on the suit or the request.
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