Seven women filed suit Friday alleging sexual abuse by a Catholic priest during his years at churches in Arlington and Bedford.The Fort Worth Catholic Diocese is a defendant, as is the priest, the Rev. Joseph Tu, also known as Joseph Ngoc Tu Nguyen.
Tu, a Dominican priest, worked at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Arlington from 1975 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1993. He worked at St. Michael Catholic Church in Bedford in 1979 and 1980.
The suit was filed in state district court in Tarrant County.
Tu is accused of abusing the plaintiffs when they were girls or in their late teens, said their lawyer, Tahira Khan Merritt.
Merritt said that all of the women, plus an eighth who chose not to be a part of the suit but is willing to testify, suffered psychological damage from Tu.
The Fort Worth diocese released a statement expressing "deep concern" for the women but did not accept responsibility.
"Any form of sexual abuse is a tragic violation of an individual's God-given right to exercise control over their own bodies and their own behavior," said Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth.
Both Merritt and a diocesan spokesman said they don't know Tu's whereabouts. He belongs to the Southern Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres, which also is named as a defendant.
Diocesan records of alleged sexual misconduct by Tu and other priests were part of an earlier abuse lawsuit but were sealed by the trial court.
The records were later made public.
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